Boot Problem with SATA Bios

C4DAO · 07-16-2007, 12:39 PM

Hi,

I've been having problems with no input on my Lilliput when booting - just the message "over range" is displayed. I've done some searching here, and I think I know the solution, so I hooked up a normal desktop monitor to change the required settings - the computer turned on, the bios screen displayed (but I was unable to interupt the boot with a USB keyboard plugged in), and then I was greeted with this screen:

I have seen this screen before when the carputer was working ok, but it displayed for a fraction of a second - now on boot it just hangs on this screen.

Any idea what's gone wrong? Have I inadvertily destroyed the HD?

Thanks for the help given so far!

KaOsTiK · 07-16-2007, 12:58 PM

in your bios...change the sata setting from RAID to IDE.

try that

C4DAO · 07-16-2007, 01:07 PM

I can't seem to access the bios though mate - the bios asked for the "ESC" key to be pressed to interupt the boot, but pressing it does nothing ?? The keyboard is a USB one, will a P/S2 one be recognised?

Can I ask - why do I need to change the bios settings from RAID to IDE?

I think my Bios was reset due to static when carrying out installing a power supply - do you think the bios settings could have been "reset" so hence the HD isn't recognised?

HyperZulu · 07-16-2007, 01:45 PM

Looks like you need to clear CMOS. If you can't access the BIOS, then just pull the CMOS battery out from the motherboard. It's the little, flat and circular silver battery on the mobo. That should clear your CMOS. But you should get into BIOS by pressing Delete for Dells, I think... or try F12, F10, or F2... one of those is bound to work.

Easiest way is to pull CMOS battery after turning off the computer. Otherwise, there should be a the ESCD setting which can clear BIOS settings. Either way, you will have to reconfigure BIOS or just use optimized settings. You should be good to go after that.

C4DAO · 07-16-2007, 02:06 PM

Thank you for your helpful suggestion!

To clear a few points -

I can "see" the bios (I.E it is displayed), but I can't assess the bios settings menus - The bios asks for either "ESC" or "DEL" to enter the settings menu, but neither of these seem to work from the USB keyboard.

The PC is a VIA EPIA C7 (1.5gig) - the monitor I was "borrowing" was a dell, and so the bios was a "dell" one.

So what is CMOS? And if I pull the battery out, what risks am I taking? I dont want any more of the BIOS settings to reset!

HyperZulu · 07-16-2007, 02:42 PM

EDIT: There are many ways to clear CMOS, so you should read your manual or look it up. It could be a jumper used to clear it. This is easier than pulling the battery.

EDIT2: Yeah... page 32-
Mobo Manual

Well... hmmm, what you say makes me wonder if you are calling . You won't have a Dell BIOS by just using a Dell monitor. BIOS is set on a ROM chip on the motherboard, no matter what other hardware you use.

In any case, clearing CMOS is not harmful. It just resets settings. You will need to clear CMOS settings in order to get it working again. I've had this happen before and I went into BIOS and set ESCD to clear on next bootup and it boot up just fine.

You should try pressing a bunch of those keys I mentioned repeatedly... I believe for VIA boards it is F2 key when the machine is in POST, when it first starts up.

If you can find the ESCD, set that to enable and it will reset itself on the next boot only. Otherwise, turn off the system and clear the CMOS by pulling the battery.

C4DAO · 07-17-2007, 02:35 AM

Morning Zulu

Thanks again for your detailed reply - much appreciated!

I do know that a computers BIOS is "independent" from the computer manufacturer...it' just you said:

Quote:

But you should get into BIOS by pressing Delete for Dells

I thought you'd assumed my computer was a dell machine because I was using a DELL monitor!!

Anyway - I will try your suggestions on the weekend, and if I can't enter the BIOS I will pull the battery, replace it, and see what happens. Will report back here once done to let you know how I got on!

Thanks again

Darren

binary.h4x · 07-17-2007, 09:05 AM

Why dont you just use a ps/2 keyboard and enter the bios that way?

tn6478 · 07-17-2007, 10:01 AM

ps/2 keyboard will allow you to enter the bios and adjust setting. Most likely something in your bios has change and its not letting you post thru to windows. go in there and start messing around. Be careful =)

HyperZulu · 07-17-2007, 11:36 AM

Sorry about the Dell confusion. No big deal haha... If you can't get into BIOS though, I'd try what others suggested, use a PS/2 keyboard. I think I remember an older VIA nano board that wouldn't hit BIOS from USB keyboard. I assumed your newer board would. Maybe not though.

