Can't Enter BIOS?

xWCOGx

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Apr 30, 2013
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10,510
Im not even sure if this is the right subforum for this but hopefully if not, a mod will be kind enough to move it for me. Im gonna include what ive been doing with my computer lately in case any of it is pertinent info, but if you want you can skip to the tl:dr


TL;DR- So I repl;aced my old GTX 580 yesterday with a GTX 780.I had to remove the hard drives and unplug some things to get the bigger card in there, and I accidentally broke the little latch on the PCI-e port trying to flip it open the wrong way, but I almost certain I wasnt rough enough to damage anything there. When I turn on the computer now, the splash screen comes up for like 45-60 seconds. I had had it set for like 10 seconds before. Pressing DEL or all the "F" keys does nothing to bring up the BIOS. Then after about a minute, a black, commnand-style screen comes up with 3 short lines saying "PNY GTX 780 blah blah blah" and the version number. At this point, sometimes ill get lucky and itll load the OS and ask me whether to start it normally, or itll just go to a black screen and do nothing.

I also noticed on the motherboard that it was showing codes "AO", "AE" and "29". For all I know though, these things couldve been on the whole time Iv owned the comp since ive never really opened itup for anything important. Online I saw it said that code meant HDD failure, but after analyzing both hard drives and using SeaTools and S.M.A.R.T to check them, both passed with flying colors. So whats going on here? Why cant I access BIOS, why does the splash screen stay up for so long, and why does it not boot up consistently?

Having spent $500+ on this new graphics card, im freaking out just a little bit. Any help you can give me would be seriously appreciated.

EXTRA INFO:

I had my computer built by CyberPower a little over 2 years ago. I was too nervous at that point to risk breaking all those expensive components. Eventually I got comfortable and built a few on my own. Now I decided it was time to upgrade my own rig. Just recently I bought a PNY GTX 780 OC to replace my EVGA GTX 580. I finally decided to try to put in in yesterday. My case was almost too small for the 11.6 inch card, with 11.9 in of clearance. Id never taken a car OUT before, so I accidentally broke the little latch on the PCI-e port, but from what Ive read that doesnt really matter. I had to take out the bottom 6 hard drive bays and remove the cage to be able to even get the 780 in the case. The card felt a bit loose in the part even after I tightened it down, and I was worried about the weight so I put a VGA card brace next.

Before the upgrade, I had been having a few BSOD issues sporadically that id been unable to pin down, but it wasnt serious enough that I was unable to use my computer. I also tried flashing a hard drive to use in an xbox so I had switched the BIOS to legacy and stuff for a little while, but Im almost certain I switched it back, and even if not, I didnt have any problems booting while the GTX 580 was in it.
 
I will try to be as brief as your initial post.

For most issues - the trick is to simplify, test and isolate. In your case - If your traditional methods of entering BIOS have failed (I end up hitting the DEL key over and over until it comes up - holding it used to not work so well - yes I am ancient) we will try to remove all potential issues to try to simplify.

This means - going to onboard video (if you have it) and removing the video card and any other peripheral cards. try to go into bios.

If this fails - remove and mark the cables for your hard drives / DVDs. Try to go into bios.

If this fails - remove all but one stick of memory. Try to go into bios.

If this fails - replace one stick of memory with another (the odds of two sticks going bad is pretty darned high.) Try to go into bios.

At this point you have kept your bios in tact - and removed all possible contributors to your issue.

Since all else has failed - reset your bios. Try to go into bios again.

IF this fails - you may need consider replacing your motherboard.

I welcome any further suggestions to this list.

 
damn. Wresting that card out of there again is going to be an absolute pain.

I also read a tiny snippet somewhere about CMOS. Thats like the memory on the motherboard, right? Would resetting that have a chance of fixing it?

And would the RAM still show up as 8GB if one stick was bad?

Would mixing up the SATA ports that I had the drives hooked to mess up the boot order and cause that? I can't imagine what that would.

Also, I read some places that removing all previous graphics card drivers would be a good diea, but others said it wasnt really necessary if it was the same kind of card. I opted for the simpler "clean install". Might that also be a cause?
 
My suggestion to simplify, test and isolate stands.

The CMOS is the bios memory - and is what you need clear when resetting the bios. If you wish to do this as the first step - fine be my guest. No great harm I guess.

Memory can still be bad even if it shows up at 8GB.

Yes - messing up the sata ports would require re-ordering the drive priority and such - best to lable your cables.

If the recent change was the graphics card - replacing it with the previous may help the situation. If you have onboard video - it is still a good idea to remove your video card.

Good luck.
 
Okay im on my tablet.

I didnt try the ram and stuff first because i havent touched any of that before and its been fine.

I pulled out the 780 and it is going to BIOS now. So what does that mean? Does it mean its faulty?

In bios, i did notice that my 2TB HDD...one i added on later for storage- is listed as a boot option, but my original 1TB is not. The 1TB is listed elsewhere in the BIOS though. Might this have something to do with it?
 
Also, whilst tinkering i decided to put on netflix. The video queued up and then it said there was an audio error with silverlight and that i might need to redownload the audio drivers. Ive never had an issue with that before. And when i tried to run a game through steam, it came up fine and ran, but no sound. But the sound worked fine with youtube and stuff. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Im not a co puter expert but the weird errors and lack of sound hae me thinkinghat the computer is looking for the drivers ithe wrong place. Maybe something to do with the hard drives getting switched up? Then how would i get my 1TB back in the boot order?
 
Sounds like your original issue is resolved.

Seems like re-installing your sound drivers will solve your sound issue. Upgrading the bios might be a good idea as well.

As for the SATA - try to make sure the drives are connected in the correct order (SATA0 to the first, SATA1 for the next and so on). It's a bit anal retentive but it has worked well for me. Then make sure your boot order is correct in bios.
 
Well not exactly. I updated the card drivers and the sound is working now, but it still takes a long time to boot up, and i still cant access my bios with my new card in. Thats not normal, right?
 
' In bios, i did notice that my 2TB HDD...one i added on later for storage- is listed as a boot option, but my original 1TB is not. The 1TB is listed elsewhere in the BIOS though. Might this have something to do with it? '

This implies you were in BIOS - so original problem solved - or at least isolated to some conflict with your new video card.

Update your bios - and try the new card again.