Hey -- I'm new to the forum, so hello everyone!

I've just set up my first system, and I am having trouble accessing the BIOS. I know the key to press, it's Del, but no matter how I press it when turning on the computer, I get an error that asks me to put a system disk in my floppy drive.

Initially, I wasn't installing a floppy at all. When I turned on the computer for the first time, pressing Del, the system did a loop of beeps and on screen told me there was no floppy installed. I restarted it a few times and was finally able to get into the boot screen, where I asked it to use the hard drive as the first boot, cd second and floppy last. Then I went into the screen to auto-detect my hard drive, but it wouldn't. I turned the machine off, and since then I can't get into the BIOS -- it just kept telling me there was no floppy installed.

I went and bought a floppy drive and installed it. Now, I still can't access BIOS, but the message on the screen is that I need a system disk.

Can anyone help? This is my first time building a PC and I don't want to give up! I can list all the specs of the hardware if you need them.

Also, I did try to clear the CMOS following the mobo's manual -- I removed the battery, set the jumpers to the other pins and left it for 10 seconds, replaced the jumper and then the battery. That didn't seem to change anything.

Hi & Welcome to the forums.

We'll need a bit more information on the set up you've got, but several things come to mind - first of all, if you have built a system from scratch, then yes you will need a system disk to start with (once the hard disks have been detected)
another thing is to check the jumpers/cable positioning for the HDD - try unplugging any cd drive you have, making sure that the hdd is on the END of the ide cable (I'm assuming you're not using SATA drives) and that the hdd jumpers are set to 'cable select'
after you've done this, boot the system and see if it makes any difference, hopefully you'll be able to autodetect hdds.

Another thing that could be a problem is the cmos battery - unlikely, but possible. I built a system last december which showed exactly the same symptoms as yours. There were two problems, but only one showed up - the first was that I was using a duff HDD, but the second problem was that the cmos battery was knackered.
I didn't consider the second possibility until a couple of weeks ago when I tried to boot the sysem, and the symptoms you have now appeared again.

Another possibility is to try the HDD with it's jumpers set to MASTER - again, this is something some motherboards prefer. I've just swapped all the hdds in my systems (I have several in a lab as well as normal use ones) and put removable caddies in. a couple of the machines hadn't had two disks in before, and sulked if one of them wasn't set to master - just another thing to check.
Give us a few more details of your system, and try a couple of the things above - we'll be able to help a bit more then.
One other thing - sometimes pressing that 'del' key is a hit and miss affair - if you don't get it spot on, the system ignroes it!:eek:

Thanks for your reply! I figured I had to give more info.

Yes, I'm building the system from scratch. The motherboard is an ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe. I have one Maxtor 250 gig HDD set to the RAID 1 connection on the mobo with the Serial ATA cable. The only options I seem to have there are to connect the HDD to RAID 1 or RAID 2. There is no jumper to set on it because there is no where for a jumper to go on it (that I can tell. there is one spot on the back where there is a single pin jumpered, but the manual says not to remove it). I have a CD drive set as master, DVD as slave, plugged in to the secondary IDE slot. There is a floppy connected to the floppy slot -- nothing is in the primary IDE slot.

I have a Radeon 9600 Pro card in the AGP slot and an AMD 2800 processor. Two fans are hooked up to the mobo, one from the heatsink and one from the case. There are also connections hooked up for the case's front USB ports and various LEDS for the front of the case. The CD and DVD drives both light and I can open them, the floppy also lights when I power the comp on, and the hard drive lights at the front of the case. And all the fans spin properly. I think that's everything... :)

Also, the progression of events when booting a computer begin with a Power On Self Test (POST). This you can interrupt by getting into the BIOS. As you attempted to do, many are accessed by repeatedly tapping the Delete key immediately after pressing the power button.

