ASUS motherboard BIOS issues

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N

Not a Carpenter

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Sep 18, 2013
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Hello there,

I'm having some difficulties with my motherboard. I bought a second hand motherboard and processor together - a M5A97 PRO and a FX-6100 AMD processor. I was well aware with some difficulties with the compatibility of these two components but they all seemed to be resolved and I knew that it was only an issue with the BIOS, not to mention I was buying the parts together, I mean the processor was attached to the motherboard, so it must work, right?

Basically it didn't. I soon realised that it was an issue with the bios not being updated, which is fine, so I got an other processor which was compatible. But that didn't work either, so after some head scratching I the found out the BIOS I had on my motherboard was the version 0705, as apposed to the 0402 I needed for my processor. And what makes it worse is that according to the ASUS compatibility chart that BIOS version is only compatible with one processor in existence I mean that can't be right can it?

And after giving up with ASUS' TERRIBLE customer service (doubt I'll be too happy buying from these guys again) I decided to just throw in the towel, waste the money I saved and buy a new motherboard, but before I did that I was hoping someone here could please help me.

Are motherboard BIOS' not backwards compatible? Is it really possible that my BIOS version is only compatible with one single processor?

Thank you very much for any help, any of you can offer, and I apologies for such a long post.

Many regards,
Not a Carpenter


ASUS COMPATIBILITY CHART: http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M5A97_PRO/#support_CPU
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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You need bios 0813 (look HERE) or newer. Support for your cpu began with 0813 and is rolled up in all later bio revisions.

Yes, the bios' are backwards compatible and your 0405 and/or the 0705 are both too old and do not include your FX.

What older cpu are you trying for update purposes?

Mark
 
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N

Not a Carpenter

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Sep 18, 2013
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The processor used was a Athalon II x2 7550 I checked the compatibility chart and it was compatible with 0405, I just presumed that was the BIOS my mobo had since it was by far the most common.
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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That athlon should work with any of the M5 bios'. Are you able to get into bios? Are you getting any beep codes when trying to boot?

Edit: What ram are you using with the Athlon? Those older athlons will NOT work with ddr3.

Mark
 
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N

Not a Carpenter

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Sep 18, 2013
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Oh, perhaps the RAM is the issue, the RAM I was using was DDR3.

I'm unable to get anything though. When I boot I get a screen telling me the BIOS version, what's plugged in and etc, but I'm unable to get into the actual BIOS. What was really weird is that a couple of times it started loading WinXP since I think the temp HDD I was using had WinXP on it, but it just blue screened and restarted after that. The screen wasn't aligned either. It was all rather weird. It only happened on like two occasion though and trying and retrying with different methods like 30 times.

Many, many thanks for the help thus far too =)
 
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N

Not a Carpenter

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Sep 18, 2013
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I'm pretty sure I did, but I can make sure to try again. Also it's worth mentioning that it wasn't a Athlon II x2 7550 but a AMD Phenom II x4 925, the Athlon didn't physically fit. Sorry for the confusion.

Does that explain anything any further?
 
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Edward Clarke

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Sep 19, 2013
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Hi markwp,
I've been helping Carpenter here with the PC build IRL so can help with more specific details.
Now there are no beep codes what so ever, yes everything is plugged into the motherboard correctly. Maybe testing the PSU may be a good idea?

The computer did POST where it tells us the current BOIS version 0705, a keyboard, the memory, and the CPU. It POSTed with both CPUs we tried, the FX 6100 and the Phenom II x4 925. The Motherboard of course supports AM3+ and AM3 so there were no issues there.
From the post screen it says press F8 or delete to return to setup where a black screen is displayed and does nothing from there.

The BIOS required is 0815 for the FX and the current is 0705 as mentioned before, so the weird issue is why did it not get past a POST with the supported Phenom CPU which requres 0503 or newer?
Cheers
 
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markwp

markwp

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Jan 22, 2013
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Have you tried breadboarding outside the case? Remove the m/b and place it on the box it came in. Hook up just dvd, cpu (phenom), cpu fan, one stick of ram and gpu. Also hook up piezo speaker to listen for beep codes.

Connect psu at 24 pin and 8 pin, connect case start and reset switches. Make sure gpu has any needed aux power connectors and run from vga to monitor. If no boot, swap out memory sticks. Make note of beep codes (if any) for trouble shooting purposes.

If you can get to bios, double check bios version see if it will let you upgrade via usb.

Mark
 
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Edward Clarke

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Sep 19, 2013
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Hi Mark,
Bit of a late reply but I haven't been here for a while so only just saw the notification.
It turned out to be the HDMI cable in the end. We used a DVI cable instead which worked. Still have no idea how that CPU works on that motherboard when it shouldn't be supported.
 
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