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#1
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press 4 to unlock core
Having 'increasing' probs with my 8-core AMD destktop. The board is an asus-xhair-IV Boot often doesn't even begin and pops the subject error message which includes "or F.. to load defaults" and words of this nature. CPU temps never above 50c. BIOS should come up by touching "Del" but it takes a dozen attempts for that to work with my new usb gaming keyboard. This morning bios just would not detect 2 of my data drives in sata slots 3 & 4 (using a 5-bay rack with 1-4 sata reserved). After I don't know how many reboots bios still wasn't detecting but "fdisk -l" finally picked one of them up. On the last boot bios detected it too, got it mounted, and it's presently taking 1tb of backups. I would just like some ballpark hunches to start with, what do symptoms like this suggest? Mobo, rack, bios? |
#2
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bad sector wrote:
Having 'increasing' probs with my 8-core AMD destktop. The board is an asus-xhair-IV / No, it's "Crosshair" --- but which model is unspecified. If you want to severely narrow down the responses to only those that have this product to know you meant crosshair instead of x then don't use abbreviations that would be uncertain to other users. In order for other users (not of this particular motherboard) to be able to lookup the product to know what it is to help you, don't make them guess as to what you have. From what I found in searches, the product's name could be: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula or ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme Didn't know which to pick, so I first picked the Formula product. That was introduced around April 2010. Then I checked on the Extreme model which looks like it came out around November 2010. From forum posts, looks like both were discontinued around 2014 (replaced by Rampage). You didn't say how old is whichever one that you have. At 10 years old, that is way too long for the CMOS battery. Even at 6 years, CMOS batteries go weak or die by then. I replace mine about every 3-4 years. During boot, the settings from the battery-powered CMOS table are used, if usable, but if corrupt then the BIOS will try to retrieve the defaults stored in the EEPROM chip(s). It's a cheap troubleshooting step for an old computer exhibiting boot problems: buy a CR-2032 coin cell battery, and replace the old and likely dead one in the computer on the motherboard. Since both the Formula and Extreme models are motherboards for desktop PCs, replacing the CMOS battery is easy. Laptops are a bitch. Boot often doesn't even begin and pops the subject error message which includes "or F.. to load defaults" and words of this nature. The CMOS battery is probably dead. It cannot maintain the contents of the CMOS table, so the contents of that table are corrupt or invalid forcing the BIOS to load the defaults from the EEPROMs. Replace the CMOS battery, reset the BIOS (use a jumper to short the 2-pin header on the motherboard) to ensure the defaults get loaded into the CMOS table, and retest. I would just like some ballpark hunches to start with, what do symptoms like this suggest? Mobo, rack, bios? Most likely needs a new CR-2032 battery. I get a bunch of them at a time for cheap at eBay, but make sure you aren't buying counterfeits there. Ask the seller if the pic they show in their auction is of the product, or a stock photo. If a pic of the actual product for sale, often the packaging will indicate authentic or counterfeit (and there are sites showing you pics of authentic vs counterfeit packaging). I have lots of devices using the CR-2032 batteries, so I buy a bunch to replace them all or have spares on hand when they die off. At Walmart, it'll cost more (~$5), but you only need the 1 for the mobo for another 4 to 6 years before needing to replace it again. I usually stick with Sony for the coin cell batteries. |
#3
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On 2020-10-22 15:41, VanguardLH wrote:
bad sector wrote: Having 'increasing' probs with my 8-core AMD destktop. The board is an asus-xhair-IV / No, it's "Crosshair" --- but which model is unspecified. If you want to severely narrow down the responses to only those that have this product to know you meant crosshair instead of x then don't use abbreviations that would be uncertain to other users. In order for other users (not of this particular motherboard) to be able to lookup the product to know what it is to help you, don't make them guess as to what you have. Noted, my sincere apologies. From what I found in searches, the product's name could be: ASUS Crosshair IV Formula or ASUS Crosshair IV Extreme it's Crosshair IV Formula The CMOS battery is probably dead. It cannot maintain the contents of the CMOS table, so the contents of that table are corrupt or invalid forcing the BIOS to load the defaults from the EEPROMs. Replace the CMOS battery, reset the BIOS (use a jumper to short the 2-pin header on the motherboard) to ensure the defaults get loaded into the CMOS table, and retest. I put a new one in it, no cigar, same problems |
