Maximus IX Hero wont boot with memory slots A1/A2 populated

[mcleod52]

thanks for the update. Interesting outcome ....

[steelerman37]

thanks for the update. Interesting outcome ....

Yeah, it was very interesting to me since I did a bios update as part of my overall trouble shooting. What's REALLY interesting is that the bios that's currently on my Mobo isn't actually available on the Asus public download site. That tells me that something was hinky with my board that could only get rectified with a custom update. Not sure what's going to happen when I get a year or so down the line and decide to update it. Guess time will tell, but I'm not messing with it at all at this point.

[Raad11]

Yeah, it was very interesting to me since I did a bios update as part of my overall trouble shooting. What's REALLY interesting is that the bios that's currently on my Mobo isn't actually available on the Asus public download site. That tells me that something was hinky with my board that could only get rectified with a custom update. Not sure what's going to happen when I get a year or so down the line and decide to update it. Guess time will tell, but I'm not messing with it at all at this point.

What version BIOS does CPU-Z say you're running?

[qwertz]

Hi,
Is it possible that maximus hero came with bent pins or is it ruled out?
Does asus take it back?

[Joburgtaxi]

Hi,
Is it possible that maximus hero came with bent pins or is it ruled out?
Does asus take it back?

Hi all I was having pretty much the same issue with the Maximus ix hero where no matter what I did it would not see RAM chip in slot 1A, all of the other 3 slots were working but as soon as a chip was put in A1 it failed to post and boot with code 01 03 and CC. After hours of messing around I decided to pull th processor and with a magnified glass noticed one single pin in the processor socket was slightly bent. With a needle I managed to streighten the pin, reseat and thermal paist the processor and hey presto to my surprise it saw the memory in A1 slot the first time, I was also able to run memory in XMP which I was not able to before as the machine would not boot with XMP on.

Not sure if a bunch of these are coming out the factory with a bent pin bit as a few are having the same issue it seems possible. Will add a pic of the bent pin latter.*

[Tiberious_ST]

I don't mean to hijack, but everything described here also applies to my ROG Maximus Hero X Wi-fi
The system worked fine with all four memory slots working fine.....until it didn't, roughly 3 weeks after assembly.

Troubleshooting led me to the exact same outcome, the same error codes. The memory is all fully functional when swapped into B1 and B2, but if A1 and A2 are populated (or A1 OR A2) the system won't post.

I noticed a slight discoloration near the RGB header nearest the memory (and LED error readout) that seemed to be related to some form of short, so I didn't argue when ASUS had me RMA the board after failure to succeed with all the troubleshooting. Unfortunately when applying the CPU socket cover, my hand slipped and I bent a few pins, costing me $75 and creating, for ASUS, a distraction. I explained this to them and asked them to not focus on the CPU socket for the problem as it existed prior to the pins being bent. I sent the board in and waited. I received that board today, it had a new SN so I knew that it wasn't the same board, but it was clearly a used board. After reassembling my system it had EXACTLY the same problem as before, as so many of you have experienced.

I have requested a NEW board, rather than a used one, for RMA. I have no idea how this will transpire, but am in hopes of getting the board I paid for, fully functional.

If anyone has found a fix for this, I'm all ears.

Thanks,

Tib

[cobrien]

Just out of curiosity, you pc won't boot with 4 dimms at the same time, but do all dimms work? Because i couldn't make it boot with the A1/2 but worked fine with B1/2

I am having the same issue. All 4 dimms work but only 2 at a time, for me they only work in the last 2 slots furthest from the CPU. If I install the 2 slots closest to the CPU I get no post at all.

Newegg won't refund RMA unless ASUS says it's defective.

[jBrianj]

Slight variations in CPU pins on a motherboard can happen and is not normally immediately a defect. The pins just need to make proper contact. "Uneven pressure" is normally not an issue either, because only a certain voltage and amperage goes through the pins, as long as there's no short circuit and the pressure is high enough(and not too high).


For me what permanently resolved the issue: Place 2 sticks of RAM in either channels. Try to boot->It will fail with the "Failed to detect RAM" Q-code. No matter how many times you try, it wouldn't boot in A1 or in dual-channel(A or B).

Now after that, remove the cable from the CPU_FAN1 header. Try to boot->Should suddenly succeed. After the RAM succesfully booted once, I've never had an issue with booting every since, even with the CPU_FAN1 cable attached and working.

I never tried once to remove the CPU as I knew there couldn't have been anything wrong with the motherboard(brand new, CPU placed correctly in first try).


This behavior likely points to a (temporary) design defect in the motherboard hardware or firmware. What exactly it could be is beyond my knowledge.

[Trinod]

I wanted to detail my solution to this even though it's a 'little' late.

I built a new PC (not my first) back in 2017 I think - i7-7700K, Asus Hero IX, 32GB (2 X16GB) Ripjaws memory (on the approved list) and could never get it to boot into dual channel mode. Now I tried everything including having ALL the parts replaced under RMA. Having replaced essentially the entire PC I just gave up...

...recently I built a new PC in which I'm using AIO cooler and seeing the benefits I decided to get another one for my old PC, well long story short and well you can probably see what's coming...it will now boot into dual channel mode with the memory in A2 B2 all with stock settings.

I can only presume that the weight of Coolermaster CPU heatsink but have been applying the wrong pressure to the CPU, but I can't say for sure. Trust me previous to the cooler swap out I had tried seating and reseating the heatsink with varying amounts of pressure, standing it sideways, flat, out of the case all the usual steps.

So if anyone is still out there having this kind of issue, try a different cooler.

[stantheman01]

Hi,
Please let me know if anyone has managed to overcome this problem with only B1 and B2 memory sockets available?

I have had the same problem lately with the Maximus viii Hero Alpha when I rebuilt the pc in a new case. I installed Windows 11 which worked fine for a couple of days with 1 memory module in A2 and 1 memory module in B2 as recommended by ASUS. Then Windows reported a hardware issue and wanted the windows 11 system disk. I shut down instead, hoping to run BIOS setup, but the motherboard would not boot and no video output. I re-seated the CPU after checking the pins and re-seated the memory modules but still no BOOT. I was a bit concerned in case the new graphics card failed, when tested in another PC IT was working OK. I them swapped he memory modules and only got them to work in Slots B1 and B2. Looking at the same problem other users had, regarding distortion of motherboard, made me think that I fitted a Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 cooler to this motherboard and was not happy at the time to fit this cooler as the standoff Pillars are made of metal that lock on to the motherboard over visible circuits. Contacting Be Quiet! mentioning the insulation problem there claimed no problems with the product, but I them noticed on close inspection of the Pillars that they have in fact very thin almost invisible nylon washers attached to the bottom of the Pillar. So the sales team do not know their own product. I then decided to fit the cooler which fits quite tight to their own brackets. This may be the problem which has done damage to the motherboard. Intel coolers do not fit so tightly.

Stanford