Cycling error code on an Asus Z10PE-D16 WS

I have just put together the following system:

  • Asus Z10PE-D16 WS
  • Xeon E5-2697 v3
  • 8x Samsung M393A2G40DB0-CPB dual rank 16GB ECC RDIMMs
  • Corsair AX1600i PSU
  • Noctua NH-U14S cooler

My initial test was to let it power up and monitor the LED error code display. When I did this it settled down into the following loop: 04 03 02 01 00.

The manual gives the following descriptions for those codes:

  • 04 - PCH initialization before microcode loading
  • 03 - System Agent initialization before microcode loading
  • 02 - AP initialization before microcode loading
  • 01 - Power on. Reset type detection (soft/hard).
  • 00 - Not used(!)

Has anyone encountered this before, as nothing showed up when I searched around? I am going to remove all but one of the memory sticks and check that the CPU is seated correctly and try again.

Addendum: I have already updated it to the latest BIOS using the BIOS flashback functionality, but this made no difference. The system is in a single CPU configuration, with all 8 RAM sticks on CPU1. I am providing power for both CPUs, however.

Okay, I have solved the problem. So as to not be DenverCoder9 here is what I did and what I found:

  • attached the VGA display port to the motherboard’s header and hooked it up to a monitor;
  • attached a keyboard;
  • powered the system up.

The system was actually POSTing but then repeatedly failing to find a boot device (as I had deliberately not attached one yet) and then rebooting.