ASUS M5A97 R2.0 BIOS issues.

EchoTiger

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Mar 20, 2014
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So, I'm working on a custom build for my mother and I decided to go with the ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ because it seems fairly budget and an easy grab.

I pre-installed Windows 8.1 onto a harddrive so after building the computer I could just boot directly into it, however of course that's just too easy...

Once I started the computer, I never got past the BIOs.
"Push F2 or Del to enter UEFI setup" would come up and go away like normal, but after that the ASUS splash screen would come up and just stay there.

So, I tried going into the UEFI. I was able to get in as normal buy pushing either F2 or Del as instructed.
However, once there, both my USB keyboard and mouse both didn't work.
So I tried a PS/2 keyboard, still no luck..

After various restarts and power cycles, I managed to get it back to the ASUS Splash screen but this time it said "Please wait..." in what seemed to be a Windows 8 style font.

I let the "Please wait..." sit for almost an hour and nothing happened.
After a few more restarts, the "Please wait..." changed to "Preparing setup repair"
Again, waited hours and nothing.

I eventually decided to reset the BIOs.
After resetting it the computer prompted me with:
"Push F1 to start the BIOs setup"
So, I pushed F1... again, no response because the BIOs doesn't seem to detect inputs properly...
The only time the BIOs seems to detect inputs (PS/2 or USB) is during the initial "Push F2 or Del" screen.

Could just be that this motherboard just came with a faulty BIOs? I've spent practically a day working on this trying multiple solutions found on the internet and nothing seems to work.
 

EchoTiger

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Mar 20, 2014
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Sorry for the delay.
Here's the build:

Mobo: ASUS M5A97 R2.0 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
CPU: AMD FD6350FRHKBOX FX-6350 FX-Series 6-Core Black Edition
GPU: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660 OC 2GB GDDR5 PCI-Express 3.0 DVI-I/DVI-D/HDMI/Displayport SLI Ready Graphics Card GV-N660OC-2GD
RAM: Kingston Hyper X Blu 4 GB 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 Desktop Memory (KHX1600C9D3B1/4G)
PSU: Thermaltake 700W ATX12V v2.3 and EPS12V Cable Management Optimized Power Supply TR-700


If I can remember correctly, the BIOS is either at version 2201 or 2103.
I believe it's 2201.
 

raja@asus

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Sep 28, 2011
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List all the USB devices and drives plugged into the board as well. For situations like these, it's usually wise to remove everything you can from the board and see if you can get into UEFI that way. Could be drives or one of the USB devices causing an issue.
 

officialexpert

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Pre Installing OS for new Custom build is mostly not a good idea.You can use old SSD or HDD but remember to format 100% before use.If you get a new one that could be best thing :bounce:.

Also Motherboard seems Faulty.Give it back to your seller It is in warranty period so you should get a Free Repair or New Board without any cost :bounce:
 

EchoTiger

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Mar 20, 2014
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I read from other people that the USB devices could be causing problems, so I tried experimenting with them already.
I've tried with only Keyboard+Mouse. Then, Keyboard+Mouse+USB (Linux). Then, just keyboard.
Then no USB at all with a PS/2 keyboard. Every time the issue would be the same.
I also checked to make sure that the USBs weren't plugged into the 3.0 slots.




Yea, I know. I was just in a rush with it. On previous builds I've had no problem jumping the gun, but I guess we can't always be lucky. Hehe
I'm just probably going to swap it out for a new one.
 

EchoTiger

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Mar 20, 2014
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UPDATE:

I got a replacement motherboard and the issue still remained.
At this point I knew it wasn't a bad BIOS.

I managed to get into the "System Information" via the BIOS and noticed that the RAM and CPU seemed to be functioning properly which then led me to believe it was an issue with the GPU.

Turns out it was.

I took the GPU out and put it in another computer, it also caused that computer's BIOS to freeze.

The GPU was a "Gigabyte GeForce GTX 660" purchased through Amazon (see link)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00942TK8I/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm having Amazon send a replacement GPU, hopefully I won't have the same luck with it. :3

Thanks to all who tried helping!

 

EchoTiger

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Mar 20, 2014
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The new GPU arrived yesterday.
I plugged it in to the motherboard that was assumed to be having issues and everything booted up just fine.
I guess I just had bad luck and received a faulty graphics card.

Day two and everything is still running just perfectly!

Thanks ASUS rep for actually taking the time to read posts on an unofficial ASUS forum.