Huge problem with Z97 Extreme 3

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   Hello, 

Last night my computer was working flawlessly without any issues whatsoever. This morning, I turned it on to realise that it's not working. It won't post. Fans, leds, etc all working normally but it won't boot up. 

So I took it apart, mounted it on a table only mobo + cpu and nothing. 

Specs are as follow:

4690k @ 4.5 with 1.15v This OC was extensively tested and was completely stable 
Asrock Extreme 3 Z97
8GB Kingston Fury 1866
Gigabyte G1 970
Cryorig H7 
Corsair CX750M
Crucial SSD and some HDDs
2 intake fans and 1 exhaust 

What can be the issue here? Motherboard fried overnight for some reason? 

I took the battery out for some minutes, clear CMOS etc but nothing. 
I do not have a speaker though so won't  know if it's beeping or not. 

I doubt something malfunctioned over night. 

Meanwhile I dismounted everything and mounted in a table to find out that sometimes it does boot to Windows but it's very rare, something like 1 or 2 out of 10 times. And when it does boot, after some minutes the whole system freezes and I need to shut it down via button, only for it to hang again without even post. Sometimes while hung it reboots itself, other times it tries to boot but won't. 
I cleared cmos, battery etc and nothing. I guess the motherboard died but how? Overnight? 
About the OC, i always controlled the temperatures, never but never reached any crazy temps.50-60C under load. 

Any ideas? Because this is driving me nuts, it's not like I mind RMA it but I would like to understand what happened. I can add that I was away for 1 week so the computer was off four all that time and my bedroom gets a bit cold so could some condensation have build up? I returned last Saturday night and it was working alright for the next two days. 

Cheers!

Edited by scanferr - 06 Jan 2016 at 12:04pm

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scanferr Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Jan 2016 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote scanferr Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Huge problem with Z97 Extreme 3 Posted: 06 Jan 2016 at 12:01pm
	Hello, Last night my computer was working flawlessly without any issues whatsoever. This morning, I turned it on to realise that it's not working. It won't post. Fans, leds, etc all working normally but it won't boot up. So I took it apart, mounted it on a table only mobo + cpu and nothing. Specs are as follow: 4690k @ 4.5 with 1.15v This OC was extensively tested and was completely stable Asrock Extreme 3 Z97 8GB Kingston Fury 1866 Gigabyte G1 970 Cryorig H7 Corsair CX750M Crucial SSD and some HDDs 2 intake fans and 1 exhaust What can be the issue here? Motherboard fried overnight for some reason? I took the battery out for some minutes, clear CMOS etc but nothing. I do not have a speaker though so won't know if it's beeping or not. I doubt something malfunctioned over night. Meanwhile I dismounted everything and mounted in a table to find out that sometimes it does boot to Windows but it's very rare, something like 1 or 2 out of 10 times. And when it does boot, after some minutes the whole system freezes and I need to shut it down via button, only for it to hang again without even post. Sometimes while hung it reboots itself, other times it tries to boot but won't. I cleared cmos, battery etc and nothing. I guess the motherboard died but how? Overnight? About the OC, i always controlled the temperatures, never but never reached any crazy temps.50-60C under load. Any ideas? Because this is driving me nuts, it's not like I mind RMA it but I would like to understand what happened. I can add that I was away for 1 week so the computer was off four all that time and my bedroom gets a bit cold so could some condensation have build up? I returned last Saturday night and it was working alright for the next two days. Cheers! Edited by scanferr - 06 Jan 2016 at 12:04pm

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: 06 Jan 2016 at 1:47pm
	If the PC does POST and boots sometimes (is that boots into your OS installation?) then I don't see how the board is "fried" or damaged to the point it cannot function at all. It's just as possible that one of the other components is failing or is working intermittently, besides the board itself. Are all the parts new, or have you used some of the others in the past? Not having a POST beep speaker does not assist you in determining what is stopping the PC from starting. I'm guessing one or more bad SATA data cables, or the PSU is being flaky. Checking all the PSU cable connections would be useful, as well as checking that your memory is inserted correctly into the DIMM slots. 8GB of memory does not tell us if that is 2 x 4GB DIMMs, or 4 x 2GB DIMMs, or one 8GB DIMM. To really test the board itself, remove the video card and disconnect all of the drives from the PC, or at least remove power from the drives. Use the onboard graphics to your monitor. So with just the board, memory, and CPU, start the PC which should go into the UEFI/BIOS, or display the boot selection screen since no drives are connected. At that point if the PC starts, go into the UEFI and select the Hardware Monitoring screen. Let the PC run in the UEFI for quite a while, at least an hour. In the Hardware Monitoring screen, check the CPU and board temperature, and all the voltage readings which includes the 12V, 5V, and 3.3V rails from the PSU. See if those voltages are within their normal ranges. If any of the three voltages is below the standard values, keep an eye on it and check the connection of the 24 pin and four/eight pin CPU power cable. CPU temperature in the UEFI tends to be a bit higher than in Windows, since the CPU power saving options are not active in the UEFI, is you use those options. Move around the UEFI to exercise the PC a bit, rather than letting it sit doing nothing. You can even push carefully on the two power connectors to see if you have a bad connection. If the PC passes that test, then add ONE component at a time, such as the video card first. Go through the same procedure in the UEFI with a new component if everything works as you progress along. At some point you ought to find what the offending part is. If you get to the point where you are adding your drives back to the PC, do that one drive at a time, starting with the OS drive. If it boots into the OS, then see if it will work fine. If you get restarts or freezes, the SSD may be bad, or bad cables. If you can confirm the SSD works fine on another PC, then the board becomes suspect. If you cannot pass the first test with the most basic configuration, and feel that the PSU and memory are fine and all connections to the PSU are solid, then it would seem that the board may have a problem.


scanferr Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 06 Jan 2016 Status: Offline Points: 4	Post Options Post Reply Quote scanferr Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 06 Jan 2016 at 9:09pm
	Hi! Thanks for the reply! I did try that. I disconnected everything and let it run just motherboard, cpu and ram or just motherboard and ram and the same happens. There is no change whatsoever. I only have 1x 8GB. I did check all the PSU connections and they all seem to be fine. When it does boot, after several tries there is a message saying that the computer failed to post several times and asks if I want to continue or just go in uefi. So, basically, I tried everything, component by component, several times and the same happens in all occasions. Which makes me wonder if it's the PSU or the motherboard... I can add that when I say it boots, means it boots into the OS yes. The parts are new, bought a bit over a year ago. Edited by scanferr - 06 Jan 2016 at 9:11pm