Well I think you might as well close this. I have got the computer to function if a bit awkwardly.
When it hangs on initiallization and will accept no input, it will boot if everything but the drives, keyboard and graphics is disconnected. In particular NO USB devices connected. After this it will still insist that there are no drives available, although the BIOS just listed the drives in the correct slots, BUT it will continue to boot if F1 is pressed. Once in windows you can connect mouse and stuff to the USB ports and all works normally. I have decided I do NOTwish to risk an upset of the applecart by flashing the BIOS. The magic comes that it has only hung at the F1 etc. prompt once in the last couple of weeks
Removing the battery will reset BIOS defaults. For your model, the BIOS default for SATA operation is AHCI. I believe all you need to do is change this to ATA. That's probably how the OS was installed. Without the AHCI setting and drivers, the OS cannot see the hard drive.
Here's the system setup guide <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell> for your desktop. There may be one or two other settings you will need to change, so as setting up your drives and boot list.
Thanks for the fast reply. The holiday held me up a little.
Before I forget to mention it again _ I have downloaded the Dell 690 manual and the users guide, but neither one seems to address the problem.
removing the battery and leaving it out for a couple of hours did change things a bit. However the system still hangs and ACCEPTS NO INPUT OF ANY KIND AFTER the dell boot ROM sussccssfully inatalled message. The change is after " ACHI Bios not installed etc." it flashes over to the safe mode etc screen and hangs there. If I press F2 at the initial screen it goes to setup and acceptss no further input. If I press F12 it goes to the boot menu and hangs. . I just tried invoking the SAS utility to see what would happen = hang at please wait etc.
I don't know if it's significant but all the POST lights are out when it hangs. Since the machine hangson entering setup or the boot menu it is not possible to change anything that way. I have the DELL application CDROM and if I put that in, I get the which drive do you eant to boot screen and hangs.,
I am not sure if all this indicates a problem in the BIOS or somewhere else.
Try booting with all USB devices, except mouse and keyboard, disconnected. I suspect the PC is trying to boot from a printer or other non-bootable USB device and that's causing the error message.
When you removed the battery, you reset BIOS Setup to the factory defaults. The default for USB is ON, but that allows the system to attempt to boot from a USB device. If you can get it to boot without any USB devices connected (aside from mouse, keyboard), go into BIOS setup (F2) and change the USB setting from ON to NOBOOT.
The Boot Sequence in BIOS setup has Diskette drive first, as the default. So if you don't have an internal floppy diskette drive you also have to disable the floppy drive in BIOS setup. If you actually have an internal floppy drive, don't disable it in BIOS, but make sure the hard drive is listed first in the Boot Sequence in BIOS.
Be sure to save the changes before exiting BIOS setup.
yes I've tried three different keyboards that work fine in my other computers. ANY and all keyboard I have tried works fine until the Bios handoff starts.
That is, I can select F2 or F12 and go to their screens to hang in setup or the boot menu. I can also get into the SAS sequence. The bios procedes until the "AHCI Bios is not installed screen" and then fast switches to the Safe mode etc. screen. I tried loading the cache until the beep with returns to see if one would act to start windows normally, but all that happens then is it hangs on that screern without counting down to 28 or 29 secs. I believe this meands it ain't the keyboard.
Thanks for trying. It would be nice if the computer didn't hang as soon as it enters setup, but it does. (see answer to Ospey above.) Iam trying everything with nothing but the keyboard and the fmonitor connected. I can see the boot menu (hung)
If I put the DELL CDROM in, I sometimes will get the screen that asks if I wish to boot from the CD or the hard drive (hung) Iwonder if I can refresh the Bios from a flash drive if it will try to boot from a usb port?
Tried the above=same problems. I need the computer funcional so I bought and installed a DELL refurb MOB.
Not only do I have the same problem with the new mother board, but some of the same BIOS data showed up. BIOS data that Should have been specific to the new bios on the new mother board. I pulled the battery and left it out overnight. That changed the sequece of the BIOS screens BUT the computer still hangs and accepts no input after the bios messages complete. If I just let it run it hangs on the screen that tells me that
"Serial ATA AHCI BIOS version iSRC 1.20.25 07222007 (copy rights etc.)
Controller BUS#00 Device#1F Function#02: 00Ports
No device found
ACHI Bios is not installed"
The new (current) MOB has BIOS A07, old MOB A08.
how in the word did data from the old BIOS transfer to the new BIOS???
I kept the same Graphics, CPUs, and Hard drives.