#4
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bad sector wrote:
BIOS should come up by touching "Del" but it takes a dozen attempts for that to work with my new usb gaming keyboard. USB is a polled interface. PS/2 is an interrupt-driven interface. If the computer gets super busy, the USB device may not get its chance at the next polling interval, and why USB keyboards can lag in video games compared to PS/2 keyboards. Just because a product says "gamer" in its product name doesn't mean it really qualifies for that type of use. Did the keyboard come with a USB-to-PS/2 adapter? If so, the keyboard has the logic to switch between the different hardware protocols. If your computer has a PS/2 port then I'd use that for the keyboard. Gamers prefer PS/2 to USB because there is less delay or lag on keypresses with PS/2, and PS/2 supports more concurrent keypresses than USB. That's why some gamer mobos still come with a PS/2 port. Also, no reason to toss the availability of a USB port if a PS/2 port is available. I found: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards...pecifications/ where it mentions one PS/2 port (for keyboard). If your USB gaming keyboard came with a PS/2 adapter then it supports both USB and PS/2 hardware protocols (internal logic has it switch between them). If the keyboard did not include a PS/2 adapter, it is a USB-only keyboard. You cannot simply plug a USB-only keyboard into a PS/2 adapter since the USB-only keyboard doesn't support the PS/2 hardware protocol. You can get an active hub that converts from USB to PS/2 to let you connect a USB-only keyboard to a PS/2 port, but those are more costly than just getting a USB+PS/2 or PS/2 keyboard. It has been a long time since I've seen this, but some old BIOSes must be configured in their settings to "Support legacy devices" which includes the PS/2 ports. If you see that setting in the BIOS then enable it should you decide to get a PS/2 keyboard or get a USB+PS/2 keyboard and use the USB-to-PS/2 adapter. Which USB "gamer" keyboard do you have? |
#5
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On 2020-10-22 19:41, VanguardLH wrote:
bad sector wrote: BIOS should come up by touching "Del" but it takes a dozen attempts for that to work with my new usb gaming keyboard. USB is a polled interface. PS/2 is an interrupt-driven interface. If the computer gets super busy, the USB device may not get its chance at the next polling interval, and why USB keyboards can lag in video games compared to PS/2 keyboards. Just because a product says "gamer" in its product name doesn't mean it really qualifies for that type of use. Did the keyboard come with a USB-to-PS/2 adapter? If so, the keyboard has the logic to switch between the different hardware protocols. If your computer has a PS/2 port then I'd use that for the keyboard. Gamers prefer PS/2 to USB because there is less delay or lag on keypresses with PS/2, and PS/2 supports more concurrent keypresses than USB. That's why some gamer mobos still come with a PS/2 port. Also, no reason to toss the availability of a USB port if a PS/2 port is available. I found: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards...pecifications/ where it mentions one PS/2 port (for keyboard). If your USB gaming keyboard came with a PS/2 adapter then it supports both USB and PS/2 hardware protocols (internal logic has it switch between them). If the keyboard did not include a PS/2 adapter, it is a USB-only keyboard. You cannot simply plug a USB-only keyboard into a PS/2 adapter since the USB-only keyboard doesn't support the PS/2 hardware protocol. You can get an active hub that converts from USB to PS/2 to let you connect a USB-only keyboard to a PS/2 port, but those are more costly than just getting a USB+PS/2 or PS/2 keyboard. It has been a long time since I've seen this, but some old BIOSes must be configured in their settings to "Support legacy devices" which includes the PS/2 ports. If you see that setting in the BIOS then enable it should you decide to get a PS/2 keyboard or get a USB+PS/2 keyboard and use the USB-to-PS/2 adapter. Which USB "gamer" keyboard do you have? Thanks for the in-depth report. The keyboard is DURGOD all-usb gaming one that cost me about 5 times a cheapo and I would have been better off with the cheapo. I can duplicate the problem at will and either it or the mobo is a lemmon. The problem seems to be at its worse early in the boot, like when I would wanna hit "Del" to get to the bios, or very soon after that to arrow-key my way to a boot menu entry. The problem ceases to exist if I launch with the cheapo and then optionally swap in the DURGOD. There is NO BOUBT, for some reason the cheapo does not have a detection issue the DURGOD does. It could be a matter of the latter needing just a little more time to be detected, beats me Anyway that's anoter part of the mystery down for a total of two |
