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HELP!!! DID I JUST BREAK MY COMPUTER?!

hdeck

hdeck

Lifer
ok, so i went to my motherboard manufacturer's website (its an ecs k7s5a) to update my BIOS so I could get higher fsb speeds (getting their new bios was the only way to OC this board w/o altering the board itself or getting unofficial BIOS). so anyway, i created a boot disk, put the flash utility and the new BIOS file on the disk. went through step by step instructions on the ecs site. everything going fine. said the BIOS file was fine so i hit [enter] to flash. started flashing. i looked away. when i turned back my screen was blank and my computer is now making a continuous "beep beep" sound. my floppy drive is still running and the light is still on. but my hard drive light isn't on and my monitor is blank. it's been over 5 minutes now and i'm starting to worry. did i screw my system up????

*edit* the beeping hasn't stopped, though sometimes it will change pace for a few seconds and then revert back to its normal rythym. i think my harddrive was turning for a minute, but i'm not sure.
 
Certainly beyond the limits of a normal BIOS flash. This is bad news, if you're lucky you may be able to reset the CMOS and still have your old image on there. Otherwise you'll need a new BIOS chip from ECS, or you'll need to send it in for service.

Chiz
 
SOunds like a bad flash...............your motherboard is screwed.............only one way to fix..........www.badflash.com..........you remove your bios chip (hopefully its not soldereed on 🙂), send it in to them to get it reprogrammed (cost about $20). Next time get a gigabyte/albatron dual bios board so you wont have any bad flashes.
 
ya its screwed. i tried to reset the cmos and that didn't do anything. guess i'm in the market for a new mobo...and i have no money. life is just dandy.

*edit* the motherboard is the only thing that could be screwed up right??? if so, any recommendations. it will need to be a ddr based amd board.
 
Your board is not screwed. Its the BIOS chip. These things cost $.05 to produce in Taiwan. If you're broke and shouldn't be in the market for a new mobo, don't give up so fast!!! E-mail ECS support. Then search online for a place that sells BIOS chips. You can get a chip extractor at Radio Shack for $5 or take it to a local computer shop and they'll yank it for that much or even free.

But if you *REALLY* felt the need to get a new mobo, I'd get an nForce2 board like the Epox 8RDA or the new MSI board (not sure what letters). 🙂

Chiz
 
no sense in e-mailing ECS now. this is on the site with their official BIOS:

Unsuccessful BIOS flash may cause the system fails to boot up.
ECS(HQ) is not responsible for any BIOS flash failure.
Click to expand...

maybe i'll look around for a new chip, but i seriously know jack about this stuff. don't know what possessed me to do this in the first place. thanks for the help.
 
It doesn't hurt to try. They are probably trying to avoid widespread RMA's due to bad BIOS flashes, but again, they know how insignificant and inexpensive these things are. Just play it smooth and ask them for a replacement BIOS chip. Put the honus on them b/c you had read that there were bad BIOS' out there for this board (which is 100% true) and that the only reason you were flashing it was b/c your board wasn't working correctly. Tell them you will pay for the new chip and shipping costs. If you can replace a watch battery, you can replace your BIOS chip. Np, I just hate seeing people breaking expensive stuff 🙁

Chiz
 
this is why i bought a board that allows for changing of bus and voltages and such when i bought it, love my epox, running at 1.743 *ahhh*

anyway, ecs isnt responsible, but they may still be able to help you, tho itll cost, sucks for you, sorry man
 
Oh yah, forgot to add, that the 8KHA+ had early BIOS chip issues, and Epox was sending out replacements without hesitation to anyone that asked. ECS/PC Chips might not be as customer friendly, but again, if its the difference between spending $10 of what you don't have and $100+ of what you don't have....its up to you.

Chiz
 
thanks for the encouragement. and i guess you're right, there won't be any harm in e-mailing them sense i already expect the worst response. i'll e-mail them now.
 
All is still not lost.

14. I flashed the BIOS and now my board is dead, what can I do?

Check to see if the floppy drive light goes on when you power up. If it does, it's your lucky day, there's a 95% chance you can fix it. Follow these instructions:

In another computer, format a floppy disk under DOS/Windows 9x/ME. Don't use Windows 2K/XP or the quick format option.
Copy a BIOS .rom file to the floppy. Don't copy any extra files.
Rename the file AMIBOOT.ROM.
Double check the floppy is good by running Scandisk or Norton Disk Doctor.
Put the floppy in your computer and turn it on.
Wait while the floppy is being read.
Wait until you hear 4 beeps (usually <1 min, 5 min at most). >
Turn off and on again.
If this doesn't work, try downloading a different BIOS version .rom file and repeat the process.
If all else fails, get a replacement BIOS chip. I recommend you try here first: BadFlash. They have instructions on how to identify and replace your BIOS chip with a new one. Before your order, find out what part no. to get.

