- Aug 26, 2010
- 73
- 1
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About two months ago, my MSI X99S SLI Plus died. It stopped booting, both BIOS lights came on at the same time and the CPU fan connector stopped working too. Additionally, it killed my 5820k. Looking online, I am not the only one to have experienced this type of malfunction on this board, including it killing the processor (https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=252711.0).
Anyway, I RMAed processor to Intel and board to MSI, and the latter sent a refub board of the same make, which had two of its RAM slots non-functional. If they were populated, the board wouldnt POST.
On sending it back, I was sent a X99A SLI Plus, a board identical to the X99S, apart from two USB ports being USB 3.1 Type A. Here is the where the odd malfunction happens.
This board POSTed initially, I checked that all the ports and slots were working correctly, installed all my hardware and tested it for a few hours (RealBench, AIDA64). Everything seemed in order, so after doing some work, I turned it off for the night, which included turning off the PSU (as I normally do). Next morning I turned it on, to find that it didnt POST. Both BIOS lights were on again. Tried the alternate BIOS, got POST screen, but the board wouldnt go forward. The BIOS not currently selected would have its light flicker constantly.
Worried about having the processor killed again, I stopped experimenting at that point and sent the board back to MSI, after which they reported that the primary BIOS had been corrupted (for unknown reasons). They flashed it, and sent me a video to show that both BIOS were POSTing. I also ordered a new PSU, the Seasonic SS-850KM3 and all new cables, just to be sure. On getting the board back, I installed only the bare minimum hardware, CPU/cooler, RAM, one GPU, one HDD. Didnt even attach the front panel connectors or audio.
The board POSTed on the primary BIOS (though I had to clear it first), and booted. I made no changes to the BIOS settings or run any tests this time. I just ran the system, browsed, worked etc. Then at night, I shut down, including the power to the (new) PSU. Next morning, exact same problem as last time. No POST, both BIOS lights on.
I have sent the board back to MSI, and since it has been two months since the initial RMA, with no end in sight, I have bought a new ASUS X99-A board.
MSI has been very unhelpful throughout the whole ordeal, currently saying that they will keep sending back the same board after re-flashing since BIOS corruption isnt a component problem, and that leaving the board without power shouldnt matter.
Can anyone here tell me what could possibly be happening with that board? Why leaving it completely powered down overnight should cause this? I have read about other people with faulty hardware who would have POST problems if the left the system off a significant time, but not why this happens. Could it be something do with temperature changes? Keep in mind that I did cut the power to the board numerous times during installation, for short periods (first boot was with only 1 RAM stick, then while checking each RAM slot and PCI-E connector etc.), but that didnt cause a problem. Also, other mobo+processor combos I installed into the system between getting the board from MSI worked fine. Everything else was the same. My grounding is proper.
Other components:
i7 5820k
Noctua NH-D15 cooler
G.Skill 4x4GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
Zotac GTX 970 x2
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
WD Red 5TB
NZXT Phantom 530
Logitech G510+G402
CM Storm Sirus
TL;DR version: Replacement X99A SLI Plus primary BIOS gets corrupted when left overnight with no power (PSU off). Why?
Anyway, I RMAed processor to Intel and board to MSI, and the latter sent a refub board of the same make, which had two of its RAM slots non-functional. If they were populated, the board wouldnt POST.
On sending it back, I was sent a X99A SLI Plus, a board identical to the X99S, apart from two USB ports being USB 3.1 Type A. Here is the where the odd malfunction happens.
This board POSTed initially, I checked that all the ports and slots were working correctly, installed all my hardware and tested it for a few hours (RealBench, AIDA64). Everything seemed in order, so after doing some work, I turned it off for the night, which included turning off the PSU (as I normally do). Next morning I turned it on, to find that it didnt POST. Both BIOS lights were on again. Tried the alternate BIOS, got POST screen, but the board wouldnt go forward. The BIOS not currently selected would have its light flicker constantly.
Worried about having the processor killed again, I stopped experimenting at that point and sent the board back to MSI, after which they reported that the primary BIOS had been corrupted (for unknown reasons). They flashed it, and sent me a video to show that both BIOS were POSTing. I also ordered a new PSU, the Seasonic SS-850KM3 and all new cables, just to be sure. On getting the board back, I installed only the bare minimum hardware, CPU/cooler, RAM, one GPU, one HDD. Didnt even attach the front panel connectors or audio.
The board POSTed on the primary BIOS (though I had to clear it first), and booted. I made no changes to the BIOS settings or run any tests this time. I just ran the system, browsed, worked etc. Then at night, I shut down, including the power to the (new) PSU. Next morning, exact same problem as last time. No POST, both BIOS lights on.
I have sent the board back to MSI, and since it has been two months since the initial RMA, with no end in sight, I have bought a new ASUS X99-A board.
MSI has been very unhelpful throughout the whole ordeal, currently saying that they will keep sending back the same board after re-flashing since BIOS corruption isnt a component problem, and that leaving the board without power shouldnt matter.
Can anyone here tell me what could possibly be happening with that board? Why leaving it completely powered down overnight should cause this? I have read about other people with faulty hardware who would have POST problems if the left the system off a significant time, but not why this happens. Could it be something do with temperature changes? Keep in mind that I did cut the power to the board numerous times during installation, for short periods (first boot was with only 1 RAM stick, then while checking each RAM slot and PCI-E connector etc.), but that didnt cause a problem. Also, other mobo+processor combos I installed into the system between getting the board from MSI worked fine. Everything else was the same. My grounding is proper.
Other components:
i7 5820k
Noctua NH-D15 cooler
G.Skill 4x4GB DDR4 2400MHz RAM
Zotac GTX 970 x2
OCZ Vertex 2 120GB
WD Red 5TB
NZXT Phantom 530
Logitech G510+G402
CM Storm Sirus
TL;DR version: Replacement X99A SLI Plus primary BIOS gets corrupted when left overnight with no power (PSU off). Why?