#6
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bad sector wrote:
The keyboard is DURGOD all-usb gaming one ... https://www.newegg.com/Gaming-Keyboa...ID-198575-3523 That lists several models of Durgod. Since Newegg doesn't show a PS/2 filter for that list, looks like none of them can be moved to a PS/2 port on the computer. They ship from China, not from Newegg (so you cannot choose Newegg as the seller to deal with them for returns/refunds). Newegg estimates shipping time from 10 to 32 days. Expect more like 45 days to get past Chinese customs. Apparently the seller does not have regional warehouses in which they stock their wares to have them on hand for shipping in that region (and outside of China since they already went through customs to the regional warehouses). They don't even need their own warehouse. There are companies that provide warehousing service. In fact, I think the City of Industry, CA is nothing but warehouses. I've dealt with other sellers where some common city is used for regional warehousing by multiple companies. ... that cost me about 5 times a cheapo and I would have been better off with the cheapo. I can duplicate the problem at will and either it or the mobo is a lemmon. The problem seems to be at its worse early in the boot, like when I would wanna hit "Del" to get to the bios, or very soon after that to arrow-key my way to a boot menu entry. The problem ceases to exist if I launch with the cheapo and then optionally swap in the DURGOD. There is NO BOUBT, for some reason the cheapo does not have a detection issue the DURGOD does. It could be a matter of the latter needing just a little more time to be detected, beats me When did you buy the gamer keyboard? Maybe it's short enough that you can return it as nonfunctional (flaky on boot). Newegg often lists the warranty on the products sold by or through them, but not for Durgod. I went to durgod.com, but found nothing there about a warranty period. When the mobo is booted, the CPU gets reset and also sends out a reset to all the hardware. That is to initialize all hardware to a known good state. When you cold boot (not warm boot) the computer, do the LEDs on the keyboard blink to indicate it got the reset signal? Presumably you have already tried a different USB port. Try blasting canned air between the keys. Then turn over the keyboard (so the keys are down), hold one end with one hand, and slap the other end on the keys. Repeat with the other hand on the other end of the turned-over keyboard to slap with your other hand. This is to shake out any debris inside the keyboard which could prevent the keys from making full strokes. For each key, press it slowly and release slowly. Make sure each goes through a full stroke with no resistance other than the mechanical latch that generates the click. Since the cheap USB-only keyboard does not inflict you with the same defects as the expensive USB-only gamer keyboard, well, you've narrowed the problem source to the USB-only gamer keyboard. Go back to using the cheap keyboard, and either return the gamer keyboard for a refund, return it for warranty replacement, or use as an expensive doorstop. cheap USB-only keyboard: no problem. gamer USB-only keyboard: problem exists. Problem resolved. The gamer keyboard is farked. |
#7
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On 2020-10-22 22:24, VanguardLH wrote:
bad sector wrote: The keyboard is DURGOD all-usb gaming one ... https://www.newegg.com/Gaming-Keyboa...ID-198575-3523 That lists several models of Durgod. Since Newegg doesn't show a PS/2 filter for that list, looks like none of them can be moved to a PS/2 port on the computer. It's a Durgod Taurus k-320 (made in China), and the reason I got it was that - my old one broke a support - I was up to here with num locks being ON by default so I wanted a keyboard with NO numpad It's a *good heavy mechanical* keyboard but something in it makes it slow to be recognised. As I said it's a problem ONLY in the very early stages of boot, and *I just realise now what that means* ...it's slow ONLY before the OS ignores the BIOS and takes over, but then it's slow to the point of sometimes being dead. I bought it at amazon, thing is that living out in the sticks sending anything back involves prohibitive shipping costs, nor do I really wanna