how do you remove a bios chip?

[willyjoke]

i screwed up while flashing my bios, and i bought another bios chip. but i cannot get the bios chip out of my computer...i've been pulling on it and it just won't come out. is there some sort of tool that i need?

thanks in advance
btw it is a award bios chip

 

[ltk007]

There is a tool you need, I forget its name. Its kinda like spring loaded pliers with teeth on the end.

 

[downhiller80]

get something thin and slide (like a knife) and slide it under the end of the chips and twist it.

I'd rick this but be carefull because a knife is of course metallis.

Seb

 

[squirrel dog]

Yeah,you need to be careful,I busted the bios socket on an abit before using a flat bladed screw driver.Try and find a pick,like a dentist's exploratory tool.Or a paper clip,strightened out and bent on the end.Pry up one corner,then the opposing one.

 

[dkozloski]

Some BIOS chips such as an FIC VA-503+ are soldered in without a socket and are a bitch kitty to deal with.

 

[Midnight Rambler]

Spend a couple bucks and buy an actual chip puller. They also usually come in those computer "tool kits". Belkin makes several different kits, differing only in the number of tools included. I bought one to take with me on "house calls", it's quite handy and everything is demagnetized (that needs to be). Several models of the tool kits also contain specialized tools (or sizes) which are specific to working on computers.

 

[BT7990]

Be careful or you can crack the socket. Busted a socket like squirrel dog on an Abit as well. The dental tool might work. Try Unicore and see if they will sell just the tool to pull the chip.

http://www.unicore.com

 

[jamarno]

Pull the chip out evenly to avoid bending pins. The easiest way to do this is with a screw-style chip puller, but a pair of screwdrivers works almost as well (pry alternate ends a little at a time) and can't ruin a socket unless the blades are far, far too thick. Tong-style chip pullers are much worse than either of these tools and should be used only if the chip can't be reached with other tools.

Special tools are best bought from an electronics store, like Radio Shack or Fry's, and not computer stores, which charge too much.

If the BIOS chip is soldered in place, the best way to remove it is with an expensive ($300-$900) desoldering iron equipped with electric vacuum pump. Excluding that, the safest way is to cut the pins off the chip (ruining it), and pull out the remaining stubs while its solder is melted. If you don't want to ruin the chip, it can be removed with .080" or narrower copper desoldering braid and a 30-35 watt iron, but this braid has to be applied to both the top and bottom sides of each pin, and all the pins have to be able to wiggle freely or else the copper traces of the motherboard will tear out when the chip is removed. Always solder a socket in place of the original chip.

 

[Bozo Galora]

nuther xlent pst by jamarno

 

[Goi]

I just pried my BH6 BIOS chip out of the socket, but with a lot of difficulty. Didn't damage my socket though, but it was quite a pain. If you can get a specific tool and it isn't too expensive I'd say get it and use it

 

[zetter]

I used one of the back slot panel covers, the short bent end fits nicely under the bottom of the chip and the long end gives a nice amount of leverage to lift the chip up enough to loosen it so you can pull it out by hand.

 

[dszd0g]

I am also for using an actual chip puller. It's not worth the risk of damaging the socket on your motherboard.

 

[RossGr]

First make sure that it is socketed and not soldered, this should be obvious even to an untrained observer. If it is socketed a thin screwdriver, as described is several other posts should work. No need to worry about trashing the already trashed chip. If the pins get bend no biggie. If you want you can straighten them out with a pair of needlenose, just before you drop it in garbage can.

 

[dszd0g]

I know people who have cracked the socket using a screwdriver, which is why I mentioned to use a chip puller. I have not heard of anyone managing to crack the socket using a chip puller. For a couple bucks is it worth taking the risk of not using the proper tools? Yes, a screw driver will most likely work. It will most likely kill the chip in there, but we don't care about that. We do care about cracking the socket though.