ASUS Official Z68 Chipset Motherboards - Support Thread

[crealisiss]

This is an interesting post
Running a SATA drive in IDE (emulation) mode in bios solves most problems on Intel port because it defaults to MS generic drivers - either 2009 or in your case prob 2006
SATA is just really a cabling and power and bandwidth update

However you are using an ancient IDE drive with the wide ribbon cables and a connection converter module TO a SATA port.

You may have discovered a new workaround to get AI to install - lol. The big question is when you ghost it BACK to AHCI SATA HDD and Intel drivers, will it still function correctly?

Questions:
No other drives connected now - correct?
What port are you plugging old drive to? Intel SATA 2, SATA3?
Bios now set AHCI or IDE for that drive?
In Dev Man as far as IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers what do you have? What drivers are loaded now?

Questions:
No other drives connected now - correct?
-Correct. Drive was swapped out / cable rerouted

What port are you plugging old drive to? Intel SATA 2, SATA3?
-Connection to port 2 of Marvell sata3

Bios now set AHCI or IDE for that drive?
-Bios was not touched. Later checked, set @ AHCI

In Dev Man as far as IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers what do you have? What drivers are loaded now?
-Not checked. May post after ghost attempt.

I guess we now have updated experimental conditions to play with.

 

[bankster55]

@crealisiss

Ah, the OLD drive is now connected to the marvel SATA3
>When AI Suite wouldnt install on real SATA drive - was it connected to the Intel SATA or the Marvel? I would really like to know the answer to this - heh

 

[crealisiss]

@crealisiss

Ah, the OLD drive is now connected to the marvel SATA3
>When AI Suite wouldnt install on real SATA drive - was it connected to the Intel SATA or the Marvel? I would really like to know the answer to this - heh

My setup is difficult to re-cable at the mobo connectors. So, I just used the same cable. Both drives used the same Marvell port.

 

[bankster55]

O.K. That means it wasnt the Intel ports/drivers that stopped the AI Suite from install - it was something else.
Then again, it might install with real SATA drive on Intel SATA3 ports and 10.1.0.1008 RST.
Worth a try, right?
The 10.5 RST series needs new oprom recognition in new bios 0501 coming out in coupla days.

I have dot net 4.0 and Visual C++ 2010 and Jun 2010 Dir X installed. Wonder if that helped?

 

[Gonzo1971]

Hi

I'm about to build my new computer based on the P8Z68VPro Motherboard and I've been reading the posts. Just one question. What's the best SAta6 port to connect my new OCZ Vertex 3 SSD? The Intel Z38 or the MArvellII connector? I will use it mainly for the OS and some programs. Data storage will be held by my old SATA 3 HHD drive

Thank you for your help!

 

[Minjin]

Hi

I'm about to build my new computer based on the P8Z68VPro Motherboard and I've been reading the posts. Just one question. What's the best SAta6 port to connect my new OCZ Vertex 3 SSD? The Intel Z38 or the MArvellII connector? I will use it mainly for the OS and some programs. Data storage will be held by my old SATA 3 HHD drive

Thank you for your help!

The benchmarks I've seen show that while Marvell is slightly better at some tasks, it is significantly behind in others. To me, that says use Intel ports first. As long as you only have two or less 6gbps devices, it is a no brainer. If you have more than two, then you might want to consider filling them in like intel 6 => marvel 6 => intel 3.

 

[Gonzo1971]

The benchmarks I've seen show that while Marvell is slightly better at some tasks, it is significantly behind in others. To me, that says use Intel ports first. As long as you only have two or less 6gbps devices, it is a no brainer. If you have more than two, then you might want to consider filling them in like intel 6 => marvel 6 => intel 3.

Thanks. I'll do as you suggest.

 

[Crank]

This works on the P67 boards so might work on this too. Go into the bios and disable "Internal PLL Overvoltage"

That worked for me.

Thanks very much for the suggestion - seems to be working so far, although I keep resuming from sleep without having my mouse detected.
I remember reading somewhere that having the mouse and keyboard on the USB3 ports could help, so I'll move the mouse over.
Really don't want to waste a port on my old mouse, but don't have a lot of choices other than returning the board for something else.

 

[crealisiss]

Questions:
No other drives connected now - correct?
-Correct. Drive was swapped out / cable rerouted

What port are you plugging old drive to? Intel SATA 2, SATA3?
-Connection to port 2 of Marvell sata3

Bios now set AHCI or IDE for that drive?
-Bios was not touched. Later checked, set @ AHCI

In Dev Man as far as IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers what do you have? What drivers are loaded now?
-Not checked. May post after ghost attempt.

I guess we now have updated experimental conditions to play with.

