Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac not booting

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   I've got an issue with my new Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac together with a Samsung 950 PRO Series - 256GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V5P256BW)

There are no additional hard drives installed.

The system powers up but the screen stays black. 
No matter if I use a dedicated gpu or the on board stuff from my CPU (Core i5-6600k).

I've no idea where to look for the problem. I've checked the cables, the RAM and power supply, but no problem there.

Do I need to flash the BIOS or something...

Edited by RoterFux - 03 Oct 2016 at 4:42pm

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RoterFux Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Oct 2016 Location: Austria Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote RoterFux Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac not booting Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 4:41pm
	I've got an issue with my new Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac together with a Samsung 950 PRO Series - 256GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V5P256BW) There are no additional hard drives installed. The system powers up but the screen stays black. No matter if I use a dedicated gpu or the on board stuff from my CPU (Core i5-6600k). I've no idea where to look for the problem. I've checked the cables, the RAM and power supply, but no problem there. Do I need to flash the BIOS or something... Edited by RoterFux - 03 Oct 2016 at 4:42pm

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 22748	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 4:48pm
	Please provide a full list of system specs: CPU: (already stated) Motherboard: (already stated) RAM: (brand and model number) GPU: PSU: Drives: (already stated) This is the only way we can properly help you. Perhaps the most important detail on that list is the RAM model/make. DDR4 RAM can be problematic with compatibility these days.


RoterFux Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Oct 2016 Location: Austria Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote RoterFux Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 5:06pm
	Oh. I'm so sorry CPU: (already stated) Motherboard: (already stated) RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport, DDR4-2400 (I can add more detailed information, later this day) GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 7800 PSU: Corsair CP-9020104-EU 80 Plus Gold 450W Drives: (already stated) I had a problem with high voltage (thunderstorm). That killed my PSU, and SSDs So I exchanged the motherboard and PSU. I've switched from an "normal" SSD to the 950 Pro RAM and GPU where unharmed... as far as I know... Edited by RoterFux - 03 Oct 2016 at 5:15pm

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 22748	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 5:30pm
	First up, remove everything but power, 1 module of RAM and CPU from the board and try post with the iGPU. Assuming that the RAM is compatible with your BIOS version and the CPU (unless new?) and RAM are not damaged somehow you should be able to get post. If not you can try clearing CMOS and see if that brings things to life. I take it you are not at the system right now so I will wait for you to try the above before going further.


RoterFux Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Oct 2016 Location: Austria Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote RoterFux Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 03 Oct 2016 at 5:53pm
	Thank you for your answer! No I'm not at the system right now. I'll try that and come back later this day.

RoterFux Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Oct 2016 Location: Austria Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote RoterFux Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 2016 at 2:02am
	I've removed the "hard drive" and one RAM module. So only power supply, CPU, motherboard, one RAM module and a monitor in one of the two internal HDMI connector are connected. Same behaviour. I've tested it with both HDMI connectors. Even with no RAM at all. It's always the same. # I did the BIOS reset. Nothing. Could the RAM or even worse. the CPU be damaged? Or wouldn't the board not power up, if the cpu is broken? Edited by RoterFux - 04 Oct 2016 at 2:14am

Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 22748	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 2016 at 3:31am
	It's pretty hard to burn out the CPU with regular use. That said, it can happen and the system would only fail to power on if the CPU power circuitry was completely burned out. I wouldn't jump on that train of thought just yet though. Do you have a PC speaker (beeper) connected? If not I suggest you connect one. This will give you more feedback from the system. If when you have no RAM installed for example you should get a series of beeps to indicate this fact. If you do not get any beeps then the CPU may be damaged.


parsec Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 04 May 2015 Location: USA Status: Offline Points: 4996	Post Options Post Reply Quote parsec Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 2016 at 4:47am
	No Dr Debug display on the Fatal1ty Z170 Gaming-ITX/ac, which would really help in your situation. The POST beep speaker is disabled by default in the UEFI/BIOS of every ASRock board I've ever had(why oh why do they do that!!), no reason to believe yours in any different. So unless you can get into the UEFI to enable it, connecting a POST beep speaker won't help, sorry to say. Since you cannot get into the UEFI, that will do nothing for you. The lightning strike/voltage surge situation, IMO, puts ALL components into question. You have a new board, PSU, and GPU, right? So the board and PSU are not in question. That leaves the memory and CPU. You've tried the new board and PSU, with one DIMM and the CPU, and integrated graphics, and still nothing. BTW, the board will not start with no memory installed, so that test is meaningless. It looks like you are down to the memory and CPU. It's easier/cheaper to try new memory. If new memory makes no difference, what's left? Yes, the CPU. Unless you are using any cables from the dead PSU, I would hope not. I can't imagine the video cables to the monitor would be damaged, but who knows? If you have any video cable that was not in the fried PC, then try that too. Also, are you use the monitor is Ok? It was plugged into AC power during the lightning strike, right? Did you check the input selection on the monitor? Can you use any of the monitor's built in functions, like picture adjustment? Try that monitor on another PC to verify it is Ok.


Xaltar Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Moderator Group Joined: 16 May 2015 Location: Europe Status: Offline Points: 22748	Post Options Post Reply Quote Xaltar Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 2016 at 5:34am
	Assuming all parts are working, It is only in the absence of a CPU that the board will not power on. Missing RAM will not prevent the system powering on and always gives a beep code so long as the CPU memory controller still functions. I have verified this on a Z97 Extreme 3, H170 Combo, H170 Performance/hyper, N3150M and Z170 Pro4. To the best of my knowledge the option to disable the post beep only applies to the beep at the conclusion of a successful post, right before the system begins to boot. I generally only connect a PC speaker (beeper) when I am diagnosing an issue so I actually had to swap my CPU into each board in turn on my test-bed to verify this with the exception of the Z97 and N3150M which I have running in their own systems. If you can connect a beeper and receive a beep code when you power up without RAM then there is a good chance the CPU may be ok. If you get the error beep then try replacing the RAM again. If it beeps like when there was no RAM that would indicate definitively that the RAM is blown. The lack of any beep could still be RAM.


RoterFux Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 03 Oct 2016 Location: Austria Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote RoterFux Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 04 Oct 2016 at 1:44pm
	I've no beeper, but that's the least of my problems. :/ Monitor works. Cable too. Maybe I'll buy new RAM modules and check for that ... I assume the board is not powering up, without a working CPU? So I seriously hope that it's the RAM. If I exchange the RAM, than there's only the cpu left and everything else is new. This is going to cost me a lot, in the end! Thank you guys for your help and I'll try to keep you informed and would be happy if you could provide me help if nono of my futher actions help. Next: Get a beeper Then: Get new RAM modules If that doesn't work... throwing everything out of the closed window Edited by RoterFux - 04 Oct 2016 at 2:09pm