ASUS M4A87TD

[chatten007]

Hello,
I recently built a new rig and I can't get past the POST and it isn't "seeing" my SATA drives, but does see an old IDE HDD. I keep getting to a screen that says:

Please enter setup to recover bios setting
the data in the ec or ec flash might be corrupted.
Please contact Asus technical support for help
Fatal Error... System halted.

Followed by three short beeps.

I have tried changing the battery to the CMOS, unplugging everything unimportant, and reseating all connections.

What else can I try? Asus has been no help thus far.

EDIT:
I also cannot access the BIOS. Sorry I omitted that...

 

[o1die]

I would try just one drive at a time. You may also have one bad ram stick, or one slightly loose that's not seated all the way into the slot.

 

[chatten007]

I've removed all drives and reseated the RAM. Keeping getting the same screen. Although I occassionaly do get the same screen with an added line:

KBC BAT Test failed

And it is also accompanied by 5 short beeps. But I get this screen only occassionally, not very often at all.

If this helps, here's what's connected.
ASUS M4a87TD USB3
2x4GB Kingston HyperX 1600 DDR3
Seasonic Modular 620w PSU
PNY GT440
AMD 1090T


If I cannot access the ExpressGate or BIOS, would it be any use to try to flash the bios. I have tried to get to FreeDOS with two different keyboards, but to no avail.

ASUS has yet to respond...

 

[o1die]

If the board keeps freezing at the post screen, try just one stick of ram at a time.

 

[beenthere]

You may also need to clear CMOS after removing the unnecessary hardware.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/261145-31-perform-steps-posting-boot-video-problems

 

[chatten007]

Thanks, but that didn't work. All I got after that was a line in the POST that said my RTC was not set, along with all of the other errors.

Thanks for helping. Is it possible that my BIOS chip is defective? I'm really at a loss here... First ASUS board I've ever had fail on me. I know the PSU is good, the vid card is good, only things I can't test is the RAM or CPU. But I do know it is all installed properly and making good connections, there are no bent pins.

 

[o1die]

If you fill out an rma with asus, be very careful handling the board. Asus has refused some rma's due to light wear on the circuitry. They inspect boards with a scope. I'm glad I don't use their products anymore.

 

[chatten007]

Best answer selected by chatten007.