Won't boot after BIOS was flashed

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Joe

An old PCChips M747 motherboard won't boot after the BIOS was updated.

Before the flash, the BIOS ID was:
61-1208-000747-00101111-071595-M747-M747V3.0-H Release 12/01/1998S

After the update, it was:
61-0525-000747-00101111-071595-M747-M747V3.0-H Release 05/25/1999S

I used the aminf332.exe flash utility. Before flashing, the utility
said the flash part was Winbond 29C020-V2, and it said the newer BIOS
tag, M747V3.0-H, matched the currently installed BIOS tag. After
running, it said it was successful and automatically restarted the system.

It lists the hard drive and CD drives, but then hangs.

Clearing CMOS settings with the board jumper doesn't help.

I can enter BIOS setup and change settings, but the system always hangs
when trying to boot. I have changed the boot order; to boot floppy
first, boot hard drive first, and boot CD first. It still hangs. I have
also tried disabling each of the drives in BIOS setup and physically
disconnecting each of the drives. And either way, the floppy light
doesn't come on, and it doesn't try to read the floppy.

The BIOS recovery procedure for this board, is to use a floppy with the
BIOS ROM file renamed to AMIBOOT.ROM, and start the system while
depressing CTRL-HOME. I did this with the old BIOS--1208s.ROM. It read
the floppy for a while, the drive stopped, and the system beeped 4 times
to indicate success, and then automatically restarted the system. The
BIOS ID string is now back to what it was before. But the system still
hangs at the same spot.

After clearing CMOS using the jumper, it says the battery is low. I
checked it, and it is low--about 2V. I have heard that some systems
won't boot with a weak battery. Even though the system was working just
before I flashed the BIOS, with the same battery, is there a chance the
weak battery could now be causing the problem. The system was sitting
unused and unplugged for several months before I tried to update BIOS.
 
Joe said:
An old PCChips M747 motherboard won't boot after the BIOS was updated.

Before the flash, the BIOS ID was:
61-1208-000747-00101111-071595-M747-M747V3.0-H Release 12/01/1998S

After the update, it was:
61-0525-000747-00101111-071595-M747-M747V3.0-H Release 05/25/1999S

I used the aminf332.exe flash utility. Before flashing, the utility
said the flash part was Winbond 29C020-V2, and it said the newer BIOS
tag, M747V3.0-H, matched the currently installed BIOS tag. After
running, it said it was successful and automatically restarted the system.

It lists the hard drive and CD drives, but then hangs.

Clearing CMOS settings with the board jumper doesn't help.

I can enter BIOS setup and change settings, but the system always hangs
when trying to boot. I have changed the boot order; to boot floppy
first, boot hard drive first, and boot CD first. It still hangs. I have
also tried disabling each of the drives in BIOS setup and physically
disconnecting each of the drives. And either way, the floppy light
doesn't come on, and it doesn't try to read the floppy.

The BIOS recovery procedure for this board, is to use a floppy with the
BIOS ROM file renamed to AMIBOOT.ROM, and start the system while
depressing CTRL-HOME. I did this with the old BIOS--1208s.ROM. It read
the floppy for a while, the drive stopped, and the system beeped 4 times
to indicate success, and then automatically restarted the system. The
BIOS ID string is now back to what it was before. But the system still
hangs at the same spot.

After clearing CMOS using the jumper, it says the battery is low. I
checked it, and it is low--about 2V. I have heard that some systems
won't boot with a weak battery. Even though the system was working just
before I flashed the BIOS, with the same battery, is there a chance the
weak battery could now be causing the problem. The system was sitting
unused and unplugged for several months before I tried to update BIOS.
Click to expand...

It's possible that the low battery is causing a boot issue. More likely, a
low battery would cause an error, like keyboard not found or hard drive not
found. Even then, you should be able to hit a key to continue, and then the
computer should boot fine.

Having said that, it won't hurt anything to replace the battery that you
know is bad. It will only cost a couple of bucks at any walmart or radio
shack.

To me, your symptom seems to point to a bad power supply, though. If the
system hangs predictably, right around the point where the hard drive would
start spinning up, that points to a bad power supply.

But obviously try replacing the battery first. Oh, and after replacing the
battery, you will need to clear the CMOS AGAIN. -Dave
 
Dave said:
It's possible that the low battery is causing a boot issue. More likely, a
low battery would cause an error, like keyboard not found or hard drive not
found. Even then, you should be able to hit a key to continue, and then the
computer should boot fine.

Having said that, it won't hurt anything to replace the battery that you
know is bad. It will only cost a couple of bucks at any walmart or radio
shack.

To me, your symptom seems to point to a bad power supply, though. If the
system hangs predictably, right around the point where the hard drive would
start spinning up, that points to a bad power supply.

