Bios Update Failure

MarkR · 17-02-2004 11:05AM #1

I was updating the bios last night, (not content to leave well enough alone) seemed to go well until i removed the disk and restarted. I saw the updated bios on the screen for a second, then i held down the power key to turn it off, to clear the cmos. Now i'm not getting any display at all. Tried clearing cmos, turning off for a minute, removeing atx connector etc, but still no display. Any idea? It was version 21 i was using.

Amd athlon 1800+
512 mb ddr pc2700
excalibur radeon 128 mb 9200 se.
Couple of maxtor hd's

Sleipnir · 17-02-2004 11:09AM

removing the atx connector won't clear the CMOS, you generally need to change a jumper on the board and take the battery out for a while before it clears.
RTM.
Some motherboards have a recovery feature but again, you'll have to check the manual for that.
Also, whatever BIOS version you're updating to will depend on the motherboard manufacturer.

quarryman · 17-02-2004 11:19AM

what motherboard have you got? check the manual for the BIOS recovery feature mentioned above.

there might be a jumper on the board that you can use to clear the cmos.

MarkR · 17-02-2004 11:45AM

Yeah, i tried clearing it with the jumpers all right...

Sleipnir · 17-02-2004 11:49AM

did you take the battery out?

MarkR · 17-02-2004 12:08PM

Unfortunately , yep. Tried it. Think i'll reseat everything this evening first, and if that doesn't work then i'll try to see is it still booting with a floppy...

SirLemonhead · 17-02-2004 12:29PM

I see you have an NF7

Same thing happened to me. Had to get a new bios chip. And then once I got that, 2 out of 3 memory slots stopped working.

You might have to RMA

MarkR · 17-02-2004 12:36PM

Would I be liable for any costs on a rma? Should i advise the retailler of the bios updated, or keep mum? Damn! And I just got it!

SirLemonhead · 17-02-2004 06:39PM

Did you accidentally flash the revision 1.0/1.1 bios instead of the revision 2.0 bios?

I got my board from Komplett and I told them what had happened. I was able to RMA without problem.

No luck with the floppy drive I presume?

unkel · 18-02-2004 12:29AM

Originally posted by Sleipnir
you generally need to change a jumper on the board and take the battery out for a while before it clears.

Just changing the jumper and leaving it for about 30s should do it. No need to take the battery out

MarkR · 18-02-2004 08:39AM

I changed the jumper to clear it, replaced it and still no joy..

ssh · 18-02-2004 09:23AM

You're probably out of luck there...

it'll be either a new bios chip or a new board. Some boards come with dual bioses, though I don't think the nf7-s is one of them.

Abit have a FAQ entry here which points on where to get a new one:

http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/kbase.php?categories=1&model=6&faq_id=319

I don't think an RMA will work, though maybe you'll get lucky.

ssh · 18-02-2004 09:26AM

Also,

there's a difference between clearing the CMOS and actually resetting the BIOS itself.

The CMOS contains settings for the BIOS, and requires a battery charge on it at all times to actually keep those settings.

Once you do a bad bios update that renders the system unbootable, you're pretty screwed.

brandnewspoon · 19-02-2004 01:11AM

howdy, i reistered to solve my problems but thought i'd suggest something here first: do you have another pc with a removeable bios chip? if so you could hot swop the chip. worked for me when i screwed mine up. ill just assume you knew you could do that but forgot and i just conveniently reminded you...

ssh · 19-02-2004 09:05AM

Won't he need exactly the same motherboard for that?

brandnewspoon · 20-02-2004 12:42AM

no, as long as the bios chip fits you're flying. well not really. you know what i mean...

ssh · 20-02-2004 11:04AM

Right, I'm not doubting you, but surely that's going to result in all manner of problems. If the I/O addresses for the fixed devices are different, the BIOS is going to have a tough time finding (and indeed working with) them.

I've always assumed that you'd need an exact match.

MarkR · 20-02-2004 06:00PM

I had another motherboard with an identical looking chip. Swappem them and got nothing. Picked up a new motherboard in a un-named store (an Nf7-s actually, had no plain nf7's.) Moral dilemma starts now. Do i try to reprogram my own bios chip, or return the original board to the second store as a doa?

CombatCow · 20-02-2004 06:20PM

Your probably better just RMA'ing the mobo,This might seem a bit far fetched but i herd that if you peal away the hologram sticker from the bios chip and shine some UV light on it, it will reset/clear it.like from a uv cold cathode.:dunno:

CombatCow

MarkR · 22-02-2004 03:02PM

Returned first motherboard to second store. They were fine. :ninja:

tman · 22-02-2004 05:39PM

Originally posted by MarkR
Returned first motherboard to second store. They were fine. :ninja:

gg:D

MarkR · 23-02-2004 08:43AM

Now i have an NF7-S. I'm a bad boy.

What's gg?

Bios Update Failure

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