This system will activate solely when an external USB device is connected and powered on.
This system will activate solely when an external USB device is connected and powered on.
I just completed a build and noticed an unusual behavior. I upgraded my graphics card and CPU to a gaming model, along with new DDR5 RAM, but kept the same other parts from my previous setup. Oddly enough, the PC won’t power on unless a specific USB cable is connected to the back. After disconnecting everything, turning on the PSU and trying to jump the power pins didn’t work. Once I plugged in that USB cable, the MOBO lights came on and I could jump the pins—PC started working. After it powered up, everything functioned normally. I can safely unplug the USB cable without any problems. If I need to shut it down, I have to reinsert the cable. I’m unsure if this is connected, but I’ll list other issues that might be related. I’ve also been experiencing random shutdowns. The motherboard stays on with an orange light on the DRAM for about 30 seconds each time I restart or turn it on. Before that, it flashes white and goes through debug lights. My startup times have doubled compared to my old system. I changed the RAM to confirm it wasn’t the problem, but swapping in different RAM always causes failures. I almost always get stuck trying to apply a negative offset (-10) before resetting the BIOS. I updated the BIOS to the latest version, used the ezflash tool, and the system shut down immediately during the update. I tried flashing again via ezflash, but it stopped as soon as it started. I’m not sure if I should attempt another flash now. The load time is unusually high. Also, I re-seated the CPU after replacing it.
You have a cutting-edge security setup that outperforms Secure Boot. Upgrading the BIOS isn't necessary unless you're certain it adds value. It seems your problem isn't tied to the BIOS itself. Bricking the motherboard is a risk with BIOS updates, even if lower than before. Have you verified the condition of your CMOS battery? If it's failing, replacing it could be a simple solution. Another approach is swapping the PSU with a reliable one to confirm the issue isn't with the power supply. This process is known as memory training and is typical after major hardware changes or when the system is unplugged.
I'll swap out the CMOS battery. I have a couple of spares ready. This is the second PSU I've used; the first was an MSI 850-watt gold model, but I wasn't sure if that was the problem. I installed my 1000-watt unit from the old working rig. The BIOS update helped because it was running version ...08xx and the latest is 16xx. I'm experiencing stability issues, so the update should have made a difference. I'll let you know once the CMOS change is done. I also have another motherboard available to test tomorrow—just need to collect it from a coworker.
So, the new motherboard mostly solved my problems except for the power-on issue. I swapped out another PSU and it didn’t help. Now I’m going to remove the cable extensions to see if that fixes things. Here’s the latest update. The CMOS battery was at 3.21V on the old board, though I replaced it with a new one for safety. Still had a boot hangup. I think my crashes were due to a known ASUS sleep bug—system shuts down instead of waking up. I’ve even managed to undervolt the CPU on the new board where the old one would refuse to work if settings changed. I’ll try again after removing the extensions.