On first and second start up attempts a screen (hung) came up and listed a whole bunch of previous errors including that the battery was bad.
I replaced the battery (which was new) wih another one fresh out of the package. = same screen showed up.
As before I can input from any keyboard until the BIOS completes.
The hang in setup now occurs at tthe service tag in maintainance where previously it was at the info screen.
I've checked the supposedly bad battery and it is OK under a 10Kohm load. Since every other alert was wrong, I'm not real surprised.:emotion-42:
You mis-understand what BIOS is and how it works. :emotion-5:
BIOS is stored on a chip on the motherboard. It's not stored on the hard drive. So if you installed a refurbished motherboard with BIOS A07 on that chip, that's what exactly what you'd get. The version of BIOS on the replacement motherboard is totally independent of what version of BIOS was on the chip on the original motherboard. Obvioulsy Dell didn't flash the latest A08 version of BIOS on that refurbished board before you bought it.
Check to see how SATA Operation is set in BIOS setup. The default is AHCI so try changing it to ATA. Try also changing the SAS Controller settings. If you don't have internal floppy drive, be sure to disable it in BIOS, etc. You probably need to repeat everything you tried in BIOS with the old board with this replacement.
And keep in mind, every time you remove the motherboard battery, you reset BIOS to the factory defaults so any changes you may have made will be lost. It's a good idea to write the changes down as you make them so you know what helps the problem before you remove the battery. Otherwise those changes are lost and you have to start over.
It's possible the new board doesn't have a Service Tag stored in BIOS.
If none of that helps, there may be issue elsewhere. You may have to strip the PC down to bare essentials. Disconnect all drives, except boot hard drive, remove all PCI cards except video card, reseat RAM modules in their slots, etc. Then see if you can get it to boot. If that works, reinstall one component at a time to see if you can ID the hardware that makes it fail.
Always power off, unplug and press/hold power button for ~15 sec before doing any work inside the case.
Before yoiu spend all that time writing an answer Pleaase READ the POST I am a retired old fart with more than 50 patents in the areas of electronic devices and ssemiconductor device fabrication.
Yes I KNOW the information SUPOSSEDLY stored on the A08 BIOS on the old MOB could not possibly appear on startup with the new MOB which had a BIOS chip with a different version (A07) BUT IT DID AND CONTINUED TO APPEAR UNTIL I PULLED THE BATTERY.
I would LOVE to be able to enter the BIOS and edit it, BUT the computer hangs and wwill no longer see the keyboard AS SOON as it enters the BIOS or terminates in any other fashion
there was and is nothing in the computer but when I try various things but the DRIVE or DRIVES and the video card. (I had done all that and quite a few other things before my first post)
Since the servicetag on screen the BIOS goes to is blank you're right it ain't there. I would hit enter and type it in BUT no input accepted at that point.
What in the world did I say that made you think I was saying it could be stored on a hard drive that the computer can't see until the BIOS finds the drives??
OPPS I finally read what I wrote not what Iintended to write
The mindblow comes from data that should be stored only in the A08 BIOS chip on the OLD board appeared on the runs of the new board with the A07 BIOS chip. The BIOS got the data from soewher but I can't think of how. There never was any physical connection between the two boards ans the memory modules were unplugged for abouta half hour and the BIOS shouldn't access them anyway.
The previous falt screen hAd to be getting it's data from somewhere also. There has never been a fan failure or a Cpu failure etc. An d as I said the battery is fine under load.
The fact that I have the same problem with a new MOB is really hard to understand.
Is there any way to flash the BIOS WITHOUT being able to enter setup?
Is the dell BIOS contained in a single chip that could be replaced or is it distributed some how? The old BIOS data showing up on a new MOB makes me wonder how this is possible and I'm grasping at straws.
Do you know if there is any history of frequent trouble with the BIOS on the precision 690? Otherwise two MOB with the same hang looks incredible. BUT i've got it.
dolmanpete
11 Posts
1
October 8th, 2012 14:00
Well I think you might as well close this. I have got the computer to function if a bit awkwardly.
When it hangs on initiallization and will accept no input, it will boot if everything but the drives, keyboard and graphics is disconnected. In particular NO USB devices connected. After this it will still insist that there are no drives available, although the BIOS just listed the drives in the correct slots, BUT it will continue to boot if F1 is pressed. Once in windows you can connect mouse and stuff to the USB ports and all works normally. I have decided I do NOTwish to risk an upset of the applecart by flashing the BIOS. The magic comes that it has only hung at the F1 etc. prompt once in the last couple of weeks
Thank you all for your help
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
August 31st, 2012 06:00
Hi Dolmanpete,
Removing the battery will reset BIOS defaults. For your model, the BIOS default for SATA operation is AHCI. I believe all you need to do is change this to ATA. That's probably how the OS was installed. Without the AHCI setting and drivers, the OS cannot see the hard drive.
