Boot Block Flash Question

Hot-swapping and Boot-Block flash & Boot block flash and floppy support
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jafro999
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I have an evga 680i motherboard (I know how many problems they have had, i am just trying to make it work :D ) and i tried updating the bios to the new version P23. Everything appeared to go correctly until i rebooted. Then I get to Boot Block and it says it is looking for awdflash.exe.
Thanks to this forum which is amazing, i made a floppy with awdflash.exe and my bios file EVGAP23.bin and and autoexec.bat file which contains the line

AWDFLASH.EXE EVGAP23.BIN /py /sn /cc /cd /cp

The Disk also has some system and config files on it.
Then i got to the screen where it says at the top

AwardBios Flash Utility V8.23E

Flash Type -

File Name To Program : EVGAP23.bin

Message

So it appears to be reading the floppy drive and it finds the file, i just do not have keyboard support to hit enter or y/n.
Should i try uniflash?
Am i missing files on the floppy or is my bios permanantly fried.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

EDIT
Hopefully this will clarify what my issue is.
First it will load this screen.
Image
at this point i have keyboard usage and can press enter for it to try and load the system disk
so i insert the floppy with these files
awdflash.exe and my bios file EVGAP23.bin and and autoexec.bat file which contains the line

AWDFLASH.EXE EVGAP23.BIN /py /sn /cc /cd /cp

The Disk also has some system and config files on it.

It then reads the floppy and a couple of seconds later this screen pops up
Image
at this point i lose keyboard usage and i am stuck on this screen
i have left it on for half an hour just in case it was flashing the bios but to no avail it is on the same screen
again thanks for your help and any ideas are greatly appreciated
Last edited by jafro999 on Sun Dec 31, 2006 1:31 am, edited 2 times in total.
edwin
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did you make sure both the flasher and the bin file are NOT set to read-only?
edwin/evasive

Do not assume anything

System error, strike any user to continue...
jafro999
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neither of them are set to read only
petteyg359
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If you don't have 'keyboard support', I assume you're using a USB keyboard which needs the BIOS there to be supported at boot time... Do you have an adapter handy to plug it into your PS/2 port instead?
jafro999
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no i am using a ps2 keyboard
when it boots up asking for a system disk/floppy i can press enter then and it loads the awdflash utility
after that i lose control of the keyboard
i am also thinking that my chip may be fried because it doesnt recognize anything in the flash loader
i have tried using uniflash and renaming it to awd flash just to try it out and that did not work out either
thanks for your responses
keep the ideas coming
edwin
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leave out the /cc /cd /cp part and try again, I've seen award flashers crash on that for no obvious reason. Once you have the boot block back in place you can always try that /cc /cd /cp stuff with a functioning keyboard.
edwin/evasive

Do not assume anything

System error, strike any user to continue...
jafro999
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left out the part you suggested
no luck
same thing happens after 2nd picture (above) appears
edwin
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after flash type it should list the bios chip type. this version of the utility is not recognizing your bios chip for some reason. I would contact eVGA with this info and have them sort things out. It is their board and their flash utility that got you into this situation in the first place.
edwin/evasive

Do not assume anything

System error, strike any user to continue...
jafro999
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i have already and they said that it was a bad flash, but that was before i started trying the award flasher. the update they gave me (http://evga.com/support/drivers/default.asp?switch=2) did not come with a awd flasher which it was looking for (first picture) . I have tried renaming that to awd flash and it would no go. So i then tried awd flash from this sites utilities page and that got me to picture 2. Should i try using an older version of awd flash? I don't know if it would matter because the motherboard came out less than 3 months ago. If anybody has a link to the an older version i could try that would be great. I will try evga again, maybe a ill get a more helpful tech. Thanks for your continuing help.
jafro999
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i have fixed the problem
thanks for all of your help
if you would like to know the solution read on.
I finally found someone on the evga forums who had the same problem as me, and they said they fixed it by using the latest version of awd flash, so i went back and looked at the my photo and realized i had been using an old version. i then googled and found the latest version of awd flash at
http://mainboard-drivers-and-utilities. ... P-x64.html
Even though it says it is for an abit board, i tried it, it detected the bin file and flashed it. I know have the latest bios and a working board. Yahooo!
All of the cases on this forum helped immensly. I never would have known how to do this. Thanks again for everyones help and happy new year! :D :D :D :D
vasilebujoe67
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I have the same problem or even worst . The company that sold the board to me had tried to update the bios themselves to the newest version ( p23 ) and when it arrived thru the currier service and I install it to my computer I discovered that Boot Block is all I have and that the classic method does not work : awdflash.exe ( 8.73 version ) + nf68.bin ( usually you only need this two files and nothing more ) .

My board is EVGA 680i SLi and I send messages to the RMA and they told me that the board must be replaced . I would add : you have to replace phisically the bios chip :D .
vasilebujoe67
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If you got money I recommend to spend it onto the new Abit board with the 680i SLI and for graphics use two Evga 8800GTS boards but for the love of God use anything else but not EVGA :( . In Romania the EVGA motherboards have 2 years warranty and the video boards have 10 years !!! On the official website the motherboards have also 10 years ( as known "Lifetime warranty" )
jafro999
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you are probably right, next time i will not go with evga. Although i knew what i was getting into with this board when i bought it and i was in need of a new computer, when i was ordering this was the best board available among the 680i series. Oh well, thankfully it is working and stable now. And although their tech support is pretty much useless, (this website saved my ass :D ) their rma is pretty easy to apply for. I applied for it right when the problems started just in case i had to rma it, and within a day they had approved it and were ready to cross ship me a new motherboard. Not bad in my opinion. O well, in the future i will wait, but this time i was sick of waiting, i needed anew computer. My old one was 4 1/2 years old P4 2.2ghz, 768 ram 120gb hard drive, and a 6600gt. This one kicks ass. Thanks again for everyones help.
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