Anyhow... the way I fixed my issue is outlined in the manual. If you can get into BIOS, look at page 66. It talks about setting ESCD which clears extended BIOS info. That is what I did to clear the SATA boot problem that you are having. Just set Reset Configuration Data to ENABLED, save settings and reboot. Then make sure that it boots into Windows and go back to BIOS and make sure that setting disabled itself again.

C4DAO · 08-12-2007, 03:26 PM

Hey there!

Still having the same problem guys - I tried fitting a new battery (2032 type) and fitting my USB keyboard with a USB to PS/2 adaptor, but no luck.

I can confirm the bios asks for the DEL key to be pressed to access the bios, but nothing happens when I try to interupt the boot before it reaches the above SATA bios screen. The keyboard receives power (caps lock button lights etc) but no presses seem to be recognised, although the computer does "BEEP" at me when I press any key multiple times?

ARGGHHHH !!!

Guess my next option would be to buy a true PS/2 keyboard and try that?

C4DAO · 08-14-2007, 02:20 AM

Just completed some searching on the VIA arena forums, and it seems a BIOS version may be bugged and have problems recognising USB devices on boot, and also some SATA problems - I'm thinking I probably have the same BIOS version?

Will test a PS/2 keyboard on the weekend and see if I make any progress!

But if anybody has any tips/suggestions please let me know!

C4DAO · 09-01-2007, 09:32 AM

Right lads,

Got my hands on a PS/2 Keyboard to test to see if I could interupt the boot process with it.

Still no luck - the keyboard receives power, and the system produces a bemp when keys are pressed, but pressing DEL still doesn't interupt the boot.

I then opened the case and removed the CMOS battery for 2 minutes to reset it, and booted the machine back up.

This time I got this screen:

I notice that no hard drive is listed. I assume either the drive is dead, or the machine doesn't realise it's a SATA drive, and not IDE?

As you can see I'm given the option to press F1 to continue with optimised defaults, or DEL to enter BIOS.

Pressing either one of these keys gets me to this screen:

Nothing happsn on this screen - waited a few minutes but no progress.

So what should I do now? Help please!

Would a boot disk/CD be my next option? I have a CD/DVD drive, but I could get my hands on an external disk drive if required.

C4DAO · 09-12-2007, 07:13 AM

Tried this morning to boot the Windows XP installation disk - I assumed this would work as the only device recognised in the picture above is the CD/DVD drive, but inserting it before turning the power on does nothing?

Pressing either DEL and F1 doesn't take me into the BIOS setup screen, and the CD will not boot! Pressing either DEL and F1 only succeeds in displaying the screen above with the VIA SATA BIOS screen, and the computer just sits at this screen.

What do I do next guys? I'm stumped and very frustrated!

galvitron · 09-13-2007, 12:48 AM

You can't boot to any device (CD or HD) because the BIOS won't load correctly. It copies itself into RAM and runs a bunch of tests first before trying to boot an OS or a drive. If these tests don't pass (as in your case), it halts.

In one of your screen-shots above it says there is a checksum error on your CMOS. This is a pretty clear indication that the problem is in the BIOS. But you can do some things to eliminate other factors.

1. Remove all peripheral devices from the system. You should just have KB, monitor, processor, RAM, CPU fan plugged in. Remove any extraneous PCI or AGP devices. Remove ALL USB stuff. Try getting into BIOS that way...

If still no good...

2. if you have 2 ram chips, try booting with one or the other in either slot ( a few combinations)

If still no good...

3. flash the BIOS with a newer version using a BIOS flash utility from the Motherboard manufacturer. It will probably need to be loaded onto a floppy that boots to dos. Be careful and follow instructions exactly.

If still no good...

4. Either get a new BIOS chip and swap (if swappable) or de-solder old/solder new. If this makes you uncomfortable, then send for repair.

Good luck...