Rescue Bios

  • Thread starter Thread starter pgx
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pgx

I have a comp I built with an Albatron KX18D Pro II mb, which has a
"rescue bios.", but no instructions on using it. In the process of
recovering from another problem, I turned it off while it was in the
process of recovering the bios ("DO NOT TURN OFF"). It will not boot,
just gives a difficult-to-understand "there might be a problem with
your search engine", or something close to that. If I activate the
rescue bios, it boots normally, but with a message on the bios screen
that it is in "Rescue mode".

If I turn off the rescue bios, it will not boot.

If I boot in rescue mode, can I flash the bios? Will I be flashing
the regular bios or the rescue bios?

I don't want to run in rescue mode, because then the next time I do
something stupid, I won't be able to recover!

Any suggestions?

Phil
 
I have a comp I built with an Albatron KX18D Pro II mb, which has a
"rescue bios.", but no instructions on using it. In the process of
recovering from another problem, I turned it off while it was in the
process of recovering the bios ("DO NOT TURN OFF"). It will not boot,
just gives a difficult-to-understand "there might be a problem with
your search engine", or something close to that. If I activate the
rescue bios, it boots normally, but with a message on the bios screen
that it is in "Rescue mode".

If I turn off the rescue bios, it will not boot.

If I boot in rescue mode, can I flash the bios? Will I be flashing
the regular bios or the rescue bios?

I don't want to run in rescue mode, because then the next time I do
something stupid, I won't be able to recover!
Click to expand...
Quote from article
"The KX18D has a Mboard switch to overwrite the BIOS
should it become corrupt"

Time to read the Mboard Manual.
 
meerkat said:
Quote from article
"The KX18D has a Mboard switch to overwrite the BIOS
should it become corrupt"

Time to read the Mboard Manual.
Click to expand...

http://www.albatron.com.tw/English/Product/MB/pro_detail.asp?rlink=Manual&no=69

Two page quick install guide - useless.
ftp://ftp.albatron.com.tw/product/it/mb/PDFzip/Qig/English/KX18D_EQ_A2.zip

58 page user manual - makes a couple references to the function, and the
function appears to be a simple switch selection between chips. It doesn't
appear to be super-clever, like a competitor's dual BIOS implementation.

ftp://ftp.albatron.com.tw/product/it/mb/PDFzip/Manual/English/KX18D_EM_N1.zip

The recovery procedure is not given in detail. My guess would be:

1) Flip switch to rescue.
2) Boot system (maybe you'd be booting to a DOS floppy, if the flash tool
happens to be DOS based). The Rescue BIOS was used to boot and is cached
in RAM. Which is why, after the system is booted to DOS, you can do whatever
you want with the switch.
3) While the system is running, flip switch to the Normal position.
Use BIOS flashing tool to repair corrupted BIOS image.
Wait until flash is complete. Don't touch that switch while
the flash tool is upgrading the EEPROM. Quit the BIOS flash tool
and verify the DOS prompt is present.
4) Since the switch is now in the Normal position, the next time you boot,
you'll be using the Normal BIOS image. If the system fails to POST,
return to step 1 etc.

If the two BIOS chips contain the same version of BIOS, then nothing
further needs to be done.

If you are upgrading the BIOS to a higher version, you might try
clearing the CMOS, before the new image is used to boot the system.
That is the recommended procedure used by some people who use the
BIOS Savior regularly. (A BIOS Savior is just like the Mirror BIOS
concept, and also uses a selector switch to switch between chips.)

For a version upgrade, a typical procedure used with a BIOS Savior
might be:

1) Boot system with DOS flashing tool floppy.
2) Set switch to the desired side to be flashed. Don't move switch,
to blow away the chip used to boot the machine. Flip switch to
the alternate position, if updating the chip that was not used to
boot the computer.
3) Flash upgrade to new version.
Wait for flash to complete. If the tool was launched from DOS,
quit the program and wait until the DOS prompt is visible again.
Pop out the floppy.
4) Turn off the power to the computer. *Unplug* the power cord.
(Unplugging prevents a certain ORing diode from getting burnt.)
5) Follow whatever procedure is in the manual for clearing CMOS.
6) Plug in and power up. The machine should now be POSTing from the
new image. You could now program the other BIOS chip if you wanted.

HTH,
Paul
 
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