New Build Doesn't Detect Keyboard

Finally got all the parts for my new rig and it starts up just fine, but I can't get into the BIOS because my motherboard isn't detecting/recognizing my keyboards. Whenever I came across this issue on previous builds I'd just plug in my old PS2 keyboard, but my new mobo doesn't have a PS2 connector - just USBs. I've tried multiple USB wired and wireless keyboards, and I tried them on all USB ports, restarting before each port. No luck.

It does post except for boot. Can't boot without designating boot drive, and I can only do that in BIOS. I know I just need to install drivers, or better yet install win10, but I can't install anything without getting into the BIOS; and I can't get into the BIOS without a keyboard. It's just a vicious cycle :

Is there a workaround or something? I'd hate to have to buy something from the Device QVL just so it'll recognize a keyboard. Any help on this would be very much appreciated.


CPU - AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
Cooler - Deepcool Castle 360 V2
Mobo - Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming
RAM - G.Skill Trident Z 3200 CL16 4x8GB
GPU - Sapphire RX590 Nitro+ SE
Storage - Western Digital Blue SN550 NVMe 1TB
PSU - Corsair RM850x
Chassis - Phanteks Eclipse P400A - Mesh Front

Reset the cmos on your board.

Is your keyboard (any you tried) lighting up (caps lock, etc) at any point during post? Do the other keyboard work in a known good pc. Device qvl has nothing to do with this (keyboard qvl doesnt exist).

Are you sure you're not just missing the window to get into the bios?

Make sure you are using the correct hot key to enter bios. Delete? F1? F2? F9? F10? Esc? Different board manufactures use different hot keys and some require the use the Fn key in combo with the hot key.

@ EarthDog - yes, I did clear CMOS multiple times - each time I tried a different keyboard actually. None of the keyboards (at least the ones with LEDs) light up during the post process until the end. That just tells me the board powers up all the ports, but is not reading them. And all my keyboards work on my old pc and my laptop. And I start pressing on the hotkeys as soon as I push the power button. I know the Device QVL is ridiculous, but I've read elsewhere that some people were able to get into BIOS using a listed keyboard. And even Asus' Support refers you to the QVL to this exact issue.. https://www.asus.com/us/support/FAQ/1042134.

@ trents - F2 and Delete are my two options - it's what it says when I see the ROG logo on the screen.


I'm wondering if I could flash the BIOS? Seems like the only way at this point.

I don't see how you can flash the bios if you can't get into it and you can't use a Windows-based flasher until you can install Windows. I guess what I would try would be to clone a the drive from another computer running the same OS and install it in the new rig to see if it would boot into Windows. It would then install the necessary device drivers. Once in Windows you can use a Windows-based flasher to flash the bios.

I'm wondering if all of the USB ports on your board are busted? Power supply not feeding the proper voltage for 5v (iirc is USB)?

While it would suck, trying building out side of the case and maybe there is a short?

None of the keyboards (at least the ones with LEDs) light up during the post process until the end. That just tells me the board powers up all the ports, but is not reading them

Click to expand...

That tells me the opposite. If you were actually getting power those leds would light up.

EDIT: I read your post wrong the first time...


It lights up towards the end for me as well... you really need to be banging on the keys to get into the BIOS or it starts to boot. Especially if fastboot is enabled.

The lights come on means it is getting some sort of power... the right power or what who knows.

I don't think a bios flashback could hurt much at this point.

trents said:

I don't see how you can flash the bios if you can't get into it and you can't use a Windows-based flasher until you can install Windows. I guess what I would try would be to clone a the drive from another computer running the same OS and install it in the new rig to see if it would boot into Windows. It would then install the necessary device drivers. Once in Windows you can use a Windows-based flasher to flash the bios.

Click to expand...

the board has Bios flashback. So he could set up a USB drive on another system and flash the bios off of that. I would not mess with that until we determine if the USB ports are working. I agree with Janus67 to go back to the basics. Take the system out of the case and build it on a desk.

Also have you tried every USB port including the front panel ones?

Sounds like the USB ports are not being initialized soon enough. I would think by default, fast boot wouldn't be enabled and since you haven't been able to get into bios you certainly have not changed the default setting.

I would contact Asus about this.

So I did what Janus67 suggested - pulled everything out and rebuilt it outside the case. Still same issue. So as per trents' suggestion, I installed win10 on an old SSD and plugged it in. Still no dice. I then decided to start pulling out different components to see if I can isolate it and post, including going down to just 2 sticks of RAM. ANd of course, it obviously had to be the last thing I pull - my NVMe SSD. It's so weird but somehow my keyboard started working and I was able to get into BIOS. But now I have new issues to contend with.

1) I can't access the NVMe menu in BIOS unless there's one installed, but I can't install it since my PC won't post if I have it plugged in. And my NVMe drive is supposed to be my boot drive. aarrgghh!!

2) My spare SSD is struggling to open win10 for some reason. I can get it to the win10 sign-in screen but won't load into desktop. It worked just fine in my other pc. Why?? Too old and slow perhaps?

3) Would BIOS Flashback and going back to original factory settings help?

So good people of Overclockers.com, what should I do next? I obviously want to use my NVMe as my main drive, but I have no idea why having it plugged in causes my system to hang up. I certainly don't want to get stuck with SATA SSDs forever. Is there something specific in the BIOS I can do as well? I've never struggled so much with a build before. Thanks again for all the help!