Here's the system setup guide <ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell> for your desktop. There may be one or two other settings you will need to change, so as setting up your drives and boot list.
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 4th, 2012 19:00
Thanks for the fast reply. The holiday held me up a little.
Before I forget to mention it again _ I have downloaded the Dell 690 manual and the users guide, but neither one seems to address the problem.
removing the battery and leaving it out for a couple of hours did change things a bit. However the system still hangs and ACCEPTS NO INPUT OF ANY KIND AFTER the dell boot ROM sussccssfully inatalled message. The change is after " ACHI Bios not installed etc." it flashes over to the safe mode etc screen and hangs there. If I press F2 at the initial screen it goes to setup and acceptss no further input. If I press F12 it goes to the boot menu and hangs. . I just tried invoking the SAS utility to see what would happen = hang at please wait etc.
I don't know if it's significant but all the POST lights are out when it hangs. Since the machine hangson entering setup or the boot menu it is not possible to change anything that way. I have the DELL application CDROM and if I put that in, I get the which drive do you eant to boot screen and hangs.,
I am not sure if all this indicates a problem in the BIOS or somewhere else.
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
September 5th, 2012 11:00
This is one of those times I wish I was in front of the machine. :emotion-7:
Have you tried a different keyboard?
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
September 5th, 2012 12:00
If I may...
Try booting with all USB devices, except mouse and keyboard, disconnected. I suspect the PC is trying to boot from a printer or other non-bootable USB device and that's causing the error message.
When you removed the battery, you reset BIOS Setup to the factory defaults. The default for USB is ON, but that allows the system to attempt to boot from a USB device. If you can get it to boot without any USB devices connected (aside from mouse, keyboard), go into BIOS setup (F2) and change the USB setting from ON to NO BOOT.
The Boot Sequence in BIOS setup has Diskette drive first, as the default. So if you don't have an internal floppy diskette drive you also have to disable the floppy drive in BIOS setup. If you actually have an internal floppy drive, don't disable it in BIOS, but make sure the hard drive is listed first in the Boot Sequence in BIOS.
Be sure to save the changes before exiting BIOS setup.
I'll :emotion-16: now.
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 5th, 2012 14:00
yes I've tried three different keyboards that work fine in my other computers. ANY and all keyboard I have tried works fine until the Bios handoff starts.
That is, I can select F2 or F12 and go to their screens to hang in setup or the boot menu. I can also get into the SAS sequence. The bios procedes until the "AHCI Bios is not installed screen" and then fast switches to the Safe mode etc. screen. I tried loading the cache until the beep with returns to see if one would act to start windows normally, but all that happens then is it hangs on that screern without counting down to 28 or 29 secs. I believe this meands it ain't the keyboard.
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 5th, 2012 14:00
Thanks for trying. It would be nice if the computer didn't hang as soon as it enters setup, but it does. (see answer to Ospey above.) Iam trying everything with nothing but the keyboard and the fmonitor connected. I can see the boot menu (hung)
If I put the DELL CDROM in, I sometimes will get the screen that asks if I wish to boot from the CD or the hard drive (hung) Iwonder if I can refresh the Bios from a flash drive if it will try to boot from a usb port?
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
September 5th, 2012 14:00
Try keyboard in all USB ports on rear of the tower...
Try this if that doesn't help:
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 9th, 2012 13:00
NOW my mind is completely BLOWN!!
Tried the above=same problems. I need the computer funcional so I bought and installed a DELL refurb MOB.
Not only do I have the same problem with the new mother board, but some of the same BIOS data showed up. BIOS data that Should have been specific to the new bios on the new mother board. I pulled the battery and left it out overnight. That changed the sequece of the BIOS screens BUT the computer still hangs and accepts no input after the bios messages complete. If I just let it run it hangs on the screen that tells me that
"Serial ATA AHCI BIOS version iSRC 1.20.25 07222007 (copy rights etc.)
Controller BUS#00 Device#1F Function#02: 00Ports
No device found
ACHI Bios is not installed"
The new (current) MOB has BIOS A07, old MOB A08.
how in the word did data from the old BIOS transfer to the new BIOS???
