BIOS FLASH ERROR - Help me!

[Squeeken]

I need help fast.

I just tried to flash my motherboard BIOS using WinFlash. After clicking "UPDATE" the progress bar went all the way to 100%, but during verification it only made it to 16% and then gives me an error message that reads, "Flash block Verify error!"

What do I do now? Is it safe to turn off my computer? I'm afraid if i reboot i will turn my computer into a big paper weight. I already tried to flash back to my saved bios, but I get the same error message with that one.

HELP!

 

[GregANDTCH]

"Flash Block Verify error"

The new BIOS was not written to flash correctly. Sometimes this means it wasn't written at all so it will boot the old BIOS normally. Sometimes attempting to flash it again will work correctly. Avoid turning the power off or rebooting until you determine what happened since your BIOS may no longer boot properly.


Are you sure there's not a write-protect jumper for the bios?
Was your saved bios on the hard drive too?
I'd download the application from a different site in case it got corrupted on the other one.
ECS bios download page for nf4-939
I'd be afraid to reboot:Q

Did you have to flash the BootBlock section at the top?
Just the Main Block & DMI Block?

 

[CrispyFried]

that sucks

other than trying to flash again and doing as gregandtch suggest with getting another bios file and flash util I dunno what to suggest. I definately wouldnt power down or reboot.

does it stall at 16% every time?

anyways heres a bump for ya

 

[GregANDTCH]

Bump!
any luck

 

[Squeeken]

Well, it's not looking good. I atempted about 20 times to reflash with the new bios as well as the old and got the same message each time. There is a write protection jumper on the motherboard but it is not set in the protected position. I did not flash the boot block, only the main block. I guess that is good news. I created a bootable floppy with the bios on the floppy. I felt that I had done all I could to remedy the situation. I attempted to reboot hoping that the problem was not as bad as I thought. WRONG! The computer will not boot. Using the bootable floppy, I can boot to an A: prompt but the autoexec.bat file ("awdflash.exe oldbios10h /py /sn")that I created in order to autoflash the bios isn't working. It says something to the effect of directory not found. I think I made the file name to long and it trunked it. Also, was I supposed to put the awdflash.exe program on the floppy?


I plan to create a bootable floppy on my Dad's computer with the bios update on it, however I am unsure of the proper procedure. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks.

 

[GregANDTCH]

was I supposed to put the awdflash.exe program on the floppy?

YES

Since you can boot to a floppy,I don't think all is lost.
The program and the bin file need to be on the floppy.
You don't want to use a "fancy" boot disk with alot of stuff on it.
(Ramdrives,etc)
Just a basic boot disk.

If you type in the commands yourself, I think you might get a prompt to backup
your OLD bios on the floppy, leave it unprotected where you can.

I'm just afraid the bios chip might be faulty.
Some brands of chip rewrite better than others.
I had to visit badflash.com for a new chip one time.
Hope your chip's not soldered on the board.

I plan to create a bootable floppy on my Dad's computer with the bios update on it

What version of Windows is your Dad running?
If you need a disk without all the extras on it, you can probably find one at bootdisk.com
You can also strip them out yourself, but I'm never sure which ones to leave.
Then post which files you actually have on the floppy.

Here's a link to one from Bootdisk.com - external mirror

AWD860I.EXE should be the flashing file you use out of the awardflash.zip file

For update BIOS, Please run AWDXX.EXE under real-mode DOS.

Out of the README.TXT in the zipfile.

 

[Squeeken]

GregANDTCH,

First of all, let me say thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

I have another PC which has no working floppy drive. My plan is to use this second PC to save the neccessary files onto a USB thumb drive. I will take the thumb drive to my Dad's PC (running WinXP Home) and create a 2 bootable floppies for Flashing my BIOS. One with the old bios and the other with the new bios. Hopefully one will work.

I have successfully flashed this particular BIOS one time in the past. This PC is a new build about one month old. I don't know what went wrong this time. This is very new territory for me, so I just want to make sure I understand this correctly. Please tell me if I am doing this right.

On the thumb drive I have placed...
1. The "drdflash.exe" program for creating the bootable floppy
2. My old BIOS.BIN
3. My new BIOS.BIN
4. The "AWD860I.exe" program for flashing the BIOS.

I assume that after I run the "drdflash.exe" program to create the bootable floppy, I just need to manually add the NEWBIOS.BIN file and the "AWD860I.EXE" files. Is that correct?

Once the bootable floppy is created and I boot up the PC with it I assume that at the A: prompt I just need to type in "awd860I.exe newbios.bin /py /sn" Is that correct?

I don't even know what the /py /sn mean.

Any help here would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[GregANDTCH]

I don't even know what the /py /sn mean.

I don't either.

Are you just renaming A93911A.bin to Newbios.bin?
I guess that's a good way to keep from confusing them.

Oh,
I just noticed it's AWD860<I>.exe and not a one.

 

[CrispyFried]

yes those steps are correct.

the /py /sn bit probably just automates the flash program so it doesnt ask any questions like "proceed? (Y/N)" type stuff. you can "enter awd860i /?" or "awd860i /help" and it will tell you what the switches mean.

You can tell it to save your current bios but since its blown there is no reason to unless you want to do an autopsy.

 

[CrispyFried]

oops sorry greg didnt mean to step on your post didnt know you were here

 

[Squeeken]

Thanks guys, I'm dropping my daughter off at school in 5 minutes and then I'm on my way to my Dad's house to make the boot disk. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks again for all your help. If you have any more tips, I will check this thread again before I attempt the flash.

 

[Squeeken]

Well, this isn't getting any better. I created the boot disk. I booted my pc with it and ran the flash utility. It asked for the BIN file name to flash with. After typing in NEWBIOS.BIN (that's what I named it), I assume that it began flashing because at the bottom of the screen it said "WARNING DON"T TURN OFF POWER OR RESET SYSTEM". The screen has not changed from that point for more than 15 minutes now.

Is it safe to assume that I have a bad BIOS chip on the board?
Is there anything else I can do before I try to return the MB for a new one?

 

[Squeeken]

Well, it's been more than 45 minutes and the screen hasn't changed. The light on the floppy drive has been on the whole time, but there doesn't seem to be any activity. I'm going to reboot and try again. I figure what have I got to loose at this point.

Another thing, if I replace this MB with the exact same model, will I have to reformat my hard drive or will everything work as if there was never a change?

 

[montag451]

If you replace mobo with the same model, you would be ok. (you might even have the new BIOS revision on the new mobo!)

Can you try switching off, disconnecting from power, taking out CMOS battery, jumping the CLRCMOS jumper to reset BIOS and have a cup of chamomile tea for 10 minutes.
Reverse the process and see if you can get back to the old BIOS.

 

[Squeeken]

I have already tried clearing the CMOS and unfortunately that didn't resolve the problem. Seeing as I'm out of options, I returned the mobo to Fry's yesterday and they gave me an even exchange. Unfortunately, I'm away from home until Friday so I won't be able to install the new board until then. I just hope that I won't have to reformat the hard drive; reinstalling all my programs is not how I want to spend my days off.

I will update you guys on Friday night. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Squeeken]

Finally a little good news... I put the new motherboard in today and the system booted right up with no problems. I (nervously) flashed the bios with the new bios version, which also went without any trouble what-so-ever. As best as I can tell, I must have had a bad bios chip on the other motherboard. Anyway I'm back in business.

Thanks for all the input guys.