Help with motherboard - ASUS P8P67 - Red Light on Boot Device

[Warty]

I had to take a break for 6 months or so while we were working on the house. I didn't use the sim PC during that time. Coming back now, trying to get it working again in a new room, it won't get close to booting up. THe Red LED for Boot Device turns on about 3 seconds after turning the PC on. The disk spins for a second or two first. I've been reading online, but I've tried most things (I have the battery out now, will leave out for 24 hours; tried 1 hour with no luck). I've disconnected all the other devices. I've even tried removing the connections to the main HD, but it still comes up red.

Is the board fried? Any other ideas I could try?

If it is fried, what's my best bet for a not-expensive way forward? I replaced the graphics card 7 months ago, and got new RAM, but the rest of the computer is 5-6 years old now. If I could re-use the graphics card and the power unit (650W) and the case, etc., that would be great. But how much do I need to spend?

Thanks!

[Chalenge]

Probably you experienced some form of BIOS oddity (I call it drift for lack of a proper term), which can usually be corrected by entering the BIOS changing any item and returning it to the setting it had when you entered the BIOS. Then a reboot would have gotten you back in business.

I don't know who suggested the battery removal. That is usually only good for returning the BIOS to default settings, but not the settings you were holding before you pulled the battery. You should be alright though. I would get a new battery (nearly any dollar store, convenience store will have the right cell).

This can happen as a result of electrostatic discharge. So, if you have your computer standing on carpet (for instance), then please correct that.

[TequilaChaser]

This can happen as a result of electrostatic discharge. So, if you have your computer standing on carpet (for instance), then please correct that.

Also wear tennis shoes or rubber sole shoes.... don't be working on your computer bare footed or wearing socks, and work in a room where the floor isn't carpet if you have the option.... be sure to discharge yourself by touching the outside of the case ( with both hands, ) before attempting to working inside.................. a wrist strap is ideal, to be honest



TC

[Drano]

Does that mobo have a numeric led display on it that gives you an error code or just the light? Knowing the exact problem is a help. My Asus Z68 board does.

Boot device could be a few things. For example mine won't boot if I have my external USB drives connected. Try unplugging everything and see if it changes.

Had you been messing around in the bios prior to taking the break and maybe changed the boot order to something that isn't there for the board to see? A thumb drive maybe?

Of course you could have a bad hard drive too. That's another obvious thing. Check the power and sata connections. Could be it's fine but doesn't have a good connection to the board.

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[Meatwad]

Does it give any beeps when you turn it on?

[Easyscor]

I have the P8P67LE version of that board. It's a very good board except the Marvel 6GB/sec SATA connection burns up mechanical hard drives, at least mine did.

If the BIOS is accessible, make sure it see's your OS hard drive. If it still won't boot and you have access to plug the hard drive into another computer, see if everything looks good on the drive. I had a hard drive go unreadable on a Dell Laptop once but as soon as I plugged it into another machine it came back up and has been working ever since. I put it back into the Dell. I chalked it up to Windows recognizing the problem on a secondary drive and correcting it. ymmv

Meatwad's suggestion of counting the beeps is a good one. Your manual will explain their meaning.

[Warty]

Thanks guys.

I'll try a new battery. I hadn't touched the bios settings in years. That trick was just something I saw on a few forums.

It does not beep, and I haven't been able to get it into the BIOS at all. I don't think it ever sends a video signal out. It just has a few LED lights, one for power, one for boot drive error, etc. I have removed and re-seated everything in there at least once, that doesn't seem to be it.

I didn't realize that the HD going bad would show up that way. That could definitely be it. I thought it was erroring out before it really did much with the drive. I don't have another PC to test against right now, but can try something on tuesday.

Should I be able to disconnect that drive, and get a linux boot CD or something, and boot off that? Or maybe off my original windows install disk if I can dig it up?

[Easyscor]

Hold down the Del key as it's booting up.
I'm not sure if it will work on a USB keyboard, I always keep an old ps2 keyboard for just this purpose, or a usb to ps2 dongle.

If the machine boots to the Windows CD, then it can't be the board. You might need to set the BIOS to default to the DVD drive if it isn't already set as the second boot drive but chances are you set it that way when you built the machine cause you just paranoid, right.

[Warty]

The USB keyboard seems to have been part of the problem. In any case with  ps2 keyboard I keep around for just this kind of thing, I could get into bios. So that's a good sign. Disconnecting the hard drive and reconnecting the DVD let it get to the boot from cd screen. So good. Ordered a new drive.

Bad: can't find the &$$) windows 7 disk. I have held on to hundreds of useless dvds from 10-15 years ago but not the windows DVD. Lol.


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[Easyscor]

The way that part works, the moment you take deliver on a new OS disk, you'll find the old one. 

Anyway, glad you're making progress.

Did the BIOS see your hard drive this time? You might plug it into the other 3GB SATA port if not, but do NOT plug it into the 6GB port!

Good luck.

 

[Drano]

Ahh check this out. A little quirk with these boards I found out a few weeks back. I got the idea my ages old belkin usb powered hub was getting glitchy. My TIR would get lost to AH on occasion so to rule out the hub I picked up a new powered USB 3.0 hub. Once I plugged it in I get a boot error too but mine says no keyboard detected. Yeah it's a USB keyboard. The PC will continue to boot tho and windows detects the USB keyboard just fine. Once booted all is right with the world. A Google search shows it's a known problem (to do with USB 3.0 hubs) with my board that a bios update would cure..... If they'd update the bios! Think the most recent one, that I'm using, is from like '13. So guess that's what I'm stuck with!

If I unplug the new hub the error doesn't occur on boot. That's why I suggested unplugging peripherals. Try to rule out the stupid stuff first before plunking down a lot of cash.

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[Meatwad]

This thread reminded me I had a USB 2.0 hub that decided to not let the computer boot anymore, it would come on then go right off even with nothing plugged into the hub.

[Warty]

Easycor:  I'm away from the pc right now, but I didn't try to reconnect the hd after I finally got to Bios. I am pretty sure the HD was plugged into the 6gb port when I opened the machine up. That's bad???


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[Easyscor]

Like I said above, the 6GB Marvel port on my P8P67LE fried a 2GB Baracuda drive that was working on the 3GB port. User error may have contributed, but I won't use that port on anything again, wish I could.

It's worth trying your HD on the 3GB port, it only takes a couple of seconds to plug it in and point the BIOS at it. That might get you running again, if not, it's more confirmation about 6GB ports and mechanical 3GB HDs on these boards.

[Warty]

Wow! success!

All I did was rig it back up to the 3GB port this time, and it started right up. SMART claims it's ok, but I think I'll take this opportunity to clone it to a new drive and not worry about it. It has made some dubious sounds in the past.

Thanks for the help Easycor!