Ghosting complete. Basically functional. Optimality is another question.

Question: When would the drive driver not be Mses 2006 driver? That's all I see.

 

[Vin777]

I'm having problems getting multiple monitors to work with on board VGA. I have Multi Enabled in bios. I get black screen with both plugged in. unplug HDMI dvi works. Help?

 

[Gonzo1971]

What are the steps to update the Bios?
I've checked the asus page and I see instructions for Flash Bios AFUSO Bios and AWDFALSH Bios but nothing for UEFI Bios.
I've downloaded the BUPDATER but it does not run under W7. Shall I use it unde DOS window. If anybody could give me some rules for doing that it would be really appreciated!

Thank you!

 

[bankster55]

What are the steps to update the Bios?
I've checked the asus page and I see instructions for Flash Bios AFUSO Bios and AWDFALSH Bios but nothing for UEFI Bios.
I've downloaded the BUPDATER but it does not run under W7. Shall I use it unde DOS window. If anybody could give me some rules for doing that it would be really appreciated!

Thank you!

All the flashing info is in the MANUAL (RTFM)
There are 2 TYPE bios modes
UEFI GPT
MSDOS MBR
The P67/Z68 are hybrid - do both
The bios manuf. for ASUS is AMI
The bupdater is a flashing utility that is standalone using its own Freedos O/S
Most folks use the motherboard flash utility in advanced/tools page - EZ Flash option
You MUST use a KNOWN WORKING USB stick formatted in FAT 32, and I would only use USB 2.0 port.
The bios file should be renamed to 8 characters and not be in a folder - just by itself
If you have Z68 or P67 1502 or higher you should put in a USB stick and press F12 on each bios page to copy in .bmp all your bios settings
It is not recommended to flash while you have some crazy overclock going, especially if its set to constant speed.
Your PC should easily pass memtest86+ (a few runs) BEFORE you flash. Even safer to set optimized defaults in bios and memtest before flash. You dont want to flash an unstable system, obviously, or at least declock it till it is stable, perhaps running a single stick of RAM at elevated voltage.
BFUpdater is a much safer separate from mobo flash mechanism, but it is not intuitive in actual use and you must carefully read the manual on this and make sure you understand it.
The most critical thing is after flash to allow the system to boot into Windows after "successful", uninterrupted, not touching anything, ignoring 10-20 sec blackscreen. This was updated info for flash after some bricked their system immediately doing a CMOS reset or BIOS redo.. However ASUS changed bios chip vendor starting with B3 and have seen no further dead mobo reports.

Heres my flash USB
.bmp of my important bios setting page
bupdater if I want to use it
bios files (8 letters)

 

[bankster55]

Ghosting complete. Basically functional. Optimality is another question.

Question: When would the drive driver not be Mses 2006 driver? That's all I see.

When you update Marvel controller driver to one on CD or latest


So, AI Suite still works error free now?

 

[bankster55]

I'm having problems getting multiple monitors to work with on board VGA. I have Multi Enabled in bios. I get black screen with both plugged in. unplug HDMI dvi works. Help?

What is your current setting for initiate graphic adapter?

 

[crealisiss]

When you update Marvel controller driver to one on CD or latest


So, AI Suite still works error free now?

Ah, yes. The drive driver is always the same, the controller driver differs. Makes sense.

AI suite has not thrown any errors within the limited paces I 've put it through. Is there something I should try in addition?

Funny note: Windows 7 installation through "upgrade" does not keep all applications as advertised. For one it does not keep... wait for it... AI SUITE II. After the upgrade, the asio.sys, or something very similar and quite critical to AI suite crashes out and the rest of the suite follows suit(e).

<sigh>ghost+1

 

[Gonzo1971]

All the flashing info is in the MANUAL (RTFM)
There are 2 TYPE bios modes
UEFI GPT
MSDOS MBR
The P67/Z68 are hybrid - do both
The bios manuf. for ASUS is AMI
The bupdater is a flashing utility that is standalone using its own freedos O/S
Most folks use the motherboard flash utility in advanced/tools page - EZ Flash option
You MUST use a KNOWN WORKING USB stick formatted in FAT 32, and I would only use USB 2.0 port.
The bios file should be renamed to 8 characters and not be in a folder - just by itself
If you have Z68 or P67 1502 or higher you should put in a USB stick and press F12 on each bios page to copy in .bmp all your bios settings
It is not recommended to flash while you have some crazy overclock going.
Your PC should easily pass memtest86+ (a few runs) BEFORE you flash. Even safer to set optimized defaults in bios and memtest before flash.
BFUpdater is a much safer separate from mobo flash mechanism, but it is not intuitive in actual use and you must carefully read the manual on this and make sure you understand it.
The most critical thing is after flash to allow the system to boot into Windows after flash uninterrupted, not touching anything, ignoring 10-20 sec blackscreen. This was updated info for flash after some bricked their system immediately doing a CMOS reset or BIOS redo.. However ASUS changed bios chip vendor starting with B3 and have seen no further dead mobo reports.

