One last cry for help before I RMA my Mobo

[dberliner]

Asus P5K SE


First it doesn't recognize any IDE drives (not optical , not HD). Phone support at Asus (takes 30 minutes to get to a live tech guy , btw) says this mobo doesn't support IDE optical drives, but that HD should work (don't work, either). I went out and bought a new DVD burner which is SATA. ok , recognizes that one. However, before that I had intermittent problems with USB hardware. for a whole long day the BIOS just didn't recognize them, despite being plugged in (my usb hd even had a message on it that it's connected, so it did get feed, not a physical issue). After I plugged in a floppy drive (totally unrelated, I know) suddenly the USB ports came back to life. So anyway, managed to install VISTA with my new drive, but now another huge issue.. the on-board LAN doesn't lit up when I plug in the network cable (which ofcourse works just fine in the old computer), and Vista claims there's no Network hardware installed at all. IPconfig reveals an empty void. Attempt to install a driver resulted also in a message that says "no network hardware is detected". I've been thinking about updating the bios (which is version 0401 ,which SHOULD be stable, next version only adds soppurt for more CPUs), but I can't believe it's just a bios version that's so f***** up . Anyone sees any hope for this or should I just accept defeat and get a Gigabyte MB?

rest of hardware:

Computer specs:

CPU: INTEL Quadcore Q6600
Memory: 2X2GB DDR2 PC2-8000 5-5-5-19 - OCZ Technology
video card: HIS 2600XT IceQ Turbo 512MB GDDR3 Video Card
Hard Drive:Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar 500 GB SATA
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower W0103 600-Watt Power Supply for ATX 12V 2.2 and EPS 12V

Thanks,

Dana Berliner

 

[jitpublisher]

Have you checked in the BIOS to make sure you have USB support, on-board lan, etc. enabled?
Did you install the LAN drivers? Did you install the correct drivers for Vista?
Your ATA connection WILL detect optical drives and Hard Drives as well, as long as you have the jumpers set correctly on them. If you removed them from a previous PC, they were most likely on different channels. Now you are trying to hook them up on the same ribbon cable, the jumpers have to be set correctly.
Sorry, but from your list of problems, with no listing of actions you have take as to what you have tried or changed to try and make them work, this sounds a whole lot like user error........????
If you have tried all these things, it indeed sounds like time to send it in for a replacement.

 

[cb62fcni]

Have you gone into the bios at all to verify that your NIC is enabled? Have you cruised the ASUS forums for this particular mobo to see if others are having similar problems? The USB/floppy thing just sounds like some addressing wierdness, as long as that works now you're ok. And finally, just because ASUS says that a new bios rev only adds support for a new CPU, there are definately a ton more changes than that. I really wish they'd post what changes by line item, but no matter how sweeping the changes, they always just seem to put their little "adds support" blurb. So a bios update may be helpful before you send it back.

 

[evilshuriken]

Ah yes... the old ASUS initial laundry list of problems.

This always happens to me. That's why I've learned to buy refurbished asus motherboards. Unlike new motherboards that easily slip by ASUS' terrible quality control, refurbished ones always work just fine for me.
I know that might sound crazy, even idiotic. But I liken their boards and hate their "Surprise! I'm DOA!" issues with new ones.

About the IDE problems, I can't say I can help you find a solution. But a friend had a similar problem on his p5b plus, his xp OS disc would not boot from his IDE drive, he had to use a SATA drive. But after that there was no further problems, the IDE drive worked fine in windows.

Sorry I can't be of more help. I'll tell you this much, I've had ASUS boards in the past with a bunch of issues with stock bios, they where all fixed with the latest bios(even though none of the issues that where fixed where noted in the newer bios releases).

 

[jitpublisher]

I have to concur, that I too am done with ASUS. Used to believe they were the cream of crop, but lately they really seem to churning out a lot of problematic boards. I prefer Gigabyte, DFI, and even MSI over ASUS.

 

[rickpcnerd]

First check if lan is enable in Bios. Download latest Vista drivers for lan (first unisntall current drivers), Download latest BIOS. If still problem after bios flash, return motherboard.

 

[dberliner]

jitpublisher: Yes, at times the USB was detected in BIOS, at other times not, so it does support it. I have no idea when it happens to like my usb hardware and when not, or what triggers it back on. I tried all the jumper configurations available. nothing worked with IDE. tried differnet cables as well. nothing.

cb62fcni: checked the BIOS up and down, know it by sleep by now. Everything that should be enabled is enabled. EVERYTHING. this has been thoroughly checked, NIC is very much enabled. stumped.
I've cruised the net and indeed found other people with similar problems (with IDE problems), 1 other report regarding LAN issues, but not really about a completely dead LAN. also some usb variety reports. nothing that is Identical to my issues, with the exception of IDE issues.

Evilshuriken : Thanks for the info, not sure I want a refurbished asus. I'm done with this company (well, for the next 5 years at least).

 

[ZozZoz]

chipset drivers installed?

 

[evilshuriken]

Oh well, not everyone is insane enough to do what I do.
Asus support is probably the worst there is right now(actually, I can't remember a time when it was good).

The reason I do what I do is because I like the way asus makes their boards, and I am never happy with anything else. Because of that I research a board I will be buying very thoroughly beforehand, so I can avoid any possible problems like the ones you have. I think everyone should do this, with any part for from any manufacturer. It will help you avoid headaches in the future.

Good luck with your replacement MoBo.

 

[dberliner]

yes, chipset drivers installed.. could a bad bios flash hurt my other hardware in any way? the CPU, memory or anything?

 

[cb62fcni]

yes, chipset drivers installed.. could a bad bios flash hurt my other hardware in any way? the CPU, memory or anything?

There is a tiny possibility, but the odds are about the same as winning the lottery. Are you feeling lucky?

 

[ohiou_grad_06]

Look at gigabyte, though I'm an AMD guy, I recently just got a new system based on a gigabyte board, and very very nice setup.