ASRock Z77 Extreme4 New Build w Problems on USB3, Ethernet and Vid Card Detection

[laffingboy11]

I just built a new computer with the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and have had several problems.
The USB 3 driver for the ASMedia USB 3 ports did not install correctly and the ASMedia USB 3 ports (the ports in the corner under the PS2 port) do not detect a USB thumb drive when it is inserted. All other USB ports function properly.
Another problem is the Ethernet Controller driver. I have tried to install the drivers from the CD that came with the motherboard and Windows indicates that the driver for the Ethernet controller cannot be found. I downloaded current Ethernet drivers from the ASRock website and tried to install them on the new build using a USB thumb drive with the same result. I did this four times just in case I had a corrupted driver download from ASRock. Each time Windows could not detect the driver for the Ethernet controller on the thumb drive.
There is also a driver for something called the PCI Simple Communication Controller that did not install from the driver or CD or from all of the drivers that were downloaded from the ASRock website.
Lastly I cannot get the motherboard to recognize a video card. I have tried two different video cards, an XFX Radeon HD6870 and an MSI R5770 PMDIG. I tried each card in two different PCI Express x16 slots with no results. The power supply had the proper power connectors and the fans on the vid cards were spinning so it seems that the cards were getting power. The system browser in the BIOS that shows all of the connected hardware indicates that nothing is installed in the PCI express slots. The video card is the only add in card that I intended to install.
The hardware and operating system info for this new build are noted below.
Any help with these problems would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Hardware List
MB - ASRock Z77 Extreme4 BIOS ver 2.5
CPU - Intel Core i7 3770K
CPU Cooler - Zalman CNPS9500A LED
Mem - 4x4GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR 1600 Model F3-12800CL9Q-16GBRL
Power Supply - Coolmax ZU-900B 900 Watt Single 12v rail @ 77 amps 924 watts
SSD - Intel 320 Series 160GB
Hard Drives - 2 Seagate 3TB Barracuda 7200rpm
Optical Drive 1 - ASUS 12X Blu-Ray Writer
Optical Drive 2 - LG SuperMulti DVD Writer
Card Reader - Generic USB 3.0 Card Reader
OS - Windows 7 64bit

This is the first time I have posted here and I could not get the return button on my keyboard to work in the post so I edited this in notepad and copied and pasted it into the post. I do not understand why there are no line breaks in this post. Any helpful hints on formatting any future replies/posts would also be appreciated.

[profJim]

Go to http://forums.tweaktown.com/profile.php?do=editoptions
This is a shortcut to going into your Settings window and selecting General Settings in the My Settings list on the left of the page.

At the bottom of the page you will see:
Miscellaneous Options
Message Editor Interface:

Enhanced Interface - Full WYSIWYG Editing
Basic Editor - A simple text box
Standard Editor - Extra formatting controls

You want the first option enabled for the enhanced interface, full WYSIWYG editing.

Did you try using the Go Advanced editing option to create your post?

If you are still having problems, which browser (name and version) are you using?

[- wardog -]

Have you installed the Intel Management Engine driver(s)?

[laffingboy11]

@ profJim - Thanks for the info on post editing. I am using IE10 on a recently purchased laptop with Windows 8. I saw the options for WYSIWIG editing in my profile and they were setup as you suggested. I did not use the Go Advanced editing feature to create my post. Where do I find this feature?

I just found the Go Advanced Editing

@ -wardog- I did not have the Intel Mgmt Engine driver installed. I went into the driver folder, launched the setup and that cleared the Device Manager exception for the PCI Simple Communication Controller. I then did the same thing for the ASMedia USB 3.0 controller and the Ethernet Controller. Launching the driver setup from the driver folder cleared the Device Manager exceptions for the USB Hub and the Ethernet Controller. For some reason this worked when the search for the driver using the update driver function from wihin the Device Manager did not work. Go figure.

Anyway, now all of the exceptions in the Device Manager are resolved. All of the USB ports are working and I will test internet access a little later. The computer is currently on a workbench where there is no internet access and I wanted to resolve the problem with the video card detection before I tried to access the internet.

The one problem that remains is the detection of the video card in the PCI Express slot. After the driver updates I rebooted the computer, went into the BIOS to see if the vid card was detected and had no joy.

Any ideas on what might cause the problem with the vid card detection will be welcome. Thanks for your help so far.

[profJim]

You're welcome, glad to see that the above post looks like your ENTER key is working OK

Do you have another psu that you can borrow for testing?
Sometimes a brand new psu can be defective.
Did you try using different psu pci-e power cables for each video card, one card at a time, using each of the video card slots?
The unrecognized video card problem happens all to often with some higher end ASRock motherboards.
Wait for some of the experienced ASRock members to help you diagnose your video cards.
I'll PM two members right now to help you.

