Hmm first: If I had to guess that error means the audio line-in see's a fault.
that board is newer than you think. Earliest mention is 2015 making it about 8 years old, if based on the Intel z170 chipset....
Is this the board: https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-maximus … ro-alpha-model/
second: do not know of any canned air "for blowing dust" that is mostly butane or propane...
third: As for retro enough probably not but still a good question 😀
added: my newest mobo is a Asrock z370 pro4 and not buying anything newer (it serves it's purpose well)

🤣, my memory is worse than I thought if it's that new 😀

I'll have to figure out how to stop it checking the line in if it could be that, as I never use it. Annoying when I get the message a few times an hour 😀

That board is very similar. Mine doesn't have "Alpha" in the name, and appears that it's no longer on their site

May be relevant is that most line in's want a 1K ohm minimum device. Some want a 10k ohm. If you are not using the Line input it could be just static, in bios if possible turn it 0ff.
If you have a mic or other plugged in it might have a cable issue. just a thought..

It checks VRM startup -- 'Line Failure' might be construed as a 12v power line failure ; can be turned off in bios

Horun wrote on 2023-12-18, 03:50:

May be relevant is that most line in's want a 1K ohm minimum device. Some want a 10k ohm. If you are not using the Line input it could be just static, in bios if possible turn it 0ff.
If you have a mic or other plugged in it might have a cable issue. just a thought..

The only audio-in I have is my USB webcam.

Unexpectedly, I disabled the onboard HD audio to see if that would fix it, and ended up with no video! Monitor detected a signal, but displayed nothing. Had to reset the cmos settings then reload the cmos settings after a successful reboot. So using a dedicated audio card looks like it won't be an option.

giantclam wrote on 2023-12-18, 04:07:

It checks VRM startup -- 'Line Failure' might be construed as a 12v power line failure ; can be turned off in bios

Thanks. I'll try that.

debs3759 wrote on 2023-12-18, 04:17:

giantclam wrote on 2023-12-18, 04:07:

It checks VRM startup -- 'Line Failure' might be construed as a 12v power line failure ; can be turned off in bios

Thanks. I'll try that.

I took a look in the BIOS, but couldn't find that option. I'll have another look tomorrow with a fresh head, if I manage to beat the insomnia 😀

debs3759 wrote on 2023-12-18, 04:45:

I took a look in the BIOS, but couldn't find that option. I'll have another look tomorrow with a fresh head, if I manage to beat the insomnia 😀

I found it in the user manual (funny that =) ...it's in section 3.1 under ROG extensions iirc ... just load up the .pdf and search for VRM start ....

In the version of the manual that I have, it's under section 3.5, page 3-15, under External DIGI+ Power Control. First entry is VRM Initialisation Check. Not available in the latest BIOS, which is what I have.

Makes sense ~ hopefully someone on the asus forum will answer your question...ie; what does 'Line Fault' actually pertain to? When I see 'line fault' I think mains AC, not audio =) Anecdotal ~ this asrock ab350m used to throw a similar type of warning, but it was worded better...ie; 'an instability in power supply line has been detected' ; option to go into bios, or ignore and keep booting ...choosing the latter, machine ran fine ; eventually when I re-cased the mobo and fitted a new power supply, the error went away <shrug>...

Yeah, I posted the same question on the ROG forums. It's not very active over there for boards this old, but hopefully someone will have an answer.