Once the (POST) is complete it looks for some basic system files to continue the process. These system files can be contained on a boot disk that uses a floppy, or on a bootable CD containing your prospective Operating System (WinXP for sure and some say Win98SE is also self-booting).

Personally, I like a floppy drive. They are convenient for troublshooting and for small file transfer. You can get into your computer before any Windows components are loaded, which can be a great thing if you ever get hit with a virus because they nearly always go after something in Windows.

On a new build there are a couple of tests I prefer to perform from floppy. The first is a Memory Tester and then a Harddrive diagnostic.

http://www.memtest86.com/

The diagnostics can be downloaded from the manufacturer's web site and then put onto a floppy.

I prefer to add one component at a time...sort of a troubleshooting method of building a system.

Since you have no Operating System on your harddrive you cannot boot from it initially. If you are loading XP you can select the boot order in the BIOS to be the CD first (please note that depending on how this option is displayed in your BIOS that computers start counting at 0, in other words 0 is the same as your first option).

I prefer to have it floppy seek first, again for advance troubleshooting under Windows radar should I need to, and then the harddrive. You can change the BIOS to do this later if you choose to go from POST right to a bootable CD (refering to XP if that is what you are going to use for your operating system).

So, essentially the computer is looking for some System Files to continue the boot process following POST. These can be on a boot disk (floppy) or on a bootable CD (WinXP), or ultimately they will reside on your harddrive after you've installed the operating system.

It is in the BIOS that you are directing the computer where to search for these files first, secondly, etc...

Try repeately "tapping" after you press the power button...

Thank you, it's so frustrating to have this happen to me, so your replies really help.

Essentially, if I'm reading this right, the error message about the floppy is happening only after POST -- after my chance to get into the BIOS screen. So I just have to turn my computer one a billion times until I hit Del at the right spot? The only screen I ever see is the error to insert system disk -- I never see the message to press del to enter set up or any of the bios info shoot by. I guess that's what's freaking me out -- it really seems to jump right to the error message.

Thanks again for all your help. :)

POST begins immediately after you press the power button. Yes, if you're getting to the point of the computer asking for System Files you're at the end of POST. I'm not quite sure what's happening, but it shouldn't be that difficult to get into the BIOS.

On my main computer I've an ASUS motherboard and I just begin tapping the Del key as soon as I hit the power button...shouldn't be a 1 in a million chance of hitting it just right! :rolleyes: ;)

Yeah, seems odd that it would be so hard to get in there.... I've tried perhaps 30 times so far and can't do it. I've tried tapping it, holding it... I've tried Del, F1, F2, F10 and Tab... nuthin seems to work. Shouldn't I see even something flash by on the screen before the errors start in -- like, the screen with the BIOS name?

Yup, you should!

What does the manual say for getting into Setup?? Any "special" instructions??

No, unfortunately. It only says to press Del to enter setup :(

Sheesh, what's up with that??

It might help if you'd put your keyboard closer to your computer rather than running across the room to hit Del...:D

I haven't ever tried holding the Del key down first then hitting the power...might be worth a shot...

Although, I think you might generate a keyboard error...but what the hey...I'd give it a go...

I've tried it all -- holding it while powering up, while resetting it, tapping and reseting, you name it. I'm about to pull all my hair out! This was supposed to be fun... ;) It was, setting up all the hardware was great, and I don't even mind the hours ahead of installing all my drivers and software. I just wish I could get to the point where my comp lets me do that... I really don't know what to do next.

Just reading back through the thread...it appears you were successful at least getting in once...

Hmmmmm...where's instant replay when you need it?

I wonder if you could try the Pause and then the Del??

Perhaps a slower processor...:D

I don't know what to tell you at this point :confused: Other than to perhaps try the ASUS forums and see if others are having the same difficulties...

Here's the full message I get on the screen:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (C) Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error
Detecting floppy drive A media...
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER_

I'll be going to bed soon... but I'll check back later. Thanks again ~alta

You're getting a BIOS ROM checksum error that appears to be launching the POST process into a different direction...