But obviously try replacing the battery first. Oh, and after replacing the
battery, you will need to clear the CMOS AGAIN. -Dave
Click to expand...

Just to add to what Dave has said: I would also pull any cards that are
in the system, with the exception of the video card if you don't have
integrated video. It's possible one of the default settings is present
a conflict, and that was exposed by your initial flash of the BIOS.
Reversion to your original BIOS would produce the same effect as well.

Simplify your system. Replace what parts you can with known good
components.
 
Joe said:
An old PCChips M747 motherboard won't boot after the BIOS was updated.

Before the flash, the BIOS ID was:
61-1208-000747-00101111-071595-M747-M747V3.0-H Release 12/01/1998S

After the update, it was:
61-0525-000747-00101111-071595-M747-M747V3.0-H Release 05/25/1999S

I used the aminf332.exe flash utility. Before flashing, the utility
said the flash part was Winbond 29C020-V2, and it said the newer BIOS
tag, M747V3.0-H, matched the currently installed BIOS tag. After
running, it said it was successful and automatically restarted the system.

It lists the hard drive and CD drives, but then hangs.

Clearing CMOS settings with the board jumper doesn't help.

I can enter BIOS setup and change settings, but the system always hangs
when trying to boot. I have changed the boot order; to boot floppy
first, boot hard drive first, and boot CD first. It still hangs. I have
also tried disabling each of the drives in BIOS setup and physically
disconnecting each of the drives. And either way, the floppy light
doesn't come on, and it doesn't try to read the floppy.

The BIOS recovery procedure for this board, is to use a floppy with the
BIOS ROM file renamed to AMIBOOT.ROM, and start the system while
depressing CTRL-HOME. I did this with the old BIOS--1208s.ROM. It read
the floppy for a while, the drive stopped, and the system beeped 4 times
to indicate success, and then automatically restarted the system. The
BIOS ID string is now back to what it was before. But the system still
hangs at the same spot.

After clearing CMOS using the jumper, it says the battery is low. I
checked it, and it is low--about 2V. I have heard that some systems
won't boot with a weak battery. Even though the system was working just
before I flashed the BIOS, with the same battery, is there a chance the
weak battery could now be causing the problem. The system was sitting
unused and unplugged for several months before I tried to update BIOS.
Click to expand...

The battery is an obvious thing to fix, and you're going to need
one anyway, if you expect your settings to be preserved, or the
RTC clock to work properly, when the computer is not powered.

If you wanted more evidence, as to where it is getting stuck,
a PCI Port 80 card stuffed in the PCI slot nearest the processor,
can be used to get POST codes. A POST code is a "progress indicator"
and not an error code. I haven't run into a case yet, where the output
from such a card, helped someone with a problem, but it remains
as another place you can get information about what is happening.

(Some of these, also have small LEDs for power monitoring...
This one can be plugged in an ISA port or a PCI port, which
is why it has two edge connectors on the card.)

http://www.elstonsystems.com/prod/pc_post_diagnostic_card.html

The price on cards like that, varies wildly. Some people try to
sell them for $100.00, while the Ebay/Hong Kong route might
give you a card for $20.00. A local computer store is not likely
to give you a good price on one.

Paul
 
Paul said:
Joe wrote:
Click to expand...
The battery is an obvious thing to fix, and you're going to need
one anyway, if you expect your settings to be preserved, or the
RTC clock to work properly, when the computer is not powered.
Click to expand...

Sounds like he is flirting with disaster (if a PCChips mainboard is
worth something).
 
Grinder said:
Just to add to what Dave has said: I would also pull any cards that are in
the system, with the exception of the video card if you don't have
integrated video. It's possible one of the default settings is present a
conflict, and that was exposed by your initial flash of the BIOS.
Reversion to your original BIOS would produce the same effect as well.

Simplify your system. Replace what parts you can with known good
components.
Click to expand...

I agree with he battery needing to be replaced at this time.

As for the boot problems, Paul has alluded to removing all but the totally
required cards for a boot. If it has internal video use that and have just
the memory, motherboard, and power supply as part of the equation. Yes
keyboards can cause a problem, especially if the motherboard is looking for
a PS2 style as a factory default with no bios setting turned on to assist in
the use of a USB keyboard.

You might want to try to boot a stand-alone Linux disk and see if it can
bring up the system.. If the Linux comes up it usually rules out the power
supply, keyboard, and mouse, as physical problems. Then your back to
looking at a BIOS setting blocking the use of the hard drive, keyboard, or
possibly a damaged or corrupted hard drive.

Not the first time I've had a hard drive cable give up the ghost after it
was moved or reseated. Try another hard drive cable too.
 
John said:
Sounds like he is flirting with disaster (if a PCChips mainboard is
worth something).
Click to expand...

Well, you work with what you've got.

