So you flashed using the F8 version of the BIOS on that page, and it failed? Hate to ask a stupid question, but are you sure you've got the model number of your motherboard correct? You have the manual handy, or you've looked at the motherboard itself inside the case?

I believe that even if a BIOS has been corrupted, the computer will still continue to work for some time. I think BIOS calls are mainly done during boot. (Though occasionally they'll be done during Windows operation, I think.)

There's a remote chance that the program tried flashing, and gave up without even doing anything. Was there any kind of progress indicator, that showed it managed to get part of the way through before giving up?

But you're most likely correct that powering down will mean your computer will turn into a brick.

And even if there was a DOS based flasher (which is what I always use, I don't trust flashing in Windows), it's probably too late to use it now. But you could try. You might have better luck with a DOS flasher, though I've never tried using one from the Windows command prompt. I always boot from a floppy.

Have you tried downloading from one of the other download links? There are multiple mirrors. Maybe one of the file links is bad. Though, I very much doubt it.

You might want to try shutting down any and all programs running, by hitting Ctrl-Alt-Del and killing as many processes as you can, before flashing again. Other processes could be interfering with the flashing process. But this could be dangerous, if you kill the wrong process and Windows crashes.

If the latest BIOS doesn't work, you could try the previous one and see if that works.

Hey TheReelTodd,

There are jumpers on the motherboard which reset your bios, if you look closely there may be wording on the board that says "bios reset" or a shorter version of that. Remove the jumper and set it on the next pin over for atleast 10 seconds, then back. Make sure you replace the bios battery just incase.

The bios should post..

The next step is to D/L a 3.5 floppy disk flash utility for your motherboard, some board's bios requires you to hit F2 or like you said, F3, during post to use the flashing utility.

Somewhere during the bios's post, or inside the bios settings you will see a instruction for doing so. This method only fails if battery is dead, or the file is corrupted, or incompatible. Rarely does the bios chip go bad.(atleast I've never been able to screw one up, and thought I had once or twice.) Hope this helps.

Well, my 7-year-old computer is still functional after a power-down and power-up. It's working just fine. Unfortunately, it's still got the old F3 version of the BIOS, which doesn't support some more recent software I installed.

Jademz - Thanks for your insight. I didn't know there was a BIOS reset option like that. I was wondering why didn't they include such a feature since (according to almost everything I've read elsewhere so far) flashing the BIOS is "risky". I'm really not much of a hardware guy, so I'm learning more about it as I go along. I appreciate your help.

Compucore - I did make a back up of my original BIOS (or at least the current F3 version of it). I also have the F3 version from when I flashed it successfully in 2001, a couple months after getting my computer. I couldn't update to my new BIOS or my old one via the @BIOS utility provided by my motherboard manufacturer.




My computer is still functional so that's good. Even after the scare it put me through, I still want to update the BIOS to the newer version (and last version put out for this board).

I think part of the problem I had flashing my BIOS from within my OS (XP) may be because of my very crappy internet security software. It's by Computer Associates and does keep my PC relatively safe on the net. It also causes everything to run insanely slow. I have to wait for 5 seconds just for Notepad to open after clicking on it. Came included as part of my ISP plan - you get what you pay for.

Anyway, I've got some more research to do. I appreciate the help, guys.


EDIT:
TronFAQ - Thanks for that additional information. Man - I'm really going to school here. I don't know any of this stuff.



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You're welcome TheReelTodd. Hopefully the solution is simple for your board. I believe you can get a new bios chip, I've never tried but I'm sure a 'puter tech may have one for yours.

I haven't had a corrupted bios while updating, just dead boards from power problems.

This is just a thought todd since you do have back up of the updates of your previous bios. try flashing it back in before trying to reboot the computer it might work in making the rom chip of being corrupted.


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Jadems - I've read about replacing the BIOS chip with a new working version. When I thought it might be dead, I contemplated trying that. I hope I don't end up needing that option though.

MutoidMan - Thanks for the advice about closing everything down before trying again. I think I'm going to go the DOS route next time though. I removed most of the internet security software from the PC I want to update the BIOS on. It was so insanely slow because of it, it became unusable to me. I can't browse the net on it anymore (don't dare without protection) but at least the applications run better now. I kept the CA firewall app. on it though - as an added layer of protection just in case. It alone doesn't slow it down much. The HD is fairly new and has very little on it right now. It doesn't need defragging just yet (according to the defrag report anyway).

