BIOS not installed?

[Pringleprime]

Hello again Anandtech! Having quite abit of trouble with my new build, that I(nor my friends that I asked) could figure out.

Basically, it says my BIOS isn't installed. Here are my system specs..


ASUS A8V Deluxe Rev2.0
A64 3200+
XFX 6800
Mushkin PC3200 512 RAM x2
Lite-On CD-RW/DVD-R Combo Drive
Samsung 160GB IDE ATA133 Hard Drive
Sony 1.44 Floppy

etc.

What happens is, I turn it on, it lists my 6800's memory and the BIOS version(FastTrak something, forget the exact numbers) and moves onto the next ASUS loading screen. After that, it says Serial_CH0Master: No device found!, twice. Above that, <Press TAB to key into Window User> or something along those lines, and above that, the BIOS version and etc again. Then it moves onto the next screen, "Checking for IDE devices....... No device found! FastTrak controller device not found, The BIOS is not installed.". Then, it lists my computer specs, says at the bottom No Hard Disk found!, moves onto a "Reboot and insert correct selected boot media", then after 10-15 seconds, shuts off.

The funny thing is, if I hit F8, it lists my HD there, aswell as my CD-RW/DVD-R Combo Drive, and my Floppy. But, the Floppy is in Grey, where as the CD-RW/DVD-R Combo Drive and Samsung HD are listed in yellow. I didn't get a BIOS CD/Floppy with my motherboard, and tried the only CD it did come with(which, i'm not exactly sure what it is) with the same results.

I'm pretty new at this, and no one i've asked has known - i've tried switching HD cables, trying the other IDE ports, different plugs on the IDE cables, unhooking the Floppy/CD-RW drive, etc etc. Nothing so far.


Any and all help, again(hopefully this will be the last time), will be HIGHLY appreciated, i'm dieing to Office Space this computer for all the trouble it's given me.

Thanks

 

[meltdown75]

Hi Pringle.

The tried and true method of troubleshooting seems to be... disconnect everything.

Now just go barebones, with only the CPU (heatsink &amp; fan too - there are much more enjoyable ways to create funny smelling smoke), ram, &amp; video card. All you are looking for here is the post screen... and you are successful if you get that. Then you can move on step by step, adding 1 component (ie. hard drive) at a time... when you eventually get to the errors again (who knows, maybe you won't see them again), at least you will have your problem or problem-hardware isolated. Then you can 'office space' just that component! ehehhe!

But... judging from your error messages, you are trying to boot from a device with a previous install of Windows or some OS already on it... it seems like it is looking for devices that may or may not be present anymore. My advice would be to boot from your XP (or what have you) floppies or CD, and do a clean install. good luck... by the way this is from one new guy to another!

 

[Pringleprime]

Trying that now, thanks abunch - it started installing windows, but then shuts off in the middle, so that's kindof weird. Hopefully I can rule out what's wrong by that though

 

[Pringleprime]

Well, it POSTs, but then shuts off. Sounds like the PSU.. i've got everything else unplugged except for the Zalman and 6800 Still says the BIOS isn't installed, though, which sounds kindof odd to me.

 

[mgsvr]

Definitely your PSU. If not, then check out your mobo's FAQ. I used to have "BIOS NOT INSTALLED" until I set the jumper, and some change in the BIOS (the mobo's troubleshooting)

 

[meltdown75]

That is really weird. Did you just get the motherboard recently?

Since you have a computer setup other than the one you are working on, you can always throw the bios for your mobo onto a floppy (this of course is assuming the floppy drive works! doh!) and flash them. Be sure to check the Asus website too... if it is a common problem, there will definitely be something in relation to it in an FAQ or something. - The Asus website can also be consulted if you require help updating the bios.

If by chance it was a power supply issue, I think it would manifest itself in other ways, as opposed to error messages saying your bios wasn't installed.

edit: Just for kicks, what kind of power supply are you using, and how many watts? I would think your setup would be ok with a brand-name 250w, or a 300w generic. I have a similar setup, and I went with a 400w semi-brand name psu, just to be safe and also to allow for future expansion. Oh yeah that's right, I have a wife that curtailed all of my hardware buying.

 

[Pringleprime]

CoolMax Black Taurus 400W PSU is the one i'm using. I meant to order a 350W Fortron, but my Wishlist reverted I guess to when I had that added, and shipped that one instead. And, this is a brand new build, so everything is first time use really, nothing used, everything from Newegg. Also, I just mean the PSU for the powering off issue - I was in the middle of messing around in my BIOS and it just shut off, same with in the middle of trying to install windows and doing acouple other things.

Going to snoop around on the ASUS website and see if I can put the BIOS on a floppy and try that, probably order a new PSU tomorrow morning too..



edit: Oh uh, my Zalman is alittle loose - that wouldn't have anything to do with anything, would it?

 

[LTC8K6]

Your CPU HSF is loose? That could certainly have something to do with it.