I kept the same Graphics, CPUs, and Hard drives.
On first and second start up attempts a screen (hung) came up and listed a whole bunch of previous errors including that the battery was bad.
I replaced the battery (which was new) wih another one fresh out of the package. = same screen showed up.
As before I can input from any keyboard until the BIOS completes.
The hang in setup now occurs at tthe service tag in maintainance where previously it was at the info screen.
I've checked the supposedly bad battery and it is OK under a 10Kohm load. Since every other alert was wrong, I'm not real surprised.:emotion-42:
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
September 10th, 2012 15:00
You mis-understand what BIOS is and how it works. :emotion-5:
BIOS is stored on a chip on the motherboard. It's not stored on the hard drive. So if you installed a refurbished motherboard with BIOS A07 on that chip, that's what exactly what you'd get. The version of BIOS on the replacement motherboard is totally independent of what version of BIOS was on the chip on the original motherboard. Obvioulsy Dell didn't flash the latest A08 version of BIOS on that refurbished board before you bought it.
Check to see how SATA Operation is set in BIOS setup. The default is AHCI so try changing it to ATA. Try also changing the SAS Controller settings. If you don't have internal floppy drive, be sure to disable it in BIOS, etc. You probably need to repeat everything you tried in BIOS with the old board with this replacement.
And keep in mind, every time you remove the motherboard battery, you reset BIOS to the factory defaults so any changes you may have made will be lost. It's a good idea to write the changes down as you make them so you know what helps the problem before you remove the battery. Otherwise those changes are lost and you have to start over.
It's possible the new board doesn't have a Service Tag stored in BIOS.
If none of that helps, there may be issue elsewhere. You may have to strip the PC down to bare essentials. Disconnect all drives, except boot hard drive, remove all PCI cards except video card, reseat RAM modules in their slots, etc. Then see if you can get it to boot. If that works, reinstall one component at a time to see if you can ID the hardware that makes it fail.
Always power off, unplug and press/hold power button for ~15 sec before doing any work inside the case.
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 10th, 2012 18:00
Before yoiu spend all that time writing an answer Pleaase READ the POST I am a retired old fart with more than 50 patents in the areas of electronic devices and ssemiconductor device fabrication.
Yes I KNOW the information SUPOSSEDLY stored on the A08 BIOS on the old MOB could not possibly appear on startup with the new MOB which had a BIOS chip with a different version (A07) BUT IT DID AND CONTINUED TO APPEAR UNTIL I PULLED THE BATTERY.
I would LOVE to be able to enter the BIOS and edit it, BUT the computer hangs and wwill no longer see the keyboard AS SOON as it enters the BIOS or terminates in any other fashion
there was and is nothing in the computer but when I try various things but the DRIVE or DRIVES and the video card. (I had done all that and quite a few other things before my first post)
Since the servicetag on screen the BIOS goes to is blank you're right it ain't there. I would hit enter and type it in BUT no input accepted at that point.
What in the world did I say that made you think I was saying it could be stored on a hard drive that the computer can't see until the BIOS finds the drives??
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 10th, 2012 19:00
OPPS I finally read what I wrote not what Iintended to write
The mindblow comes from data that should be stored only in the A08 BIOS chip on the OLD board appeared on the runs of the new board with the A07 BIOS chip. The BIOS got the data from soewher but I can't think of how. There never was any physical connection between the two boards ans the memory modules were unplugged for abouta half hour and the BIOS shouldn't access them anyway.
The previous falt screen hAd to be getting it's data from somewhere also. There has never been a fan failure or a Cpu failure etc. An d as I said the battery is fine under load.
The fact that I have the same problem with a new MOB is really hard to understand.
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
September 11th, 2012 17:00
Hi Dolmanpete,
No idea what's going on, my friend. I'm hoping you can find a local shop with the expertise to diagnose this.
dolmanpete
11 Posts
0
September 12th, 2012 12:00
Is there any way to flash the BIOS WITHOUT being able to enter setup?
Is the dell BIOS contained in a single chip that could be replaced or is it distributed some how? The old BIOS data showing up on a new MOB makes me wonder how this is possible and I'm grasping at straws.
Do you know if there is any history of frequent trouble with the BIOS on the precision 690? Otherwise two MOB with the same hang looks incredible. BUT i've got it.
osprey4
4 Operator
•
34.2K Posts
0
September 13th, 2012 11:00
Yes, using a DOS-executable BIOS firmware updater. There are instructions for preparing this in downloads for BIOS version A08.