Compucore - The BIOS doesn't seem to be corrupt at this point. It looks like my flashing attempts didn't do a thing to it... aside from scare the poop out of me.

TronFAQ - I think my BIOS might have a lock feature to it, but I don't remember ever locking it. When I flashed it 7 years ago, it went without a hitch. My internet security software may have locked it (when I first installed it) as part of its default protection - I'll need to look in to that. I like the new BIOS easy recovery feature. Can't believe they didn't do that from the start considering how important the BIOS is. The CMOS battery... is that the same battery that keeps my clock (time clock) going when the computer is off? That battery is as old as my PC (7 years) and probably very weak. If I sound like an idiot here, I'm learning all sorts of new hardware information that I never paid mind to before. Regardless of which battery - any batteries my older, old PC has are pretty damn old and probably not putting out much power anymore. I never realized that played a role in flashing.

I obviously have a lot to learn about this. I really appreciate all the great info you guys have been feeding me. I feel like I can approach this more intelligently next time. I probably won't have time to spend on it until the weekend, but I do want to update the BIOS so that some non-functional software issues might be resolved (according to the software makers).

It's an old machine, but it's still functional. And without virus protection, it actually runs pretty decent for a PC of its age. Just can't use it for internet anything, but that's what this computer is for.

TheReelTodd Wrote:I like the new BIOS easy recovery feature. Can't believe they didn't do that from the start considering how important the BIOS is.

I know! I believe the first motherboard with this feature appeared about 4 years ago, but it hasn't been until about the last 2 years that it's really started becoming common. It's usually reserved for higher-end boards, though. Cheapo, low-end mobos frequently lack this feature.

Some of these newer motherboards do have a jumper to recover the BIOS. But this is often, and easily, confused with the CMOS reset jumper, which is the only one you'll find on older boards. They're not the same thing. The better boards don't use a jumper anyway, and just recover automatically.

Since you mentioned that your motherboard was quite old (2001) . . . I knew right away it wouldn't have a BIOS recovery feature.

BTW, the BIOS lock could also be a jumper. I remember now, seeing those before. But I've actually found both types (jumper, BIOS option) to lock out flashing, to be pretty uncommon.

The CMOS battery... is that the same battery that keeps my clock (time clock) going when the computer is off?

Yup, that's it. At least, that's the way it used to be. I'm not sure if newer motherboards still use the battery to flash the BIOS any more.

I thnk for the fact that the older model of motherboards where they used to use the nicad technology for batteries on the older computers were okay for its time but with the more powerful processors they decided that the newer batteries were more likely better since they last longer than the old Nicads. Since they tended to leak after a few years of harsh abuse. I still have some really old 386 motherboards here that have their batteries soldered to the system.

Qix77 Wrote: TronFAQ Wrote: The CMOS battery... is that the same battery that keeps my clock (time clock) going when the computer is off? Yup, that's it. At least, that's the way it used to be. I'm not sure if newer motherboards still use the battery to flash the BIOS any more. They do, but the battery is only active when the computer is unplugged... they have it now so that the battery isn't used as long as its plugged in the wall (regardless if the computer is on or off).... but if you were to unplug it to move it or if your power goes out, then the battery kicks on... I'm just glad that my batter isn't soldered to the motherboard like my old PC (as to why they did that I'll never know)...

I got my BIOS flashed. Everything went ok.

There was a little scare upon first boot when my CMOS said something failed, and it reverted back to default settings. I think I read somewhere to revert back to default BIOS settings after flashing anyway. It booted up just fine though.

Yay!

But, the software I was trying to get working still wont work. Methinks the hardware itself is just too old for whatever the software is trying to access. Major bummer.

All that fuss for nuthin'

Actually, it was a learning experience and that was a benefit. I'm a little smarter for it all, thanks to you guys.

Again - I really appreciate all your feedback and input on this.

MutoidMan Wrote: Qix77 Wrote:Sometimes I do miss those early x86 computers. Something about the atmosphere back then. Lots of good DOS games. I'm happy with DOS box but I still keep an old PC running DOS close by (just haven't used it in so long)... which reminds me... It's probably time to change the battery in that one... I got it from a friend a few month ago but it's an old Gateway 2000 running a 133mhz processor with 16 mbs of ram.. DOSBox is such an indespensible tool for playing DOS games on modern PCs. I've really got to remember to donate to the devs, they more than deserve it.

Same here. I'll have to send them a little something soon just to show my appreciation.