Not able to save Boot Order settings in Asrock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 motherboard

[D'Souza]

My brother gave me a brand new computer which is configured on new generation Asrock Z68 Pro3 Gen3 motherboard. I don’t want to describe the entire configuration now. It is somewhat a combination of gaming and multimedia computer. I always wanted somewhat same configuration and finally my brother helped me to get one. After installing Windows 7, I started to update the Windows. It has downloaded all the necessary updates. At first, I configured the system to boot from the USB drive just to check the configuration. Then installed the new SSD and installed Windows 7 in it. After the Windows 7 update, it automatically restarted the computer. Upon boot, the system tries to boot only from the USB drive. I changed the boot order again and set it to SSD but it still tries the same. To boot in SSD, I have to remove the USB drive connected to it or simply press F11 upon boot to select menu.

[Upendra]

Make sure that you are saving the changes while you exit from the BIOS menu after changing the boot order. Otherwise the changes will not get affect at all. If you have done so and still it cannot remember the boot order, the problem seems very strange. It looks the CMOS battery is dead and due to this none of your BIOS Settings are able to stored. Everytime you boot up the computer, the system will reset the BIOS settings to default if there is a failure in CMOS. Otherwise it would be something to do with the BIOS or BIOS chip. The BIOS could be corrupted or chip could get faulty. In this case, you have to re-flash the BIOS to the chip either with the same version of BIOS or different.

If the CMOS battery is dead, you have to replace it with a new one and it will not cost you more. Before changing the CMOS see if there is a new BIOS available from ASrock side for your motherboard. If yes, you can download and flash it. May be it could solve the problem.

[intoxicating]

How did you connect the SSD to the computer?

If you have set the SATA drive to boot first, it should boot fine at start up. It should be a boot drive by default and Windows will not change it, nor even a Windows update. You don’t have to worry about the OS and its update. If it cannot remember the BOOT sequence, just reset the CMOS either my removing the battery or switching jumpers. It will clear the CMOS thus causing BIOS set to default. Now you can start each BIOS setting from the scratch. Choose the boot sequence now and exit. Make sure that you choose SSD as primary boot device and second/third boot device as None. May be this time system can boot properly without having to check in boot menu.

[Bhadran]

Make sure that you have connected the proper connector to the SSD. Use the Intel connectors only, do not go for the marvel connectors since they don’t do well with SSDs. With Intel connectors, you will get better READ/Write speed than Marvell connectors. Intel SSD technology will help you get the most performance out of the unit. During the Windows installation make sure that the SCSI drivers are installed for SSD. If these drivers are not installed, your SSD won’t do well. It will simply work like a regular HDD. With Windows 7 installation SCSI drivers get installed automatically. But during the Windows XP, you have to choose those drivers to be installed separately. They won’t be installed automatically. Without these drivers, it will not be possible to set the SSD as a master drive and boot from it.

[Shawny.C]

I have connected the master connector to the SSD and slave connector to the HDD and other drives. The BIOS also shows proper drives connected to their respective connectors. It shows the SSD as Fixed Disk 0 and HDD as Fixed Disk 1 on boot up. Check the "jumper settings" as well as the “DIP switch" settings. In my case also, I cannot get the boot sequence to store its position or sequence. Upon exiting from BIOS, I also press F10 to save the settings but still there is an unsuccessful boot. I have to get into the boot menu everytime and choose the drive to be booted. It seems like the BIOS is automatically putting the removable drives as primary boot devices, Hard Drive(s) as second and DVD drive as third boot device. It always prefers to be in this sequence only and I cannot change it. Do you think that it is a BIOS lock or something?

[jamiejohn]

I don’t really trust the Asrock boards and its BIOS. I do like to use Intel boards only for the Desktop PCs. Even if it Is based on intel chipsets I don’t really like to rely on other brands except the Intel. Intel knows how to get things working without losing the compatibility. It looks like a problem with the BIOS chip. Except there is no other reason to tell about the BIOS. Even if it was a bug, asrock could have informed you earlier. So it definitely the cause of BIOS chip and it can be solved only by swapping out. To do this, you have to send back the board for repair.