I don't see a reason to give up on it yet, because it was
working, not so long ago. It also gets far enough, to do an
initial probe of the storage devices. It is able to probe
the drives. The question remains, why it stops at the point of
boot. To eliminate a hard drive problem, I'd probably
try a single ribbon cable, with just the CDROM on the end
set to master, and try to boot from that. Swap cables etc.

Paul
 
Paul said:
Well, you work with what you've got.
Click to expand...

Seems to me like a 2 volt BIOS battery would significantly increase the
risk of effectively losing power during a BIOS flash.
 
John said:
Seems to me like a 2 volt BIOS battery would significantly increase the
risk of effectively losing power during a BIOS flash.
Click to expand...

The CMOS battery would have no effect, once the system is running.

It is known that some systems are prone to failing to finish
the boot sequence, if the battery is bad. Others, continue
on as if nothing is wrong. For example, I have one system
here, where the battery failed, and I could still boot it.
All I had to do, was set up the BIOS, every time I turned on
the power, and I could use it (set the time, set the boot order).
I eventually replaced the battery, once the thrill wore off,
and I got tired of doing that on each cold start. But yet,
other systems cannot complete the boot sequence, when the
battery is bad. Since the battery is wire ORed with a +5VSB
derived source, it really shouldn't do that (freeze).

Once a system is booted, such as booting into DOS with an
MSDOS boot disk, so you can run the flasher, at that point
the battery has nothing to do with anything. There are plenty
of other hardware defects, that can cause a bad flash, such
as an unstable processor, unstable or bad RAM, a bad floppy
interface and so on. But at least the battery doesn't matter,
once the system is up and running. If it got that far,
it'll run forever.

HTH,
Paul
 
Joe said:
After clearing CMOS using the jumper, it says the battery is low. I
checked it, and it is low--about 2V. I have heard that some systems
won't boot with a weak battery. Even though the system was working just
before I flashed the BIOS, with the same battery, is there a chance the
weak battery could now be causing the problem.
Unlikely.

The system was sitting
unused and unplugged for several months before I tried to update BIOS.
Click to expand...

Is there a BIOS option to clear Extended CMOS data or ESCD? Try that.
 
Marty said:
John Doe wrote:

Why is that?
Click to expand...

Because a CMOS device can consume extremely little current. Because
including a parallel power supply to the BIOS would cost more.
Because motherboard/mainboard makers try to save every penny. I
guess Paul is right, but you cannot just hardwire the two supplies
together, so it is going to cost something.


--

Land Skis (rough terrain skates). The first rollerblades with a big
front wheel and small trailing wheels, to help roll over obstacles
while maintaining a low stance.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/3056505603

Are you a blissfully ignorant voter? Do you buy stuff made by faceless
workers in some undisclosed location in China? Your fellow citizen,
not your favorite politician, will safeguard democracy. Trade based on
natural resources, not on slave labor.
 
Because a CMOS device can consume extremely little current. Because
including a parallel power supply to the BIOS would cost more. Because
motherboard/mainboard makers try to save every penny. I guess Paul is
right, but you cannot just hardwire the two supplies together, so it is
going to cost something.
Click to expand...

Thank you for clarifying that you don't know what you're talking about.
 
Marty said:
John Doe wrote:

Thank you for clarifying that you don't know what you're talking
about.
Click to expand...

I will be happy to debate the issue with you, troll, if you have the
balls (not likely).


--
Land Skis (rough terrain skates). The first rollerblades with a big
front wheel and small trailing wheels, to help roll over obstacles
while maintaining a low stance.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/3056505603 Are you a
blissfully ignorant voter? Do you buy stuff made by faceless workers
in some undisclosed location in China? Your fellow citizen, not your
favorite politician, will safeguard democracy. Trade based on
natural resources, not on slave labor.
 
I will be happy to debate the issue with you, troll, if you have the
balls (not likely).
Click to expand...

You already proved you know nothing about the topic in your previous
post. Why should I waste my time arguing with a mong?
 
Marty said:
John Doe wrote:

You already proved you know nothing about the topic in your
previous post.
Click to expand...

No, Marty, I was trying to use logic instead of specific data.
That is the second part of "CMOS logic", by the way.
Why should I waste my time arguing with a mong?
Click to expand...

Because you might be able to match wits with a mong, Marty?

Same reason you waste time dissing people, Marty?



--
Land Skis (rough terrain skates). The first rollerblades with a big
front wheel and small trailing wheels, to help roll over obstacles
while maintaining a low stance.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/27532210@N04/3056505603 Are you a
blissfully ignorant voter? Do you buy stuff made by faceless workers
in some undisclosed location in China? Your fellow citizen, not your
favorite politician, will safeguard democracy. Trade based on
natural resources, not on slave labor.
 
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