Heres my flash USB
.bmp of my important bios setting page
bupdater if I want to use it
bios files (8 letters)

Thanks! I'll do as you say.

 

[evilspoons]

I've got a problem with my P8Z68-V Pro. I've had this for a while now and I had a separate thread but that hasn't really gotten anywhere so I figured I'd try it here.

I've pared my system down to a mainboard sitting on a cardboard box with a CPU on it. I've installed 8 GB of G.Skill RAM, plugged a monitor into the DVI port, and a USB hub to connect my keyboard. The CPU is a 2600k with the lousy stock Intel cooler (60 degrees C idling in BIOS). I had the same problem earlier with a Scythe Mugen 2 Rev B installed (idled at 44 C) but I wanted to remove all possible sources of trouble. PSU is a new Corsair HX750, but the problem also occurred with an old 550W Enermax.

I turn the system on. I leave it in the BIOS, let it boot Windows off a hard drive, or even leave it at the prompt that says 'no bootable OS detected'. After 1.5 to 3.5 minutes, the computer resets by itself. After this, it will run indefinitely.

I'm thinking some sort of thermal change is causing the reset, but then afterwards it is OK. Bizarre and frustrating! Should I ask for a replacement mobo or CPU?

 

[bankster55]

@evilspoons

Sounds like a boot order (no detectable O/S) + USB recognition (1.5-3.5 min) prob
No need to RMA
Also the USB hub itself is suspect
When you boot all USB devices get into a stack, like dominoes they all have to fall in some sorted order. The P67 and now the Z68 are very picky with USB devices with shitty firmware. The more far out your device is, the more likely your will have issues - like $5 cardreaders. As mobo makers add more and more USB ports, they expose themselves to more issues because anybody can make a device.
A device that works just fine on a P45 might not work or intermittently on the P67 Z68. I give ASUS some slack on this beacuse its a totally new bios starting from scratch. I vaguely recall some site saying its written in C++.

Knowing this I buy MS brand USB mouse/KB and load the drivers for ea. to give the bios best shot at compatibility

Put your other HSF back on, thats not the prob, you might be triggering heat throttle (max in bios is 75)

What USB hub are you using? Is it 2.0 or 3.0?
What year was it made?
Do you have legacy USB enabled or disabled or auto?
What exact HDD are you booting to?
Insert a USB stick and go to boot page and click F12
Go to EZ page and click F12
Go to tinypic.com and upload the .bmp's there and post direct links here

 

[crealisiss]

Alright, I've got good one. Has anyone tried to load intel RST driver 1026 without having any devices attached to the intel controller?

I get BSOD.

With HDD connected to Marvell
------------------------------
-If I try to upgrade the drivers after OS install, the installation says that it could not install 1026.
-If I try to install win7 and load 1026 from USB, BSOD
-If I uninstall the intel controller driver, copy the new drivers to inf directory and reboot, BSOD

With HDD connected to Intel
----------------------------
-load 1026 during install is ok
-upgrade 1026 in os is ok

-If I install 1026 during install, and complete the RST 1027 install in os, power down, then switch the hdd to marvell, leaving no devices on the intel controller, and reboot, I don't get a BSOD, but I know it's there because win7 doesn't boot and the computer reboots.

I am not impressed.

bios: 0501
os: win7-64

 

[Raja@ASUS]

Alright, I've got good one. Has anyone tried to load intel RST driver 1026 without having any devices attached to the intel controller?

I get BSOD.

With HDD connected to Marvell
------------------------------
-If I try to upgrade the drivers after OS install, the installation says that it could not install 1026.
-If I try to install win7 and load 1026 from USB, BSOD
-If I uninstall the intel controller driver, copy the new drivers to inf directory and reboot, BSOD

With HDD connected to Intel
----------------------------
-load 1026 during install is ok
-upgrade 1026 in os is ok

-If I install 1026 during install, and complete the RST 1027 install in os, power down, then switch the hdd to marvell, leaving no devices on the intel controller, and reboot, I don't get a BSOD, but I know it's there because win7 doesn't boot and the computer reboots.

I am not impressed.

bios: 0501
os: win7-64

Hi,

that may be a big of some sort. For now, do not to install the RST drivers if you don't plan on using the Intel SATA ports (and if you do, do it when you have a drive connected to them). The drivers are supposed to be used on those ports when the drive configuration used needs them.

