Ok here is the summary of all things I have tried so far:
1. Removed all SSDs, Updated Bios to latest version
2. Set Secure Boot to Other OS (according ASUS website that is disabling it)
3. Booted into Windows with Secure Boot off, checked it in its System information as it said Secure Boot was Off
4. Cleared Secure Boot keys, tried booting in with Popl, Fedora, Ubuntu; no luck get the errors (listed below respectively for each)
5. Installed new Secure Boot Keys (default keys), tried booting in with Popl, Fedora, Ubuntu; no luck get the errors (listed below respectively for each)
6. Put the drives back in, tried it all again, same outcomes
7. I swapped RAM sticks + GPU from another system which are also DDR4 with working linux (ASROCK mobo), still get the same errors; The only diff now is the ASUS mobo + CPU (the other system as a 3995WX)
8. Turned off the VGA switch on the mobo (there is no VGA card but I think it is for IPMI support) + Switched monitors for Fedora's flashing screen problems; nope nothing it still does that
9. Reset the CMOS, got fTPM warnings, reset it (had to unlock Windows with Bitlocker)
10. Tried 2 existing USB sticks, tried a brand new USB stick
11. Swapped in a SSD with working Ubuntu, I get similar acpi errors (screenshots below)
Ubuntu USB Boot screens and errors (built with Rufus)
acpi: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainted kernel
(followed by other log messages)
Unable to find a medium containing a live file system
Popl Boot screen and errors (built with Rufus):
Similar acpi + xhc_hcd init: fail, -16 errors and then initrafs
Fedora Boot Screen and errors (built with Media Writer):
No errors, reaches the UI initialization, and then just flashes screen.
Ubuntu SSD with working version errors:
Same xhci -22 errors and then initrafs
And I also tried Mint Linux with Rufus, it does the same thing as Ubuntu, gives xhci errors, followed by many lines of stdin: Invalid argument and then drops into the dreaded initrafs. Followed by "Unable to find a medium containing a live file system"
I read on reddit, pulling out the usb when you get stdin errors and putting it back in fixes it, but no such luck for me.
I am now certain it is not the Secure Boot, but it is something else that is causing this. Faulty mobo, faulty cpu? Both are brand new and work perfectly with no problems on Windows. I have done a few benchmark and stress tests for the CPU and GPU on Windows, no errors so far.
All these boot errors are fairly consistent across distros, which is a good thing in a way, but what is causing them!? Is the board a defective one? Should I try to get a RMA? No way of knowing otherwise. I am just lost! It has to something basic and stupid that I am missing. This can't be the case for ASUS to straight up not let linux boot in. What am I missing
