ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA Bios

jokeris · 17.10.2019, 10:34

Good morning to all.I had the 4CoreDual-VSTA and I was just given a Q6600 which is supposed to work with this mb.I have the latest beta bios 2.39a.The mb boots up to bios info, but then hangs with an underscore flashing to the upper left.I saw in the bios that the hdd is there but it does not boot.Would it be possible someone to send me (or upload somewhere) older beta bios such as 2.34c or 2.36a?
Thanks.

Legion of the Damned · 17.10.2019, 11:12

Hi,

looks like there is no or corrupt bootloader on this disk. Is it possible to you to try it with a live-linux or something like that?

Did you have connected a mainboard-speaker and what beep-sounds did you hear at the startup (POST)?

Regards

jokeris · 17.10.2019, 11:28

I ve tried Hirens on usb flash but still the same.I also tried memtest86 on usb...still the same.Still that flashing underscore at the upper left screen.If I change the cpu to an old P4 @3.2 it boots OK (hdd or flash usb).When I place the Q6600 it hangs after loading the bios.So I thought there is something wrong with the 2.39b.The ram I have is 2X512 (for the test) and the mb is just placed on a table.No cables,no speaker.In the evening,when I get home,I will put some speaker to see if there is a post error.I will also try the last official bios.

Legion of the Damned · 17.10.2019, 11:52

Hi,

have you made a BIOS reset before starting with the Q6600?

Asrock wrote on their homepage, that the q6600 B3 will be supportet with any BIOS version. The Q6600 G0 is supportet since 1.80. I would try a stable BIOS instead of the beta Version.

jokeris · 17.10.2019, 12:12

I will do them all in the evening.However if some has an older beta I would like to try it.

Legion of the Damned · 17.10.2019, 13:03

Therefore ask the support from Asrock himself. Often they are very helpful.

Good look with your tests.

jokeris · 17.10.2019, 19:25

Update...I found a bios version 2.33. M/b boots OK amnd I loaded Windows.However it shows 3Gb instead of 4gb (in bios).So, now I am sure it is all about v. 2.39a beta. Now I am looking for earlier than 2.39a and as I read it would be better 2.34c or 2.36a.If someone has it,I would appreciate it if he sends it to me.Thanks.

Legion of the Damned · 18.10.2019, 07:22

Hey,

as i mentioned before, ask the Asrock support if it is possible that they give you access to these BIOS versions.

And congratulations for booting into windows.

jokeris · 18.10.2019, 07:32

I will.Thanks.I was lucky.My wife is more lucky...it will be for her!

jokeris · 19.10.2019, 07:34

Good morning.I asked Asrock and sent me 2 different bios.One of them I already had it so I tried only one of the.Same problem.When I have m/b with Q6600 and 4gb ram,it results to just a flashing cursor to the upper left.Now,I have it with v.2.33 which reads 4gb but uses only 3gb (in bios not in windows).If someone has a suggestion i would try it.

Legion of the Damned · 19.10.2019, 18:15

You´ve resetet every time the BIOS after flashing the new version? If yes, i´ve no further ideas, instead of "load setup defaults" in the BIOS itself.

But i´ve to say, that the old asrock boards are partly realy shitty hardware...

jokeris · 19.10.2019, 23:16

I did reset it and loaded defaults.One strange thing is that sometimes (working version 2.33) it reads 4gb ram and when reboots it "sees" only 3. I believe it has its own personality!

jokeris · 20.10.2019, 00:24

Someone suggested a solution which seem to be right.I just dropped fsb from 266 to 255 and it booted fine.
This is just for future use in case someone has a problem with other quads like Q6400,Q6700,QX6700,QX6800

Legion of the Damned · 20.10.2019, 22:58

Hi,

thanks for the solution.