Question ASUS P8Z77-V LX - Cannot enter BIOS - System stuck.

[030910TA]

My motherboard's CMOS battery has been out for ages so everytime I turn off mains power I get prompted to enter BIOS. This time when it gave me the option to enter BIOS, it just shows a blank screen and I think the system is stuck. The system is stuck because pressing ctrl-alt-del does not reset the system. The monitor shows as if it is getting some signal when trying to enter BIOS but the screen is blank. It has a intel i7-3770k.

I have tried the following in steps:
1. Take out all the RAM sticks and use one in different slots - Result: No fix
2. Take graphic card out of PCI express slot, use onboard intel graphics with different output ports (i.e. HDMI, DVI, VGA) - Result: No fix
3. Disconnect all drives - Result: No fix
4. CMOS battery is dead but I took it out anyway - Result: No fix

As the very last step after doing all the above, I swapped a ram stick again for the heck of it and I am not sure how it booted to an error message saying "The current BIOS setting do not fully support the boot device. Click OK to enter BIOS setup. Go to Advanced > Boot > CSM Parameters, and adjust blah blah ... "

So that error message finally allowed me to enter BIOS, I reset everything to default/optimized factory settings. The CSM parameters were set to auto and reboooted. Again same problem cannot enter BIOS no matter how many times I swap RAM sticks.

Windows boots fine and computer works fine for general use.

Any thoughts on what to try next? I was missing some windows updates, so installing them now.

I am afraid if I update the BIOS, it might get stuck again and brick the motherboard. The last BIOS update by ASUS was in 2014 so I doubt this has to do with a BIOS update. It used to work fine with same hardware, just suddenly it has stopped getting into BIOS.

 

[Lutfij]

4. CMOS battery is dead but I took it out anyway - Result: No fix
What's preventing you from replacing the battery with a fresh cell?

Any thoughts on what to try next?
Once you've replaced the CMOS battery with a fresh cell, see if you're able to get into BIOS, then update the BIOS if there are any updates pending. If the BIOS is corrupt, try and reflash it using a CH341A BIOS programming toolkit.

When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature, it's customary to include your full system's specs. Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

 

[030910TA]

4. CMOS battery is dead but I took it out anyway - Result: No fix
What's preventing you from replacing the battery with a fresh cell?

Any thoughts on what to try next?
Once you've replaced the CMOS battery with a fresh cell, see if you're able to get into BIOS, then update the BIOS if there are any updates pending. If the BIOS is corrupt, try and reflash it using a CH341A BIOS programming toolkit.

When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature, it's customary to include your full system's specs. Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model. BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.

"What's preventing you from replacing the battery with a fresh cell?"
Just laziness as it did not really impact the operation of this PC, I will swap it with a fresh one.

Using dxdiag, it seems this BIOS version is well out of date. It also cannot read the system manufacturer or model. Again its weird though if BIOS out of date has now become an issue but I will update it.

Windows update made no difference to the problem.

Are you saying to use CH341A to reprog the flash memory chip in case the normal flash fails?

CPU: i7 3770k
CPU cooler: Thermalright Assassin King 120 SE
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V-LX
Ram: 16GB DDR3 RAM split between 8GB Crucial Ballistix Tactical and 8GB Corsair XMS3. Not sure what speed they are running at since I cannot access BIOS.
SSD/HDD: Crucial 500GB SSD and a Seagate 1TB mechanical HDD
GPU: Nvidia GTX 1060 3GB
PSU: XFX 650W - Probably 8 years old
Chassis: Not sure
OS: Windows 10
Monitor: Coolermaster GA271 (Display port) and Acer 24" (DVI) of some kind, model is rubbed off.

BIOS version 1502
BIOS latest version 2501

Its a very old computer but works well for what I need.

Thanks for your help.

 

[030910TA]

FIXED: I loaded the new BIOS version using AI Suite and now I can enter BIOS fine now. It still won't show manufacturer name and model in dxdiag.