P67A-UD4-B3 Can't enter BIOS

[hollywood406]

Just like the subject line states, I hit the DEL key during boot to get into the BIOS, but it just boots into windows. I've done this previously OK and I haven't changed anything but all of a sudden, I can't get in. I was able to use a PS/2 kbd but why all of a sudden can't I use my USB kbd? Any thoughts? All my USB ports are enabled in the BIOS too. BTW, I'm running:

P67A-UD4-B3
i5 2500k
Patriot Extreme PC3-16000 8GB (2x4GB)
XFX GTX260
OCZ Agility III 60GB (boot)
OCZ Vertex II 60GB/Agility II 60GB raid 0 (data)
Win 7 x64 Ultimate
F7 BIOS

Thanks for any insight

[Ben]

G'Day. Hwd406

Long shot, try removing the CMOS battery, (make sure you have unplugged & turned everything off from your system), I usually give anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1 hr.
After which, place battery back in, connect all cables, & power up, keep hitting the Del button while doing this, hopefully this will bring you back to bios.

If you are still having problems, you might have to resort to using the old PS/2 kbd, & recheck the bios settings, maybe for some reason your USB setting for your kbd was set to off for some reason or other.

Ben.

[hollywood406]

Thanks Ben! I gave that some thought but I wanted to see if anybody else had this issue before I cleared the CMOS. Luckily I can still get in with the PS/2 kbd so it's not a huge deal, just perplexing. I checked the BIOS settings and I didn't see anything that dealt with choosing PS/2 over USB, ect.

[absic]

Hi there,

for some reason USB keyboards can be very fussy when it comes to entering BIOS with some makes being more difficult than others, hence the reason I always use my PS/2 for this. Which make of keyboard are you using?

That said, you should still be able to get into BIOS using a USB keyboard and here are a few things you can try.
Try waiting until the lights (if any) on your keyboard come on, before hitting the Del key.
If you are using an extended keyboard try using the Delete key instead of the Del key
Try entering BIOS from a cold start not when rebooting.
Make sure your USB keyboard is plugged into one of the USB ports next to the PS/2 connector. If you are using a wireless keyboard then make sure the dongle is plugged into one of these two ports.

[hollywood406]

Hi Absic!

Thanks for the tips. I understand that USB can be finicky sometimes, I just wondered why it would wait till after I've entered the BIOS a couple doz times. As far as your nice list of tips, I have waited till the led's, on the kbd, lit. I tried using the num pad del key. I also tried a cold boot, unplugging the psu and holding the power button down to discharge the caps. I haven't though, tried plugging it into the same port as the PS/2, nice idea!

Like I said, it's not a huge deal if I have to use a PS/2 kbd, I just want to be sure that it's not something more deeply rooted and it sounds like it's just an annoyance.  I'll try the PS/2 port and report back if that helps.

I should also mention that I am overclocked. I missed the read-me that asks to place these in a special thread, so if a mod wants or needs to move it, please feel free.

[absic]

Hi again,

I have given up trying to work out which USB keyboards will work and which won't. It seems to me that it is very much in the hands of the PC God's. I have encountered this same issue on both AMD and Intel platforms and there really doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason. That is why I keep a PS/2 keyboard for doing things in BIOS.

The fact that your O/C'ing your system doesn't really make any difference to this topic as, once again, it is something that will happen however the system is setup. I know as I have O/C'd enough different boards/platforms/CPU's over the past few years. The Overclocking section is really for specific O/Clock questions so I will leave this thread where it is. 

[hollywood406]

I forgot to mention that I am using a Microsoft Sidewinder keyboard. It had worked fine for a couple dozen boots while I was configuring and overclocking. I hadn't used the system for a few days and decided to try bumping the multi up another notch (to 47  ) when it decided it didn't want to enter the BIOS. I haven't booted it to try the kbd in the PS/2 block yet but I will report back how that turns out. Thanks Again!

[Ben]

I had a similar problem years ago, it turns out that I had changed my lead on my kbd to a different port. When I put it back to the original port all was well.
Have you also tried a different kbd (usb borrowed) to see if maybe the fault lies with the actual board?
Other possibilities are faulty usb port, cable.
I think mine was with the win95 or 98 OS where I had some problems with getting into bios, just glad that I kept my old PS/2 board.
Hope you find out the problem or someone else on the forum does.
Ben.

[Dark Mantis]

What has happened here is that for some reason the Backup BIOS has kicked in and overwritten the Main BIOS and so the settings from the Backup BIOS are what you are now using. I expect that the setting for USB Legacy Devices is set to Disabled. Change it to Enabled and the keyboard should be picked up again. This is because the USB drivers are normally loaded by Windows and if you need them loaded before then in a DOS environment this has to be enabled first.

[hollywood406]

Thanks for the extra assistance guys! I found the trouble and it was as you had suggested absic..... I plugged the usb kbd into the port with the ps/2 connector and I haven't had a problem since. Weird, huh? Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions.