Intel NUC8i5BEH3 - can't access BIOS

Roon Software Discussion ROCK
1

I bought an 8th-generation NUC (NUC8i5BEH3) in order to install ROCK. It’s an unsupported model, I know, but 7th-generation NUCs are hard to get in my area.

I followed Roon’s installation instructions, and everything went fine until I updated the BIOS to version 0056. Although the process completed successfully and I was able to install ROCK via USB, I am now unable to access the BIOS setup. Pressing F2 has no effect. Similarly, Intel’s recommended fix (start the NUC by pressing the power button for three seconds) fails to display the expected power button menu. I tried reverting to earlier BIOS versions (0048 and 0051), but the problem persisted.

This isn’t a critical issue - the Roon core is running fine - but I’d like to access the BIOS to change the boot settings. At the moment, I can only boot from a USB drive.

Has anyone else experienced this problem, and - hopefully - found a fix?

2

Can you see the nuc boot up on the attached display? For me it was hit or miss whether the hdmi output was detected by the monitor, my Samsung tv refused to work and a spare monitor I had would appear to work only occasionally! Just a thought!

3

Thanks, Mark, I hadn’t considered that. I’m using an old Toshiba TV. It displays text information (ROCK installation instructions etc) so I assumed it was working fine. But I’ll try another TV to make sure.

4

Maybe try another keyboard too

Edit I’ve seen keyboards with limited key sets that will drop to num lock and disable the F keys so check there is no odd shifts or locked key set in operation too.

Try another port too perhaps

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5

NUC8 Bios (0056) can be accessed through this (emergency) procedure, if, for example, you’ve enabled speed boot (or can’t see the NUC startup menu):

  1. When the Intel NUC is off, press and hold the power button for approximately 3 seconds (power button turns purple/pink), and immediately release. The Power Button menu should appear.

  2. Press F2 to enter Intel BIOS.

Worked for me…if you’re not having keyboard issues.

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6

I’m not sure if this is relevant for your case, but I have quite often run into issues in displaying the boot menu. As a rule of thumb you should try pressing the F2 key blindly 2 times per second after pressing the power button until you either arrive at bios or some device booted. Do not wait for your TV to display anything during boot.

Actually one more thing: many devices that have multiple display connectors have usually one of them set as default. This may have the annoying effect of never displaying anything on first boot on any other display connector until the operating system is fully running. You could try connecting a usb or some other disk that is known to boot to a desktop and only try to access bios menu on the 2nd boot (ie after software reboot).

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7

Completely agree. This is the only thing that has worked with my Gen7 NUC.

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8

Had the same problem. Attaching a plug 'n play monitor through HDMI instead of a TV solved the problem.

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Thanks for all your suggestions. Changing the display to a newer HDMI model fixed the problem for me. I thought all HDMI TVs were same, but apparently they’re not!