[SOLVED] Black screen when trying to access the BIOS ?

[dmilks]

So I am building a NAS with a mixture of new and used parts. At this point just waiting on the case to arrive, so I decided to test boot the system with the rest of the parts. The CPU, motherboard, and PSU are all used, and the ram and storage are new. I am using the integrated graphics with an hdmi from the mobo to my monitor. When I go to boot up the system I am greeted with the ASUS splash screen, however when I press f2 or delete as the screen instructs me to do it does not enter the BIOS, it just doesn't react in any way (I have tried multiple keyboards).

If I let it sit for a few minutes it will eventually go to the American Megatrends screen, and then comes the really frustrating part. When I press f1 as instructed to "enter the setup or recover BIOS setting" my screen goes black. It just stays black indefinitely, and the monitor never times out, so it is receiving some signal, but only black. Once it reaches this state I am unable to get any video to pass video at all after multiple reboots. I am only able to get the splash sceens to display again after clearing the CMOS, and having the same result when I hit f1 to enter the setup.

Specs:
Motherboard: ASUS B150I Pro Gaming/Aura
CPU: i5-7500
RAM: HyperX FURY DDR4 2300mhz 2x 8GB kit
Storage: 1TB Crucial 2.5" SSD
PSU: 380w Mute Master N380 (had this lying around, I think it's high enough wattage, but it only has a 4-pin CPU connector. Google search said the 4-pin should be sufficient for my i5-7500).

Troubleshooting steps I've taken:

• Removing all necessary connections
• Removing one stick of memory
• Cleared CMOS multiple times
• Booted with installation media and SSD attached, but was not able to reach the installation screen
• Ensured all cables are securely plugged in
• Using a different display

None of the debug LEDs are lit up when I boot it, except for the boot drive LED when the SSD is not connected. Not sure where to go from here. I wonder if it is trying to display to a GPU, or if the PSU is perhaps not supplying enough voltage to the CPU. I do have a gaming PC with a graphics card and decent PSU I could use to rule these out, but would like to explore other options before I go ripping that whole system apart. Any help would be appreciated, thanks for reading!

 

[Cristian425]

i have this same problem and i have no clue what to do there are no videos anywhere

 

[Misgar]

Just a long shot, but try using a different video interface instead of HDMI, i.e. connect the monitor using Display Port, DVI or VGA, depending on iGPU mobo outputs. HDMI can be awkward at times.

If that fails and you have an old GPU card, it's worth a try, even if it's not fully Windows 10/11 compatible. A GT 630 or a GT 710 will be fine for Windows 10, or something even older running as a Basic Graphics Adapter in Windows.

Have you tried a PS/2 keyboard instead of USB?

I have at least two old PCs running with only a 4-way EPS 12V lead plugged into the 8-way mobo port. You just get a bigger volt drop down the cable, because there are fewer parallel conductors. OK if you don't overclock or use a really power hungry processor, but if the system crashes when the CPU is working hard, fit a PSU with an 8-way lead.

 

[dmilks]

In case someone else come across this at a later date. It was an incompatible BIOS. Was able to resolve the issue by installing an older CPU and flashing the new BIOS revision. Hope that helps someone!

 

[Misgar]

I once bought an old AMD APU just in case I needed to flash the BIOS in a new mobo to make it compatible with a recently released Ryzen. It turned out the mobo came with the latest BIOS which was a relief, so I didn't need to APU.

It's always a good idea to check your BIOS version before buying a new CPU, just to make sure the mobo will recognise the processor.

It's difficult though if you're buying the mobo and CPU together, soon after a major update in CPU version number. If the mobo has an older incompatible BIOS and doesn't allow flashing without a CPU, you have to borrow one from the manufacturer or someone else.