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GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...

GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« on: February 16, 2012, 03:04:00 pm »
Hi. Got a strange problem that has been annoying me for some time now...

It goes like this:

If I do hard reset/boot via the reset button, more often than not (but randomly), the computer will boot up as normal, but with a black screen. I mean, it has definitely booted and gone to the windows login screen (trust me, I know this from hard disk activity etc, despite the lack of video! Also due to the fact that if I wait the amount of time needed to reach the login screen and reset, it will always give me the "start recovery or start windows normally" screen when it finally does boot properly, because it knows I have hard reset). It usually takes 2-4 more resets before I get a normal boot, with post messages etc. Also, occasionally, the POST messages will display in a slightly "stretched" video format, or more occasionally, total graphical garble. Another reset always fixes this.

This has continued through a change of graphics card.

Once I do get a normal boot, everything is perfectly stable. The system works perfectly (as perfectly as any Windows system ;-) otherwise.

This is with the latest BIOS (F7F), but I have also tried downgrading to F6 and it still persists.

Any ideas? I was thinking maybe a failing BIOS battery, but it seemed like a silly idea, even though it is a few years old, because I thought that with batteries, they were either working or not, not "half" working...Also, AFAIK, it's only responsible for keeping the time (!)

Thanks for any help on this.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2012, 03:26:37 pm by scubapig »

Rolo42

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Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2012, 06:02:38 pm »
What hardware and how is it connected?  OS?

Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2012, 06:23:14 pm »
System:

GA X38 DS5
Geforce 560Ti PCIe
OCZ Onyx 32GB SSD (used as system drive) + 3 Maxtor 7200 RPM SATAs
Samsung SATA DVD R/W Drive
M-Audio Delta 24/96 PCI audio card
CoolerMaster 620W power supply

OS is Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit - but bear in mind, this problem is definitely pre-OS. It happens as soon as it starts booting. After 1-4 resets it goes away. Interestingly it is less likely to happen, in my experience, from an "off" state power up.

« Last Edit: February 16, 2012, 06:24:15 pm by scubapig »

Lsdmeasap

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Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2012, 06:35:39 pm »
Clearing the CMOS for an extended period may help!

There is a newer BIOS for EX38-DS5, F7i, that might help as well.   If you flash to this please use DOS or Qflash, and then shut down after the flash and clear your CMOS for a few since you are having issues.  Then boot up and enter the BIOS, load optimized defaults then save/apply/reboot BACK to the BIOS, once in the BIOS again set your SATA settings and anything else you need to adjust, then sa/veapply/reboot to windows and shut down.  Then test the issue again

http://oldforum.gigabyte.de/forumdownload/betabios/20100811/X38DS5.zip

Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2012, 06:54:42 pm »
Thanks a lot. Will try... :)

Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #5 on: February 17, 2012, 10:18:01 am »
OK...So finally managed to flash F7i BIOS, after a few headaches...

Firstly, the F6 BIOS wouldn't recognise my USB thumb drive, so had to blow the dust off a 3.5" floppy drive. So I copied the F7i BIOS onto that and attempted Q Flash. It seemed to work (flashed, verified OK etc), then on reboot, on the first POST screen, it gave "CHECKSUM ERROR" and loaded F5(!) BIOS by itself. So I scratched my head, then noticed that the file name for the F7i BIOS was all in upper case, unlike the F7f BIOS that had worked before, which was all in lower case. So I changed the F7i file name to lower case, replaced the upper case one on the floppy, and presto! It flashed and booted succesfully - no checksum error.

Only trouble is, I still have the exact same problem as before. Back to square one. Do you think there are any BIOS settings that might be obviously wrong or need looking at?

Lsdmeasap

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Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #6 on: February 17, 2012, 07:54:21 pm »
Nice to see you got it flashed finally!   Case shouldn't matter in the file name, it was probably just a bad flash that first time around, anyway good to hear you were able to recover and successfully reflash!

It could just be the board itself, or that chipset, it's really not ideal to use the reset button midway through a bootup anyway.   So it may be normal and expected.  Does this occur if you reset from within windows, or while in the BIOS (May not be a good example)

Do you have Init Display First in the Advanced BIOS page set to PEG?  If not set that to PEG and see if it helps.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2012, 07:56:18 pm by Lsdmeasap »

Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #7 on: February 17, 2012, 08:27:05 pm »
Yeah, changing the case of the filename was a long shot, but it seemed to work, although, like you say, it was probably coincidence and just a bad flash the first time.

Tried the PEG thing...No joy. AFAIK, that is just a sort of "boot order" for the graphics slots - if it doesn't find PCI, then it will just skip to PCIe, right?

Also, regarding where I reset from - it doesn't seem to make any difference. It could be from a cold boot, from within Windows or anywhere in between.

So yeah, still the same. Really odd. Like I say, once it's up and running, it's a really stable system.

It can't help annoying the crap out of me, though. Such a strange problem. You could understand if it just stopped booting because it didn't like the graphics card or something, but the way it boots normally, but without a display, is unusual. And the fact that it goes away after a few resets.

Hmmm. Run out of ideas. Obviously, the board didn't always do this, but I can't pinpoint when it started happening.

Thanks for your help so far, by the way.

I'm just dying to update my whole ageing system - board, memory, CPU and a nice 128GB SSD...But can't afford it at the mo. That's the trouble, as I'm sure you know...You can't just update one thing. Got to be the whole shooting match.
« Last Edit: February 17, 2012, 08:37:43 pm by scubapig »

Lsdmeasap

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Re: GA-X38-DS5 weird video problem on boot...
« Reply #8 on: February 21, 2012, 06:35:20 pm »
Ya, that init first display setting is as you mentioned.

Have you tested with different memory?  It might be a memory compatibility issue, or maybe your memory is starting to go bad, test with memtest86+ for 10 passes or overnight if you aren't sure about this and haven't tested it lately
http://www.memtest.org/#downiso