Help, Changed Setting in BIOS, Now No Post at All

[stimpy1]

I changed the DMA setting in BIOS from auto configuration to manual, saved it, and exited. Afterwards my monitor went black, and I can't even get BIOS to post when I manually power the computer on and off. It's a Phoenix award BIOS. I tried resetting the CMOS according to the motherboard manual (put jumper on pins 2 and 3 when computer is off and then switch back to pins 1 and 2, then power on the computer) All I get is a black screen. The monitor goes back into standby mode when I power it on and off. Thanks for your help.

 

[TexDotCom]

There is an alternate method for resetting the BIOS that I use instead of the jumper pin. Try this and see if it helps:

1) Unplug the computer from the wall outlet.
2) Look on the motherboard for a small, silver battery. It's a about the size of a nickel. It probably says CR2082 on it. That's the BIOS battery.
3) Pop that battery out, wait a couple of minutes, then put it back into the machine.
4) Reconnect the power plug and try to boot up.

I hope that helps you with this problem.

 

[stimpy1]

I tried to get the battery out (the one that's shaped like a nickel), but it's pretty stubborn, and I don't want to risk breaking something. Any suggestions on how to safely remove it?

 

[stimpy1]

Okay, never mind on the battery removal. Just had to press down on the little lever with a very small screwdriver. Any other suggestions, fire away. Thanks.

 

[TexDotCom]

Success after removing/reinstalling battery?

 

[Chosonman]

If you have the motherboard manual you can reset the bios to factory settings by switching one of the jumper settings on the motherboard.

 

[stimpy1]

Originally posted by: TexDotCom
Success after removing/reinstalling battery?

YESSS!!! I'm in BIOS now. Thank you very much Tex!! :thumbsup:

Now I'm in BIOS. I had Windows 2000 and a bunch of programs prior to this incident. Do I have to reinstall everything? It's just sitting at the BIOS screen now. Please tell me how to go about it.

 

[stimpy1]

Originally posted by: Chosonman
If you have the motherboard manual you can reset the bios to factory settings by switching one of the jumper settings on the motherboard.

I tried it MSI'S way to the letter and it didn't work. It is kind of vague as to whether or not to restart the comp. after moving the CMOS jumper down to pins 2 and 3, but there is a big warning reminder that doing so will damage the board. The warning doesn't specify if the danger is from removing the jumper completely and restarting or moving down to pins 2 and 3 and restarting. Thanks for your reply.

 

[stimpy1]

For someone else who runs into this problem...

I tried resetting DMA in BIOS to get my DVD burner to read CD's and DVD's properly. It keeps stuttering and pausing intermittently. It would not go into DMA mode, so I thought I'd give BIOS a shot.

The particular board I'm using (Phoenix Award BIOS) auto senses plug and play devices, and switching this to manual apparently disables the monitor.

Popping the battery out (nickel-sized, silver), waiting a few minutes, and then putting the battery back in reset the BIOS. It is recognizing my monitor once again.

From here, I'm waiting to see if I have to reinstall Windows.

 

[TexDotCom]

Originally posted by: stimpy1

Originally posted by: TexDotCom
Success after removing/reinstalling battery?

YESSS!!! I'm in BIOS now. Thank you very much Tex!! :thumbsup:

Now I'm in BIOS. I had Windows 2000 and a bunch of programs prior to this incident. Do I have to reinstall everything? It's just sitting at the BIOS screen now. Please tell me how to go about it.

You should not need to re-install anything as your changes were made in the BIOS, not on the hard drive/operating system. There should be an option in your BIOS to press a certain key, usually F10, to reset all values in the BIOS to their original configuration. That is what I would suggest that you do first. It should fix whatever you broke previously.

Glad you were able to get in.

 

[stimpy1]

Thank you!! F10 got me to Windows.

Now back to the fight with my DVD burner. Any suggestions for getting the burner into DMA mode?

 

[TexDotCom]

I don't really have as much for that one. You can try a firmware update off of the manufacturer's web page, but if you do, make absolutely sure you do it exactly per their instructions. You can hose the drive completely if you bork it. While on the site, you can also check for any updated drivers, although you probably didn't have to put any in to begin with.

Regarding forcing DMA, you can do the following in Win2k:

1) Open Device Manager
2) Expand the "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" tree
3) Double click on whichever IDE channel you have the DVD player hooked to (hopefully the Secondary one so it's seperate from the HDD)
4) Click the "Advanced Settings" tab
5) Select the option "DMA if available" for whichever device number is your DVD drive. Device 0 is Master, Device 1 is Slave.
6) OK your way out of there and re-boot.

Be careful playing with these settings. They can cause serious issues if you change the wrong one or select an incorrect value. </disclaimer>

Hope this helps.

 

[stimpy1]

Originally posted by: TexDotCom
I don't really have as much for that one. You can try a firmware update off of the manufacturer's web page, but if you do, make absolutely sure you do it exactly per their instructions. You can hose the drive completely if you bork it. While on the site, you can also check for any updated drivers, although you probably didn't have to put any in to begin with.

Regarding forcing DMA, you can do the following in Win2k:

1) Open Device Manager
2) Expand the "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" tree
3) Double click on whichever IDE channel you have the DVD player hooked to (hopefully the Secondary one so it's seperate from the HDD)
4) Click the "Advanced Settings" tab
5) Select the option "DMA if available" for whichever device number is your DVD drive. Device 0 is Master, Device 1 is Slave.
6) OK your way out of there and re-boot.

Be careful playing with these settings. They can cause serious issues if you change the wrong one or select an incorrect value. </disclaimer>

Hope this helps.

I have a SATA hard drive, so would number 3 matter? My DVD Burner is in the primary IDE slot.

 

[MrControversial]

You don't need to remove the battery. If there's a two pin jumper next to the battery, take the cover off. If there is a three pin jumper, shift the cover so that it covers the uncovered pin.