New build, MSI motheboard won't boot but fans and leds on debug led flashing D0

[Chuckazulu]

Hie. I decided to build a gaming PC but i have encountered a major problem and i need help.

My system is as follows:
Msi Z97m gaming Mobo
I5 4690k processor
Hyper Fury 4GB twin RAMs
XFX Pro 750W black edition
Hyper 212 Evo cooler
Cooler Master N400 case

I don't have a graphics card installed yet

I followed one of the many guides here and i believe i did everything required. When the time came to boot the PC, nothing was displayed on the monitor and the motherboard speaker didn't produce any beeps even though the fans and leds were on. The debug led keeps flashing 'D0' and the 'reset' button keeps flashing as well. The case power led does the same. When i turn the system off, the blue MSI Led begins to flash and doesn't stop up until i turn the PSU off.

After further research i tried breadboarding and when i tried to boot with just the cpu, cooler and PSU, the problem is still there and the mobo speaker still didn't produce any sound. By the way 'D0' error code is 'Late CPU initialization' according to the Mobo manual.

Tried to clear the CMOS a couple of times to no avail.
Both the 24pin and the CPU pin are connected and well seated
Checked if the CPU is well seated and if the pins are bent but nope, everything looks top notch

I've run out of ideas now and I'm going to bed sad and without any hope. I live very far from all the privileges of returning any faulty componets and i don't have any place where i can test the parts. I'm in desperate need of help so if you've got any ideas, please let me know.

Thanks.

 

[tsnor]

Double check both power wires from the PSU are correctly plugged into the motherboard. (the 24 pin one and the 4/8 pin one).

Did you breadboad have just the CPU, psu and MB, no other wires? If you have power and you have plugged power wires correctly then one of those three parts is bad. Try reseating the CPU and look for bent pins. Then RMA your choice of MB or power supply. If you have a PSU you can borrow from another PC you can check if its the PSU. It's rarely the CPU. GL.

update: yes my post asks you to recheck stuff you checked. assuming its not power then you are stuck RMA;ing parts which is a pain. oh, and double check the bios level that is in your MB is one that supports the I5 4690k. Devils canyon came out after z97 chipset. I just built a MSI z97 / i5-4690k system that boots fine, but with the current bios the 4690k is not recognized for OC;ing.

 

[Chuckazulu]

Yes, i had the CPU, MB and PSU only when breadboarding with the 24pin and 8pin connectors of course.
Checked the power wires again and they are correctly plugged in.
I removed the CPU and made a thorough check on the pins but they all look fine.
Tested the PSU on a friend's rig and it managed to power it.
When i removed the CPU, i tried to power the Mobo without any other components and it responded the exact same way as when everything is connected.

So it could be the MB or the CPU is faulty but as you have suggested, the Bios could be the problem too and i think that's the most likely fault here. How do i check the bios version without booting? and any other way i can upgrade it without buying another processor?

Thanks for reply by the way.

 

[tsnor]

Do you want to try your CPU in your friends MB? If it works then know your MB is bad.

MSI might be able to give you the BIOS support statement from the serial # of the board. I would email (not post publicly) the serial number. Some ASUS boards will load a bios w/o a CPU, but not my cheap MSI board. I did not check your board. MSI support may also be able to help there.

If it turns out to be the BIOS version and MSI can't help then look on ebay for a really slow/cheap 1150 celeron that is supported by the MB. For example I upgraded a socket 1155 pc for a friend from a 1.6ghx single core to an i3. The old cpu chip is worth nothing to me. People with more energy than me ebay this type of chip very cheaply. As you've guessed, you use the cheap chip to load the lastest BIOS then you replace with the i5 and sell or discard the cheap CPU.

p.s. "..When i removed the CPU, i tried to power the Mobo without any other components and it responded the exact same way as when everything is connected..." nice test.

 

[Chuckazulu]

Alright, lemme try what you've suggested and i'll let you know how it goes. Thanks again

 

[Chuckazulu]

Hello, I thought it wise that I update this post as it may be of use to some other people. I managed to test the MOBO and the CPU using a friend's setup. Wasn't easy as he lives in another city far from mine but I had to and I went to see him with my components.

It turns out the CPU is ok but the motherboard is kind of faulty. The reason I'm saying it is 'kind of' faulty is because it managed to boot using my friend's i7 4770 and was fully operational. We updated the bios even though MSI advised me the bios installed on the board, from the serial # I sent them, was supposed to be fully compatible with my CPU (i5 4690k). Nevertheless, we still updated it.

After the update, we tried if it would now work with my CPU and alas, it still didn't. Tried my friend's CPU again and it worked but the bios reverted to the original state -odd. We tried this a couple of times but to no avail. So I'm guessing something is wrong with the Motherboard.

Anyway, I got another board. A major downgrade as it is the Gigabyte H81M S2PV and it worked without any problems. Sucks but I think it will do for now as I save more money to get a much better board. So If any of you know a Motherboard that can overclock and is future proof (supports 5th generation CPUs) let me know please -no MSI for now though.

PS: Returning the board is not an easy option for me as I live in Africa but I got the board when I was in Canada. Imagine the only 4th generation board I managed to find in my city was the one I got. We're so far behind. Anyway, many thanks to @tsnor