[SOLVED] Cant access BIOS - Old Gigabyte motherboard (Legacy BIOS) - Windows runs fine

[Crispybacon501]

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2 Rev 1.4 AM3
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad Core
RAM: 2 x 8GB Kingston Fury HyperX DIMM DDR3 1866 HX318C10FR/8
GPU: PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 Enthusiast edition 1GB (1024m) GDDR5
OS: Windows 10 Enterprise (recently reinstalled with reset)
Monitor: Samsung C27F398 27-Inch Curved LED FullHD 1080p Monitor - 1920x1080, HDMI
Peripherals: Microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard
BIOS version: F10 (Legacy BIOS, not UEFI)

Problem:

Ok this is old hardware but its all I need at the moment because I don't play modern games on the PC (just old ones). I am unable to enter BIOS setup after POST. After pressing ‘Delete’ to enter setup, the message is displayed: “Prepare to Enter Setup…” but the screen goes black with a flashing cursor at the top left corner. Left it for several minutes and no change. It is still possible to access the boot menu without entering the BIOS. Windows starts up no problem and boots very quickly so I can use the Gigabyte "@bios" utility to flash from within windows.

I have tried the following after reading other forums etc:

Power off, unplug and reset the CMOS by removing the battery for a 10 minutes
Reset the CMOS by shorting out the jumper terminals.
Changed the CMOS battery for a new one
Removed the GPU and connected the monitor to the onboard graphics
Tried the keyboard/mouse in different USB sockets
Tried using old wired keyboard and wired mouse
Tried old monitor
Tried removing 1 RAM stick and then the other, re-seating etc
Tried removing all Sata drives including C: drive
Tried flashing all available BIOS versions from the Gigabyte website using the @bios utility in Windows.

I’m running out of options now so would appreciate any help.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA74GMT-S2 Rev 1.4 AM3
CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 945 Quad Core
RAM: 2 x 8GB Kingston Fury HyperX DIMM DDR3 1866 HX318C10FR/8
GPU: PNY Nvidia GeForce GTX 460 Enthusiast edition 1GB (1024m) GDDR5
OS: Windows 10 Enterprise (recently reinstalled with reset)
Monitor: Samsung C27F398 27-Inch Curved LED FullHD 1080p Monitor - 1920x1080, HDMI
Peripherals: Microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard
BIOS version: F10 (Legacy BIOS, not UEFI)

Problem:

Ok this is old hardware but its all I need at the moment because I don't play modern games on the PC (just old ones). I am unable to enter BIOS setup after POST. After pressing ‘Delete’ to enter setup, the message is displayed: “Prepare to Enter Setup…” but the screen goes black with a flashing cursor at the top left corner. Left it for several minutes and no change. It is still possible to access the boot menu without entering the BIOS. Windows starts up no problem and boots very quickly so I can use the Gigabyte "@bios" utility to flash from within windows.

I have tried the following after reading other forums etc:

Power off, unplug and reset the CMOS by removing the battery for a 10 minutes
Reset the CMOS by shorting out the jumper terminals.
Changed the CMOS battery for a new one
Removed the GPU and connected the monitor to the onboard graphics
Tried the keyboard/mouse in different USB sockets
Tried using old wired keyboard and wired mouse
Tried old monitor
Tried removing 1 RAM stick and then the other, re-seating etc
Tried removing all Sata drives including C: drive
Tried flashing all available BIOS versions from the Gigabyte website using the @bios utility in Windows.

I’m running out of options now so would appreciate any help.

Since you can start into Windows and restart into a troubleshooting screen, then select to restart into UEFI or BIOS...

https://www.thewindowsclub.com/boot-windows-into-uefi-or-bios-firmware

 

[Crispybacon501]

Unfortunately the firmware UEFI/BIOS option was not there for me. However, in typical fashion a solution appeared almost directly after posting this!! I ordered a cheap 2gb memory stick thinking that maybe my RAM is not supported on this m'board and it arrived today. I popped that in and in worked straight away. So I know know that to change BIOS settings I'm going to have to use that ram. The Hyper-x ram seems to only be running at 1333 speed which, after reading the motherboard spec is all it supports.
Oh well no harm done it was all cheap second hand gear to updrade an even older system. Hopefuly this will help someone else.

Thanks