Z170 Extreme6. New build. Wont post, error 99.

[Jeff G]

According to asrock, this is a pcie error. I have no pcie devices hooked up. I have literally nothing hooked up but cpu, ram, fans, and power header.
I've been searching for hours, and tried everything I've found, nothing works.
Monitor turns on, but stays a black screen.
Clear CMOS did nothing.
If I hook up a keyboard and press 'delete' when its sitting there, it will go from 99 to Ab (or A6). Still no change though, just a black screen.
Using the onboard video with a 6700k. Tried a hdmi monitor and a dvi-d monitor, same thing on both.

 

[Nebulous]

No pcie video card to try out? Check cpu socket for bent pins as well.

Looks like you've tried everything I would suggest. Only thing left is RMA.

 

[Jeff G]

I have a video card, I haven't tried it yet though. I was hoping to get it to at least post before I started adding in all my other parts (to make sure cpu/mobo were good).

 

[Nebulous]

Gotcha. Well at this point you have nothing to lose if you install the video card. Check and recheck your connections before powering on

*edit*

When you stated you cleared the cmos, how do you do that? Did you remove the cmos battery or use the clear cmos button?

 

[Jeff G]

Used the button. Following the AsRock manual, i killed the power and hit the button. I suppose i can remove the battery too at this point.

 

[LutaWicasa]

and power header.

That include the 12 volt ATX plug?

 

[Jeff G]

24pin and 8pin plugs are both plugged in. I suppose i could re-seat them to make sure.

 

[LutaWicasa]

Also, as Neb mentioned....pull inspect and reseat the proc. Yeah, it's a PITA but....

 

[Jeff G]

Also, as Neb mentioned....pull inspect and reseat the proc. Yeah, it's a PITA but....

Especially since its a custom water loop that has to come apart...again.

 

[LutaWicasa]

Especially since its a custom water loop that has to come apart...again.

I gotta ask.....why would you hook all that up prior to checking the viability of hardware?

 

[Jeff G]

I gotta ask.....why would you hook all that up prior to checking the viability of hardware?

The 6700k comes with no cooler. So i pretty much had to hook it up before powering as I have no other coolers.

- - - Updated - - -

And after hours of reading, it seems like a common problem with the 6700k due to outdated bios on the board. The solution is to swap to a different processor to update the bios. How fun...

 

[LutaWicasa]

As much as I built/tinker....I guess I'm just used to keepin' odds'n'ends around just for troubleshootin' purposes.

Glad ya mentioned that as I am about to build a rig with same cpu and mobo....
Now to find a spare proc around here just in case

 

[Jeff G]

I have two other skylake builds with asrock boards, but they're lower end builds for htpc usage. This is my first non-amd high end gaming build, I pretty much sold all my amd stuff whem I decided to switch to Intel.
I could always pull one of them apart, but that means i have to do it when nobody is using them and hope that it works :/
I still havent tried a dedicated gpu, I'll try that before tearing apart two pcs.

 

[LutaWicasa]

I have two other skylake builds with asrock boards

Those are also w/cooled?
If not, just borrow the hs/fan from one for a test, or pop out to a brick and mortar and grab a cheap one

 

[Jeff G]

Man. I need more sleep.
Alright, im finishing this out with my process of events for anyone else that has this issue.
My main monitor is a 1440p running off dvi-d. The hd 530 doesn't support 1440p through dvi (not a dual link).
After finding that out, i pulled out an old 1200p hdmi monitor. Still no luck (which is when I started troubleshooting everything else).
I finally caved and was about to pull the cpu, so I moved my monitor out of the way. When I went to pick it up the monitor, the hdmi cable was barely dangling in the plug
Reseated it and all is good. Cant believe I missed something so stupid.
And the error 99 seems to be not an error, just what the board reads normally.

 

[Nebulous]

If you have a MicroCenter nearby, you can always purchase a lowend cpu just to update the bios on your board, then return it for a refund.

As Luta stated: I'm also a junk collector and try to keep spare parts onhand for these troubleshooting adventures

 

[LutaWicasa]

the hdmi cable was barely dangling in the plug

Welp...that should remind us all about some basic troubleshootin' rules. First...check all connections

 

[Nebulous]

Welp...that should remind us all about some basic troubleshootin' rules. First...check all connections

Agreed! Dodged a bullet there bro. If the board has posted and on desktop, and the board's LED reads "99" (without the quotes), then that means everything is running normally on the board.

 

[Jeff G]

Im only at the bios right now, but it seems to be running fine. Gotta format my ssd and reload windows now.
Im not thrilled with my 40° idle temp though. May have to pull the waterblock off and reseat it eventually anyway :/

 

[LutaWicasa]

Im not thrilled with my 40° idle temp though.

Pump plugged in?