New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

[highcountryrider]

Assembled the rebuild I'm doing and system booted 1st try! That's a relief for me (2nd build)! Thanks to those on this forum who helped me with information and suggestions. System is as follows:
New componentsRecycled components
HP a1712n case
TSST H-652 IDE DVD/CDRW burner
WD 320 GB 7200 16 MB cache SATA HDD
15 in 1 USB card reader module (not connected yet)
2xUSB 2, 1xIEEE1394a, headphone and mic input module (not connected yet)
Antec Cyclone Blower case fan (mounts on back panel in an expansion slot)

At power up all fans spun, case speaker short beeped and I entered the BIOS setup. Immediately set Load Optimized Defaults, saved and exited. Entered BIOS again and checked settings. CPU, HDD, memory and DVD burner all recognized and PC Health showed the following:
vcore=1.488V, DDR2 1.8V=1.952, +3.3V=3.408, +12V=12.175V. System temp=42C, CPU temp=45C (probably a bit deceptive as I still have the side panel off), CPU fan speed=2750-2780 RPM and system fan speed=1460-1490 RPM.

Per some suggestions made on this forum I set Floppy A drive to none since the system doesn't have a FDD. I also attempted to Enable USB keyboard but could not find that setting in any of the BIOS menus. I had also read in the Gigabyte guide to disable Legacy USB Storage Detect but that also did not show in any of the menus. In the Integrated Peripherals menu there are settings for USB Legacy Function and USB Storage, both of which were enabled. Any suggestions?

I ran Memtest+86 two full cycles and then test #5 for about 40 minutes. No errors shown. I feel confident enough in the memory to go ahead and install Windows 7. One thing I noticed on the boot up is that if I didn't hit Delete soon enough I would get a message about the HDD running in IDE mode and whether I wanted to set it for AHCI mode. I understand that Windows 7 has the AHCI SATA drivers and I don't need to install them from a floppy during Windows 7 install. Since this motherboard has a eSATA port on the rear panel and my friend (whom I'm doing this build for) might eventually get a eSATA external HDD should I enable this option before installing W7?

Does anything look unusual about my first boot info that I should look into? Also, I'd like to know what the BIOS version is but the post screen is so fast I cannot read the info. Any way to change that so the initial post screen stays up a little longer? I did Ctrl+F1 at the BIOS menu but the only additional menu was one called Advanced Chipset Features and it didn't have any of the above settings options.

TIA for any suggestions.

[ROSESTEEL]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

Hello, highcountryrider.

I am a newbie myself. But I think I can share with you my thoughts regarding your concerns. DO NOT install W7 before you have made up your mind concerning IDE vs ACHI vs RAID. You can still "change your mind" after install, but then, you would have to go "under the hood" a bit to get W7 to recognize a change. This can turn out to be hassle if doing this doesn't interest you. Google IDE vs AHCI vs RAID or IDE vs AHCI. This is somewhat a popular question among us newbies. ;)

Since I knew I was not going to use RAID, I chose AHCI. Performance gains are said to be negligible for users like myself. But I chose it anyway because it makes my BIOS seem "cleaner" with "no" IDE devices attached. Besides, I saw no reason to install in IDE mode.

As for USB keyboard...I am not familiar with the AMD platforms, but a current generation motherboard should activate USB input devices automatically. :)

On my Gigabyte boot, I can press TAB to see BIOS rev.

I disable floppy drive in BIOS also.

[wazza300]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

does your keyboard work ?? and did you install the os yet? all you need to set is ahci mode before os install everything else can be left as it is,its very easy to enable ahci after os install by a reg tweak just incase you forget and install it in ide

[highcountryrider]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

does your keyboard work ?? and did you install the os yet? all you need to set is ahci mode before os install everything else can be left as it is,its very easy to enable ahci after os install by a reg tweak just incase you forget and install it in ide

Keyboard worked fine. Haven't installed OS yet, plan on doing that shortly. I will enable AHCI the next time I boot into the sytem. Thanks for the help.

[highcountryrider]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

There appears to be some issues with the BIOS (version F11). After booting I enter Ctrl+F1 on the main menu to expand and unhide additional BIOS menus and menu options.