get riod of it ALTHOUGH the next one might be a Ps2, or I might try it with a generic Ps2 adapter? When the mobo is booted, the CPU gets reset and also sends out a reset to all the hardware. That is to initialize all hardware to a known good state. When you cold boot (not warm boot) the computer, do the LEDs on the keyboard blink to indicate it got the reset signal? Presumably you have already tried a different USB port. I've seen the led's flash, and yeh, I tried different usb ports a trick which BTW works when for example keys have no effect when a boot menu shows up (that too is before OS takeover BTW). When that happens I can change port or just reseat in the same port for it to get picked up. Problem is I cannot do that fast enough to get 'Del' in for a BIOS edit cheap USB-only keyboard: no problem. gamer USB-only keyboard: problem exists. Problem resolved. The gamer keyboard is farked. Well, it _is_ a problem during early boot, the rest of the problem is still waiting. |
#8
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bad sector wrote:
It's a Durgod Taurus k-320 (made in China), and the reason I got it was that ... ... I was up to here with num locks being ON by default so I wanted a keyboard with NO numpad Your BIOS might have settings for the default state of the keyboard on boot. My BIOS (well, UEFI) has: Bootup Num-Lock Select whether Num Lock should be turned on or off when the system boots up. You should check if there is a similar setting in your BIOS. I went to: https://www.asus.com/us/Motherboards...IR_IV_FORMULA/ to see if an online copy of that mobo's manual was available, so I could see if it mentioned a NumLock setting in the BIOS. Yep, that mobo's BIOS has a NumLock setting, so you could configure the keyboard to have its NumLock status either on or off on boot. As I said it's a problem ONLY in the very early stages of boot, and *I just realise now what that means* ..it's slow ONLY before the OS ignores the BIOS and takes over, but then it's slow to the point of sometimes being dead. Got me confused. It's slow before the OS loads ("before the OS ignores the BIOS") and it's slow when the OS loads ("then it's slow"). Up to when the POST screen shows, the BIOS is in charge. It then locates the boot sector in the active-marked partition on the drive, loads the bootstrap code in that boot sector into memory, and passes control to that bootstrap code (for the OS). So, up to when the POST screen appears (and when the BIOS is in charge), is the keyboard slow? Or is it after the POST screen disappears (when the BIOS loads the OS' bootstrap code and passes control to it) when the gamer keyboard gets slow? durgod.com does list a driver for that gamer keyboard. Did you install it? See https://www.durgod.com/Durgod-Zeus-Engine?_l=en. The manual and software downloads are there. Seems they use the same ones for all their keyboards. Since it is a USB device, there is handshaking between the OS and the device when the device sends its presentation data to the OS which identifies the device's type. That presentation data gets stored in the registry under the Enumeration key. If the enumeration data gets corrupted, the OS doesn't know what is the device type. Cleaning out the enumeration data and forcing a new copy to get stored in the registry is easy for some but tricky to most. I've had to do it when a USB device's enumeration data did not match on the USB device after its firmware got updated. The enumeration data mismatch or corruption is why some techs' canned response is to move the USB device to a different USB port, but that won't delete the enumeration data for the original port should you plug the device back into the prior USB port. No point in getting into erasing the old enumeration data and getting new presentation data stored in the registry if the keyboard is only slow BEFORE the OS loads (i.e., after the POST screen disappears). I bought it at amazon, thing is that living out in the sticks sending anything back involves prohibitive shipping costs, I usually ask the seller if they're willing to do a warranty exchange. I buy a new unit, and they send that to me. When I get it, I reuse the packaging to ship back the old defective unit. When they receive it, they refund my purchase (the 2nd one for the same unit). I've even ran across several companies that will include a pre-paid label you stick on the return package, so you don't even have to pay for the return shipping. The defective unit might still be usable, so a warranty exchange lets me keep using the defective unit, I slide in the replacement when it arrives, and I don't lose use of the unit except the short time to make the switch. the next one might be a Ps2, or I might try it with a generic Ps2 adapter? A USB-to-PS/2 adapter is of no use unless the keyboard