[ASUS Maximus III Formula]- won't post / boot and shows Red CPU LED

[trexmgd]

I've had my system running stable for years, but my stock Intel CPU cooler started growling so I figured it was time to swap it out. I removed the Intel Cooler, scrapped off the dry thermal paste, and installed a new Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus with the backing bracket and new thermal paste.

Well, ever since then, the system won't post or boot - not even getting video. What I do have is the Q LED CPU lit up Red.

I've cleared the CMOS via button, Removed and Reinstalled the Cooler master, removed & inspected the CPU, reinstalled everything, checked all power connectors and I still have the same failure to post w/ the Q LED CPU lit up Red.

I'm really at a loss here as this was a stable running system 10 minutes prior. Any thoughts?




Intel Core i7 860
4GB (2x2GB)GSkill DDR3-1600 [F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ]
ASUS Maximus III Formula BIOS 1202
Saphire Radeon HD5850 1GB GDDR5
2x2TB Hitachi Deskstars in RAID 1
160 GB Intel x25M Gen2 Boot Drive
Pioneer BDR-205 Blu-Ray/Multi Burner/Reader
Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

 

[skycake]

I don't know exactly what you meant, but "scraped off the dry thermal paste" sounds really scary to me. What exactly did you do to remove the old TIM? Usually the easiest way to do it is to wipe it off with isopropyl alcohol and coffee filters.

 

[EarthDog]

Did you remount the backplate for the Hyper 212?

 

[trexmgd]

I don't know exactly what you meant, but "scraped off the dry thermal paste" sounds really scary to me. What exactly did you do to remove the old TIM? Usually the easiest way to do it is to wipe it off with isopropyl alcohol and coffee filters.

I have a small plastic "scraper" that came with a tube of thermal paste. It's soft plastic and looks like a mini putty-knife. No worries, I didn't use a buck knife or a cheese-grater.

 

[trexmgd]

Did you remount the backplate for the Hyper 212?

I did not remove and remount the back plate for the CM 212.

Thoughts?


PS - I DID leave the backing material on the feet and back.

 

[EarthDog]

Im thinking there may be a short with that backplate...try a remount of it.

 

[trexmgd]

OK, I'll give that a shot... maybe even put some electrical tape around the feet.

 

[trexmgd]

OK, I removed the back plate for the CM 212, put electrical tape over the feet, and then remounted. I have checked and rechecked all power connections. I even pulled out a stick of ram. Everything else in the case lights up, spins, etc., so I don't think its a power issue.

Still won't post, still shows the CPU led in red.

 

[I.M.O.G.]

Have you tried each stick separately, in each slot? Not a likely fix, but I've had problems powering on that traced back to bad ram or a bad slot.

 

[luminehall]

Having very similar problems to the OP. Got mine to work briefly after taking out the battery and re-seating my GPU, only for the symptoms to show up again out of nowhere about one day later.

 

[skyline93]

OK, I removed the back plate for the CM 212, put electrical tape over the feet, and then remounted. I have checked and rechecked all power connections. I even pulled out a stick of ram. Everything else in the case lights up, spins, etc., so I don't think its a power issue.

Still won't post, still shows the CPU led in red.

I would try to find a system speaker and see if you can hear the beeps then consult the manual to decode the beeps.

Also would try and re-seat the CPU. I'm guessing you pulled it out to clean off the old TIM? If you did then it could have gone back in wrong and the pins could be off. Even if you didn't pull the CPU to clean off the TIM the minimal amount of force used to clean it could have moved the CPU in the socket.

 

[trexmgd]

Have you tried each stick separately, in each slot? Not a likely fix, but I've had problems powering on that traced back to bad ram or a bad slot.

Tried with each stick separately and in different slots. I'm desperate, so keep the ideas coming.

I would try to find a system speaker and see if you can hear the beeps then consult the manual to decode the beeps.

Also would try and re-seat the CPU. I'm guessing you pulled it out to clean off the old TIM? If you did then it could have gone back in wrong and the pins could be off. Even if you didn't pull the CPU to clean off the TIM the minimal amount of force used to clean it could have moved the CPU in the socket.

Speaker: I've got one installed and there are no sounds. It hangs before the beep would even happen.

CPU: The first time I didn't even pull it; I just wiped off the TIM from the top. I've since pulled it in an out a couple times, looked for bent pins in the socket, and still no obvious sign.

 

[trexmgd]

Well I finally got a hold of another 1156 i7 and I still get the same thing, so I'm guessing it's the board and not the CPU.

 

[luminehall]

Trex, Have you tried taking out your battery for about a minute before putting it back in and resetting your CMOS with the button on the back of the I/O panel?

 

[trexmgd]

Trex, Have you tried taking out your battery for about a minute before putting it back in and resetting your CMOS with the button on the back of the I/O panel?

Thanks for the response...

Yes, I tried taking the battery out and left it out overnight (about 18 hours) with the PS unplugged. I've pushed the clear cmos button many times and I've confirmed the jumper is in place for the button to function.

 

[luminehall]

Dang, well keep me updated on what you finally do to fix it, I have the same problem and it is driving me nuts.

 

[luminehall]

Fixed my problem! one of my PSU to MOBO power connections was lose. I can't believe I didn't see it. Trex it might be a power supply problem. Your new cooler may be pushing your PSU over the limit.

 

[trexmgd]

Fixed my problem! one of my PSU to MOBO power connections was lose. I can't believe I didn't see it. Trex it might be a power supply problem. Your new cooler may be pushing your PSU over the limit.

I'm glad you got yours up and running!

Unfortunately for me, I've checked and rechecked, and even unplugged and reconnected every power cable. My new cooler is just a CM 212 (heat pipes and fins) with a fan on it, so no way that is pushing me over any power limit.

 

[JJG]

Trexmgd did you ever find out what was causing your problem ? i am having the same issue. the cpu led is on... but its dimmer and none of the fan's connected to the fan hedders will spin.. this happen once before but i dont rember what i did to fix it.

 

[trexmgd]

Trexmgd did you ever find out what was causing your problem ? i am having the same issue. the cpu led is on... but its dimmer and none of the fan's connected to the fan hedders will spin.. this happen once before but i dont rember what i did to fix it.

I ended up having to RMA my board back to ASUS. I still don't know what happened during a simple fan swap, but in the end I could not get it back up and running.

Overall the RMA process went well, just a little delay with redundant questions in the beginning.