I have been advised to disable Legacy USB Storage Detect in Integrated Peripherals. This option does not exist. The only options relevant to USB are:

1. USB Controller
2. USB Legacy Function
3. USB Storage Function

All of these options are Enabled.

In Advanced BIOS Options menu there is no option for Full Screen LOGO Show. There is also no option anywhere to Enable USB Keyboard, which I have been told is necessary for a USB keyboard to function in Winddows.

Is it possible that the BIOS version which shipped with my motherboard (F11) might have changed the menu structure and made some of these options obsolete and unnecessary?

Here are some screen shots showing what my BIOS menu options look like after entering Ctrl+F1.

[ROSESTEEL]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

The different BIOSes do not all use the same terminology or offer the same options, so it's hard to say what "legacy storage" means on your BIOS.

I don't know if you want to disable USB storage function, but if you want to disable USB legacy function, you may want to buy a cheap (<$10) ps/2 keyboard, just in case, as disabling this option may mean that you may no longer have control over your keyboard until you enter Windows.

Your USB input devices are all plug and play. This means that Windows will detect and install a driver for your device when you are in the Windows environment. You do not need to enable USB keyboard on your BIOS, it seems, so that step is unnecessary.

But it may be the case that USB legacy support is needed when you are not in an environment which supports plug and play.

Here's what Microsoft has to say about disabling legacy support.

Platform Compatibility for USB Boot Devices

I have excerpted the relevant point below.

<table class="dataTable" id="EVD" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr class="evenRecord" valign="top"><td>Enable/disable legacy USB support
</td><td>Disabled
</td><td style="border-right: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);">USB keyboard should work during POST (except for some early BIOS implementations). However, neither USB keyboard nor USB mouse will work during other phases controlled by the BIOS.
</td></tr></tbody></table>Note: Some BIOS vendors support only a USB keyboard and not a USB mouse.
If the memory used for legacy-mode USB support is not hidden from the operating system or reserved, a legacy application may try to access it. This can interfere with a Flash BIOS update utility, which must be run from a boot floppy disk or from the command prompt.


Anything that interferes with Flash BIOS update utility sounds pretty bad. :p


But you seem not to have had any problem so far with flashing your BIOS.

Because I have an old ps/2 keyboard, I wouldn't have any qualms disabling legacy support. But if you do not, you might want to just have a really cheap one in your closet somewhere for your system, just in case, if you think you want to disable legacy support.

In my BIOS, however, I have a disable USB keyboard and USB mouse and USB storage option. I've kept them all enabled, though.

[ROSESTEEL]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

^Also, I do not think there is a "legacy USB storage" option in any BIOS. You must have misread. A BIOS will have an option (or two, as in my case) to disable legacy support and another option to disable USB storage. I've got to look through five BIOSes now. This has been the case with each.

[highcountryrider]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

Thanks for the info. I was questioning the validity of disabling that function. It was a suggestion (actually, somewhat of a mandate) in a Gigabyte guide on another forum. I've left it as is. Installed Win 7 with no hitches and all seems to be working fine. I'm a bit surprised that after the install there were no unknown devices in Device Manager. When I did a build before and installed Win XP Pro I had to install the Realtek LAN, Realtek Audio and AMD Chipset drivers from GB. I'm assuming that Win 7 had all the drivers it needed.

Only question I have is whether I should install the Chipset, audio and LAN drivers that I downloaded from the GB website. Any thoughts?

Also, the BIOS version that came with this board is F11. Latest BIOS at GB is F12a and that is to fix an issue with audio when using EasyTune 6 in Win 7. No chance my friend will be using ET 6 so I'm not anticipating flashing the BIOS.

[ROSESTEEL]

Re: New rebuild posts. Some BIOS questions

W7 is pretty current on drivers.

You do need to install the LAN driver, I believe. I have an Intel NIC installed in my system, which is plug and play, though I install the latest driver anyway. But my onboard LAN ports on my Gigabyte and DFI boards both need manual driver installs before I can use them. Incidentally, I update all my drivers and firmwares whenever I reinstall. Who knows why any program has a problem with a board. :p

You don't need to install the other two, but I do it anyway. The audio driver, though, may come with a utility that may annoy you. It gives you more control options. But if you want a slimmer system, it is not needed.