What does this debug code mean?

BlackManINC · August 11, 2020

The Debug code is 'D-3' in my motherboards manual which says that "some of the architectural protocols are not available". What gives here? I have a Gigabyte X570 Auros Master. The rest of the specs are listed below in the 'signature' section.

Perrytheplatypus43 · August 11, 2020

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Debug Codes PSA (D3 - D4 - 03 - 04)

Hi everybody! I am making this post with the hopes of helping out any of my fellow pc gamers/builders who might be looking for help in the future. Please upvote for visibility!!! I recently built my first rig with a Z390 Aorus Master motherboard, and ran into a quandary that caused me some concern.

Any time I boot my pc from sleep, the motherboard's debug code would change from A0 (A Ok, everything good) to 03. I referenced the table of codes in my mobo's manual and found no listing for an 03 code, so I assumed that it was referring to the next most visually similar option, D3. In the manual and online, I found that the D3 code means that 'Some Architectural Protocols are unavailable' which is not a benign code like A0 is, but rather an actual legitimate issue. So I did a ton of research and found a handful of forums referring to D3 and also that it could have some relation to the code D4. But all I could find was that half of people said D3 and D4 are just like A0 and not an issue at all, while the other half say it's a critical issue that means you need to replace your cpu or motherboard. What I could not find was a single post or piece of information that was remotely definitive about what these codes conclusively mean. There was even a forum post from one guy who contacted Gigabyte directly about it and even then, in their responses to him, they did not actually give any clear definition of the codes or their meanings.

After hours of scouring the web I still could not discern whether or not my computer actually had a problem. The internet failed me, so I started doing some testing and experimenting of my own and I have finally, at long last, acquired the true and certain answer to this question: The codes D3 and D4 do not indicate a problem, because the codes do not contain D's. If your motherboard's 7-segment LED display looks like it's showing D3 or D4, it is in fact actually showing 03 or 04, despite the fact that neither of those codes are listed in any manuals (for whatever fucking reason). If your motherboard is throwing a D code of some sort, it will show a lowercase 'd' as in d3 or d4. If your board is showing d3 or d4 (or d anything really), then you do in fact have cause for concern.

But with that now in mind, the codes 03 and 04 are just like A0, completely harmless and not indicative of any issue whatsoever. They merely refer to the sleep state your computer was most recently woken from, 03 for waking from sleep and 04 for waking from hibernation. You can read more about sleep states here if you're curious: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/power/system-power-states

I believe that these codes apply universally to almost all motherboards, not just those made by Gigabyte. The codes appear to only occur on machines running Windows and if it bothers you, it can potentially be changed by disabling 'fast boot' in your computer's advanced power settings. This did not work for me, but I read that it can in some cases.

I realize that this is probably a noob question, and the reason that there is no information about it could just be because it's something that most people just already know. But if you are a noob and you happen to run into this question, there is not a single conclusive answer to be found for it virtually anywhere on the internet or in a manual. So I am making this post in the hopes that this information will be accessible to anyone seeking it in the future, and they won't have to worry about it as much as I have XD. I will also cross-post this to the r/gigabyte and r/aorus subreddits as well as the official Gigabyte forums with the intention of it gaining greater visibility. I generally have nothing but good things to say about Gigabyte/Aorus. They make phenomenal components and I absolutely love my board. But the fact that they use these codes and haven't made any effort at all to address them literally anywhere is pretty annoying if I'm being honest.

TL;DR - If your motherboard is displaying the debug codes that look like D3 or D4, they are actually codes 03 or 04 and you have nothing to worry about whatsoever. If your board is showing codes d3 or d4 (with a lowercase d), then you most likely do have something to worry about.

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source: https://www.reddit.com/r/gigabytegaming/comments/fi54no/debug_codes_psa_d3_d4_03_04/