ASUS P5B Deluxe - not booting after BIOS Flash!!!

osbornej76

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I have just built a new PC, based on an ASUS P5B Deluxe mobo

Everything was going well, I had the system running XP perfectly. I was advised on another forum to flash the BIOS since the latest BIOS offers some good overclocking features (I thought I might want to later)

I downloaded the latest 8.04 BIOS ROM from the ASUS site as directed and used the new ASUSUpdate tool. It seemed to work and verified the flash as successful.

It then asked me to reboot.

Upon POSTing, a warning came up telling me that the "Overclocking was not successful" or something similar. It gave an option to revert to previous settings, which I did.

Now the PC wont boot past the blue ASUS splash screen, pressing TAB or DEL does nothing.

I followed the manual to the letter in resetting the CMOS (Clear RTCRAM), by disconnecting power, removing battery and moving the jumper etc.

It still wont boot past the ASUS splash screen.

I feel a bt sick, have just spent £800 on this new family PC....

Can anyone help???


Cheers

Jim
 
Everything up to and including the "Overclocking was not successful" message is normal. This message comes up after a reflash because the BIOS has gone to default settings. What RAM are you using and with what voltage does it require? Also, what's your other components?
Have you tried disconnecting everything (all but PSU connectors and the CPU... no RAM, no video). With just a CPU you should get beep codes. If so, put in RAM (one stick at a time, try different slots) but no video card and start it up. If you do not get beep codes, then it's hanging because of the RAM. If you do get beep codes, install the video card and other cards one at a time with a reboot in between.
 

rquinn19

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i bet its a ram problem. reverting back to the default bios changed the ram voltage which for some reason some bios are pickier than others. i'm actually considering going back to 0711 i think i had less problems then the new one (0804 i think). try one stick of ram or maybe try some different ram. using just one stick worked for me when i had a similar problem not too long ago.
 

osbornej76

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yeah I tried just one stick of RAM same result, miserably there is no speaker in my $160 case!! so I have no idea what POST beeps are occurring.

I am using 2 sticks of 1GB Geil DDR2 800Mhz, before the failed BIOS flash it was working perfectly.

I have RMA'd the mobo and when I get a replacement I will stick to the early BIOS.



Jim
 

osbornej76

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Okay guys, now I REALLY need your help!!!

I have just received my spanky new replacement Asus P5B Deluxe Mobo.

I reseated the RAM, CPU/COOLER, PCI-E Gfx Card, SATA HDD, and IDE DVD and powered up.

***Exactly the same issue occurs***

I get as far as the blue Asus splash screen and then it wont respond.


:cry:


Remember this kit (with first mobo) worked perfectly for 2 days before I flashed the BIOS to v804.

So,

1) I guess that the mobo is not the problem.

2) The RAM seems okay, I have used each RAM stick on its own so unless they have BOTH died I am eliminating the RAM.

3) I removed the HDD cable from the mobo, problem persists

4) I removed the IDE cable from the mobo, problem persists

5) I removed the GFX card. Now since there is no mobo spkr or onboard video I can't really test this one. When it booted without a gfx card, I didn't see any HDD activity so I presume that it stalled at the prePOST screen again. So problem persists (I think)

6) I removed the CPU. Out of desperation I tried the mobo without the CPU - blank screen. I guess the mobo needs the CPU to even start POSTing.

Therefore - by flashing the BIOS I fried my Dual 2 Core 6300? Or have I missed an obvious step?

Jim
 
This is a very strange problem. Could it be a coincidence that a component decided to fail at the same time that you did a BIOS flash? Do you have another computer to test your components in? Perhaps its the PSU?
I'm running out of ideas. CPU's are usually the most hardy component in a computer, I've never had one blow personally, so that's usually the last thing to check. Could you post a detailed list of every component in your system so we can dig deeper into this? Also, is it at all possible to see the POST message 'behind' the boot screen by pressing TAB? That might give us more clues.

You might need to go to Radio Shack (or the UK equivalent) and purchase a case speaker so we can get some beep codes to diagnose.
 

osbornej76

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My components:

Mobo - Asus P5B Deluxe - Rev 1.036
RAM - GeiL 2GB (2x1Gb) PC6400 800Mhz Dual Channel RAM
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo 6300
CPU Cooler - Zalman Aero Flower
HDD - WD Raptor 10k SATA
Gfx Card - Connect3D ATI Radeon 1800 XT 256Mb
DVD - Sony Dual Layer DVD RW
PSU - Antec NEO HE 430w

All worked perfectly until I flashed the BIOS to 804.

Replacement mobo has same problem straight out of the ox (original BIOS).

I cant reach the POST details, no keys work. I have also tried an old PS2 keyboard in case the USB one was not recognised etc.

Maybe it is the PSU... however I just assumed that the flash to 804 reset the system voltages too high and killed CPU or RAM or GFX Card - I just cant figure out which one.

Jim

PS Thanks for your help!
 

osbornej76

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rquinn - you sound certain!

I initially thought that as well, however surely BOTH sticks of RAM dying simultaneously is highly unlikely!?!

I may grab another 256 for $60 tomorrow to test, if the RAM is okay then at least I can make use of the extra RAM... if that doesn't solve it then I guess I have to drop another $100 on a new PSU and pray it isnt the GFX card after all!!
 
It might not be that the RAM is faulty, but the default voltage within the virgin BIOS might be set at DDR2 default 1.8V and your RAM needs more to boot. If you can get it to boot with another stick of RAM and get into BIOS, you can then change the RAM voltage to what you need and then reinstall your original sticks.

On a side note, here is a thread in the ASUS forum from someone having the exact same problem and someone suggested messing around with the chassis intrusion jumper to be able to get into the BIOS. I don't know if it works, but here's the link:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20061104071307562&board_id=1&model=P5B+Deluxe%2fWiFi-AP&page=1&SLanguage=en-us
 

rquinn19

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It might not be that the RAM is faulty, but the default voltage within the virgin BIOS might be set at DDR2 default 1.8V and your RAM needs more to boot. If you can get it to boot with another stick of RAM and get into BIOS, you can then change the RAM voltage to what you need and then reinstall your original sticks.

On a side note, here is a thread in the ASUS forum from someone having the exact same problem and someone suggested messing around with the chassis intrusion jumper to be able to get into the BIOS. I don't know if it works, but here's the link:

http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20061104071307562&board_id=1&model=P5B+Deluxe%2fWiFi-AP&page=1&SLanguage=en-us

exactly i thiink i just got lucky that 1 stick worked for me...the new mobo probably has a more up to date bios

is there a pc laying around with ddr2 u can pop in just to get it to post and then change your ram voltages