a new boot block error ???

Hot-swapping and Boot-Block flash & Boot block flash and floppy support
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foaman
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Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 11:35 pm

i couldn't find anything anywhere about my particualr bios error so im gonna post. i have a ga-7n400-L with an award bios. i tried to flash a newer bios and it never worked allways said bios type mismatch error. so i gave up. kept using comp all night and then in the moring when i went to turn it on it says....

Award BootBlock Bios v 1.0

scanning Bios image in hard drive ...

Unknown Flash Memory!
Cannot find bios image in hard drive or diskette!

then nothing...

i have made a boot disk(using dr. dos is that o.k.?) with the awdflash and the correct bios file. and an autoexec.bat but it appears to me that it isnt even attempting to initailize the floppy. when i turn the comp on the cdrom light comes on and blinks but not the floppy. after the above error comes keyboard still dont work have to press reset to reboot.

a few details...
1. my autoexec.bat and bios file have the .f6m ext thats the way i downloaded them from giga-byte. would it do anything to change them to .bin...???
2. i only tried awdflash would uniflash be the way to go.
3. i've seen so many autoexec wit hdifferent switches which are the best ones to use.
foaman
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Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 11:35 pm

an update... after doing some reading it seems the boot block initializes the cpu video mem and i/o right? the basic stuff. if i pull my video card(agp) i get a 1 long beep and then i get a high tone and a low tone not beeps though. daaaa - duuhhhh like that lol. if i pull the system memory i get repeatative long beeps and never get the lower tones. to it seems the boot block is sensing those components cause when everything is plugged in i only get the lower tones. i've pulled the battery, cleared cmos, pulled power connectors from the board both of them. ive tried alot of thing and somewhere during all that the part of the error that says Unknown Flash Memory has disappered
NickS
BIOS Bodhisattva
Posts: 3145
Joined: Fri May 03, 2002 10:34 am
Location: Thames Valley, UK

foaman wrote:i couldn't find anything anywhere about my particualr bios error so im gonna post. i have a ga-7n400-L with an award bios. i tried to flash a newer bios and it never worked allways said bios type mismatch error. so i gave up. kept using comp all night and then in the moring when i went to turn it on it says....

Award BootBlock Bios v 1.0

scanning Bios image in hard drive ...

Unknown Flash Memory!
Cannot find bios image in hard drive or diskette!

then nothing...
Sounds as though you flashed a BIOS for a different board. If the bootblock doesn't even recognise the flash memory type, there is a good chance that the I/O is different enough that it will not find the diskette drive ( I know you said the video initalises OK, but maybe that's just luck).
In this case I think your best chances are
- hot-swap flash the BIOS in another board
- buy a replacement BIOS
except that I bet the BIOS chip is soldered to the board :(
Have you tried booting from CD?
foaman
New visitors - please read the rules.
Posts: 3
Joined: Sun Oct 26, 2003 11:35 pm

y i tried to put the cd rom in there is dont work either. yes i tried to put a bios on from another board. but it wasn't that far off. i have a GA-7N400-L i tried to put a bios for a GA-7N400-L1 barley any difference. also the flash never took. awfl872.exe wouldn't work and niether awfl789.exe after my attempts i rebooted the comp and used it the rest of the night. then when i woke up and turned it on i got this stuff. also the error for the unknown flash type part of the error went away... i might have to rma this board.
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