Asrock z77 Extreme 4 problems

[Kenneth Truyers]

Hello everybody,

Yesterday I built my new rig and I'm having some problems at the moment.

This is the configuration:

Motherboard: AsRock z77 Extreme 4
CPU: Intel Core i7 3770K
RAM: 2 x 8GB 1600Mhz
PSU: Corsair HX650
SSD: Samsung 840 Pro
HDD: Seagate Barracuda
Case: CoolerMaster Silencia 650

When I built my setup yesterday, it booted perfectly fine, I installed windows and it was running OK although I did have a few minor issues:
- If I shut down from windows, the PC didn't shut down but rebooted
- After a few times I managed to shut it down, but then the rear case fan and the CPU cooler were still going on (upon switching off, the CPU temp was 35 C, and I left it for an hour and they were still running)

So far so good, I left it at that yesterday and decided I'd take a look at these items today.
When I started the system today, I did have a bigger problem though beause I had no video (tried replacing HDMI for DVI but no luck)
Apart from that the system speaker didn't beep either and the Dr Debug which is part of the mainboard (an internal display which shows error codes) were also not working.

I went over all the cables and connections again and I found a problem:
The front panel has two different USB connecters: a double and a single. The double one was connected correctly but the single one was plugged into CIR1 of the mainboard (which is a port for a remote control)
So I unplugged this one and put it in a USB plug. When I did this, the PC went into a loop: the fans would switch on for about half a second, stop, wait 3 seconds and do the same again.

So now I'm in a situation were either:
- I leave the frontpanel's USB plug in the CIR1 plug (which doesn't make sense to me) => The PC starts but I have no video
- I plug in the USB in the correct port => The PC goes into a boot loop.

Does anyone have any idea about what might be wrong?

If you need more information, please ask!

With kind regards and thanks in advance

[- wardog -]

Phew, USB connected to the CIR huh.

Have you tried clearing the BIOS by unplugging from the wall, remove the CMOS battery, and set the CLRCMOS jumper and let it sit like that a few minutes.

The rejiigger back, power from the wall last thing to reconnect, and see what happens when you try to boot.

[Kenneth Truyers]

Hello,

I have tried to reset the BIOS in the following ways:

Unplug the power and take out the CMOS battery and then:

- Push the CMS reset switch for 5 seconds
- Put the jumper on the CMOS reset pins

It didn't change anything.

Also, I have done another test:
I took everything out of the case and tested the setup with just the PSU, Motherboard and the CPU fan on an isolated surface.
It still does the same thing: power up and shut down immediately, and repeat this every 3-5 seconds.

I've also noticed that when I plug in the USB connector on the CIR header it starts up and the fan stays on . This happens even when the USB is not powered up (completely disconnected from the PSU).
At the moment I think the motherboard is just broken. Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks for your help.

[- wardog -]

Look closely at every USB header and also the CIR header that all the pins are straight and not one that may have folded over and causing a short against an adjacent pin.

Also look for missing pins. Pins that may have dislodged and now are remaining in the cable end connector.

[Kenneth Truyers]

Hm,

I checked all the pins but I can't see anything wrong.
Does anyone have an idea why it goes into the loop while it's not connected to the CIR but seems to stay switched on when it is connected?

This is very strange to me.

[parsec]

Who knows what happened with the USB plug connected to the CIR header, that's the Consumer Infrared remote control connector. Don't do that, it does nothing and is just wrong.

You lost me on this statement: "I've also noticed that when I plug in the USB connector on the CIR header it starts up and the fan stays on . This happens even when the USB is not powered up (completely disconnected from the PSU)."

What do you mean by the USB disconnected from the PSU? How are you connecting "the USB" to the PSU?

[Kenneth Truyers]

Hello,

Yes, I realised that it was a mistake. I did this accidentally because there was a double USB connector and a single one which where very close together (on the cable I mean) and the CIR header is right beneath the USB connector and they fitted perfectly. That was definitely a mistake.

