Bios Died

[PcH]

I have a Gigabyte Motherboard. I tried to update its BIOS using the CD it came with. The program on the CD downloaded drivers and installed them. I rebooted and found nothing but black screen [the BIOS didn't even load]. The CPU beeped about 7 times! I tried CTRL+ALT+DELETE twice to reboot and it didn't work. I'm afraid that I seriously messed up my computer [and might possibly have to reset the CMOS]. I opened the case and reset the power. Now all the computer boots into a black screen, without the BIOS even loading! :( :angry: I tried inserting a boot disk and it failed. I need assistance. :o

[ooo]

oo look seems like my problem... well i had a dead computer... in a way...maybe u should look at my post... n my problem... maybe some one said sumding that might help...

http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?act...ST&f=14&t=15359 (http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?act=ST&f=14&t=15359)

[PcH]

Your problem seems a lot different then mine. Yours was easier because you could access the BIOS. I can't. I am running out of options. Thank you, though.

[Nobody1234]

Did you try to reset your CMOS via the jumper on the motherboard?

[PcH]

Isn't resetting the CMOS really dangerous to the life of the motherboard? And, how do I do so?

[Darth Sushi]

Do you have a dual BIOS? A lot of the newer Gigabyte mobo are dual BIOS!

[PcH]

I built the computer through my school and still have a warranty on it. I think I might take it there. I am not familiar with CMOS.

[PcH]

I don't think I have a dual BIOS. The motherboard is from 2000.

[kazzalitesucks]

k samething happend to me 2 weeks ago updated bios and it went dead
if you have no floppy drive lights then your bios is dead, now i've updated
hundreds of bios's and this is the 1st time this has happened to me
its a bummer you will have to contact Gigabyte to send out a new 1.
also when you update a bios you have to clear cmos.

[Darth Sushi]

Once a bios is toast, your only option is to send it back to the manufacturer. Check out their website.

[PcH]

This is horrible. I don't understand when you state the floppy light. The BIOS don't load, so it doesn't check for a bootable floppy. When I bootup, the LED lights near the power and reset buttons light up. The DVD-ROM drive ejects when I push the button.

[PcH]

Gigabyte's website is horrible. I appears that they are based in Taiwan. They offer minimal tech. support and drivers. :(

[kazzalitesucks]

yeh same as abit there technical support sucked waited 2 weeks for a new bios.
and that was coming from their uk office

here is the contact details for gigabytes uk office Gigabytes uk page (http://www.giga-byte.com/company/company.htm)

let me no how the service is.

[kazzalitesucks]

G.B.T. TECH. CO. LTD.

Tel: 44-1908-362700
Fax: 44-1908-362709
E-mail:[email protected]
Web Address: www.gbt-tech.co.uk

[PcH]

Thank you. Just as a last resort, I looked up the prices for a new mobo at Pricewatch. They are pretty cheap around $30.

[kazzalitesucks]

yeh i'am in the uk so thats about right i paid £15 + vat = £16.40

[Sneepboy]

I have a Gigabyte motherboard and have updated the bios twice. You shouldnt have any problems updating it as long as the power dosent go out while youre in the middle of it. I'll get back to that in a sec.
The problem dosen't sound to me like a bios problem. If you are getting a beep code, you are getting a clue to the problem. Did you by any chance open the case for any reason and maybe touch the video card or memory? I have had that problem on computers several times. I did a search on google & found THIS (http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm) site that lists beep codes. I have an award bios but yours may be different. Anyways, if that isn't your problem, you can try a new bios. (You should first probably take a look at your motherboard manual on steps for this. )Heres what I have to do to flash mine: I download the latest from their website making sure I get the correct version. I download the award flash tool. I usually print out the readme file to make sure any steps have not changed. I copy the 2 files to a floppy disk. I usually use a start up floppy from Windows ME (because I dont think XP lets you make a bootable floppy or make a startup floppy.) Any startup from WIN9X will do. I start the computer with the floppy, take that one out & put in the one with bios, run the flash utility (following the instructions from the readme), exit & reboot. Im all smiles when I see the new bios date in the left corner of the screen.
Anyways, Im not sure the problem is the bios so good luck to you.

[Nobody1234]

Clear CMOS will not shorten the life of your motherboard. Turn off power to the board. Unplug power cord. Find the 'CLR CMOS' jumpers on the motherboard. connect the two pins together for about 5 seconds and then disconnect them. Reconnect power and power up your system.

To find the clear CMOS jumpers: if you give me the model number of your board I can find it online. You should also be able to find it in your manual.

