Z97P-D3 - Boot Loop

[Westz]

Hello,

First of all, the machine specs:

- Intel core i7 4790K
- MSI GTX 970
- Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3 1600mhz
- Corsair 750W PSU
- Gigabyte Z97P-D3 Intel LGA1150 Z97 ATX Motherboard

So, I've been having boot loop issues with this machine for.. months. I've tried everything I could think of and still no avail.

Tested with different RAM, no luck.
Tested the PSU outside of the Mobo, it's fine.
Disconnected everything from the PC but the CPU/PSU/Mobo, it still boot loops.

Sometimes when it reaches POST, the loading circle goes around for a while and then just freezes and the PC never boots. Then all I can do is restart and hope after its many 5-500 reboots it will get past POST. Sometimes Overclocking the CPU bypasses the freeze on POST, but not always.

I was led to believe the issue was the motherboard, I had someone else look at it too and they believed it to be the Mobo as well.. so I bought a replacement which arrived yesterday. I disassembled the PC and fitted the new board, no change. Still the exact same symptoms as with the previous board.

The old board BIOS version was F7 (I think) and the new Board has had no BIOS updates as of yet, I will be doing this when I'm home later today. Any thoughts before I start fiddling around with the BIOS? Also my Room is pretty cold at the minute so not sure if the temperature of the Mobo has anything to do with it, not really tried warming it up before booting but might try that as well.

Any help would be appreciated

[absic]

Hi there,

having faced a very similar situation (with an ASUS Mobo) which I have spent several months trying to resolve, I think I may have sorted the issue I was facing by switching off Fast BOOT in BIOS.

The PC still starts just as quickly as before but there is no BOOT loop since I disabled this option.

I am running Windows 10 Pro 64 bit and the problem became worse after a couple of recent updates so I'm wondering if something within the EFI BOOT manager has been altered by Microsoft, which is affecting the Fast BOOT.

Not saying that this is the cause, but it is worth exploring this option, if only to eliminate it from the troubleshooting list.

[Westz]

Hey,

Thanks for this i'll bare that in mind, I've moved the machine next to the radiator as it was near the window in a room that can get quite cold, it boot looped once and booted up fine after that which is unheard of. Might just be a coincidence though so i'll continue troubleshooting if I have issues again tomorrow

[absic]

Although temperature may be an issue, especially if it is too cold, a note of caution with putting it to close to the radiator as you may start suffering from overheating.

If you find that the problem has in fact improved, I would check that there are no loose components on the motherboard or a lost screw in the PC case which may have settled/moved when you shifted the case.

[Westz]

Thanks for the response, It's not close enough to the Radiator that it will overheat (hopefully)

The heating in my house is on a timer so I have no control when it goes off/on (I rent). When the heating was on, it booted within about 30 seconds, then later in the night after the PC had been on for a few hours I turned it off, The heating was off so I tried to boot again and no avail. Potentially a heat thing? not sure. Might just be a coincidence, I'm going to take it to someone elses house over the weekend to see if I have the same issues

[dmdilks]

Tested the PSU outside of the Mobo, it's fine.

You said you Tested the PSU outside of the Mobo. Is that on another motherboard or just outside of the case. Have tried another PSU? I don't think it is the motherboard. You have two boards doing the same thing. 

Temperature in the room how low does it get? My computer room gets cold at times and I don't have any problem with computers booting. If it is getting that cold in the room that you might getting moisture in the computer.

I had a X58 board one time doing kind of the same thing. It did the boot loops, just restart for no reason, bsod coming out sleep mode. It was the PSU 24 pin plug. At one point one of the pins overheated and it wasn't getting a good connection. The plastic had melted around the one pin.

I would try everything out of the case PSU, MB, CPU, Memory, video card & HHD to see if you get the same thing. 
 

[Westz]

The PSU was just outside the case and it seemed to be fine

Can rule out the temperature, was just a shower thought

The issues are generally only whilst trying to boot, if I successfully get into Windows (can take any unspecified amount of time) then it will be fine until turned off again. Never BSOD, Never just randomly turns off.. I've left it on for days and had no problems until turning off and trying to power back on.

I'm gonna take a look at the Front panel items later to see if that makes a difference. Otherwise i'll try booting outside the case over the weekend if I have time

Thanks for the advice, i'll report back if any joy

[Westz]

Doesn't seem to be anything to do with the Front Panel, it doesn't have a reset button so no problems there, tried reseating it on the Mobo with no luck. Used the jumpers to boot and still having issues

Whenever it fails to boot it looks like the power isn't getting to the Motherboard (and in turn the CPU) so I guess the power is being lost somewhere between the PSU and the Motherboard

[shadowsports]

Falling in line what others have suggested, I would recommend testing with a different PSU as well.  I know you said it was bench tested, but anomalies like this only appear at start up when the system goes from zero to load.  If you can test the voltages with a meter and are so inclined that's fine too.  I always keep a spare on hand, but that's just me.   

Some USB devices (or in combination) might cause this behavior.  Keyboards, mice, etc

I'd also try disabling Fast Start Up under Power Options in the OS.  The second machine in my sig won't run with this enabled since the Anniversary update last August.  In my case its resume from sleep related.  This system was rock solid under W7, and fine after upgrade to 10, but not since last year.  Hope this helps and good luck.   

[Westz]

Thanks for the reply, Yeah i've ordered a new PSU which will be arriving tomorrow so i'll try that and report back. I'm beginning to think it might be the PSU to be honest, tried almost everything else I could get hold of a spare for.

I've tried Breadboarding the PC but still have issues, tried with literally no USB devices plugged in so doesn't seem to be this either.

I think I've tried Regular boot, fast boot and super fast boot and didn't seem to solve anything sadly which is leading to me to believe the PSU is just dead. honestly tried changing every BIOS setting I could think of, to be honest even best know config doesn't work 80% of the time so no idea

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

>>> Fast Start Up under Power Options in the OS.  Could be a goose chase but worth trying in any event.

All are hoping you'll have good news when you post again. 

[Westz]

Hey,

Thanks i'll take a look at this later, to be honest 90% of the things i've tried are probably a goose chase but at this point i'm almost willing to try anything that could potentially fix this

Bad news back on my previous message, new PSU didn't solve a thing. so at least I know it's not that PSU

Unless i've got some broken settings within the BIOS or Windows somewhere, pretty sure my CPU has died, it's under warranty so if the CPU is 100% dead it's definetly going back to the manufacturers as I don't fancy forking out ~£300 on a new Processor