Question Ruined BIOS

[KarolR2]

In the middle of the update process of the BIOS on my MSI motherboard-problem. it restarted and black screen.
The file was an exe file, ran it from windows 7. the USB was plugged in the front panel of the computer, it can't see it at boot up, maybe that's the problem.
I had that problem of black screen, sometimes, before the BIOS update, but now it doesn't beep to signal successive POST.
I took out and put back the battery, nothing.
Can i flash the bios somehow?
MSI H61M-E23 is the motherboard

 

[mikeymikec]

I'm not suggesting this as the definitive solution, but I once bought a replacement BIOS chip for a board I was having problems with.

Or: Some boards have a flashback feature that works through a particular USB port, grabbing a particularly-named BIOS file from the drive during the boot process. It might be worth looking into that?

What was the reason that you were flashing the BIOS? Reliability issues?

 

[KarolR2]

where did you buy it, how will i identify the chip on my motherboard, does it contain a BIOS? are those chips sold for that purpose?

 

[VirtualLarry]

IF it is socketed (and thus, removable and replaceable), then it's either a PLCC J-lead, or an 8-pin DIP (most common recently). It generally has a small sticker on it, with a version number, like "1.03". Sometimes it will also say "AMI" or "Award" or something along those lines.

More modern boards, have SOLDERED BIOSes (some, like Gigabyte "dualBIOS" boards, have an M_BIOS, and a B_BIOS). If they have a soldered BIOS, then generally, somewhere on the board, is a JTAG or SPI programming headed connector as well, that the mobo mfg uses to program the BIOS. They should be able to re-program the BIOS for you, if you RMA the board, in that case.

If it's socketed, and you can identify the BIOS chip (removable), then look up a BIOS-flashing service over the internet. (You may have to provide the file necessary to flash the BIOS to them, both for logistical as well as legal reasons.) They will generally mail you a new chip of the appropriate type to just plug into your board. (Make sure that it is aligned correctly!)

 

[BarkingGhostar]

AMI BIOS according to the manufacturer's website. JBAT1 shorts the CMOS--I am not suggesting anything at this point. JBAT1 sits next to the SATA#6 port. Here is a very large image of your board:

Given that this is an eight year old motherboard with a soldered(?) BIOS, I am thinking life is telling you something.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

BTW, shockingly NewEgg is saying they still have some LGA1155 motherboards ranging in price from $70-700.

 

[VirtualLarry]

See my highlights, for what I think is the BIOS chip, and the SPI programming interface on the board.

Edit: There are kits and plans for using a USB-to-serial interface, to build an SPI in-circuit programmer, that you might be able to use to re-flash your BIOS. But best probably, if you care enough about it, to contact the mobo mfg, and see if you can do a non-warranty RMA to just get them to re-flash the BIOS for a fee.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

BTW, there are multiple versions and revisions of this board.

 

[KarolR2]

The motherboard has pins for a serial connector only, is that SPI Flash?
Can i flush the BIOS through it, or is a dedicated connector?
Can you show me SPI Flush pin connectors?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Can you show me SPI Flush pin connectors?

I did. If you're not technical enough to see my red highlighted boxes (my apologies if you are color-blind, however), then I somewhat feel that perhaps you might not be technical enough to do an SPI flash of your BIOS. Honestly, it will cost you shipping, and maybe some bucks besides that, but call up the mobo mfg, and see if they'll do the flash for you, even out-of-warranty. It might still be cheaper than another board. (Maybe.)

 

[KarolR2]

The jumpers you show are:

Serial Port Connector: JCOM1
This connector is a 16550A high speed communication port that sends/receives 16 bytes FIFOs. You can attach a serial device.
Is this also SPI, can i program the BIOS through it?

 

[VirtualLarry]

No offense, but are you blind? I highlighted "JSPI1", NOT "JCOM1". The SPI programming header, NOT the COM port.

 

[mikeymikec]

where did you buy it, how will i identify the chip on my motherboard, does it contain a BIOS? are those chips sold for that purpose?

searched ebay, board model, bios chip.

 

[KarolR2]

No offense, but are you blind? I highlighted "JSPI1", NOT "JCOM1". The SPI programming header, NOT the COM port.

I didn't know the board is like in your picture and not like in the manual. where did you find that picture, plus a close up? how did you know there was the JSP1?
I attach mine:

JSP1, as explained in the manual applies to music, it's an S/PDIF-Out Connector: JSP1

Needless to say this also differs from the real motherboard.
So i can search and buy a programmer to upload a BIOS file through these JSP1 pins, right? what should i search for, relating to the programmer?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Sigh. Now you're confusing "JSP1" with "JSPI1".

JSPI1 is NOT SHOWN in the user manual block diagram, because it is only for the mfg and it's authorized tech centers to use.

(Edit: But clearly labeled on the board itself. Why you can't just see that and read the silk-screen, and constantly have to "prove" what you're looking at, by posting excerpts from the user manual block diagram, I don't know. The block diagram doesn't show everything on the board.)

Guide to flash a Bios with a SPI CH341A mini programmer

If your computer restarts constantly, after trying to flash the Bios via M-Flash and no standard solution worked: reset the CMOS, unplug the ...

w3ask.com

 

[mxnerd]

Make sure you have the motherboard and version right.

You have to solder the chip yourself.

Better contact the seller before you buy.

BIOS CHIP MSI Z87 MPOWER MAX,870A-G54 (FX),H61M-E23 (G3),G43TM-E51 v1.1(FOR EUP) | eBay

The BIOS chip needs to be soldered onto the board. As a backup chip in case the current BIOS Chip is corrupt. You will need a new bios chip for the following purposes.

www.ebay.com

 

[Steltek]

Or: Some boards have a flashback feature that works through a particular USB port, grabbing a particularly-named BIOS file from the drive during the boot process. It might be worth looking into that?

What was the reason that you were flashing the BIOS? Reliability issues?

Supposedly (according to the MSI advertisements, anyway), that board is supposed to be able to boot using an external BIOS file on a FAT32-formatted flash drive.

I presume you didn't create a backup USB prior to trying to upgrade the machine, so you might contact MSI to ask about this process, if it will work as advertised, and if they can tell you how to manually prepare a generic flash BIOS on USB that you can use to try to recover the board.

It certainly would be worth trying before you start attempting to desolder the BIOS chip.

Additionally, I wouldn't trust a BIOS file obtained via the Internet these days anyway as you could never be sure some type of malware wasn't injected into the code before it was burned. Better to just replace the motherboard (and Windows license if it was OEM).

It is also possible, with the black screens you were seeing before the update, that something was dying on the board and that component is now dead.