New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

[SgtDante]

I have just tonight put the final pieces in my new build. I power on for my first POST test and it powers up but no video. On the Dr Debug LED display I get the code A3. I refer to the manual and it describes the 0xA3 code as IDE Enable. What does IDE Enable mean?

Specs:
CPU: i7 2600K (stock 3.4GHz)
RAM: 2x4GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance (8-8-8-24; 1600MHz)
GPU: MSI N460GTX Cyclone
HDD: Crucial 128GB SSD
MoBo: Asrock P67 Extreme4
PSU: Corsair TX650
Case: CoolerMaster HAF
OS: 64-bit Windows 7

[g10]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

i believe that you have to set your ssd to achi mode.

[dorianny]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I am having the same problem. Happens with or without any drives (Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB) connected.
Did you get any more info on this or is this simply a DOA.

Thanks

Well Today I plugged in a ps2 keybard. Pressing F2 to get to the setup utility gets you past the A3 (IDE enable) but now gets stuck at A6 (SCSI detect). Again this happens with or without a drive attached (to either sataII or sataIII port).

[waldorfastoria07]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I have the exact same problem. Were you able to solve it? And how?

[turkeybeard]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I'm having this exact same problem, but with an ASROCK Extreme4 Z68 (kind of regretting going with ASROCK as this point).

No video, boot hangs at post code A3 without any SATA connections to the MB.

Do let us know if you've found a solution.

[goody16]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I had the error and it was related to the video card. In my case it was a stupid problem, I didn't have both power connectors connected to the card.

Try re-seating your card. If that doesn't work you could try without the card using the onboard video to see if it is your GPU.

[turkeybeard]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

In my case, I had to move the monitor to a different port on the graphics card, at which point I was able to get into the BIOS set up.

For some reason, the BIOS had defaulted the storage mode to IDE. I changed it to AHCI, but the debug code was then showing A6 (SCSI Enable I think). I then tried disabling the Marvell SATA3 controller, which cleared the A6 code. I was then able to boot cleanly and load Windows. I have no plans to utilize the Marvell SATA ports at this time, so all is well for me. If anyone is needing to use the Marvell ports, you may still be able to boot up with A6 code, as I've read elsewhere this worked for someone.

[ASRock TSD - Emily]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

Dear all,

Debug code shows "A3", it maybe caused by your SATA device.

Please kindly refer to below suggestions for testsing.
1. Clear CMOS to try.
2. Reinstall your SATA HDD, ODD and SATA cable to try.
3. Plug your SATA device to other SATA ports to try.
4. If possible, please kindly change other HDD or ODD to try.
5. Unplug your all SATA device to check whether the symptom still occur.

If the problem still cannot be solved, please kindly contact your local dealer to check your system.
Thanks!

Have a nice day
ASRock TSD Emily

[huytbvo]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

So how does that fix the no display error that we're getting? Or are you saying that we're getting no display because we're stuck on A3?

[kelafny]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I had this problem when i put together my current PC a few weeks ago. PC got stuck in A3 or A9 while the screen simply doesn't switch on. I found out, that the root cause was my GTX295 (the same seems to apply to the GTX8800) which works perfectly fine on other machines. I switched to another card and the problem went away. Seems that the intel chipset has a compatability problem with some older graphic cards.

[huytbvo]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

That's good news. What card did you switch to? I'm currently using xfx radeon 6870 so I doubt it's compatibility issues.

[turkeybeard]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I only had to switch to the secondary DVI port on the GTX 580 I had (I read somewhere else that this worked for someone). For some reason with the monitor connected to what I thought was the primary port (leftmost if looking at the back of the case), there was no video, but as soon as I connected it to the other DVI port video came up without an issue. Pretty sure it was unrelated to the A3 error, which cleared after I adjusted the storage mode in the BIOS settings.

[huytbvo]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I agree, it's most likely related to my GPU and not my motherboard or cpu. I can get it to switch modes by plugging in a USB keyboard and hitting F1. However, I already tried switching DVI ports with zero luck. I'll just test it with another GPU when I get one. If that doesn't work, I'll just return both the GPU and mobo and go with a different manufacturer.

[DOSteveSz]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

I had the same issue. With a dedicated graphics card (Radeon HD 5770). The "easy" solution was to remove the dedicated card and plug the monitor directly into the motherboard. That got me video, which allowed me to go into POST to change from IDE to AHCI. However my problem is that once I plug the graphics card back in, I still get no video... (I have access to two monitors so I tried plugging the DVI cable into the onboard and also onto the dedicated card and still nothing - tried both at the same time, just the dedicated card - every port, just the onboard and still no video at all).

I disconnected the video card and was able to install Windows and get everything up and running - again except no dedicated video card.

I have two of the 5770 cards (I want to use CrossFireX), but plugging in one or the other or both still has no video output. I even tried installing Windows without the cards, then installing them after Windows (in the hope that Windows would detect them and install drivers and they would start working) and I can hear Windows starting, but still no video output from the graphics cards.

Any ideas on what else I can try?

[huytbvo]

Re: New build getting A3 Dr Debug code

It was a little difficult to follow along with some of your debugging attempts so apologies if you already tried some of this.

Have you tried using the board video card WITH the dedicated graphics card plugged in?
Have you checked to make sure that your bios setting isn't defaulting to using onboard video card?
Have you tried both cards separately? As in you tested card A, it didn't work. So you removed card A and tested card B.