Asrock Z68 Fatal1ty Professional-gen3 Bios Update 2.20 won't boot from HDD

[Deonix]

I installed the 2.20 BIOS on an Asrock Fatal1ty Professional-Gen3 and it does not boot from HDD.
It boots from DVD (IDE) installs windows 7 then, after final install reboot (when it should boot from HDD) it's in an infinite bootloop. Bios spash screen appears over and over. I formatted the HDD, fresh install.

I have a Sata 2 HDD in a Black Sata 2 port (port3) connected. The HDD should work properly. The Bios sees it properly.

In UEFI: Sata controller enabled, IDE Mode, S.M.A.R.T. activated, Sata 3 mode IDE. ASmedia Sata 3 bootable No.
I tried with older BIOS 1.10/1.3 i don't remember and it worked with IDE mode and default. Windows booted, worked. I wanted to set the memories to 1866 MHz and updated the Bios to 2.20. Then bootloop. I tried Clearing CMOS, reverting settings to default.
I tried AHCI mode.

So how to fix?

[Paul_Mac]

I installed the 2.20 BIOS on an Asrock Fatal1ty Professional-Gen3 and it does not boot from HDD.
It boots from DVD (IDE) installs windows 7 then, after final install reboot (when it should boot from HDD) it's in an infinite bootloop. Bios spash screen appears over and over. I formatted the HDD, fresh install.

I have a Sata 2 HDD in a Black Sata 2 port (port3) connected. The HDD should work properly. The Bios sees it properly.

In UEFI: Sata controller enabled, IDE Mode, S.M.A.R.T. activated, Sata 3 mode IDE. ASmedia Sata 3 bootable No.
I tried with older BIOS 1.10/1.3 i don't remember and it worked with IDE mode and default. Windows booted, worked. I wanted to set the memories to 1866 MHz and updated the Bios to 2.20. Then bootloop. I tried Clearing CMOS, reverting settings to default.
I tried AHCI mode.

So how to fix?

Try setting your SATA drives to AHCI in UEFI.
It's all in your manual from P50 onwards. Look for the installing without RAID sections
Cheers,
Mac

[Deonix]

Update. Checked the memory, PSU, HDD.

The only issue is the Mobo Bios. It won't boot from HDD no matter which slot or if it's IDE mode or AHCI mode. I guess there is no way for me to clean the whole BIOS flash memory and install it clean. USB stick flash works but with no benefit. No Debug error.
As it worked for 6 months one the old BIOS without error i will go to the warranty. Hope Asrock are understanding with my problem.

When i install Win7 (X86 or X64) it says preparing for first use shows me the Desktop for the first time then shutdowns and never boots again. On a different Mobo it does the same but boots ok.

If you have any ideas do share.

[Suupa]

Are your HDD on RAID or anything? I have a 2TB HDD and 60GB SSD, when i was using my SSD as cache(Intel smart response technology) I remember I had the same problem. I switch my HDD back to AHCI to make it so the RAID would work and then it booted from HDD.

[Deonix]

Are your HDD on RAID or anything? I have a 2TB HDD and 60GB SSD, when i was using my SSD as cache(Intel smart response technology) I remember I had the same problem. I switch my HDD back to AHCI to make it so the RAID would work and then it booted from HDD.

Manage to make it work.
Faulty Windows 7 without SP1 did not have the right drivers. The BIOS is great. Windows 7 with SP1 installed without error. Runs in AHCI mode.
Note to others when trying to change from IDE mode to AHCI mode, RAID mode and vice-versa make sure to change that in windows registry (google it) or else it won't boot. You can always do it before a fresh Win7 installation (only from Bios) as well.