When you get the chance...I'd strip the computer back to barebones...

Just the video, RAM, keyboard, Mouse...(processor, heatsink and fan, our course ;) ) Even pull the floppy...

See if you can make it through POST...stripped back...if not it might be time to clear the CMOS to get you back to default values...

You'd need to check the manual to see how to clear the CMOS...

Worse case scenario is that your BIOS code is corrupt:

http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterrGBER03-c.html

What appears to be happening when it floppy seeks after the BIOS ROM checksum error is that it's attempting to recover BIOS code from a diskette in drive A:

This shouldn't be coming out of the gate with a new motherboard...

I would reseat your RAM and Video card first, then...

If stripping back and clearing the CMOS doesn't work I would contact ASUS tech-support for options...

Clearing out the hardware didn't work, neither did clearing the CMOS. I tried doing it the manual's way (removing the battery, setting a jumper for a few seconds) but that didn't work, I also tried taking the battery out for about 10 minutes.

It seems I have to flash the bios -- although the problem is I can't identify the bios from the bootup screen, because it never shows. I've tried reading the mobo itself, but I'm not sure I'm looking in the right place.

Do you think the CD that came with the mobo has a bios on it to use? I can load it on my current pc and copy to a bootable floppy. From what I'm reading, when the comp goes into BootBlock, only the videocard and floppy will be recognized -- I think I can save this mobo if I get the right files onto my floppy disk -- it seems I need the award flash program and a copy of a bios.

Before I would go that route I would contact ASUS Tech-support. I would request their permission to flash the BIOS...get it in an email for your records if they say Okay!

I'm not sure if your BIOS has any type of recovery capability in the event of a bad flash. For most, you get a bad flash and you're looking at replacement of the BIOS chip...this is a road with a new board that I don't know you want to journey onto...

My research into your problem (your motherboard) has turned up possible solutions (clearing CMOS, stripping back to barebones) along with corrupt BIOS and a resulting RMA...

But, I would suggest contacting ASUS first...the manufacturers are usually quite up to date on problems their boards are experiencing in the field...

Thanks so much, Whyzman. I opened a tech support ticket with ASUS and they're supposedly going to call me back to help me out.

What do you think about returning to the store and asking for a replacement mobo? The same one -- I'll just tell them the BIOS appears to be corrupt and it's locked me out. I've had the board for about four days, so there is still 10 days left to get a replacement board.

Does that sound like a good idea?

I don't know what I'd do without ya, you've been a tremendous help!

I've just had a similar situation(on an ASUS mobo) also posted a week or so ago where pressing the Delete key couldn't get into the BIOS setup. My subsequent clearing of the CMOS(+ removing and reinstalling the battery)resulted in no booting at all, just constant beeps! I simply returned the PC with the mobo installed and the vendor replaced at no charge. This mobo was only a month old.

What do you think about returning to the store and asking for a replacement mobo?Now that depends on how you bought the mobo. Did you get it in a retail package or OEM? If you got it retail, I would go through Asus myself. If OEM, the shop where you bought it would be best. In any case, wait and see what Asus has to say (if they can get back to you in time ;) ).

It's OEM from CompUSA, they ordered it for me. I just got a message back from ASUS, they said to flip the battery upsidedown, put it back in for 30 seconds.... that did nuthin.

CompUSA has already ordered me a new mobo, and there is no charge to replace it :)

I just hope this same thing doesn't happen again -- thing is, I'm not sure what went wrong so I'm not sure how to prevent it.

I think what I need to do is go to BIOS, set my harddrive as SCSI (even though it's SATA) and set boot to CD, DVD and then floppy. Then load my Windows XP setup disk, exit and save the bios, run windows and at the right time during installation, press F6 and load the drivers for my SATA harddrive by floppy, the drivers and such that came with the mobo.

Sound like a plan?