G1.Sniper Z97: Bootloop with "CPU PEI Initialization" (POST code 32)

[rfgamaral]

Hi there,

These are my specs which I have been using for more than 5 years now:

• Motherboard: Gigabyte G1.Ssniper Z97
• CPU: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz
• RAM: G.Skill Trident X 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3-2400
  

My system has been working fine for most of the time until a few months ago. I started to get a POST code 32 (CPU PEI Initialization) and the system reboot itself constantly at POST code 32. I couldn't figure out the problem and eventually switched the 2 RAM sticks to the other 2 available slots and the system started working fine again...

A month ago this started to happen again and I did the same, switched the 2 RAM sticks back to the original slots. The system booted fine. I restarted and the system booted fine. I restarted again and the system continued to boot fine, good. However, powering the system down (or hibernate) and trying to power it back up, it went back to boot looping with POST code 32. I switched the RAM sticks again and it booted fine. Restarting the machine works. Powering it down requires the RAM sticks to be switched around to make the system boot (until I need to power it down or hibernate it).

During this time I tried clearing the CMOS via the button and the jumper pins, I took the battery out and even replaced it with a brand new but nothing seems to fix the problem. I used MemTest86+ and still nothing, no errors whatsoever have been reported, the RAM appears to be fine).

My RAM allows for overclocking and as far as I know I ran a few years with the RAM overclocked but a year or so ago the OS was a bit unstable so I turned the overclocking off (maybe this damaged the motherboard somehow). This to say that I bought new RAM, with the exact frequency my motherboard supports without overclocking and nothing, it didn't solve the issue, the machine still didn't boot without constantly switching the RAM sticks. So I returned the new RAM.

That's when I decided to try something new, I switched to the secondary BIOS, applied the defaults and the system booted. Powered it down, powered it back up, and it worked. Did this a couple more times and it worked every time. I've been running with the secondary BIOS and the default configuration for a month, until today! Now it happened again and I'm back at the RAM sticks switching dance to get the system to boot after powering it down.

I can't find many information about this error code online nor I can find many people reporting the same problem as me but I've read somewhere that the PSU could also be the culprit here? I'm not sure, how could the PSU cause all this?

I don't know what else to try to fix this problem. I wasn't looking forward to upgrade my motherboard, CPU and RAM so soon, not for a couple more years. But I'm not sure I have any other choice if I can't find a way to consistently fix this issue, or at least pinpoint the problem so I can weight all my options and decide what's best for me.

Any thoughts about this? What can I do?

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
There is no quick fix for this error.

It can have more than one cause.  While troubleshooting I would use set up defaults in BIOS. 

I'd start by reseating everything.  (Everything) The CPU too.

If you have other memory to test with and this resolves the behavior, you have your answer.  I was going to suggest mem-testing the memory, but it might not be possible in your situation.

If the above doesn't help. the board or CPU might have suffered some kind of hardware related failure.

But its going to come down to:

Memory
Aggressive BIOS settings
Component issue (re-seating) might help
or
Hardware failure   

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
There is no quick fix for this error.

It can have more than one cause.  While troubleshooting I would use set up defaults in BIOS. 

I'd start by reseating everything.  (Everything) The CPU too.

I was going to suggest mem-testing the memory, but it doesn't appear this is the problem.

If the above doesn't help. the board, CPU or other component might have suffered some kind of hardware related failure.

But its going to come down to:

Memory
Aggressive BIOS settings
Component issue (re-seating) might help
or
Hardware failure   

[rfgamaral]

Greetings,
There is no quick fix for this error.

It can have more than one cause.  While troubleshooting I would use set up defaults in BIOS. 

I'd start by reseating everything.  (Everything) The CPU too.

If you have other memory to test with and this resolves the behavior, you have your answer.  I was going to suggest mem-testing the memory, but it might not be possible in your situation.

If the above doesn't help. the board or CPU might have suffered some kind of hardware related failure.

Like I mentioned in my first post, I have done all that before a couple of times and nothing solved the issue definitely.

I've set the defaults in BIOS countless times. I have tested brand new RAM and I have mem-tested the memory for long hours too. Nothing seem to fix it.

Memory
Aggressive BIOS settings
Component issue (re-seating) might help
or
Hardware failure   

I've ready similar issues stating he PSU could be at fault too, do you think that's possible?

[shadowsports]

Greetings,
There is no quick fix for this error.

It can have more than one cause.  While troubleshooting I would use set up defaults in BIOS. 

I'd start by reseating everything.  (Everything) The CPU too.

If you have other memory to test with and this resolves the behavior, you have your answer.  I was going to suggest mem-testing the memory, but it might not be possible in your situation.

If the above doesn't help. the board or CPU might have suffered some kind of hardware related failure.

Like I mentioned in my first post, I have done all that before a couple of times and nothing solved the issue definitely.

I've set the defaults in BIOS countless times. I have tested brand new RAM and I have mem-tested the memory for long hours too. Nothing seem to fix it.

Memory
Aggressive BIOS settings
Component issue (re-seating) might help
or
Hardware failure   

I've ready similar issues stating he PSU could be at fault too, do you think that's possible?

Greetings,
I don't see anywhere in your post where you said you had reseated everything.  Swapping memory to different slots  and replacing the CMOS battery does not constitute "reseating everything".  Its good that you tried with different DIMMs, but this only rules out an issue with one component. 

If you did do all of these things then you are reaching an impasse. 

With that in mind, I would suggest the following;

If you have not truly removed and reseated all components, do so.

Test with everything but the memory and CPU disconnected.  Do you get past the error?

Power supply, could this be an issue, sure, but probably not likely.  I would lean more toward a BIOS, components or other hardware related failure.  Testing as many scenarios as possible with as few components will help to isolate the cause.

In the end, it might be impossible to definitively identify the problem as it might be masked or hidden.  Good luck.   


 

[rfgamaral]

I reflashed the latest BIOS version for my motherboard and for now everything is working as expected... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[goblues39]

I reflashed the latest BIOS version for my motherboard and for now everything is working as expected... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If it happens again, try disabling Memory Fast Boot in BIOS.  I had the same exact issue on my Z97x board and it solved it.

[dgleo138]

After an electrical fault occured at my house, I turned on my pc but I get no image and got a loop of codes on my Z97x board. I tried many solutions but none of them worked. Only this solution really worked for me. Thank you goblues39

If it happens again, try disabling Memory Fast Boot in BIOS.  I had the same exact issue on my Z97x board and it solved it.