P8z68V bios help

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speedlever

Limp Gawd
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Sep 29, 2006
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I have a 2 year old P8Z68V mobo that had BIOS 0902 on it. The computer was having some issues (64Gb M4 caching a 1Tb Hitachi via IRST in RAID). So I replaced the Corsair M4 SSD with a new Samsung 256Gb 840 pro in AHCI mode and installed Win7/64. Before doing anything further, I elected to update the BIOS to 3603. I left the spinners for data and backup. Win7/64 home.

Now it appears to have taken the new BIOS fine (updated via USB stick formatted to FAT) and used the BIOS EZ flash update routine from 0902 to flash to 3603.

Now I can't get past the AMI splash screen where it says press F1 to enter BIOS. I've cleared the CMOS via the CLRTC jumper but no change.

Any suggestions how to proceed?

D7dVWlq.jpg
 
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Is your keyboard a wired usb connection? Is it plugged into a usb 2.0 port on the back of the computer? Did you download the correct bios? There are two versions of the 3603 bios, one for xp/vista and the other for win 7/8.
 
That does not appear to be an OEM BIOS file, you need to talk to the people who wrote/modified the BIOS file for help with this problem.
 
The site you sent me to looks like an optional ROM modified BIOS file that I was guessing you might have needed with your old drive setup.

I would try to start your computer with your old drive setup and see if it will let you into BIOS. If that works then download and install the BIOS from the Asus website and then see if it will let you into BIOS with new SSD.
 
Unfortunately, I can't get into the old system. I have the components, but the original system was set up with a 64Gb Corsair M4 SSD caching the 1Tb Hitachi spinner using IRST in a RAID configuration. The cache drive somehow became dissociated, and after re-associating the drive, the system became unstable.

For the rebuild, I put a 256GB Sammy 840 Pro in as an OS/program drive and left the 1TB Hitachi for data (as well as an existing 1Tb Sammy for backup). I set this up in AHCI mode.

I don't see a way to go back.
 
I may be way off base here, but I really don't think it will matter if the M4 and Hitachi will not run the system, you just want the OROM to recognize them and let you into the BIOS, otherwise talk to the person who modified the BIOS to see if the is a way to override the OROM at start up.

Another possibility would be to boot to BIOS with just the M4, in case the problem is a compatibility issue between the BIOS and the Samsung.
 
Hmm. I see what you're saying. I think. But if I put the M4 back in place of the 840Pro, I don't see how that will work. The PC has to boot through the BIOS before it can get to the drive, right? And the M4 was only there to cache the spinner drive under RAID and boost performance (which it did a fine job of for a good while). Win7 was only installed on the spinner with the M4 as a cache drive.

And since the BIOS update is straight off the Asus site (or a link to it), I sorta doubt I can talk to anyone who created the BIOS file. I don't believe it is modified in any way at all.

IAC, I posted about it on the site I got the link from. They seem pretty active so maybe I can find some help there. Otherwise, I guess I'll be looking to buy a new mobo compatible with the i5-2400 cpu. :(

I'm not willing to give up yet. If this fails, it will be my first ever BIOS update fail. And I've done a fair number of them without issue. I'd like to keep my record intact. ;)
 
OS does not matter just try any single drive, that worked before, to see if it will let you into the bios.

You can probably order a new bios chip much cheaper than a new board.

If you used the OEM BIOS file did you do the .ROM to .CAP file name conversion at some point in time (its been awhile since I bios updated an Asus Z68 board but I think this was something I had to do to update some of my clients or maybe that was X79)?
 
No. I just ran the update, same as I did when I got the board initially. I've successfully updated BIOS files from Windows (AI Suite), from the BIOS itself, from EZ Flash.. never a problem before. Guess there's always a first time.

New BIOS chip? Never thought about that. I'll have to Google that option.
 
Well it might have been a bad flash but you need to check the basics first, Are you getting any beep codes? Are any of the onboard leds staying on (red)?
 
NO beep codes. No beeper on the mobo, that I know of. ;)

I just checked the onboard LEDs and would have sworn they were all off. But I just noticed that the boot device LED is staying lit. The cpu, memory, vga light up and go out, but the boot device led stays on.

TBBONIx.png


Well shucks. Not sure what that means.
 
I usually include a speaker on my current builds since MB manufacturers no longer build them in to the board.

I'd say its looking for the boot device and it doesn't like your Samsung. Try a spinner as the only drive connected and see if that will let you in to BIOS.

Probably just set up wrong the first time through according to what I'm reading. I've got one these MBs (except its GEN 3) to add a SSD to in the near future and this info will most likely help me avoid the kind of error you might have made.

ALSO might be SSD firmware needing update.
 
Thanks Tom. I'll get back to thIs later. I'm away right now.

For the record, I have an intel ssd as my boot device on my p8z68v-pro (gen1) and no issues. This V board was great in cache mode with the m4 ssd until something happened, probably well over a yer after the build. I've been slow to attack the problem. ;)
 
Back on this project, I replaced the CMOS battery, no change. I pulled out 3 sticks of ram leaving one stick, no change. I unplugged all drives, no change. I plugged back in the original drive configuration, no change.

The LED boot device remains on, every time, regardless of the above configurations.

Bad BIOS update? Bad mobo?

