Epox 8k5a2+ Bios Checksum error 1

[TwoEdge]

Well, once again I humbly come here to where tech answers abound

I recently setup a system consisting of:
Epox 8k5a2+ mobo
AMD Athlon XP 2400+
Samsung 256 RAM DDR 333
Gainward GeForce 2 MX 440
et all...

When I boot it up I'm getting a Bios Checksum error, so I fire a floppy with the latest BIOS update but the procedure never really starts, it doesn't write anything! I get a C5 error in the internal POST led, cross-referencing with EPOX FAQs it's a RAM problem. Does that make sense? Or could it be something else? Why wouldn't the update work?

Thanks in advance people!

 

[wolluf]

is the battery ok?
can you get into bios settings and set failsafe defaults?

 

[TwoEdge]

I haven't tried switching batteries yet, but what's bugging me is exactly that I have NO access to the bios config. I can either try a boot disk with bios files or cry. :/

Oh, I've also tried switching to a different brand of RAM to no avail.

Now what?

 

[SkipCox]

First, I'd like to see you reset the bios either by jumper or battery removal to get default values. Can you let us know what happens? Procedure should be in the motherboard manual and you may have to do it more than once.

Best of luck...please post back

Skip

http://home.comcast.net/~scox9/index.html

 

[TwoEdge]

Oh, sorry Skip, I forgot to mention that I already tried a clear CMOS by jumper several times so that's a no go.

Pleeeease help!

 

[Freestone]

It's not clear from the manual how to clear CMOS though it shows jumper JBAT with pins 1-2 being normal, and 2-3 being the Clear CMOS position. If I'm not mistaken, with power off, you place this jumper on position 2-3, power on for a second or two, power off, and place the jumper back on its normal position pins 1-2.

If this doesn't work, I'm wondering if placing jumper JCK1 (CPU Host Clock Select) onto pins 1-2 (100 MHz) would help by slowing the CPU clock. It should currently be on pins 2-3 (133 MHz)

 

[TwoEdge]

Thanks again people but I'm starting to believe resetting CMOS won't help at all. I've just received an e-mail from EpoX graphically describing the procedure and tried it several times without success.
Can you people clarify what a Checksum error is? Is it due to a bad flashing attempt (which never really happened)? Why can't I flash it in the first place?

 

[TwoEdge]

Some additional info: the C5(h) error I get from the LED when I try to power up the computer refers to "Call chipset hook to copy BIOS back to E000 & F000 shadow RAM".

Does it mean anything to anyone?

 

[Freestone]

"Shadow RAM - A technique used to load a duplicate copy of BIOS from slower ROM into faster RAM. This enhances system performance because it provides higher access speed to the BIOS."

"checksum - A value that is computed and that depends on the contents of a set of data. Checksums are stored or transmitted with the data. The checksum is used to detect if the data has been altered during transmission or when being stored and retrieved. Receiving programs recompute the checksum to compare with the checksum sent or stored with the data. Checksums may be more than one digit. They are not always the result of addition but may be the result of one or more computations involving addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division."

 

[Freestone]

Now three things:

1) Are you absolutely sure the RAM you have is compatible with your board, and is it known, good RAM?

2) Are there any cards installed on the motherboard that may have a BIOS overlap into the shadow RAM area?

3) Did you try moving the JCK1 jumper as I described earlier?

 

[TwoEdge]

Wow, thanks Freestone, that's a whole lot of useful info! The RAM is Samsung and, although it is somewhat reliable, there has been a history of it conflicting with some mobos. The underclocking I had already tried, it didn't work. Finally how can I be sure if there's a conflict between an interface (overlap) and the BIOS shadow RAM area?

I'm gonna try switching to a new battery next, and will post the results soon. Thanks for the help so far and please, keep contributing here as the problem is not solved, yet!

 

[Freestone]

The best way to ensure no overlap would be to remove all cards from the motherboard except the video card. Basically, you want only the necessary items to get the system to boot: keyboard and video. In your case, I don't think you have any other cards, but I threw it in there for completeness.

You don't happen to have access to another video card on the offhand chance that your Gainward is causing the problem?

 

[TwoEdge]

I did remove everything else to no avail, I'll be able to try another video card in a couple of days so I'll have to get back to you on that.

The new battery didn't solve anything. Also, I did notice something odd, when trying to flash the BIOS once more, it seems that awdflash locked up as I had NO response whatsoever from keyboard LEDs or the tiny bat which usually rotates (it was completely frozen), can anyine make anything of it?

On a side note, I completely forgot, merry christmas to you all, gurus, programmers and users alike, I wish you all the best. Cheers!

 

[TwoEdge]

I did remove everything else to no avail, I'll be able to try another video card in a couple of days so I'll have to get back to you on that.

The new battery didn't solve anything. Also, I did notice something odd, when trying to flash the BIOS once more, it seems that awdflash locked up as I had NO response whatsoever from keyboard LEDs or the tiny bar which usually rotates (it was completely frozen), can anyone make anything out of it?

On a side note, I completely forgot, merry christmas to you all, gurus, programmers and users alike, I wish you all the best. Cheers!

 

[Freestone]

Is this board still under warranty? Time to get it replaced if so. If not, then there is always the possibility that the BIOS chip itself is bad, and you may want to look at what it would take to replace it. From the manual I downloaded, Appendix C shows the BIOS chip as removable, as does pictures of the board on Epox's site. I'm not sure how much it would cost. Would it be worth it, or would the cost approach the cost of a new board?

Happy Holidays to all!

 

[TwoEdge]

Yep, just received an e-mail from EpoX (non-template) that I definitively had to get a new BIOS chip. They said that, it locking while displaying a RAM POST code was just an unfortunate coincidence. Well, so I'm off to try to get a new chip...Sigh...

Thank you very much for your posts people, be seeing you 'round.

 

[Freestone]

Make sure to get the chip removal tool too.

Good luck, and please keep us posted here on your progress.

 

[TwoEdge]

Well, after a long while, I finally got my BIOS chip back (I sent it to be reprogrammed) and it worked fine when I plugged it back. But all sorts of new issues appeared, and I started a new thread about it, if you guys can continue helping me the topic is thread602-777377 for your help, I couldn´t get far without you all.