Asrock Fatal1ty Z68 freezes/gives random debug codes on AHCI, Win7 won't boot

[ejplaysthecg]

I’ve an Asrock Z68 Fatal1ty Gen 3 motherboard that I purchased about 3 months ago for a self-built setup. Worked fine – except for the intermittent freezing while in Windows 7 which I could live with given its infrequent nature. Over the weekend, the freezing got worse up to the point when it refused to boot into Windows. Specifications are as below - it’s a simple build. UEFI firmware 1.30

Anyway, during the booting sequence, Dr. Debug posting a variety of debug/error codes (e.g. 00, 10, 15, 42, 46, 98, 99 among many others) before hanging and just stopping there. Thinking it was CMOS issue, I cleared the CMOS and removed the battery, and replicated the BIOS settings (settings that I used to install Win7) - but still got the random set of debug/error codes during the boot sequence and not getting to the UEFI stage (even with the SSD removed). The longer I left the computer off before attempting to reboot again, the further I got in the boot sequence but never to the UEFI to change the BIOS settings. Checked, and replugged all cables, checked for loose parts but to no avail.

At wit’s end and after clearing the CMOS again (this gets me to the UEFI if I hold the CMOS reset button long enough), and progressively making changes to the BIOS settings, I realize (but cannot be too sure) that by leaving the SATA mode to IDE I am able to get to the UEFI, but the moment (or moments) after I change it to AHCI (even before saving and rebooting) the entire system freezes. Restarting the PC is useless because it would just freeze/hang somewhere along the boot sequence at random stages. The furthest I reached was just before the pre-Win7 boot asking me if I wanted to start Windows normally or do a Startup Repair – I chose the latter but it just hung after that (starting Windows normally doesn't work too). Problem with using the IDE mode is that I’m not able to get into Windows (I installed Win7 in AHCI).

I would greatly appreciate any suggestions to rectify the problem – many thanks in advance!

Asrock Fatal1ty Z68 Gen3
Core i7 2600k
Corsair H100 cooling
16GB (4x4GB) Corsair DDR3 Vengeance
Crucial M4 128GB SSD
Onboard IGPU

[Acebmxer]

Try clearing clearing the cmos agin and removing the battery for 5-30 min. Start back up and try to enter the bios and loading optimized defaults (if Asrock uefi has a optimized default option) Then try flashing to the latest uefi bios for your board found here ASRock > Products > Motherboard > Fatal1ty Z68 Professional Gen3 > Download

[mike2977]

I had similar problems with my Z68 Fatality. I did extensive troubleshooting, replacing literally everything in the case with other components. I've since ordered and replaced the board with an Asus, and all my components are back to orginal configuration. No problems.

I've tried to contact Asrock Tech support since March 1st, but other than automated email confirmations, no contact by email or phone. Great help here in the forums which led me to believe that the board is the problem, but no way to get Asrock to respond so I can return it. That's $250 down the drain if they won't respond and too late to charge-back my credit card.