[Nobody1234]

What bios revision did you try to update to? I am now at Gigabytes web support pages and they have each models bios updates here for download. All details explained.

http://tw.giga-byte.com/products/products.htm

[I_DONT_SHARE_PORN]

PCH , why are you always fucking up your comp???
i helped you install linux and this is what i get <_<

[Rocktron]

If you upgrated you Bios... that is final&#33; (Most of the time&#33;)
If set something manualy you can reset it with a jumper or this...:

Hope your battery is not solded?
Remove your battery&#33; :o

Start it up... nothing happens.. sure...
Replace your battery... see what happens.. if your in luck it starts with a error message.. "Bios mismatch"
"F1 to enter setup or any key to resume..." or something like that... depends on the manufactuar.. ;)

try it&#33; :lol:

[DiogenesUK]

Originally posted by I_DONT_SHARE_PORN@15 February 2003 - 08:42
PCH , why are you always fucking up your comp???
i helped you install linux and this is what i get&nbsp; <_<


But I&#39;ve always been led to believe the crappy penguin never went into hibernation :unsure:

[I_DONT_SHARE_PORN]

Originally posted by DiogenesUK@15 February 2003 - 03:47
But I&#39;ve always been led to believe the crappy penguin never went into hibernation :unsure:
The penguin aint crappy B)

[DiogenesUK]

Originally posted by I_DONT_SHARE_PORN+15 February 2003 - 10:59--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (I_DONT_SHARE_PORN @ 15 February 2003 - 10:59)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteBegin--DiogenesUK@15 February 2003 - 03:47
But I&#39;ve always been led to believe the crappy penguin never went into hibernation&nbsp; :unsure:
The penguin aint crappy B)[/b][/quote]
I know really,it&#39;s just that we often sort of insult things we don&#39;t understand,it&#39;s brave (and clever) souls like yourselves who are pushing the boundaries with &#39;puters,fair play to you folks.I&#39;m 45 and we weren&#39;t even allowed calculators at school :blink: ......mind you,I&#39;ve seen some amusing incidents in pubs & shops when the tills go bump,some of the operators may be studying for some advanced degree or other,but 1/2 of &#39;em can&#39;t add £1.50 & £1.50........gawd,I sound just like my mother,time for another lie down methinks ;)

[PcH]

I_DONT_SHARE_PORN, I am not always messing up my computer. I tried Linux. Maybe I should go with the theory, "If it isn&#39;t broken, don&#39;t fix it." :o Linux was OK. I got rid of it. All I did was use Gigabyte&#39;s driver CD to update the BIOS. When it asked me to restart, I did. It restarted into nothing and beeped circa seven times. I powered down and unplugged the power from the back. I opened the case. I reset the power. I rebooted and the beeping disappeared. The BIOS still don&#39;t load.

[PcH]

This my mobo: http://tw.giga-byte.com/products/ga6vx7_4x.htm . If I reset the CMOS, will the data on my HD be lost?

[Rocktron]

ABSOLUTELY NOT&#33;

Differend hardware&#33;
If you can give your CMOS a reset, all files on your HD will stay just as there were before&#33;
But maybe you&#39;ll have to auto-detect you HD drive(s) again.. that&#39;s all...

If this (Official) site gives you a sollution that might help.. do it&#33;

[Sneepboy]

Originally posted by pch@15 February 2003 - 08:54
All I did was use Gigabyte&#39;s driver CD to update the BIOS
I always recommend getting the newest drivers (or bios in this case) from the manufacturers website and not using any of the outdated stuff on the CD.
Rocktron is right, what you do to your bios wont effect the data on your hard drive.

[Nobody1234]

Go download the pdf manual from that web site you posted: http://ftp.gigabyte.com.tw/support/user_pd...vx7_4x_32_1.pdf (http://ftp.gigabyte.com.tw/support/user_pdf/6vx7_4x_32_1.pdf)
Go to page 28 of the manual and you will see the JP1 jumper identified there. And those guys are right your harddisk data will not be changed.

