problem with bios flash

  • Thread starter Thread starter Brad Sayers
  • Start date Start date
B

Brad Sayers

I have a Windows XP Home on an Asus motherboard (KT 600 series). I ran the
Asus utility to download and flash the Bios - it failed to complete. The
option was to retry or exit. I retried but the same thing so then I exited.

However, unfortunately now I am unable to boot - I am not sure what is
happening or how far it's getting in the POST since the monitor light just
flashes - display is black, no text at all. I removed the video card and
powered on, then replaced it but no change.

How do I recover at this point? Would really appreciate help! TIA, Brad
 
Brad Sayers said:
I have a Windows XP Home on an Asus motherboard (KT 600 series). I ran the
Asus utility to download and flash the Bios - it failed to complete. The
option was to retry or exit. I retried but the same thing so then I
exited.

However, unfortunately now I am unable to boot - I am not sure what is
happening or how far it's getting in the POST since the monitor light just
flashes - display is black, no text at all. I removed the video card and
powered on, then replaced it but no change.

How do I recover at this point? Would really appreciate help! TIA, Brad
Click to expand...

If the boot block in the bios was trashed you may have to buy new bios
chip.
First try clearing the CMOS. If your motherboard has a crashfree bios
(which only works if the boot block is good) boot with a floppy with a good
bios file on it in your floppy drive, or boot with the CD that came with
your board.
Instructions for all this is in your manual if I haven't explained it very
well.

Jim M
 
Thanks Jim,

Yes it is equipped with crash free and I have cleared the CMOS. However, I
still can't get to the floppy or monitor
so the boot block must be pooched.

Any recommendations on where I can purchase a new BIOS? Do I need to go
back to Asus?

- Brad
 
"Brad Sayers" said:
Thanks Jim,

Yes it is equipped with crash free and I have cleared the CMOS. However, I
still can't get to the floppy or monitor
so the boot block must be pooched.

Any recommendations on where I can purchase a new BIOS? Do I need to go
back to Asus?

- Brad
Click to expand...

You can buy a new chip from badflash.com or apparently Asus also
sells them. Talk to Asus tech support, if you want to order one
from them. Or, maybe a local shop can flash the chip for you.
Radio Shack in the USA carries a PLCC extraction tool, but I don't
know if Radio Shack in Canada has the same tool or not - about
$10 USD. The extraction tool makes it easier to pull a PLCC
flash chip from its socket. Sometimes a new BIOS chip comes
with a cheaper version of this tool.

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=276-2101

Paul
 
Hi,

I was just checking the asus products page and noticed that the KT 600
boards seem to have a crash free bios. Specifically:

CrashFree BIOS 2
The CrashFree BIOS 2 feature now includes the BIOS auto-recovery function in
a support CD. Users can reboot their system through the support CD when a
bootable disk is not available, and go through the simple BIOS auto-recovery
process. ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy this protection feature
without the need to pay for an optional ROM.

HTH
- Tim
 
Tim said:
Hi,

I was just checking the asus products page and noticed that the KT 600
boards seem to have a crash free bios. Specifically:

CrashFree BIOS 2
The CrashFree BIOS 2 feature now includes the BIOS auto-recovery function
in a support CD. Users can reboot their system through the support CD when
a bootable disk is not available, and go through the simple BIOS
auto-recovery process. ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy this
protection feature without the need to pay for an optional ROM.

HTH
- Tim
Click to expand...

What they don't say is if the boot block get trashed then CrashFree BIOS 2
will not work. This usually happens when a bios is released with a new
bootblock and the flash instructions say "use the latest version of Afudos
or
Award flash or Asus update (I use a Dos based flasher) and don't use the
built in flasher (I think its called EZ flash on my board). And they don't
follow
instructions and use the wrong flasher. Or they flash in windows and the
computer hangs or what ever during the flash.

Jim M
 
what then is the best way at reflashing the bios? I thought using their own
utility might be best, but as you say
it hung -- and the result appears to be a corrupt boot block.

What is a Dos based flasher, and can the boot block still get corrupted?
 
The best way to reflash a bios:

-Use the built-utility in the motherboard BIOS setup function if it has
one (about half of new systems have this built-in to the BIOS, no
external utility of any kind needed).

The 2nd best way:

-Boot from a bootable MSDOS media (floppy or CD-ROM typically, or USB
flash dongle if supported). Use the DOS utility supplied by the
motherboard maker.

There are, in my view, no other acceptable ways. DO NOT attempt this
under Windows, even if the motherboard maker supplies a windows utility
for that purpose (which Asus does, at least on some models). This is
extremely dangerous, and has a relatively high failure rate.
 
Barry Watzman said:
The best way to reflash a bios:

-Use the built-utility in the motherboard BIOS setup function if it has
one (about half of new systems have this built-in to the BIOS, no external
utility of any kind needed).
Click to expand...

I used the built in bios program to flash the bios of my K8V-SE deluxe.
The boot block got trashed because Asus failed to post the proper
instructions with the bios. So now I'll only use a bootable dos disk
with afudos or award flash on it.

Jim M
 
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