Built new system, but can't access BIOS (Abit AW9D MAX)

[greenuk]

I have put together a new system. No matter what I do, I can't get into the BIOS screen.

I powered on the system and it says "CMOS Checksum error - Defaults loaded". And "Press F1 to continue, DEL to enter SETUP".

If I press the DEL key nothing happens. It continues to show aforementioned info on screen and ignores the key press.

I reset the cmos according to mainboard manual and tried again but no luck.

The LED on the mainboard shows POST code "7F" which according to apendix in manual it means:
"Switch back to text mode if full screen logo is supported. - If error occur, report errors and wait for keys. - If no errors occur or F1 key is pressed to continue: Clear EPA or customization logo."

I reboot the system. This time i Press DEL key on the graphical "Abit Max" splash screen. The system then freezes on that screen and nothing else happens. This time the mainboard LED shows POST code "75" which according to manual means "Detect & Install all IDE devices HDD, LS120, ZIP, CDROM...".

I try this with two different keyboards plugged into PS2 connection. Same result. I tried each keyboard plugged into USB. Same result.

If I press F1, it continues to boot from CD. I had a Korarra CD (Linux live demo) handy which I played with last year and worked fine back then, so I thought I'd try it out to see what happens. It spent a minute or so booting up and during bootup the only issue I noticed flagged was that it didnt recognise the graphics card, but it carried on and a few moments later the screen went black and nothing else happened. After about a minute the system reboots by itself and this time shows "CPU is unworkable or has been changed. Please recheck - uGuru Utility".

At this stage I've tried booting the system up many times. Not once has it shown the BIOS screen. The F1 continue always works, but the DEL key does nothing at all. All the errors are consistant each time I try it.

Any suggestions why I can't get into the BIOS? Thanks.

My system specs are:

- Abit AW9D MAX
- Intel Core2Duo E6600
- Thermalright ULTRA-120 cooler.
- 2gb Corsair memory
- Antex P180 case
- 430w Seasonic S12 PSU
- WD Raptor 150gb
- WD WD5000AAKS 500gb
- 512MB XFX 7950GT XXX PCI-E graphics
- HP DVD940i DVD drive

 

[Harvey]

Are you using a USB keyboard? If so, you may need to use one with a standard PS2 connector to enter the BIOS and enable legacy USB devices.

 

[greenuk]

Thanks for the reply.

I'm using a USB keyboard, but plugged into the PS2 port using a standard USB-PS2 adaptor. This is how I've used keyboards in recent years (mainly to free up a USB port) and never had problems accessing BIOS with previous system with same keyboard.

 

[treker]

I had the same problem with my Logitech Wireless USB keyboard and mouse. I just reset bios and all was fine. When you enter bios be sure to change your keyboard and mouse settings to BIOS and not OS.

 

[greenuk]

Okay just to clarify. I'm using a regular keyboard plugged into PS2 port, and I tried resetting CMOS several times (using jumpers according to manual) but I still can't access the BIOS.

I will try to RMA the motherboard.

In meantime if anyone else has suggestions...

 

[vailr]

Try an older "PS2 only" type of keyboard.
See if unplugging all storage drives helps.
If you're sure that the power supply is good, and video card and memory are properly seated,
then the board is probably bad. The only other possibility would be an electrical short.
Either between the motherboard and the case, or between the
CPU heatsink's backplate and the underside of the CPU socket.
To confirm, try using the stock Intel heatsink instead of the upgrade heatsink.

 

[greenuk]

It appears this has something to do with the harddisks. With no harddisks plugged in, I'm able to access the BIOS just fine. With one harddisk plugged in, again I can access the BIOS fine. When I have two harddisks plugged I'm not able to enter the BIOS and the DEL key is ignored. Guess I should of removed the drives earlier but I'd of never thought the drives could upset the BIOS to this extent.

This is the first time I've used SATA drives so I'll see if I can find out if I'm doing something stupid. Do I still need to set one drive as Master and the other as Slave? I thought they did away with Master/Slave with Serial ATA but maybe I misunderstood. There's not a single mention of Master/Slave in the mainboard manual nor mention of having to plug the drives into certain SATA sockets.

What is a little concerning aside from this, is on three or four occasions the screen has gone corrupted when I switch on the system. I can bearly make out what's shown on screen. I turn off, ensure graphics is seated, turn back on and it's still corrupted. If I turn off, unplug the drive, then power back up, the screen is perfect. If I plug a drive back in, it's perfect! At first I thought I maybe knocked the graphics card slightly with my hand or something, but it's only ever happened with the SATA connector plugged into the mainboard, never when I've been running driveless.

 

[greenuk]

Or could this have something to do with the drives not running at the same transfer rate, or some other compatibility between them. Both drives work fine when used on their own. The BIOS plays stubborn only when I'm using both drives.

 

[rowan50k]

Hi,
i recently had a similar problem with my pc the error code 75 was coming up on uguru and i could not get into the bios with delete. however like you it worked when i unpluged the ide connecting the hard drive, booted into bios fine. i found that the problem was the hard disk was not getting power so all i did was check all the wires from the psu to the hard disk and it booted up fine after this.
hope this helps,
Rowan.

 

[greenuk]

Thanks for the reply Rowan. I had the harddisks outside the system and replugged the power cables in but no change. My Ultimate Boot CD saw both drives and verified both with zero error, so the harddisks are both technically working with this system. It's just the BIOS playing up.

 

[greenuk]

I sent an email to Abit. First thing they suggested was to check memory timings. So I switched from auto to manual timing and changed the 5-5-5-15 to 4-4-4-12 which my Corsair memory is rated at.

That made no difference to the issue so a follow up email suggested I ensure the 500gb drive is running in SATA 1 mode. I found a jumper (one didnt come with the drive which is kind of silly) and put it on pins 5 and 6 (as shown here http://tinyurl.com/39jq3w ). This didnt help either surprisingly. I put the jumper on pins 3 and 4 by mistake as first and this introduced other errors during bootup so I know the jumper is working at least.

It seems the controller chip can't handle both these drives at the same time. So because I have the MAX mainboard it comes with a second SATA controller chip. So I tried plugging the Raptor into SATA1 and the 500gb drive into SATA5 on assumption that the first controller deals with SATA1 to SATA4 and the second deals with SATA5 to SATA8.

This seems to of worked and I can enter the BIOS with both of these drives plugged in now.

Should I accept this weird behaviour or persist in getting a mainboard with SATA chips that work properly? I guess I just feel uncomfortable with 1) this weird behaviour and knowing there might be issues with the mainboard, and 2) the second drive being treated in a special way, because it's not shown on IDE 1 or 2 like the first harddisk (and DVD drive). I get shown an extra screen of info during bootup now which specifically mentions that the second harddisk (plugged into SATA5) is there. If I go into the BIOS, it only shows the first harddisk (in SATA1) and the DVD drive. I ran the Ultimate Boot CD and that can see both drives at least (and they still pass with zero errors).

Not sure what to do. Suggestions?

I just get the feeling that Abit are going to blame Western Digital and vice versa. Tempted to write off this mainboard and buy a different brand.

Plus I have a second issue with my system. I'm seeing screen issues. It's occasional spikes of interference which last a fraction of a second and looks like white dots scattered all over the screen. I've also seen it where whole horizontal lines dont get shown which makes the BIOS info hard to read. So maybe an issue with the new monitor (Samsung SyncMaster 215tw) or the graphics card (512MB XFX 7950GT XXX). I'm leaning towards the graphics card. I tried an old system plugged in via VGA cable and saw no screen issues. I dont have another system with DVI connector to try out. When it rains it poors.