What I mean by connecting the USB - power thing is that I have only connected PSU, main board and CPU fan and nothing else. Even in that case, the behavior is the same.
Actually, now I realise the statement is just plain stupid as the USB gets it's power through the connector. Sorry, my bad.

Do you think that connecting the USB to the CIR header might have broken the motherboard?

[parsec]

Wait a second, I am wrong about the CIR header.

Question first, the single USB header you mentioned in your first post, that was connected to the CIR header, is that plug a four pin USB to mobo connector, or a nine pin USB to mobo connector?

The CIR header is placed next to the USB header, with matching pin spacing, by design, on purpose. In order to use the CIR/remote control feature on this board, a separate remote control receiver must be connected to the PC, via a USB port. That USB port becomes a dedicated connection for the remote control receiver. The cable from that USB port must use a nine pin USB to mobo connector (or two four pin connectors?), with one row of pins on the CIR header, and another row of pins on the USB header. This is explained on page 34 of the manual, with clear pictures. So my bad, too.



Given the pin assignments of the CIR and USB headers, I can't see how connecting a USB to mobo connector to the CIR header would damage anything. The power and ground pins are in the same location, and the other pins are the signal/data pins. Plus, the CIR header +5V pin is powered by the +5V Stand By source of the PS, which is not incompatible with USB power standards, which is +5V.

Bottom line, I don't think anything was damaged connecting it as you did, since the PC ran fine with it that way at first. Did you ever connect anything to that USB header on the case? Or never used it?

Have you tried disabling the CIR feature in the BIOS? It is enabled by default. If you can get into Windows, it would be interesting to see what your original connection to the CIR header was interpreted as by Windows, in Device Manager.

Sorry, this is not really helping much. BTW, what OS are you using?

[Kenneth Truyers]

Hello,

First of all, thank you very much for your time to answer.

The plug I connected to the CIR was a four pin connector, and above that I connected the 9 pin connector.

I am not sure whether I attached anything to that particular USB port, but the only thing I connected to the USB ports was a wireless mouse and keyboard dongle (which worked fine when the PC was working).
At the moment I can't boot the PC, so I can't check the device manager (I'm using Windows 8 Pro).

I also can't disable the CIR header in the BIOS, since it won't even get to POST.

At the moment I'm inclined to think that the motherboard is faulty and I should probably just get a replacement.
Is there a possibility that it's actually the PSU instead of the motherboard?

Wait a second, I am wrong about the CIR header.

Question first, the single USB header you mentioned in your first post, that was connected to the CIR header, is that plug a four pin USB to mobo connector, or a nine pin USB to mobo connector?

The CIR header is placed next to the USB header, with matching pin spacing, by design, on purpose. In order to use the CIR/remote control feature on this board, a separate remote control receiver must be connected to the PC, via a USB port. That USB port becomes a dedicated connection for the remote control receiver. The cable from that USB port must use a nine pin USB to mobo connector (or two four pin connectors?), with one row of pins on the CIR header, and another row of pins on the USB header. This is explained on page 34 of the manual, with clear pictures. So my bad, too.



Given the pin assignments of the CIR and USB headers, I can't see how connecting a USB to mobo connector to the CIR header would damage anything. The power and ground pins are in the same location, and the other pins are the signal/data pins. Plus, the CIR header +5V pin is powered by the +5V Stand By source of the PS, which is not incompatible with USB power standards, which is +5V.

Bottom line, I don't think anything was damaged connecting it as you did, since the PC ran fine with it that way at first. Did you ever connect anything to that USB header on the case? Or never used it?

Have you tried disabling the CIR feature in the BIOS? It is enabled by default. If you can get into Windows, it would be interesting to see what your original connection to the CIR header was interpreted as by Windows, in Device Manager.

Sorry, this is not really helping much. BTW, what OS are you using?