Z77 Extreme 4 - A2/A6 Debug Error - Cannot get to BIOS screen

[idol]

**EDIT: Ok, so I removed my GPU and everything is working fine. I suppose I will install Windows once I get the disk, then power off and re-install my GPU and go from there. That error couldn't have been caused by a faulty GPU could it?**

Hello,

Long-time reader, first time poster.

Yesterday I went out and bought all the parts for my first gaming computer and set-it up. After many many hours, it was working.

I originally had it set-up to display to my Vizio HDTV (DVI->HDMI). The BIOS screen would pop-up and ask to use a boot disk or what not. This worked for a while. Eventually, upon powering it on later no display would come up at all. I read that sometimes it won't display on an HDTV until you get Windows installed, I went and borrowed a monitor from my parents, monitor states no DVI signal.

On the Dr. Debug I'm getting error A2 - I hit Del/any other key mostly and it will change to A6. I've tried the following:

Clear CMOS (MANY times).
Power off, take out CMOS battery and place it back in.
Use 1 stick RAM, take out both RAM's, re-seat RAM.
Re-seat graphics card.
Unplug and re-build entire system.

I am about to get a copy of Windows 7, I have an SSD and optical drive plugged in to install but, if I place the Windows 7 installer disk in will it automatically bring up an install screen or is there something wrong that I need to fix first? I'm very confused as to why it would work, and then stop working later.

Specs:

ASRock Z77 Extreme 4
Intel i5-3750K
Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2X 4GB)
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950
Seasonic 650W power supply
Samsung 840 Series SSD 128GB
Samsung Optical Drive

Thank you for all help given!

 

[tourist2001]

Hi,

Am wondering, if you ever discovered anything? My PC is pretty much the same as yours (CPU, Mobo, SSD, slightly older ATI card), except for the RAM, which is Corsair.

At first it was running fine, only difference being that I was running from a 500 GB HDD. I then bought the same SSD as yours about three weeks ago, migrated the OS and after a few days the system began crashing constantly. About the same time these A2 errors would pop up and I've also noticed my eSATA docking station running fairly slowly ever since (the burst mode plummeted from 220MB/s to 85MB/s and the transfer speeds seem capped at 100MB/s).

I've reattached the HDD (with and without the SSD plugged in) and get the same errors and eSATA speeds. No crashes though from the old HDD OS. I've now flashed the BIOS, but it didn't make a difference. A fresh install of Win7 on the SSD didn't improve the eSATA speeds either, so I'm not convinced it's a driver problem. Further more, the eSATA slot in the UEFI GUI recognizes the docking station as SATA3 capability.

When googling for this error, some, as yourself, have drawn connections to the GPU and perhaps a VGA cable, but it's all very vague and I don't have a VGA cable attached and the GPU card has been running fine for well over a year on my older PC.

It's all very weird. :/

 

[tourist2001]

Sorry, won't allow me to edit the post, just to clarify, I can get into the BIOS/OS just fine, it's the error, ccrashing SSD (might be due to migration) and poor eSATA speeds I'm worried about.

 

[idol]

Sorry, won't allow me to edit the post, just to clarify, I can get into the BIOS/OS just fine, it's the error, ccrashing SSD (might be due to migration) and poor eSATA speeds I'm worried about.

I'm sorry I can't really help much. I'm not sure what I did but it ended up working later on just fine with no problems since. Again, sorry that I can't really help. Maybe replace the SSD?

 

[tourist2001]

I'm sorry I can't really help much. I'm not sure what I did but it ended up working later on just fine with no problems since. Again, sorry that I can't really help. Maybe replace the SSD?

So there's no more A2 error in the boot screen? That's neat.

Well, I contacted ASRock customer support yesterday and hope they can help. As for the SSD, it runs fine and passes all tests when running as a slave, so it might be okay from a technical pov, but it'll show in the long run if the crashes reoccur. I've also discovered a BIOS setting which allows switching from HDD to SSD, not sure if that has an impact. Otoh the A2 error appears wether the SSD is attached or not, so I'm still rather clueless in that regard.

Thanks for replying though.