[Solved] Gigabyte EX58-UD3R reboot loop

I got a Gigabyte EX58-UD3R recently. It was working fine, no problems. I attempted to add some extra RAM to it, but it didn't work, never POSTed or beeped. So I turned it off, took the extra RAM out, everything else was exactly the way it was before.

Now it has the infamous reboot loop issue. I turn it on, it starts for about 4-5 seconds and turns off, then turns on again shortly after. No POST, no way to get into the BIOS. I did see the "Recovering BIOS ..... " message appear at one point, but it hasn't appeared since.

I've tried resetting the CMOS by taking the battery out for 1 hr and putting it back in, starting with 1 stick of RAM, starting with no RAM or videocard, etc. Nothing seems to help.

Any ideas? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the reply, but according to http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/m [...] x58-ud3r/1 , the rear CMOS clear button is not on this motherboard. And page 24 of the manual talks about fan connectors.

Thanks for the tips, I will get back to you. I already tried unplugging every USB device from it. Although all of those USB devices were working fine with it before this happened.

Do you have a case speaker installed? Any beeps? What, exactly, is happening when the reboot happens? Do you appear to be getting into, or through, the POST?

I'm thinking it's time to remove and 'flip' the MOBO; it has happened a number of times before, that someone is either reseating existing/seating new RAM/video cards, and either cracks a lock pin, or dislodges an incompletely seated and locked heatsink/fan fastening clip/pin; the MOBO will repeatedly power up, and attempt to POST, but as the HSF can't properly 'spill' heat, the CPU trips PROCHOT, and goes immediately into thermal shutdown (and with incomplete HSF/TIM coupling, you'd be amazed how blindingly fast this happens - I can't recall, off-hand, what the 775 specs say, but an i7 has, according to Intel, one-half second after a PROCHOT trip to 'molten silicon!); does a restart, rinse, lather, repeat...

...and that's pretty much what it will do, without RAM - sit there forever! The first couple functions of the BIOS' 'boot block' are to initialize the 'hook-up' to the memory (and, with these platforms, I don't even think it has to initialize the IOH, like it does on 775s, where the memory controller resides on the northbridge), 'ennumerate' it, and copy the BIOS to RAM for execution; this is how the boot block handles recovery of a bad BIOS - if it can't accurately 'checksum' the working copy of the BIOS in EEPROM, it 'reverts', and copies the BIOS shipped in ROM (which you can't 'futz' with, short of a soldering iron!) to RAM for execution, with a couple 'flags' set, that tell it to tell you about the BIOS situation, and offer you options to correct it... With no RAM, the system never fully iniatializes, nor POSTs, nor runs... Another thing worth checking (though the usual 'tell-tale' is initialization with 'missing RAM'), is the tiny pins/hooks/connectors, whatever you wanna call them, in the socket, being bent -(more of an 1156 problem, though) they are so delicate, it only takes the lightest little disturbance to bend them, usually with bizarre, and sometimes shifting, results... Intel inspection procedure here:
http://www.intel.com/support/proce [...] 030850.htm

Thanks for the reply, however the power supply I was using previously was working fine with it, so I don't see how it suddenly started disliking it. Possibly I can find a backup power supply to test it out with.

The power supply is a Corsair TX750