The problem The system won't fully start: it stops at Q-code "b6".
A bit of (useful) background Alright so I've been running this setup for a while (see bottom of post). When I first bought it I had some issues getting it to work because the system would have this exact issue. I solved this by replacing the motherboard to make sure it wasn't flawed, getting some other memory that had a better chance of being compatible and updating the BIOS. It then worked flawlessly with both CPUs for about two years. Now the error has come back, OUT OF NOWHERE. I haven't touched it, it just stopped working from one day to the other.
What I've tried so far
Boot with both CPUs separately: they work.
Tried with only two sticks of RAM: didn't work.
Updating the BIOS to the newest version: still nothing.
Made sure everything is correctly plugged in and that no connector pins are bent.
Made sure that no standoff screws are causing issues.
Please help, I don't know where to go from here. Could it be that my RAM has suddenly become incompatible and I need ECC ram instead?
Thank you in advance! :D
My setup Motherboard: Asus Z9PE-D8 WS CPUs: 2x Intel XEON E5-2630 v2 RAM: 4x4GB Kingston HyperX 2133MHz DDR3 GPU: Asus GTX780 CPU fans: 2x Noctua NH-U12S PSU: Fractal Design 1000W Newton R3
Before you proceed, tear the whole thing down and check VERY carefully for any bent pins and make sure everything is getting the proper power it needs.
With these boards, its pretty easy to fry something so be super careful and meticulous.
Try the graphics card in a different slot, somebody said that they were able to boot it only after changing the slot of the gfx card. Move it down two maybe?
I have checked everything, twice. All cables are properly plugged in, no bent pins. I've remounted the CPU and memory several times. It is not helping :(
I just checked using CPU-Z and in the BIOS settings and the RAM have defaulted to 1333mHz so we can rule that out. Do you think that maybe they switch when I insert the second CPU? Or maybe it's because the RAM aren't ECC. It still doesn't explain why this is suddenly happing though. Thanks a lot for helping me btw :)
Try different RAM. You SHOULD be running ECC on this board with these CPUs, Crucial or Micron would be your best bet, but it is really advisable to check the compatibility list for that board and buy whatever they say to buy because it has been tested and is known to work. I haven't really experienced any issues with Corsair RAM not working on anything either, but I still would go with whatever is tested.
You dont have to run ECC memory persé. That those particular 2133mhz hyper X rams are not realy working well with that board could ofc be a possibility. But that has basicly nothing to do with it not being ecc memory.
From what i understanding it only boots with one cpu installed, But not with 2 cpu´s installed? @tahcet Did you allready test if both cpu´s are working?
Correct. I've tested both CPUs in the primary CPU slot and they are both working. I've also made sure that the memory sticks are inserted in the correct slots (2 for each CPU).
This could of course be a solution but I want to try any other options before because this requires me to buy new components hehe. Also, it worked before so I don't know why they should suddenly become incompatible. Thanks for your help :D
Did you also tested all 4 memory sticks on the primary cpu socket? That you know for sure that all 4 sticks are working. Also double check all power connectors.
It might be just an issue with the motherboard, i´m not sure.
Alright so I've actually solved the problem! I tried with some other RAM that were actually on the motherboard memory compatibility list (Kingston ValueRAM - 8GB DDR3 1600MHz PC3-12800 ECC CL11) but it didn't really make any difference. Then it was basically down to the motherboard or the graphics card. Since I didn't want to go out and get a new mb, I tried moving the graphics card up a slot and hurray! IT WORKED :)
Such a stupid small change but hey, now it works! Thanks a lot for all your help. You guys are awesome :D