-Raja

 

[evilspoons]

@evilspoons

Sounds like a boot order (no detectable O/S) + USB recognition (1.5-3.5 min) prob
No need to RMA
Also the USB hub itself is suspect
When you boot all USB devices get into a stack, like dominoes they all have to fall in some sorted order. The P67 and now the Z68 are very picky with USB devices with shitty firmware. The more far out your device is, the more likely your will have issues - like $5 cardreaders. As mobo makers add more and more USB ports, they expose themselves to more issues because anybody can make a device.
A device that works just fine on a P45 might not work or intermittently on the P67 Z68. I give ASUS some slack on this beacuse its a totally new bios starting from scratch. I vaguely recall some site saying its written in C++.

Knowing this I buy MS brand USB mouse/KB and load the drivers for ea. to give the bios best shot at compatibility

Put your other HSF back on, thats not the prob, you might be triggering heat throttle (max in bios is 75)

What USB hub are you using? Is it 2.0 or 3.0?
What year was it made?
Do you have legacy USB enabled or disabled or auto?
What exact HDD are you booting to?
Insert a USB stick and go to boot page and click F12
Go to EZ page and click F12
Go to tinypic.com and upload the .bmp's there and post direct links here

When I said I was at the 'no boot drive detected' screen and still ended up with a reset, I meant that it was independent of Windows - i.e. Windows is not required to end up with the reset. No hard drives were connected on purpose at the time.

When the hard drive IS plugged in, Windows and all my USB devices function perfectly. The computer just resets like someone went and pushed the 'reset' button after 1.5-3.5 minutes.

The only USB devices connected when I had pared everything down to the barebones were the USB hub in my Dell U2410 monitor and a Logitech keyboard plugged into said hub. The monitor also has an internal card reader that shows up as a device plugged into that hub.

 

[bankster55]

@evilspoons

O.K., got it now - you deliberately had no HDD. Sorry.
First thing is when asking a mobo ques you really should list your sys.
Does your vid card have 2 plugs?
Have you looked at temp in GPU-Z?

The three greatest current issues with the P67 and Z68 is:
>USB device non compatibility, disappearing/freezing/sometimes not showing, only showing after reboot etc.
>The no sleep wake up after a long time down
>Memory even on QVL list not compatible with sandy bridge mobo chipset requiring manual setting of parameters (even XMP), and a lot of research on what to set

First of all, look in BIOS at max CPU temp shutdown setting
In your case a "warm boot" seems to allow win 7 to iron things out
You could set the post time delay to 10 sec in bios.
At the very least you are gonna hafta disconnect everything USB except a known working on SB USB mouse/KB. The USB 3.0 ports seems to work better for some reason. So that means using for test some monitor you can borrow that has NO USB hub or cardreader.
You also MUST try in Win 7 cntrl pnl/power to set mode as hi performance and max out every setting you see in advanced, espec USB selective suspend (All this just to ELIMINATE this as an issue)

As the bios vers change so does the USB compatibility. I dont have a Z68 (waiting for deluxe), so you need to ask on some forum from someone with a working Z68 system as to WHAT EXACT USB mouse/KB they are using.

The other thing I hate about these boards is that there are a thousand power save options everywhere. You might go thru the dev man and in properties on EVERYTHING shut down any power saving - like the network adapters. Is it possible your PC went into sleep, and it just looked like a shutdown?

My first guess is something is dropping out and not coming back during a cold boot. Assuming no USB prob, acts like a disconnect of power, which means you should unplug and reinsert all power cables, make sure no thermal shutdown - look at shutdown temp in biios. Make sure those one lock tab ram slots have mem all the way down. Rather extreme, but remotely possible be bent CPU pin.

Anything in event viewer? Legacy USB on or off?

 

[Crank]

I've been getting BSOD on the two computers I built with this Mobo. The error code says something about a problem with a driver power state. Googled around a bit and found suggestions to update nVidia drivers, which I did on one machine - no help. Both machines still BSOD almost once a day.
I'm getting near the return window on this board. I really don't want to yank it and re-do everything once I exchange it, but I'm not confident all these issues can be resolved with BIOS updates.
Any troubleshooting advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Vin777]

What is your current setting for initiate graphic adapter?

on board graphic adapter.

 

[jackx]

Raja or others, can anyone confirm that the Asus P8Z68-V Pro supports dual-link DVI output at 2560x1600 resolution with the integrated CPU graphics? The official motherboard specifications only show DVI support up to 1920x1200. Although I do see that the DVI port has a pinout that suggests dual-link support, I have not been able to find confirmation anywhere that the board can drive a 2560x1600 display.