What Bios revision did you try to update to? In future check the mfg. web site for the latest non beta revision you can find. In your case use revision [ F45 - (Dec.18, 2001) ] http://ftp.gigabyte.com.tw/support/temp/6v...6vx7_4x_f45.zip (http://ftp.gigabyte.com.tw/support/temp/6vx7_4x_f45.zip)

[scruge]

if it turns out none of the previous suggestions work there is one other that is a sure fix if the bios has been corrupted.
Get another mb same make and model as yours. Buy one locally from a dealer with a liberal return policy.
1. Remove power to your system
2. Unplug the corrupted bios chip
3. Install the bios chip from the new mb into your system
4. Apply power to your system and Boot it up.
5. Don&#39;t turn your system off ..... &#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Be very careful &#33;&#33;&#33;
6. Remove the bios chip from your system while power is applied.
7. Install corrupted bios chip back into your system
8. reflash the corrupted chip and this time make sure you know what your doing.
You may need to do this several times until you get the hang of it.
And don&#39;t reflash the new bios.
Obviously you didn&#39;t do it right the first time or you wouldn&#39;t have the problem. So don&#39;t try experimenting on the new bios.

[PcH]

scruge, I haven&#39;t tried the recent posts. I was watching DareDevil. Awesome movie&#33; Anyway, thanks guys, I&#39;ll try this.

[ooo]

umm that reminds me, the other persno w/ the messed up invalid system disk problem should read this ... lol

[PcH]

Ok. I tried to clear my CMOS yesterday and it didn&#39;t work. I found the pins below the silver battery. One pin is red [and thicker] and the other is black. I tried holding the two together for about 5 seconds. I rebooted the computer and I heard the processor click. Nothing happened.

[Nobody1234]

Well both pins should be the same and maybe there is a jumper on one of them. Did you see the picture in the manual I posted earlier? Both pins should be the same size and brass in color. Use one of those jumpers to make the connection between the pins numbered 2 and 3.

Anyway if resetting your CMOS doesn&#39;t work send it back to the mfg. or get a replacement motherboard.

[PcH]

I read the manual posted. It&#39;s the same one I have. I was reading about CMOS on another page and I tried removing the BIOS battery and putting it back in. That didn&#39;t work. :(

[Nobody1234]

Removing the battery is not the same as shorting the clear CMOS jumpers. Even if you remove the battery there is residual power keeping the CMOS data unchanged.

I edited this picture for you. I added the red parts:

http://galleries.vinyamar.com/ps/show.php?id=ZmiafY2lEvte8S9ZOHLmWrP8n&ext=.gif

[Rocktron]

I think this is getting out of hand&#33;

He upgrated his BIOS with other sofware&#33; That will stay in there for ever&#33; You can clear CMOS to infinity and beyond but it won&#39;t change a thing i&#39;m afraid now...
Do what scruge mentioned (but some options i disabled...&#33;) Best and must work solution&#33;

If it turns out none of the previous suggestions work there is one other that is a sure fix if the bios has been corrupted.
Get another mb same make and model as yours. Buy one locally from a dealer with a liberal return policy.

1. Remove power to your system
2. Unplug the corrupted bios chip
3. Install the bios chip from the new mb into your system
4. Apply power to your system and Boot it up.


Just ask your dealer if they have a MotherBoard the same as yours with other problems... ask the BIOS chip&#33;
Shouldn&#39;t cost you a thing&#33;

Good Luck&#33;

[sleepy ben]

sometimes you can take out an unpluggable bios chip and send it away to be reflashed
(not if its soldered to the motherboard but thats rare) - by sites such as
http://www.motherboard-biosflash.co.uk/ in the UK and
http://www.badflash.com/ in the States
costs about £8 - £10 here in the UK

[PcH]

Nobody1234, it&#39;s all clear to me now. I thought the red enclosing was one pin. But it actually holds 1 & 2 together. Thank you. You didn&#39;t have to create that, but it really helped. Rocktron, I didn&#39;t install the BIOS from another party. I installed them from the Gigabyte Motherboard CD. sleepy ben, I&#39;ll try that as a last resort.

[PcH]

It&#39;s alive&#33; :ph34r: Thanks, Nobody1234.

[Nobody1234]

Yes&#33;&#33;&#33;

See.. I knew that would work&#33; :D :D

[Nobody1234]

Now maybe you can answer the question I have been asking all along.

What bios revision did you update it to? (Look at the file you used from that CD.)

As I stated before, you should update to the latest Non Beta from gigabytes web page.


In your case use revision [ F45 - (Dec.18, 2001) ] http://ftp.gigabyte.com.tw/support/temp/6v...6vx7_4x_f45.zip
It is recommended to always clear the CMOS after flashing.

[PcH]

I didn&#39;t try that revision on the site. There is a file on the CD that can download the latest version for you. I did that, but it downloaded it from Taiwan. <_< I&#39;m replying on the computer now. :D

[Nobody1234]

When you first start your computer you can see the bios revision. Right on that first black screen usually at the very top or bottom of the screen. Look to see if you have F45 - Dec 18. (You may have to restart a few times to see it. You can use the pause key.)