[laffingboy11]

Well, I was able to connect to the internet with no problem so the Ethernet Controller is working fine. I have an extra power supply that I can connect to the video card in the new build to see if that makes a difference. Also, I should be able to find a an old video card that was produced before video cards had their own power connection from the power supply. If the motherboard detects the old video card then I suppose it would point the finger for the current problem at the power supply. I will try that tomorrow morning and report back. Lastly. someone tried to PM me earlier today. I do not know what happened, I think a popup blocker killed the PM. The laptop I am currently working on has Windows 8 and I am not too familiar with how it works and while I was trying to figure out how to access the PM it just disappeared.

[profJim]

http://forums.tweaktown.com/private.php?folderid=0 will take to directly to your Inbox.
From here you can access all SENT PM's if you have enabled this option in your GENERAL SETTINGS Profile to automatically save a copy of all PM's that you send. You can use the SETTINGS tab in the upper right hand corner of most forum pages to quickly gain access to your profile settings and saved folders.

[parsec]

Yes, you must have the Intel Management Engine (IME) installed for that PCI error to disappear (wardog, not bad for an AMD fanboy... )

You also may have noticed that some things won't install correctly when run from a USB drive. Copy them to your OS drive for the cleanest installation.

These ASR boards seem to have problems with some video cards, that is a common problem. What BIOS/UEFI version do you have? I would update to the latest one. 2.70, using the Instant Flash method. Download and unzip that file, and copy the result to the root folder of a USB flash drive. Put the flash drive in a USB 2.0 port on the rear I/O panel, and restart the PC and go into the BIOS/UEFI. Instant Flash is at the bottom of the Advanced options page.

UEFI 2.20 added improved PCIe configuration options in the UEFI, which you should set correctly for your video card. Are you using the onboard graphics now? Don't forget to disable that when you use a new card.

If that does not work, you will need to PM Emily at ASR support, and they might send you a special BIOS/UEFI to try, they've done that before.

[- wardog -]

I'll PM two members right now to help you.

Sorry. Went out last night plowing snow.

Have you tried using the other 6(+2)-pin video power the PSU has to power the card(s)? Long shot I know, loose pin connections/mating. Yet stranger things have happened/slipped past the QC inspection.

Other than the video card "issues' parsec alluded to might I suggest doing a HARD clearing of the BIOS.

Pull the power cord from the wall, pull the CMOS battery from the board(noting the orientation of the battery in it's holder!), jumper the CLRCMOS1 jumper, and let it sit this way for two to three hours. When the two or three hours is up place the vid card of choice in the PCIE2 slot with the proper 6(+2) power cabling attached, rejigger the CLRCMOS1 jumper, place the CMOS battery back in, reconnect the power from the wall. Throw a pinch of salt over your left shoulder, cross your fingers, then reach over and depress the cases power button .........

[laffingboy11]

@parsec - The board came with UEFI 2.50 installed. I tried to flash the BIOS to upgrade to 2.70 before I came to this forum. I did not really know what I was doing (even though I did not realize it at the time) and I thought I bricked the MB. It turned out that my initial attempt at flashing the UEFI did not work (I still had UEFI 2.50) but the motherboard was OK.

I tried it again following the instructions that you provided earlier. What happens after I flash the UEFI? I flashed it and now the Advanced Options are not available in the UEFI. All of the other options are available. I did not shut down the computer. Do I need to shut down? Exit the UEFI saving changes? Sorry if these are totally noob questions but the last time I flashed a BIOS I think I used floppy diskette. I just left the computer on after I flashed the UEFI. About 15 minutes have passed and the Advanced Options are still not available.

Here is what I have tried so far today (before I flashed the UEFI). I pulled an old video card from another computer, a BFG Tech GeForce 7800. I also found another power supply, a Thermaltake TR2 RX 650w. I tried the Thermaltake PS with the MSI and XFX vid cards and did not get the MB to recognize either card. I then tried the GeForce 7800 card with the Thermaltake power supply and the motherboard recognized the card and the card showed up in the Windows Device Manager. I then tried the GeForce 7800 card with the existing Coolermaster PS and got the same results. I also tried the different GeForce 7800/PS combinations in both of the PCI Express x16 slots and both slots worked with all combinations.

What can be concluded from the results of the above noted exercise? Is it possible that both the MSI and XFX cards are bad? I tried the MSI card in the computer that had the GeForce 7800 and the MSI card worked fine. The power supply in that computer does not have a second six pin connector so I could not try the XFX card (the MSI card has one six pin and the XFX has two six pin connectors). Is it possible that the two power supplies cannot power the MSI or XFX video cards. I do not know if it is significant but the fans on both cards run when they are hooked up to both the Coolermaster and Thermaltake power supplies.