Asrock z77-itx only boots with CMOS reversed

[wfsm1th]

I decided to build a mini-itx PC. I bought the Asrock z77-itx. Put everything together and it would not even power up. So I exchanged it for a new one at the local Microcenter, took it home and put it in my system: Same exact thing.

I spent hours testing various things until I, somewhat accidentally, pulled the CMOS jumper and put it on pins 2/3, and BAM, it boots. So now, the machine boots perfectly as long as the cmos jumper is either a) removed completely or b) on pins 2/3. The motherboard's label for which cmos jumper position is 1/2 and which is 2/3 is not clear. If I am facing the cmos jumper where the jumper is closest to me, 2/3 is on the right and 1/2 is on the left? I am 100% sure it was in the shipped position and I had to move the jumper to get the machine to boot.

At any rate, I would be fine with this little quirk and just write it off, except neither my on-board LAN nor video card (gtx680) are recognized. While the video out on the card technically works, when I click on NVIDIA taskbar icon it says "no video card detected". The computer is also behaving a little strangely in that it does not shut down completely and won't come back after a restart (requires that I hit the reset switch after restarting from windows). It also feels very sluggish when loading windows and logging in (i am staring at the Windows8 spinner a lot whereas before I would hardly see it before it disappeared and the OS loaded in).

• 
  ■ I've tripled checked bios settings. PCI-E is selected as GPU default
  ■ I've reseated the card, checked the power connectors, etc
  ■ Installed drivers from mobo CD for LAN (broadcom and realtek)
  ■ I pressed the CMOS button on the back of mobo, tried putting jumper back on 1/2.

TL;DR

• 
  ■ Bought a new asrock mini itx board, didnt work
  ■ returned it, bought a new one, still didnt work
  ■ removed cmos jumper and it works
  ■ video card and LAN do not work
  ■ machine feels sluggish.

So, what do i do? I have a hard time believing my issues are from a bad mobo as I bought two and both had this issue. Could this all be because windows is choking on drivers and I just need to reinstall windows? Or do you think it is hardware related? I am at work now, and my plan is to load up a USB stick with the newest NVIDIA drivers and all the latest mobo drivers and hoping for the best.

 

[markwp]

If you have the board with the cmos jumper located directly in front of you on the left side of the board, the pin on the right nearest the cpu is pin #1. Pin #3 is nearest the corner of the board.

To clear the cmos, put the jumper on the center pin and the pin nearest the corner of the board. Then move the jumper to the center pin and the pin furthermost from the corner.

Edit: Since you are starting anew, I would start with a fresh windows install, then current drivers from AsRock (not the drivers on the cd), then gpu drivers.

Mark

 

[wfsm1th]

I zoomed in on the photo of the motherboard at newegg.com and the cmos jump in that photo is the same as the position I have it at in my working rig, and also the same position which you're saying I should set it to.

So it looks like both of the mobos I bought came with the cmos jumper on pins 1/2, which means they were shipped with the mobo set to clear cmos, and that just threw me for a loop.

So perhaps my issue is really just a Windows/driver issue and not a defective mobo. Are there any alternatives besides reinstalling windows? Thank you very much for your help markwp!

 

[wfsm1th]

Well that was it. The Motherboard shipped with the cmos jumper in the clear position (not default), and the instructions show the positions reversed.

As far as the card and LAN not working, those were driver issues. I managed to get the video card working but I had to reinstall Windows to get the Broadcom LAN to work.

 

[markwp]

Aside from the jumper issue, the main problem probably had to do with using the drivers on the m/b cd. You are always better off getting the most current drivers from the m/b makers web site as they continuously fix the problems that show up.

Glad you got it working!!

Mark