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Great MB... No BIOS to POST! Can I ReInstall BIOS? 3
- Thread starter geekgal
- Start date
Jakespeare
Vendor
Your toast (er,the board is).
It would cost a fortune to send the board in, and have them resolder a NEW BIOS onto the mainboard. It is a throw away MB.
If you really like the board that much, you can find them at for $63 - $67 + shipping.
ECS is really just an average board. Good for the money though...... from what I have seen.
It would cost a fortune to send the board in, and have them resolder a NEW BIOS onto the mainboard. It is a throw away MB.
If you really like the board that much, you can find them at for $63 - $67 + shipping.
ECS is really just an average board. Good for the money though...... from what I have seen.
I don't think a new board is necessary. If the previous owner flashed the CMOS then you can simply clear it by switching the jumper or taking the battery out for a while. A new BIOS doesn't have to be soldered on to fix your problem. Resetting it will cause it to be like when it was new so you'll have to set up your proc speeds, HD's etc. If you need more detailed information on how to do these things, respond back and someone should be able to help you.
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2
- #4
Osuman,
Sorry but removing the battery or other methods of clearing the BIOS settings will not work with a failed flash, that only works on the BIOS user settings.
puterbug,
Its as jakespeare says, basically the board is toast, however you might try at
These people supply replacement BIOS chips and have other tools that MAY help you.
Sorry but removing the battery or other methods of clearing the BIOS settings will not work with a failed flash, that only works on the BIOS user settings.
puterbug,
Its as jakespeare says, basically the board is toast, however you might try at
These people supply replacement BIOS chips and have other tools that MAY help you.
Pardon my musing here but..
If the previous owner attempted to flash it, and it took far enough to corrupt something then it is writable. Since a bios wouldn't be self destructive writable there must have been a program, probably on a floppy, to do it, along with a floppy data set to put on the bios. So it seems to me that you would get a floppy with the burning software and the bios code and try writing it again. I would try looking to the web , particularly at the M/B manufacturers site.
Having never done this, since all the many hundreds of M/Bs I have dealt with were not flashable, I may be in error. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.
Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
If the previous owner attempted to flash it, and it took far enough to corrupt something then it is writable. Since a bios wouldn't be self destructive writable there must have been a program, probably on a floppy, to do it, along with a floppy data set to put on the bios. So it seems to me that you would get a floppy with the burning software and the bios code and try writing it again. I would try looking to the web , particularly at the M/B manufacturers site.
Having never done this, since all the many hundreds of M/Bs I have dealt with were not flashable, I may be in error. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.
Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
- Thread starter
- #6
Have you tried their website? You either find out from the manufacturer or from somebody that has done it. There may be jumpers to set. Who knows. Every designer does stuff differently. And keep in mind that it might not be possible. I only tell people how when I know the procedure works. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.
Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
efair@atlnet.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.
Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.
CitrixEngineer
Technical User
I have been notified of a product that claims to protect a computer's BIOS. I've now got one on order, but suffice to say I have no experience of it as yet.
It looks good, though;
I'd be interested in anyone else's experiences with this product.
It looks good, though;
I'd be interested in anyone else's experiences with this product.
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1
- #10
First: CMOS (battery backed) setup values are chipset functions. They are not stored in the bios chip, be it EEPROM, EEROM, EARROM, or whatever.
Second: BIOS is a prorammed chip separate to the chipset. It does allow access to the CMOS registers.
Third: A No POST can be corrected with a BIOS replacement if the chipset is good. Either purchase a bios chip or flash a bios chip on another fully chipset compatible machine.
Second: BIOS is a prorammed chip separate to the chipset. It does allow access to the CMOS registers.
Third: A No POST can be corrected with a BIOS replacement if the chipset is good. Either purchase a bios chip or flash a bios chip on another fully chipset compatible machine.
CitrixEngineer
Technical User
To clarify a little, JLKBUI;
The CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is essentially RAM. Usually 64 bytes of memory containing system information, such as the clock, Disk, RAM and PCI bus configuration details, etc. It is battery backed to preserve settings when the computer is switched off. Many motherboards provide a jumper to reset CMOS configuration to factory defaults. This is useful if the system cannot be accessed despite a successful POST (See below).
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a program, stored on an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). This program allows you and the CPU to access the information stored in the CMOS and modify it. If the BIOS is missing a feature that impedes proper functioning of a hardware device attached to the system, then sometimes manufacturers will release updates to the program, called flash upgrades. This must usually be done from DOS, not a Command Prompt Window, and involves a proprietary flash executable (e.g. flash.exe), along with a binary containing the new code (e.g. abc123.bin).
However, the BIOS can only be accessed after a successful POST (Power-On Self-Test). If that test fails, e.g. because of a corrupted or incorrect flash upgrade to the BIOS, then the entire system can be rendered inoperable, unless the BIOS chip is replaced with one that is compatible with the motherboard. This is because a failed POST may not allow access to Input/Output devices such as the disks.
I know this is more or less what you said, but I hope that it's clear and accurate.
The CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) is essentially RAM. Usually 64 bytes of memory containing system information, such as the clock, Disk, RAM and PCI bus configuration details, etc. It is battery backed to preserve settings when the computer is switched off. Many motherboards provide a jumper to reset CMOS configuration to factory defaults. This is useful if the system cannot be accessed despite a successful POST (See below).
The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) is a program, stored on an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory). This program allows you and the CPU to access the information stored in the CMOS and modify it. If the BIOS is missing a feature that impedes proper functioning of a hardware device attached to the system, then sometimes manufacturers will release updates to the program, called flash upgrades. This must usually be done from DOS, not a Command Prompt Window, and involves a proprietary flash executable (e.g. flash.exe), along with a binary containing the new code (e.g. abc123.bin).
However, the BIOS can only be accessed after a successful POST (Power-On Self-Test). If that test fails, e.g. because of a corrupted or incorrect flash upgrade to the BIOS, then the entire system can be rendered inoperable, unless the BIOS chip is replaced with one that is compatible with the motherboard. This is because a failed POST may not allow access to Input/Output devices such as the disks.
I know this is more or less what you said, but I hope that it's clear and accurate.
spannerman70
Programmer
If your Bios chip is gone (due to a bad flash upgarde)and wont allow machine to boot, if you know someone with the same type of board you can "Hot swap" the chip and then reflash it.... I have done it successfully, but i have to say It`s possible to damage the other machine too. First make sure you have Flashing utillity and bios upgrade on a floppy disk. Boot the doner machine to a DOS Prompt, carfully remove the Chip using small screw drivers, sometime these can be stuck so might be better to free it first when computer is off. Put in your bad flash chip to replace it, then reflash using your utillity disk you have created. As long as the bios types\chips are the same.
THIS IS A RISKY PROCESS !!
THIS IS A RISKY PROCESS !!
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