System boots slow when left powered off for long

[itsakjt]

Blackviper.com you have something i believe software related slowing down your boot up.

When in doubt, format

I don't think so since BIOS also initially shows 800 MHz and the entire interface is laggy and slow.

 

[johnspack]

Just a throw out idea... could it be memory retraining?

 

[Caring1]

Just a throw out idea... could it be memory retraining?

I've already suggested that.

 

[itsakjt]

800 MHz CPU due to memory? That too even after booting up Windows? I am confused.
I have got another tried and tested CR2032 and replaced again.
When I came back home from office, problem happened again. So it is not a BIOS issue. I have upgraded the BIOS to latest version again.
I was reading some threads on similar issues and one of them suggested it might be an issue with the BD_PROCHOT signal where the motherboard "thinks" the CPU is hot and hence makes it throttle.
It might have happened that the sensor goes crazy when things are cold (it was indeed colder yesterday night than normal) and hence the issue was reproduced in intervals of 6 hrs.

Update: Powered on system today morning after 10 hrs. Booted quick and fine with no issues. Old CMOS battery voltage was 2.87V at no load. Such an issue due to bad CMOS battery?

 

[itsakjt]

Update 2 : Powered on system after 12 hrs. CPU frequency 4200 MHz, Windows booting fast and perfect. Thanks to all of you who helped. Special thanks to @Mussels who identified the exact issue.

Here are some photos from the adventure. I cleaned VRM section as well as it was dirty.

Before cleaning:

After cleaning (notice the Digi VRM chip which was dirty):

And in case some of you didn't know, the Southbridge heatsink actually has provision for this:

All distant photos shot on Moto Z2 Play and macros taken on my trusty old ASUS ZenFone 2.

 

[hat]

What's with that discoloration around the VRMs? Is that normal?

Glad you got your issue sorted, though.

 

[itsakjt]

What's with that discoloration around the VRMs? Is that normal?

Glad you got your issue sorted, though.

Yeah that is normal and happens in any high temperature area where there is silicon paste or pads.

 

[itsakjt]

Hello everyone, was not active for quite some time. The problem returned after a few days of the post above. And finally I found the solution (14th September I believe).
There's a "CPU Standby Voltage" for this motherboard (Maximus VIII Ranger) and it was automatically set to a very high value (Deep red colored in ASUS BIOS). I have set it to 1.1 V after a bit of tinkering and since that day, my system has been running fine without any slowdowns. I have even overclocked my CPU now and it runs at 4.5 GHz with almost no voltage change from stock.

Just thought I should update here for the knowledge base and for someone going through a similar issue.

 

[eidairaman1]

Hello everyone, was not active for quite some time. The problem returned after a few days of the post above. And finally I found the solution (14th September I believe).
There's a "CPU Standby Voltage" for this motherboard (Maximus VIII Ranger) and it was automatically set to a very high value (Deep red colored in ASUS BIOS). I have set it to 1.1 V after a bit of tinkering and since that day, my system has been running fine without any slowdowns. I have even overclocked my CPU now and it runs at 4.5 GHz with almost no voltage change from stock.

Just thought I should update here for the knowledge base and for someone going through a similar issue.

When bios get way to complex for their own good is this example

Hello everyone, was not active for quite some time. The problem returned after a few days of the post above. And finally I found the solution (14th September I believe).
There's a "CPU Standby Voltage" for this motherboard (Maximus VIII Ranger) and it was automatically set to a very high value (Deep red colored in ASUS BIOS). I have set it to 1.1 V after a bit of tinkering and since that day, my system has been running fine without any slowdowns. I have even overclocked my CPU now and it runs at 4.5 GHz with almost no voltage change from stock.

Just thought I should update here for the knowledge base and for someone going through a similar issue.

You got a link for the fix?

 

[itsakjt]

When bios get way to complex for their own good is this example


You got a link for the fix?

Not really. Since the issue was dependent on whether standby power was being fed to the systen or not, that setting caught my mind. I tried to input the displayed value manually and it was in the deep red zone. I was concerned about the life of the CPU for that and tried reducing it keeping the system stable at the same time. So I set the voltage manually to 1.1 V which is just below the yellow zone and hence should be safe. I checked the dependency and it seems the more I overclock, that standby voltage also increases. Since then, the issue never ever happened. There have been days where I powered on system after 4 or 5 days and it boots in less than 10 seconds with CPU frequency as supposed to be. Basically the fix was stumbled upon. I never thought higher voltage could be an issue. But that voltage definitely goes to the CPU when the system has standby power and even if it is turned off.

 

[eidairaman1]

Not really. Since the issue was dependent on whether standby power was being fed to the systen or not, that setting caught my mind. I tried to input the displayed value manually and it was in the deep red zone. I was concerned about the life of the CPU for that and tried reducing it keeping the system stable at the same time. So I set the voltage manually to 1.1 V which is just below the yellow zone and hence should be safe. I checked the dependency and it seems the more I overclock, that standby voltage also increases. Since then, the issue never ever happened. There have been days where I powered on system after 4 or 5 days and it boots in less than 10 seconds with CPU frequency as supposed to be. Basically the fix was stumbled upon. I never thought higher voltage could be an issue. But that voltage definitely goes to the CPU when the system has standby power and even if it is turned off.

This should be stickied

 

[itsakjt]

Here's a photo of my BIOS screen:

You can see the CPU Standby Voltage near the bottom. Also the settings used for the present OC.

Another thing is that the issue was dependent on temperatures. When it used to happen, it was when the system was cold and it would become fine after it warmed up a bit. I believe it might be a protection mechanism for the CPU preventing damage from temperature spikes when the CPU is cold beyond what it will ever be while running after sometime even if idle.