 

[Pringleprime]

Not loose, but I can wiggle it abit. I couldn't get the backplate off the A8V to put the Zalman plate there, and the screws with the Zalman don't go down as far on that one as they should, so it is a tiny bit loose. Friend of mine suggested taking a hair dryer on low to the back of the metal plate to melt the glue, but if I have to send this back for some reason, I think that would void the warranty.

 

[mechBgon]

The "BIOS not installed" message is 100% normal for the Promise ATA hard-disk controller to say that, when there are no drives hooked up to it. If you don't care to see that message, go into the BIOS and disable the onboard Promise controller until such time as you need it

 

[Pringleprime]

Phew, what a relief. Guess it's all on the Power Supply then, huh.. this will be the last time I purchase a CoolMax product if that's the case!


edit: I figure I might as well squeeze it in while I can, if I can. I never set my HD/Combo Drive to Master or Slave, because I was told they should be set to whatever by default. If, by chance, that's not the case, how would I go about changing it? Neither have the green caps on 2 of the pins as I thought they would, so would taking a cap off some of the motherboard pins work, or no?

 

[mechBgon]

Don't go randomly stealing jumpers off your mobo :Q Trust me on this one! Jumpers are interchangeable, though, yes. Are the hard drive and the combo drive each on a separate IDE cable? If so, you can set each one to be Master on its cable (but make an exception if you get a Western Digital, they want Single Drive instead).

As for the PSU, can I suggest one of these. Good quality, dual 12V rails and lots of 12V amperage

 

[Pringleprime]

Each are on their own cable, and that PSU, or a similar one(same brand, hearing good things about EnerMax) are definitely on the top of the list though. Neighbor said he thinks he has some spare jumpers from some old dead HDD's and will look tomorrow, so that's good news.

I'm literally about to pass out, so i'm going to sleep before I do and something bad happens, but thank you everyone a whole lot for the help. Especially you, mech, you've made this a million times easier. I, aswell as countless others i'm sure, really appreciate it

 

[bacillus]

nm

 

[meltdown75]

hope you got all your problems fixed Pringle!

Just wanted to say, I have a Coolmax 400W (C400B?) and it works like a charm. I did quite a bit of research before I bought it, and in that price range, it was rated the best especially due to the ratings on the respective rails.

 

[Pringleprime]

Finally got everything taken out and put back in, with the back plate the Zalman comes with this time though. Plugged it in and it turned on and started running, did the normal stuff, but then where it normally said No keyboard attached!, it had CPU overclock failed! CPU fan error!, then went to the "Insert proper boot media" screen again, the screen flashed whiteish once, so after a minute or so I turned it off.

Going to try dis-connecting everything, putting in my keyboard and POSTing.. hopefully that'll tell me something.



edit: Sigh, monitor won't go out of Sleep now. Turn it on and it goes directly to it's Sleep mode. Either my Video Card just cried, the VGA adapter died, or the Monitor is broken. Greeeeeat.

 

[mechBgon]

Here are a couple more suggestions:

1. Make sure there are no low-RPM fans (Zalman or whatever) powered directly from the mobo's 3-pin headers. My A7N8X Deluxe had a fun trick where it would not POST with a very-low-RPM fan plugged into it (an Enermax thermally-regulated one, in my case)
2. Make sure your keyboard's plugged into the purple-ish port and not green
3. Get your drives jumpered for their roles or else don't have them plugged into the IDE cables

 

[Pringleprime]

Well, my only problem now, that I know of, is my monitor won't go out of Sleep mode. It will when it's not plugged into the graphics card, but when it's plugged in, auto sleep. Tried pulling out the CMOS battery and letting it sit, but no luck there. Nothing else is plugged in. HDD, Combo Drive, Floppy Drive, extra fans, all unplugged.

 

[Pringleprime]

Well, I plugged it into the computer i'm currently using, and it works fine. So what in the hell does this mean?

 

[mechBgon]

The proper method of clearing the CMOS on your board is to

1. unplug computer from wall
2. remove CMOS battery
3. move the clear-CMOS jumper to the Clear position for about 15 seconds, then move it back to normal
4. replace CMOS battery
5. plug in computer

Double-check that your cards and RAM are fully seated. After that, try a low-power video card like maybe an old GeForce4MX or such, to reduce the power demands of the core hardware, and see if that gets it working. Those 6800's can draw a fair amount of power.

 

[Pringleprime]

Damnit mech, that worked! The monitor works fine now, I got into my BIOS and changed them fine, but I do get a "CMOS Checksum Error" or something, but it doesn't seem to have done anything.. going to attach everything now and start installing Windows I guess. Crossing fingers, hope it works

 

[mechBgon]

The CMOS Checksum error is normal after a BIOS upgrade or a CMOS reset. Heh, I should just make an A8V Deluxe support page, this thing is popular :Q