I remain stumped.
 
I'm wondering if I should order a new BIOS chip (~$15) or if the mobo itself is bad? Any way to determine?
 
If you did not double flash the bios then you probably need to order the chip. Did you read to the end of the Asus thread I referred you to?
 
I did not double flash the BIOS. I previously flashed the BIOS for this board (and also my V-pro board) when I first built the systems. No double flashes... successful BIOS updates in both cases (1101 for my V pro, 0902 for the V). So unless the 3603 BIOS is somehow unique requiring a double flash, I don't see how that could be a factor for this Sandy Bridge/Z68 build.

Or did I misread that link? (good info, btw).

I'll put that chip on order tonight and hope that fixes the issue. Otherwise, looks like it may be time for a new LGA1155 mobo... compatible with the i5-2400 SB cpu.

Edit: I pm'd Raja too. Hope he will weigh in on this issue.
 
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Yes the flash process changed on these Motherboards with the bios version that includes Ivy Bridge support. Without doing a lot of research my guess is that the 1101 bios does not support Ivy Bridge.
 
Son of a gun. Even if you don't have an IB chip? Well, hopefully the new BIOS chip will have 3603 on it and it will be good to go.

Do the latest LGA1155 offerings by Asus require a double flash for BIOS updates? I haven't been in the mobo business lately. LGA1155 is probably dated anyway.
 
Yes even if you don't upgrade the chip. A lot of the boards that were originally sandy require something unusual when updating the bios to a bios that will support ivy bridge, also UEFI support requires some special handling. Only one of my customers on Z68 has an Ivy bridge processor, which is why it took me so long to find that reference.

I have had to allow some Z77 boards to reboot twice during the bios update but it is better documented on those boards, also at some point certain boards need to have the bios update converted from a .rom file to a .cap file before you flash them.

I think 1155 still has a lot of life but some of my favorite boards are getting hard to find.
 
OP,

I had the exact same board up until last week.

As mentioned above you need to double-flash the bios.

Flash to 3603 and leave the FDD in. When you are back to the F1 screen enter the bios and re-flash.

Be sure to load optimized defaults after the second flash completes.

PC should now boot into windows. If it does not, unplug everything. KB/M HDD/FDD and reboot. Hopefully you get to the "please insert boot media" screen. If you do, plug in a single drive with an OS on it and reboot.
 
Hopefully, I won't have to reflash the new BIOS chip that's inbound.

That's a sneaky issue to have when you've had successful BIOS updates in the past. I appreciate the info about the double flash and will have to read over that again, just to educate myself.

I used a USB stick formatted FAT32, but it was a 16Gb stick. Makes me wonder now if I could have reflashed a 2nd time.. or if it was stuck at the F1 prompt the first time. I set optimized defaults before I flashed the BIOS... for what good it did me.
 
Try using delete before that comes up instead of f1. ASUS usually has two different keys to enter the bios.
 
I sort of think the boot device LED is trying to tell me something. I just not sure what. And that's with all drives disconnected and only 1 stick of ram installed. About as bare-bones as you can get while still inside the case.

I hope the new BIOS chip fixes everything. ;)
 
Good news! The new BIOS chip (3603) arrived yesterday. I swapped out the chips this afternoon and the PC boots up just fine now on the new Samsung 840Pro SSD.

A few tweaks to the new BIOS (leaving most everything stock) and now I'm off to update the chipset and other drivers before beginning the task of installing the programs and getting everything running again.

Dual flash... would have never known about that! Is there anyway to rescue the old BIOS chip without sending it back for a reflash? It might be handy to keep around.. just in case. ;)

Tom, that was a lifesaver suggestion to replace the BIOS chip! (ok, well, a money saver anyway!)
 
Glad it worked out so well.

Sending it back for a reflash is probably the cheapest option but I doubt you'll need it, these motherboards are unlikely to get any more bios updates that you can't live without.
 
Thanks Tom. I appreciate your help. Good point about the old BIOS chip.

Since you're on a roll, how about a few driver installation questions?

Do I need to update the MEI driver and firmware?

The Asus site is far outdated on the driver issue when comparing to:
http://station-drivers.com/index.php/bios-pour-cartes-meres/12-bios-cartes-meres/546-p8z68-v

I've used drivers from here in the past with no issues. I think the only driver Asus has that this site doesn't is the BT driver, which isn't needed in this application anyway. Otherwise, the chipset, IRST, video, audio, LAN, and USB drivers are all significantly newer than those on the Asus site.
 
Go straight to Intel for the MEI and other Intel updates, run the automatic tool (you will need Java installed first).

I'm not completely sure on the Z68 chipset but I think you install the older MEI update first, reboot, make sure it is running, update the firmware, then update to the latest MEI version. I think the Intel tool has some explanation/automation for most of that.

I really recommend going to the Asus webpage for your motherboard to get the rest of your updates especially the video and audio drivers as there are some that come from other sources that can cause conflicts. (again you will need to install Java first)

Once you have all the Asus OEM drivers installed and stable and Windows, fully updated and running pretty much how you want it, use Windows to make a system image, after that you can go try all the 3rd party drivers to see if any work better for you, because you have a clean system image to restore from if something goes wrong. You will need a separate partition or drive for the image.
 
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