itself support BOTH the USB and PS/2 hardware protocols. They keyboard will automatically switch to match the hardware protocol of the port to which you connect the keyboard. Make sure the next one actually says it supports *both* USB and PS/2. The hardware protocol switch requires active logic, not just passive rewiring within an adapter. cheap USB-only keyboard: no problem. gamer USB-only keyboard: problem exists. Problem resolved. The gamer keyboard is farked. Well, it _is_ a problem during early boot, the rest of the problem is still waiting. If slow up to the POST, and beyond into when the OS loads, then it sounds like the gamer keyboard is defective. You can either suffer with it (type on a turd), return for warranty replacement (or return for refund if within the seller's refund policy period), or use something else that works reliably. Your choice. A search at amazon.com on "Durgod Taurus k-320" shows that keyboard can be bought for $100. It's up to you if you want to invest another $20 USD to ship it back for a warranty return or refund, and hope the problem isn't intrinsic to the design of that product which has you afflicted with the same problem with the warranty replacement. That's why I'd first check if the seller will do a refund, and then get something else and cheaper. I do like mechanical keyboards, and they are more expensive than the cheap rubber dome keyboards. However, if I were to go to the expensive of a "gamer" mechanical keyboard, I'd get one that connects to PS/2. That criteria excludes ALL of the Durgod keyboards. Personally I find the filtering at Amazon sucks, and why I rarely shop there unless I already know exactly what I want and can search on that string. You can't use it to narrow the search to what you want. "PC gaming keyboard" is NOT the same as getting to a keyboard category and then filtering by mechanical key. Hell, you can't even filter by USB, USB-only, USB+PS/2, or PS/2. Best you can do at Amazon is start from the top and use a search of "PS2 keyboard mechanical key color gaming", and in the search results pick the Brand filter to match on brands that I've heard of and perhaps have used before or based on reviews that I've read before purchasing. |
#9
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bad sector wrote:
After I don't know how many reboots bios still wasn't detecting but "fdisk -l" finally picked one of them up. fdisk? I haven't see that available since the ancient MS/IBM-DOS days, or in Linux. What OS are you running on this computer? I'm not sure the OS is important since the problems you describe are accessing the BIOS or its POST screen not listing all your devices. The POST screen presents its findings before any OS gets loaded. Do you even see the POST screen? Or is the BIOS configured to display some ad banner, like "Hey, you're using ASUS"? I'd get rid of any ad banner display during boot up, and have the BIOS show its POST screen. The ad banner is worthless. The POST screen shows valuable information. |
#10
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On 2020-10-22 19:45, VanguardLH wrote:
bad sector wrote: After I don't know how many reboots bios still wasn't detecting but "fdisk -l" finally picked one of them up. fdisk? I haven't see that available since the ancient MS/IBM-DOS days, or in Linux. What OS are you running on this computer? I'm just starting out with ssd's and gdisk after using fdisk like for 30 years. It's more gdisk now, especially if I partition, but for just the odd "fsdisk -l" I still forget myself at times OS-wise its Suse Leap, Suse Tumbleweed, morphing over to systemd-free Artix, Devuan and Slackware while on ocasion runing w7 in a vBox on either of the above. I'm not sure the OS is important since the problems you describe are accessing the BIOS or its POST screen not listing all your devices. The POST screen presents its findings before any OS gets loaded. Do you even see the POST screen? Or is the BIOS configured to display some ad banner, like "Hey, you're using ASUS"? I'd get rid of any ad banner display during boot up, and have the BIOS show its POST screen. The ad banner is worthless. The POST screen shows valuable information. I can config the bios no problem, usually nix all the useless eye-candy. My problems with the bios were that "A" hitting 'Del' with the new keyboard was a waste of time and "B" one of my drives was probably done for. There's one question left here before being certain, If you have a bad drive plugged into slot 3 that don't get recognised, will that prevent a good drive in slot 4 from being recognised. This bit is a mystery, I was getting that impression though. Now I'll never know cause I coincidentally killed the 'bad' drive (see other answer to Paul). |
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