Hi all

I am going to ask for help here because I could not find a PC forum here.  My problem is that I cannot enter the Bios on PC boot up.  I push F1 of Delete but even though I have a 5 second time period to enter the Bios my pc just ignores my pushing F1 or Delete and then ask's for the appropriate boot media to be inserted (WinXP) and then reboot.  I do that and then the PC will boot.  I know that it's recognizing my DVD drive as my primary drive but I did not set up my PC to do that.  Is there some other way to access the Bios please?

 

Any help would be very much appreciated...TIA...John

 

PS: This had occured once before but that turned out to be due to a knackered keyboard which has since been replaced.

If it is a USB KB, try another USB port, also try and get your hands on an old PS1 keyboard, and see if that works.

 

It is possible your bios may have disabled USB legacy support.

Hi Badfinger

Unfourtunatly I can't use one of those, newer pC's no longer have the receptical for any pci stuff.  In fact I haven't seen one of those in use for so many years (smile).   I think it might come down to doing a complete re-install of XP, I hope not though because that sometimes does'nt workout because windows keeps so much stuff and just puts it all back.  Thanks mate.....John

Hi Badfinger

Unfourtunatly I can't use one of those, newer pC's no longer have the receptical for any pci stuff.  In fact I haven't seen one of those in use for so many years (smile).   I think it might come down to doing a complete re-install of XP, I hope not though because that sometimes does'nt workout because windows keeps so much stuff and just puts it all back.  Thanks mate.....John

Turn on legendary usb support in your BIOS.

 

 

Turn on legendary usb support in your BIOS.

 

Umm, he can't get into the BIOS to do that !

 

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

 

Hello Cai

Now if you had read the thread you would know that your suggestion would not help at all LOL.....John

Hello Cai

Now if you had read the thread you would know that your suggestion would not help at all LOL.....John

Can you set CMOS default by pressing a button on the MB? Have you tried using that?

Hi Cai, No I haven't but will give it a try..John

Cai I just tried pushing the reset button the motherboard but nothing changed.  But thanks for trying to help that's appreciated for sure. ....John

Even though there are no PS/2 ports usually most boards look at the top 2 ports for USB keyboard and mouse legacy support. Try those. At least 1 light should turn on on your keyboard when you power the system on ...Also I've found many systems don't like to recognise keyboard and mouse on boot if you are plugged into a usb hub (any external device like a monitor etc) but then they work fine when windows loads...

Hi Slayer  My mouse and Keyboard are always plugged into the top 2 ports at the rear of the case.  Keyboard on the left and mouse on the right when looking directly at the back of the case.  I tried them both in a hub but no go for me anyway......John

Hi John.

 

If you haven't recently made any hardware changes (such as refitting HDs to the wrong ribbon cables after dismantling the PC to clean it) then the chances are that you are correct in assuming your BIOS settings are corrupt. You can usually return to default settings by shorting a couple of pins on the motherboard. If you've lost the mobo manual and don't know where the pins are, the alternative is to remove the mobo's CMOS battery for a few minutes. That will clear the BIOS settings entirely and force the PC to allow you the recreate your settings. It doesn't erase the BIOS or anything drastic like that-- just forces a default.

 

If that doesn't make any difference then you may be suffering from a permanently defaulted BIOS caused by your CMOS battery being run down, although in that case I'd expect your clock, calendar et c. to be reset as well. You can buy a new one for less than the price of a pint.

 

Stupid question, I know, and I don't mean it to be patronising (like my IT department at work suggesting I switch it off and back on again...) but worth considering: Are you sure that you should use F1 to enter the BIOS setup? I mean did you read it on the monitor during boot, or did someone suggest trying it? I ask because my mobo requires F2 for me to access the BIOS setup.

 

If your chassis speaker is enabled then the PC should bleep at power-up and the lock LEDs on the keyboard should flash. The pattern of bleeps indicates healthy or various fault conditions; you may be able to find a description on the web. If the LEDs don't flash then the problem may be more severe...

 

Let us know how you get on with the hard reset. If none of that works, and it's not a hardware fault, you ought to be able to download a fresh copy of the BIOS itself from the mobo manufacturer's website, or even order a replacement chip: they are usually fitted in a socket on the mobo for easy removal.

 

Cheers,

D

Hello Dave

 

Thank you for your help and advice.  You were correct, lifting the cmos battery out and then replacing it resolved my problem.  Funny you know I have done that in the past and it worked then too of course lollol.

 

All back up and flying again.  Thanks again mate........John

 

PS: I was born in England, Kingston Upon Thames a very long time ago LOL, I am almost deaf now so I never ever hear any beeps. :sad2:

No Beeps = No power or bad CPU/MB or loose peripherals.

 

1 Beep = Normal & POST is good.

 

2 Beeps = POST/CMOS error.

 

1 Long+1Short Beeps = MB problem.

 

1Long+2Short Beeps = Video problem.

 

1Long+3Short Beeps = PROBLEM BUT CANT REMEMBER WHAT IT IS.

 

3 Long Beeps = Keyboard error.

 

Repeated long beeps = Memory error.

 

Continuous Hi/Lo Beeps = CPU overheating.

 

Sorry to hear about your hearing loss. Perhaps a friend/neighbour could assist if needed in the future.

Odd that my newest computer has four fast beeps on cold boot, which isn't at all as described in the preceeding reply... :wacko: