Windows 8 Asus X501A Laptop Help Please! No BIOS

helpmarty

New Member
Messages
4
Location
London
Hello,

I recently purchased an Asus X501A laptop. It's an i3 2330M with 4GB of RAM, 320GB HDD. I used it for a few days before deciding to upgrade the storage and RAM (even though it states on the Asus website this laptop supports only 4GB, Crucial said it supported 8GB).

So I upgraded the HDD to a Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB, and everything worked great. I then decided to make one last upgrade and bump up the RAM to a Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600MHz. The RAM is very hard to get to (no back panels, it's under the motherboard) but I got to it and replaced it just fine.

I put it back together but it wouldn't boot. I've tried draining the power (remove battery and hold power for 30 seconds) didn't work. I decided to take out the CMOS and wait a while. Whilst trying to remove the CMOS battery I accidentally pulled out the wire.

Not wanting to solder I ordered a new one. Which came and I installed it, it still wouldn't boot. I decided to just put back the 4GB RAM and use it like that. I did and still wouldn't boot. Here's what happens when I turn it on:

The screen is blank - NO BIOS what so ever - The hard drive light is on for about a second then goes completely off and won't come on again. The Num Lock light and Power light stay on though. I've tried all I can, but it still won't budge.

Currently it's just sitting here with the SSD and 4GB of RAM. I'm an aspiring IT Tech and this is the first computer I've been unable to fix. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    i3 2330M
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 3000
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Cyborg R.A.T 7 6400 DPI
    Internet Speed
    DL - 10Mbps -- UL - 1Mbps
    Other Info
    Asus X501A Laptop
Bump... anyone?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    i3 2330M
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 3000
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Cyborg R.A.T 7 6400 DPI
    Internet Speed
    DL - 10Mbps -- UL - 1Mbps
    Other Info
    Asus X501A Laptop
Sorry to hear man, it is indeed some weird isht you got into, I honestly havent that happen . Anywho just to cover some basics that we sometime overlook. Did you try function keys on your Asus, such as Esc when you just turn it on OR any other combo! i am sure you reopened it and made sure all wiring is ok! Good luck man, keep us posted
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64 bits Ent- Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000-Radeo hd 6370- Nvidia Ge540
Thank you, I've tried all I can but nothing works. It won't even POST lol. Well I believe it's the CMOS battery so I'll have to order a new one and see how it goes. Will do.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    i3 2330M
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 3000
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Cyborg R.A.T 7 6400 DPI
    Internet Speed
    DL - 10Mbps -- UL - 1Mbps
    Other Info
    Asus X501A Laptop
your Asus is new, cmos should be fine dude. I know it is a mess but any chance you could put al back to stock and try?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64 bits Ent- Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000-Radeo hd 6370- Nvidia Ge540
Yeah it's new. The CMOS battery needs replacement. When I do it should be fine. The Asus is new, it's all back to stock already. I did that yesterday but still nothing. For now though I'll leave it be. It's pretty time consuming.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    i3 2330M
    Memory
    4GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 3000
    Sound Card
    N/A
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6"
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Sidewinder X4
    Mouse
    Cyborg R.A.T 7 6400 DPI
    Internet Speed
    DL - 10Mbps -- UL - 1Mbps
    Other Info
    Asus X501A Laptop
Most PC's will boot with a drained or dead CMOS battery. I have seen a shorted out CMOS battery prevent a boot though. The PC should have no problem booting with no CMOS battery installed so you could try that. It sounds like something got knocked loose while you were disassembling the laptop. I would double check all the cables etc, especially the one that goes from the motherboard to the display. The specs listed by the manufacturer are almost never wrong. Personally, I'm thinking Crucial got it wrong. Even so, putting the wrong size modules shouldn't tank your PC. You should have been fine going back to the original modules.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Education 64 Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 980 Black Edition Deneb 3.7GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS M4N68T-M V2 µATX Motherboard
    Memory
    8GB 4GBx2 Kingston PC10600 DDR3 1333 Memory
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Geforce GT640 2 Gig DDR3 PCIe
    Sound Card
    VIA VT1708s High Definition Audio 8-channel Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    22" LG E2242 1080p and 2 19" I-INC AG191D
    Screen Resolution
    1280x1024 - 1920x1080 - 1280x1024
    Hard Drives
    Crucial MX100 256 GB SSD and 500 GB WD Blue SATA
    PSU
    Thermaltake TR 620
    Case
    Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Stock heatsink fan
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wireless K350 Wave
    Mouse
    Logitech M570 Trackball and T650 TouchPad
    Internet Speed
    80 Mbps Down 30 Mbps Up
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    HP DVD1040e Lightscribe - External USB2
agreed Alpha and good luck Marty, keep us posted. peace out
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64 bits Ent- Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Asus
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000-Radeo hd 6370- Nvidia Ge540
I have got exactly the same problem.... I got hold of a X501a the other day without a disk. Boot up only gives the power on light and num lock - nothing else!!! I put a disk in to see if that would make any difference - nada. Symptoms seem exactly the same as described earlier - blank screen and all. ASUS haven't got a lock that is activated if the notebook is openend up have they? I asked ASUS support what the problem might be, but they only suggested that I send the unit in for them to look at it! I consider myself a bit computer savvy, but admit I' m stuck now. Anybody help?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X501a Notebook
    CPU
    Intel I3
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    4GB
Welcome to EightForums.

As new MOBO's now have uEFI, boot to Recovery options.
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2269-system-recovery-options-boot-windows-8-a.html

Advanced-options.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
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