Intel Motherboards : H170A-X1/3.1 boots to BIOS sometimes

Author: cybermcm
Subject: H170A-X1/3.1 boots to BIOS sometimes
Posted: 03 Sep 2016 at 7:10pm

parsec wrote: I tested this on my Z170 Extreme7+ board. My board's UEFI also uses the PCIE Devices Power On option to enable WOL, which I set to Enabled. I did not have the Boot From Onboard LAN option enabled, it was disabled. I had all three WOL options checked in the Power Management tab of the I219-V's Properties. I also had all of the Power Saver Options checked. BTW, I have the Intel 21.0 network driver installed, directly from Intel: I had Windows Fast startup checked during this test, I was not aware of that being possibly a problem with WOL. With this configuration, I shutdown Windows 10, turned off the PSU with its switch, and pulled the AC cord out of the PSU. I let the PC sit like that for at least an hour. I then connected the AC cord to the PSU, and turned it on. The PC immediately started for a few seconds, but then shut off and stayed that way. That does not happen when PCIE Devices Power On is disabled, the PC does nothing when power is restored to the board. I later turned on the PC with the case power switch, and it booted into Windows 10 normally. So trying this all of one time so far, I did not get the start up into the UEFI UI behavior that you are getting on this Z170 board. I have not tested WOL on this PC yet.

First of all, thanks for the time you spend looking into this!
My NIC options, we have the same driver version (just to be sure):
1) Respond to ARP requests... -> enabled
2) Respond to NS requests.... -> enabled
3) Energy Efficient Ethernet -> disabled
4) Reduce Link Speed... -> disabled
5) Wake on Magic Packet -> enabled
6) Wake on Pattern Match -> disabled
7) Wake on Magic Packet from power off state -> enabled
8) Wake on Link Settings -> Disabled

It would be really interesting if your WOL really works. This misbehavior only occurs if WOL is working, at least for me. It makes no difference if I wake up my PC with the power button or with WOL.

parsec wrote: You said in your first post that the startup into the UEFI after a power reset only happens sometimes? So it seemingly randomly does this? I'm not implying you don't have a problem, just that a random one is more difficult to diagnose.

Correct, it is often the case (with PSU power down) but not always.

parsec wrote: I'll try this test again on the H110 chipset PC, which also uses the I219-V chip. I did not have WOL enabled in the I219V Properties when I tested the power reset. I could also try this test on my ASRock X99 board PC, which has Windows 10. Anything else I can try for you? At least a few power restores on the Z170 board?

If you test with a H110 chipset please enable WOL. It doesn't occur if WOL is disabled.
Power restores with Z170? It would be great if you can try it a few times (and check if WOL is actually working). It happens about 2 out of 3 times with my board.

parsec wrote: You post about the response from ASRock support seemed to say that you thought ASRock support said it is normal for the board to start into the UEFI with WOL enabled after a power restore. I say that since you have said the momentary start up and then shut off on a power restore is normal when WOL is enabled. I believe that is what ASRock support said. I just want to clarify what you said about that.

About Asrock support. The answer to the described issue was "it is hardware limitation.
The only thing you can do is to let the system boot up and shut down after cutting AC power off."
So basically they say, it is a feature, not a bug. If this is the case it is really disappointing.