B2 Error - cannot load Video BIOS - when using DIMM.2 Slot

[_azathot_]

Howdy,

I called ASUS tech support and they were rather confused, so I figured I would ask in the forum.

I have an existing NVME (Samsung 960 Pro) in slot one, under the heat sink.

I have a secondary NVME (Samsung 950 Pro) I would like to use. I have installed the M.2 drive in both of the slots on the DIMM.2 to the same result.

I have two 1080Ti (ASUS Strix) installed as the video cards in the machine.

When the DIMM.2 slot is installed, the machine fails to POST and reports the error:
B2 - Failed to load Video BIOS

Removing the DIMM.2 slot allows the machine to boot and be fully operational.

Removing one of the video cards nets the same result.

Has anyone successfully used the DIMM.2 slot to add an additional NVME to their system? Is there a secondary config option that is necessary in order to enable this functionality on the board?

Thanks!

[starlightknight]

I have 2x NVMe and 2x 1080ti, but my NVMe's are both in the DIMM.2 slot and the 1080Ti's are in the top & bottom slot respectively. IIRC, some of the PCIe slots share resources with the NVMe slots - it's possible you may have a conflict with what slots you're using.

[legendarypoet]

I have every SATA port populated. the M.2, both DIMM.2, an x4 10G NIC, 2x 1080s in SLI. I don't think it's a resource issue.

Have you tried an empty DIMM.2? Maybe it's just bad. I

[Ljugtomten]

'[azathot wrote:
;671010']Howdy,

I called ASUS tech support and they were rather confused, so I figured I would ask in the forum.

I have an existing NVME (Samsung 960 Pro) in slot one, under the heat sink.

I have a secondary NVME (Samsung 950 Pro) I would like to use. I have installed the M.2 drive in both of the slots on the DIMM.2 to the same result.

I have two 1080Ti (ASUS Strix) installed as the video cards in the machine.

When the DIMM.2 slot is installed, the machine fails to POST and reports the error:
B2 - Failed to load Video BIOS

Removing the DIMM.2 slot allows the machine to boot and be fully operational.

Removing one of the video cards nets the same result.

Has anyone successfully used the DIMM.2 slot to add an additional NVME to their system? Is there a secondary config option that is necessary in order to enable this functionality on the board?

Thanks!

Have you updated your BIOS?
The one released after the initial solved this very problem with dual graphic cards and DIMM.2

You can have DIMM.2 installed with the graphics cards and update using BIOS Flashback to the latest (Beta UEFI 9910 found here in the forum, or 0503 on the drivers page)

[IM3CPO]

I have all 3 NVME slots filled and have no issues. I have not tried two video cards yet, but my final system will have dual video cards. As others have said, the NVME card shares some PCIE lanes with the PCIE slots. Have you tried removing the second video card and/or moving it to another PCIE slot?

[_azathot_]

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions. Updating the BIOS to 0601 fixed the issue with the DIMM.2 slot. I'm able to use my additional NVME drives now. Thanks!

[Skillividden]

Well, I'll try to leave a message here in order not to create another similar thread.

I've just built a new system based on ASUS ROG x399 Zenith Extreme and Threadripper 1950x. AFTER flash-updating my BIOS to 0902 12/21/2017 I started experiencing the very similar problem, every 2nd POST failed with b2 error - cannot load video BIOS or initializing legacy ROM. Removing DIMM.2 card helped, but I am planning to use it later.

Fortunately, my system is on an Intel Optane 900p installed in the 4th PCIe slot (x4/x4) and I still have a m.2 slot under the chipset heatsink which I can use for another NVMe SSD.

I have only one graphics card (ATI Radeon Pro WX3100). I use PCIe 2.0 x4 for Aquantia 10Gb card and x1 for additional SATA controller. I am also planning to install a LSI MegaRaid 8i controller.

Which BIOS should I use to make my system more stable?

By the way, I could not overclock my 64Gb memory kit (Corsair LPX 3000 cl15) to 3000MHz. It is stable only up to 2800MHz. The kit is listed as recommended/tested for the Zenith Extreme. I'm not sure whether it's a memory issue or motherboard/BIOS problem.

[gupsterg]

Skillividden wrote:
By the way, I could not overclock my 64Gb memory kit (Corsair LPX 3000 cl15) to 3000MHz. It is stable only up to 2800MHz. The kit is listed as recommended/tested for the Zenith Extreme. I'm not sure whether it's a memory issue or motherboard/BIOS problem.

That is likely to be non Samsung B die, TR IMC favours that. The kit is likely to be dual sided/rank, which lowers MHz above official to be gained. I reckon your best off opening a new thread on this topic/finding one to post in, as we'd end up off topic due to title of this topic.

[Skillividden]

Yes, it's definitely not Samsung b-die. But for me, 2800MHz instead of 3000 is not really a problem, at last not a major issue. As I wrote I have almost the same issue with error b2 and dimm.2 slot.

[gupsterg]

Skillividden wrote:
Yes, it's definitely not Samsung b-die. But for me, 2800MHz instead of 3000 is not really a problem, at last not a major issue.

Ok 🙂 .

Skillividden wrote:
As I wrote I have almost the same issue with error b2 and dimm.2 slot.

Sorry nothing I can share on this 😮 .