Question "Press F1" Screen leads to a Blank Screen (H97M Plus)

[amportugal]

Greetings,

Lately, I haven't been able to access the BIOS on my PC.
Every time I pressed DEL or F2, the screen went black (but I was able to go to Windows if I didn't press any key). I thought it would be a setting problem so I tried to reset the CMOS and restore the BIOS setting. For this, I unplugged the PC power supply, I removed the Motherboard battery, cleared the RTC RAM (through the jumper change, which I followed as described on the manual's procedure for this), put the battery back on and turned the PC on. I hear the usual "beep" sound.

Now there are two screens that show up, sequentially:

1. the first one is the splash screen (with "Press please DEL or F2 to enter UEFI BIOS setting" text). Wherever I press any of these keys or not, it goes to the second screen anyway;
2. the second one is the POST screen, which, among other information, says to "Press F1 to Run SETUP";

Screens:

https://imgur.com/a/mTnNwlM

View: https://imgur.com/a/mTnNwlM


On the second screen, if I press F1, a black screen follows, and nothing else happens. Do you have any idea why this behavior is occurring?

Blank screen:

https://imgur.com/a/UfoPpHY

View: https://imgur.com/a/UfoPpHY


I tried to use a brand new CR 2032 battery, but the same result happens. I can't access the BIOS in any way, or proceed to my Windows installation whatsoever.

I have also tried to remove the GPU (I'm connecting the VGA cable to the motherboard now) and disconnect all SATA connections from the motherboard (DVD optical drive and HDD).

My specs:

Motherboard: Asus H97M Plus
CPU: Intel i7-4790 @ 3.60 GHz
GPU: NVIDIA Geforce GTX 750
Memory: HX316C10F/8

Cheers.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

And did you disable Windows Fast Startup? <--- First thing you should have checked and disabled before doing anything else.

Start Button > Settings > Power & Sleep > Additional Power Settings > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > uncheck "Turn on Fast Startup"

 

[amportugal]

And did you disable Windows Fast Startup? <--- First thing you should have checked and disabled before doing anything else.

Start Button > Settings > Power & Sleep > Additional Power Settings > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > uncheck "Turn on Fast Startup"

I have disconnected my HDD from the motherboard, so I suppose Windows does not influence this behaviour.

 

[rocktalkrock]

The 2nd photo you posted shows you have 2 keyboards connected to the computer, is that correct?

 

[amportugal]

The 2nd photo you posted shows you have 2 keyboards connected to the computer, is that correct?

Yes. I have tried with two keyboards (one USB and another PCI), but both of them are able to perform the same behaviour. I also tried with each of them connected separately.

 

[rocktalkrock]

See if the solution in this Asus video works for you. How to Boot straight into the BIOS from Windows 10.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQXFd0CN4s8

 

[amportugal]

See if the solution in this Asus video works for you. How to Boot straight into the BIOS from Windows 10.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQXFd0CN4s8

Unfortunately, I cannot access my HDD Windows installation. This behaviour happens either I go to the BIOS or not.

 

[rocktalkrock]

When you cleared the CMOS with the Clear RTC jumper, did you put it back to the default position?

 

[amportugal]

When you cleared the CMOS with the Clear RTC jumper, did you put it back to the default position?

Yes, I put the jumper on pins 2 and 3, and back on 1 and 2, after waiting 6 or 7 seconds, with the machine turned off and unplugged.

 

[rocktalkrock]

Yes, I put the jumper on pins 2 and 3, and back on 1 and 2, after waiting 6 or 7 seconds, with the machine turned off and unplugged.

Earlier you said you removed the motherboards CMOS battery. Double check it was put back in the socket correctly and making proper contact.

 

[amportugal]

Earlier you said you removed the motherboards CMOS battery. Double check it was put back in the socket correctly and making proper contact.

I doubled checked it right now, with my lantern, and its "plus" sign is up. I checked also if it is making contact, and I confirm it.

 

[rocktalkrock]

Have you tried booting with no USB devices connected except 1 keyboard?
Do you have a PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 to USB adapter?

 

[amportugal]

Have you tried booting with no USB devices connected except 1 keyboard?
Do you have a PS/2 keyboard or PS/2 to USB adapter?

I have a PS/2 keyboard with no adapter and a VGA output connected, nothing else. As shown in image below:

https://imgur.com/a/oOsvWKq

View: https://imgur.com/a/oOsvWKq

 

[rocktalkrock]

This is not a common problem. To start over, you said you had this problem for a while but the computer would always go straight into Windows. After you tried clearing the CMOS it will not even go into Windows, you are just stuck at a blank screen. Is that correct?

 

[amportugal]

This is not a common problem. To start over, you said you had this problem for a while but the computer would always go straight into Windows. After you tried clearing the CMOS it will not even go into Windows, you are just stuck at a blank screen. Is that correct?

Yes, everything you said is correct. The BIOS was inaccessible since probably a year ago, I had this PC for probably three years now.

I thought this was not common because I have not found anyone who had it before.

 

[rocktalkrock]

Yes, everything you said is correct. The BIOS was inaccessible since probably a year ago, I had this PC for probably three years now.

I thought this was not common because I have not found anyone who had it before.

I am not sure what else you can do other than attempting to repair the BIOS. Check your motherboard manual on how to recover your BIOS using the utility provided by Asus. If you are uncomfortable trying this repair, you may want to contact Asus Technical Support on their website for any advice they may have for you. I have found them very helpful in the past.

2.1.3 --- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility
The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore the BIOS file when it fails or gets corrupted during the updating process. You can restore a corrupted BIOS file using the motherboard support DVD or a USB flash drive that contains the updated BIOS file.

 

[amportugal]

I am not sure what else you can do other than attempting to repair the BIOS. Check your motherboard manual on how to recover your BIOS using the utility provided by Asus. If you are uncomfortable trying this repair, you may want to contact Asus Technical Support on their website for any advice they may have for you. I have found them very helpful in the past.

2.1.3 --- ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 utility
The ASUS CrashFree BIOS 3 is an auto recovery tool that allows you to restore the BIOS file when it fails or gets corrupted during the updating process. You can restore a corrupted BIOS file using the motherboard support DVD or a USB flash drive that contains the updated BIOS file.

I have read the manual, and I tried to use that utility, with no success. I am unable to boot from the support DVD.

I'll try to contact the Asus tech support. Thank you for your help.

 

[rocktalkrock]

I have read the manual, and I tried to use that utility, with no success. I am unable to boot from the support DVD.

I'll try to contact the Asus tech support. Thank you for your help.

As i mentioned earlier, in the past i have found the people at Asus Technical Support to be very knowledgeable and helpful.