If you live outside the US, in Germany you can try http://www.derpcdoktor.de/ or http://www.segor.de/cih.htm, in The Netherlands http://www.flashBIOS.org/, in France http://electro.proxone.fr/, and in Italy http://www.elma.it/.
Click to expand...

taken from here --> http://www.ocworkbench.com/2002/ecs/k7s5aguide/BIOS%20FAQ.htm

I have done this myself one time when I hosed my K7S5A bios & it worked like a charm & my bios was saved,since you say it beeps & the floppy light stays on It's a good sign.

Let us know if that fixed it. 🙂
 
kinda OT, but just thought you might like to know. I have a Intel 440BX Mobo and a 4X Radeon VE. everything was working ok but i flashed the BIOS as once in a while the motherboard would not detect my 40GB Maxtor. Everything went smoothly but when i rebooted i got quite a few weird beeps and nothing i tried worked, resetting the CMOS, changing the RAM nothing. I did post here and ppl told me that I fried the mobo, however for one last attempt I changed the AGP card and LO! the thing started working! To this date I don't know why, but my Radeon VE doesn't work on my computer. I exchanged my card with a friend's RivaTNT2 and I have had no problems. I have ordered a 8RDA+ and once I get it, i will go back to the Radeon.

 
The Radeon VE is actually a really crappy piece of equipment.

Here's a list on what headaches it has caused me:

*) Used to crash my computer during games (The Sims, most commonly)
*) Tried to have it drive an LCD screen in a computer I built for someone. DVI did not work at all, VGA worked, but I could not used the pivot software. Both this things worked when I replaced the card with a GeForce 2MX (dual head).
*) The card is now running in a measurement computer at my university, and I realize it was the worst $60 I ever spent on anything.

I love my Radeon 8500, but the Radeon VE is just a piece of junk.
 
You'd think that after all the years, that the m/b manufactures could devise a better / easier (more foolproof) way of updating BIOSes. Surely bad BIOS flashes account for a sizeable amount of product returns. I screwed my MSI K7T Pro2-A BIOS a while ago, when doing a flash with their Windows LiveBIOS flashing utility, I later found a message on their website saying that the BIOS was not compatible with their own flasher. Gigabyte have the best solution with Dual BIOS.

Cheers
 
If it's the BIOS, then you can get a new one from www.badflash.com, like 20$ or something. If it's something else, you're screwed. I thought a hosed BIOS would keep a board from beeping, though?

Edit:11$ if you send them your old chip.
 
I used to have a bad floppy drive and so I just got in the habit of flashing from the HD. Seemed to make sense, it's a lot more reliable and faster to boot.

Yet I've seen people say never to do that. How come? Never had a problem doing that yet, but that's not to say I have just been lucky.

 
MSI tells you to flash from the RAMDrive using a Windows 98 or Me boot disk or the hard drive if you have FAT32. I don't know why people would say not to use the HD.
 
Originally posted by: BornStar18
MSI tells you to flash from the RAMDrive using a Windows 98 or Me boot disk or the hard drive if you have FAT32. I don't know why people would say not to use the HD.
Click to expand...

Some of us use NTFS? 😉 Also, some Beta BIOSes aren't supported by the RAMDrive/auto-update proggies put out by the mobo makers. Definitely a "do at your own risk" endeavour.

Chiz
 
hmm...thanks budman. i will try that before i shell out any cash. i've actually been e-mailing back and forth with a lady at badflash to make sure they get me the right chip if i do need one.

i'll respond back in a little while.

ok i'm getting annoyed at this:
Please check the revision of your motherboard found stamped on your motherboard next to the model of you board
Click to expand...

from the ECS site. there is NO version stamped anywhere on the fvcking board! i assume this is why the flash went bad in the first place, i downloaded BIOS for a wrong version. the only thing wrong with that is if you check ECS site(http://www.ecs.com.tw/download/k7s5a.htm) the most recent BIOS are for the 1.x/3.x models! fvck ECS!
 
hmm...now when i try and turn on the system the floppy drive doesn't light up. guess i'm part of that unlucky 5%.
 
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