Gerbils,
I have a Z-97a based system that has been running for 2 years. No recent (6+ months) changes to HW or OS other than normal Microsoft patches and the occasional video driver update.
Last night I walked in to find the system hung at the ASUS splash page. Video obviously working, and keyboard lit up but not responsive (couldn't toggle num lock for instance but lights were on). Hard power off/on cycle by pulling the cord from the wall results in a similar hang. Idiot lights on the board indicate failing at boot device - CPU, ram lights are off indicating per the manual they are good.
I did try plugging in older keyboard and mouse combos and had similar behavior; power indication but no function. I did attempt different USB ports to try to rule that out and nothing changed.
So in short, I can't get into BIOS as f2 and del presses on the keyboard do nothing as I'm already hung before I get control and I'm at a loss for what else I can attempt with HW on hand.
My quick thought was I lost the motherboard. The boot drive is a SSD that the last time I looked had not used very many replacement sectors.
Other thoughts?