There is a possibility that the WD NVMe is DOA. Stranger things have happened. Do you have another rig you can test it in? Are you sure the NVME is even initialed? You need one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Conv...id=1585550205&sprefix=NVME+us+,aps,208&sr=8-4

And try your own idea #3 first.

Have you tried the drive in both M.2 slots?

I'm guessing some incompatible driver from the old install is crashing / hanging on the new hardware. I would suggest trying a fresh install on the SATA drive using the new system and a USB key. Once you get the NVMe detected and initialized in windows, then you can go back and install the OS on it.

I'm guessing it's either a faulty NVMe, faulty M.2 slot, or a compatibility issue. In the latter case flashing the BIOS could help.

SUCCESS!!

After 24 hours (at least) of troubleshooting, playing around with different configurations, and working through everyone's suggestions, I finally got it working!!

I took Zerileous' caution seriously and exhausted every possible solution first before attempting the Flashback. I looked over every resource I could find to make sure I do this properly, and I discovered flashing completely overwrites the existing BIOS, so resetting to factory wouldn't have mattered. So I downloaded the most current and complete BIOS available from Asus and voila! Full post with no issues!!

I am now installing Windows and will be going through the whole installing/updating process for the next few hours. Once I have it ready to go I'll post some pics.

Thanks again for all your helpful suggestions! I wasn't going to give up, but my mind was blanking out, until you guys got my gears turning again. Thank you!

Yes, since getting the USB backup and working you had the option to flash to a newer bios. In the beginning of this issue you had no USB. Glad you got it worked out. The bios that shipped must have been corrupted or you corrupted it somehow during the build.

Zerileous' post #12 suggests you carried this NVME over from a previous build. Is that the case or was it a new part? I assumed it was a new part but maybe I missed something.

My understanding was the NVMe was new. However a SATA SSD with a previous win10 installation had been used in troubleshooting, and the system would boot but hang on login. I was referring to that.

Well here she is in all her glory (mostly). Still gotta clean up my cables a bit more, but she's up and running with everything updated. Thanks again for everyone's help on this build over the last few days!!






Not sure why all the pics are sideways, but whatevs

How did you update BIOS?

chillz said:

SUCCESS!!

After 24 hours (at least) of troubleshooting, playing around with different configurations, and working through everyone's suggestions, I finally got it working!!

I took Zerileous' caution seriously and exhausted every possible solution first before attempting the Flashback. I looked over every resource I could find to make sure I do this properly, and I discovered flashing completely overwrites the existing BIOS, so resetting to factory wouldn't have mattered. So I downloaded the most current and complete BIOS available from Asus and voila! Full post with no issues!!

I am now installing Windows and will be going through the whole installing/updating process for the next few hours. Once I have it ready to go I'll post some pics.

Thanks again for all your helpful suggestions! I wasn't going to give up, but my mind was blanking out, until you guys got my gears turning again. Thank you!

Click to expand...

Curious how you updated the BIOS without keyboard functionality? I am running into a similar issue with a brand new build and same MOBO. One potential issue of mine is that I have 2x wireless keyboards. I don't have a wired keyboard on hand. However, the BIOS does show the keyboard as recognized. But I am striking out and am wondering how you were able to update the BIOS? Thanks!

skyl said:

Curious how you updated the BIOS without keyboard functionality? I am running into a similar issue with a brand new build and same MOBO. One potential issue of mine is that I have 2x wireless keyboards. I don't have a wired keyboard on hand. However, the BIOS does show the keyboard as recognized. But I am striking out and am wondering how you were able to update the BIOS? Thanks!

Click to expand...

It appears that the Strix X570-E gaming has USB BIOS flashback. Check your manual for specifics but basically you download the BIOS from ASUS rename it and use the specified USB slot on the back panel. Hold the flashback button and the BIOS will update all you need is power to the board not turned on just the power switch on the PSU is on. There will be a flashing light somewhere either the button you used or an LED by the BIOS IC on the board. When it's done flashing the BIOS is updated.

chillz said:

SUCCESS!!

After 24 hours (at least) of troubleshooting, playing around with different configurations, and working through everyone's suggestions, I finally got it working!!

I took Zerileous' caution seriously and exhausted every possible solution first before attempting the Flashback. I looked over every resource I could find to make sure I do this properly, and I discovered flashing completely overwrites the existing BIOS, so resetting to factory wouldn't have mattered. So I downloaded the most current and complete BIOS available from Asus and voila! Full post with no issues!!

I am now installing Windows and will be going through the whole installing/updating process for the next few hours. Once I have it ready to go I'll post some pics.

Thanks again for all your helpful suggestions! I wasn't going to give up, but my mind was blanking out, until you guys got my gears turning again. Thank you!

Click to expand...

Damn, is that the new board? The ASUS ROG Strix x570-E Gaming? That's the one I want to buy along with the same CPU...

Is this a known issue with these boards before it's flashed with the most recent BIOS?

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -

Johan45 said:

It appears that the Strix X570-E gaming has USB BIOS flashback. Check your manual for specifics but basically you download the BIOS from ASUS rename it and use the specified USB slot on the back panel. Hold the flashback button and the BIOS will update all you need is power to the board not turned on just the power switch on the PSU is on. There will be a flashing light somewhere either the button you used or an LED by the BIOS IC on the board. When it's done flashing the BIOS is updated.

Click to expand...

I guess this is the way to avoid OP's troubleshooting?