Hot Flashing?

[cheapgoose]

well, I had a bad flash, and while looking for help, someone here I think it was mechBgon mentioned something called hotflash. boot up with good bios go into the flash part, remove and replace with bad chip and flash. now would this work if the mobo are different brands? I have a msi and epox while the mobo that needs repair is asus a7n266 vm.

 

[mechBgon]

I've never heard of anyone trying it with different boards. :Q Doesn't mean it couldn't work, but methinks this could backfire on you somehow.

 

[cheapgoose]

yea, I think you're right. just wanted to know if anyone's actually tried it.

I'm just getting really frustrated, a perfectly good board just sitting here 'cause I keep screwing it up.

 

[Iron Woode]

If they both use the same exact BIOS EPROM then it could be done.

I have done this when a friend had a bad flash on his ECS K7S5A. I pulled a good chip and inserted it in his board just enough to boot to a DOS prompt. Taking my chip puller and removing the good chip, I inserted (using my chip inserter) the bad chip. I then ran the flash program and flashed a good BIOS. Once the board was working right, I powered it down and inserted the chip properly.

It is working great so far. He says it feels more stable and a little faster too.

 

[cheapgoose]

when you say exact, you mean same mobo right? not just the same bios chip. tks.

 

[Iron Woode]

Originally posted by: cheapgoose
when you say exact, you mean same mobo right? not just the same bios chip. tks.

It must be the same BIOS type chip. The same # of pins and physically fit in the socket.

Instructions say that even if the flash prog bitches about a difference, force the flash. Personally that scares me.

I just used the exact same chip. It makes things easier.

 

[GonzoDaGr8]

Badflash.com can help you also..

 

[Jhhnn]

It's really all about having identical bios chips, the rest really doesn't matter. The worst possible outcome is that it won't work, which is unlikely. I've flashed Intel slot1 Award bioses on a Via K6 AMI board, no prob...

Badflash did me right the couple of times I've used them, good if you have a bad chip or no compatible board for a hotflash...

 

[cheapgoose]

so, let me get this straight, my MSi K7T266 Pro2's bios chip and my Asus chip looks exactly the same. So I can go into dos on my msi, then replace with new chip, and flash the Asus bios on to that new chip? I'm just worried that it'll somehow screw up the msi board.

 

[Jhhnn]

Correct. Be sure to get the chip orientation right, and to avoid any static issues. I like to super glue little bits of wood to the chips as handles- makes it a lot easier.

If you're really unsure, just order a new pre-flashed chip from Badflash. You'll have a spare, so future flashes can all be done as hotflashes. Even if your flash fails for some reason, you'll be able to re-install the original chip/bios....