System waits longer than usual at BIOS POST message

When the motherboard logo pops up after booting up, it waits for longer than normal!

It does say press TAB to go or press DEL to enter setup. Whatever I press, it still finishes its long wait and then goes into whatever I pressed.

Any ideas?

 

I have seen this problem happen... Especially on a Dell mobo. Have you recently installed another drive? If so make sure that there are no 'gaps' in the IDE setup. Such as:

IDE Primary channel
master-- hard drive
no slave

IDE secondary channel
master-- DVD burner
slave-- CD burner

In a case like this you would change the secondary slave (cd burner) to a slave in the primary channel.

I actually just proofed this on a Dell board a few days ago.

 

That can also mean that something has changed in the Setup of the BIOS/CMOS and it's calling your attention to it. Always suspect the battery first. Then check all drive settings. For a standard, set any blank IDE controller chanels to "Disabled" as opposed to "Automatic" since it may matter at times. Disable any legacy support that isn't needed.

 

I have an Asus mobo and I know its not the gaps as I've been using this config for a year now.

I also changed the battery but the problem is still there.

I'll have a look at disabling any blank IDE controller channels and I don't know much about legacy support but I'll disbale that also if I find it.


Thanks,

JH

 

Hi,

It is highly likely to be the drives. If your BIOS has it, run "Autodetect Harddrives ".

Some other areas would be to reseat cards and cables. It may be having problems identifying or setting resources for some hardware. You could change the PCI cards around in the slots (modems and soundcards are best put in the end slots, the slots near the edge of the motherboard). Changing the position of the cards won't make any difference in Windows (you won't need to reinstall any drivers).

It says "Press TAB to go to configuration" (right?). Press TAB and watch carefully at which stage it seems to hesitate. The information after the hesitation will be the problem. Press the Pause....Enter keys to see the screens one at a time. Edit: I reread your info and the hesitation is before you see the instructions. This is when the BIOS "looks around" to see what hardware is present. See if drive LEDs stay on for a long period. They should only flash.

Matt

 

Thanks for that, I disabled the USB legacy bit and it seems to be ok for now.

Thanks again,

JH

 

Some mobos have a setting that turns off the logo so you can see what's going on. I think turning it off is a good idea, so you'll become familiar with what's going on.