Intel DP35DP unresponsive after failed BIOS update

[taquinvol]

Hi all,

I tried to update the BIOS on my DP35DP earlier today - it powered down as it said it would but never restarted or showed any signs of wanting to turn on. I let it be for a good 15 minutes or more as I did some other chores, thinking that it would take more than the 3 minutes the BIOS updater said it would take.

Currently the PC won't start up at all - the only "life" it shows is the LED on the m/b (close to the RAM sockets) lighting up and the power LED blinking 3 times in rapid succession followed by a brief pause. No fans, no PSU powering up, nothing.

I tried the PSU on it's own (shorting the green and the black cables) and it works just fine. I tried removing everything and putting it all together step by step, clearing CMOS (removed battery), switched the m/b to BIOS recovery mode (by removing a jumper as described by Intel) and all to the same result: no response, just the power LED blinking away. There's no mention on Intel's site or the m/b manual about BIOS codes being displayed via power LED blinking or such.

I think it's noteworthy that something similar to this had happened in a previous BIOS update and I had managed to recover it by using the recovery procedure - however it appears that my luck has run out this time.

Any ideas?

 

[Quiksilver]

For starters how did you update the BIOS?
Floppy?
CD?
USB Drive?
In Windows?

The fact it won't even POST just tell's me you bricked your motherboard.

 

[taquinvol]

Yeah, figured as much.

The first time I had attempted to flash the BIOS (about two versions ago) I used a bootable CD initially (m/b has no floppy interface) and it failed pretty dramatically - ended up in a similar catatonic state, but after a few tries I managed to get it to power up and enter recovery move.

The time before this one I used the Windows updater and it went smoothly, so I decided to opt for that method this time as well; alas to the above result.

 

[Harvey]

Contact the vendor, or go to Intel's support page. Note the info they want and the e-mail contact and phone contact links at the bottom of the page.

Flashing a BIOS is a normal, expected action by buyers of the board. If your board is still in warranty, they may not charge to repair it. If nothing else, they can give you the definitive answer whether it can be restored.

Good luck.

 

[taquinvol]

Thanks - I've already submitted a support request to them. IIRC it is indeed less than a year since I purchased this and RMA should be possible. However, I'm trying (obviously) to avoid the hassle. What gets my interest is that the update process never actually started. Their "Express" updater doesn't do the update while in Windows, it reboots the machine and then begins the update in non-Windows mode. But since mine never really rebooted and just shut down and stayed off the BIOS should, in theory, be OK but stuck in some permanent "expecting update" mode or something - which is likely what the power LED flashing means.