Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

[Lemorph]

Hello people,
Ok well the build went well and the main board is nice! But Im getting codes on post, firstly 4F,62,99 then the infamous A2 code. The system does boot though. I believe the first three codes are normal going by the user manual.
I seem to remember the A2 wasn't always there but perhaps it was?
Is this a NORMAL post code?
People with this board is yours posting A2?

I've read as much as I can on the net about this code but TBH there isn't that much, though I have tried all the suggestions with no avail . Some say it's normal some say it's not. :/ A few posts start then have no conclusion.
Why it posts an IDE code I have no idea. There isn't anything IDE anywhere. Hence it seems like a main board fault?


When I hit delete and enter the UEFI screen the error code A6 comes up
A2 = IDE detect
A6= SCSI detect

I have tried reseating the graphics card also taking it in and out, taking ram in and out, setting HDD and SDD to the correct settings. trying different ports for the HDD and SDD. Now all im running is the SSD with no HDD attached to keep it simple. Removing all USB devices. Tried different screens different screen connectors. In fact I had everything unplugged from the board except ram and cpu and it still posts A2????? I have installed windows about 4 times changing settings installing different drivers with no change. It's set to AHCI in the BIOS by default.

Im not sure what else to try if anyone can help me out that'd be greatly appreciated.

Normal?, Faulty? HELP!

[parsec]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

I wrote a reply earlier, and when I submitted it, the server never updated and it hung on waiting for some nonsense, and I see now it was lost forever...

Do I see A2? Sure, when I'm in the UEFI, I see A2 on the POST code display. I also see A2 flash by during a normal boot, twice actually I think, along with many other codes. On a normally completed boot, the last code I see is 62, and the code display shuts off. That's what the display is for, to show all the POST codes and display one if POST does not complete.

POST codes are not all error codes, many of them are used for indicating what action or function is occurring at that moment. When one is displayed, like A2, it means whatever function that code represents (IDE Detect) was started but did not yet finish or the next function has not yet been started. Seeing A2 while using the UEFI makes sense, since we want to see all our storage devices, but it does not make sense to enable them since we might change something and the POST will start over again. IDE detect really means any permanent, non-USB storage device, and includes PATA and SATA drives. A POST code like A2 may indicate an error, since it's telling us it could not finish detecting drives for some reason. But that is only true if the POST hangs at A2 (and you're not in the UEFI) and the PC does not boot.

If your PC boots, and the POST code display shuts off, everything is fine. If it boots and A2 is displayed, then that is odd. I think you are worried about nothing. Why is A2 infamous?

[Lemorph]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

Thanks for your reply parsec!

True and I do agree there not all error codes. I was interested to see if others had this particular code posting. You say you get A2 when your in your UEFI strange cause I get A6... Shouldn't this be uniform here?

A2 is the last code to display and the time it takes to stay on the LCD screen is dependent on how many drives I have connected up. I have 3 3TB HDD's also but for the test I just wanted the SSD connected. But with all drives connected the screen shows A2 for a few seconds then goes out. Im guessing this sounds normal to you?

I say infamous because it seems as it's a tricky code that can mean either an error or not.

I ran a test where I disconnected all drives, USB devices, screens, and this A2 code still shows? Shouldn't it not display in this situation? ( The PC just booted into UEFI)

[parsec]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

The A2 and A6 display are either caused by POST scanning the Intel and ASMedia SATA chipsets, and may display differently depending upon the drivers you have installed for those chipsets. One function of the POST is to find any drives you have connected, it can't know ahead of time that nothing is connected to the SATA ports, it must check.

I don't see any problems with the POST codes you see. If the PC boots and all drives are recognized, what is the problem? Do you have any drives connected to the ASMedia chipset, and is it enabled in the UEFI? Mine is and I have a drive connected to it. What drivers are you using on the chipsets, and what are the SATA modes?

[Lemorph]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

Thanks again parsec.
I don't have any drives connected to the ASMedia SATA ports. It is enabled but weather it's on or off in the UEFI makes no difference.
Im using the drivers the board came with. The INF chipset drivers. The SATA mode is set to AHCI so all is well.
Many thanks!

Funny how only you helped and no one else put thoughts on the matter yet there been a lot of views

[parsec]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

You're welcome, and I really do think your board is fine. If you had a BSOD or a lockup during POST, and you had an A2 or A6 displayed, then yes, that would likely indicate a problem with the SATA I/O system.

Also, can we actually trust what the POST codes seem to indicate, without a document describing the sequence of events during POST? For example, the last code I see (and most flash by so fast you can't read them, right?) is 62, which means "Installation of the South Bridge Runtime Services". This Z77 EX 4 board, and all other Intel 6 and 7 series chipset boards, don't have a "Southbridge" chip, or use the so called North and South bridge CPU support chip configuration. It has one Z77 PCH, or Platform Controller Hub. It does perform the same functions a Southbridge chip like the Intel ICH10R did, but also contains some of the functions that were done by the Northbridge chip. Can we trust that code? Or what if you had a "FA" displayed, which is "Invalid recovery capsule". What next with that one?

Regarding others not posting a reply, who knows? They don't know about POST codes, or don't care, or think the question is... irrelevant? Or they aren't blabber mouths like I am

[Lemorph]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

Yes it sounds like all are the same. :)
If I got any more codes I wouldn't like it cause it would slow the post time down also drive me insane researching them.

Do you notice when you add your standard HDD's to your system the system boot time slowed down? When I was just running the SSD the boot up was noticeably quicker also the A2 hangs longer

Keep yappin :) Im going to start another thread that you probably can help on also to do with sound ;)

[parsec]

Re: Extreme4 Z77 Code A2

Sure, the more drives you add to the PC, the longer it takes to start, as each drive must be recognized and a connection to it established. HDDs also take longer to do that than SSDs. That is normal.

Ok, you need to put a piece of tape over the POST code display! You should stop obsessing over it, just because you can't see these codes on other boards does not mean the same thing is happening on them.

Oh great, sound issues... that can be really a pain sometimes. But at least no POST codes with that, YAY!!!