Tried to Flash, but Failed, now BIOS ROM Checksum Error

[Aristoi]

I need some serious help to get my home PC up and running again.

BIOS ID String: 4/12/2000-8371-686A-TA6LKC0CC-00

I thought my motherboard was a Chaintech 7ATA, but when i tried flashing with a current version it did not take. Since i have been having trouble with my USB and the BIOS settings changing by themselves, i thought it was time for an update.

I tried flashing with awd535.exe utility and the 7ata0116.exe. I booted with a boot disk loaded the utility and loaded the flash file, i backed up my old bios successfully, and then when it was begining to erase the chip a "Warning Erase Chip Fail" popped up and kicked me back out into DOS. Then i tried rebooting and i get this:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 1998, Award Software,Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting floppy drive A media
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

"i inserted my boot disk here and hit ENTER then i get this"

Drive Media is: 1.44MB
Automatic Load AWDFLASH.EXE
!!ERROR--Load AWDFLASH.EXE Failed!!
REPLACE DISK AND PRESS ENTER

"i checked my boot disk using my laptop and there is no file on there that is called AWDFLASH.EXE"

Can anyone please help!?

[Rainbow]

You need to rename awd535.exe to awdflash.exe

[Aristoi]

Thanks I will give it a try tonight and post my results.

[Rainbow]

BTW.: awd635 - looks like awdflash v5.35 - that's very old! Get v7.xx!

[Denniss]

I tried flashing with awd535.exe utility and the 7ata0116.exe.

Two possible errors :
1) awd535.exe ??!?? Very very old flashprog > Does Chaintech advise to use this flashprog or do they support a newer one ?
2) 7ata0116.exe ??!?? > File is a self-extracting archive - should extract into a .bin file and maybe a flashprog

To make sure which Chaintech Board you have look at the small sticker residing on the Bios flashrom

[Aristoi]

1) awd535.exe ??!?? Very very old flashprog > Does Chaintech advise to use this flashprog or do they support a newer one ?

I got it from Chaintechs website and there was a part under the update instructions that said that 5.33 and 5.35 were the most current flash utilities. Must be an old link or i misunderstood. Anyway i did some more searching and found a link using Yahoo (a non-Chaintech website) that says awd753.exe and later is for all chaintech mainboards. I think that is what the problem is. I found versions 7.53, 7.57, 7.65, 7.66, 7.70, 7.89, 8.00, 8.12 on this site. Chaintech's website does not specify which flash utility to use. Can anyone make a recommendation?

2) 7ata0116.exe ??!?? > File is a self-extracting archive - should extract into a .bin file and maybe a flashprog

I do not know how to do that. I was following Chaintechs MAINBOARD BIOS UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS from their website. They said to create a boot disk and load the utility and execute the file from the utility, and save your old bios, which is exactly what i did.

To make sure which Chaintech Board you have look at the small sticker residing on the Bios flashrom

I am sorry but i am a coplete newbie to this and I have no idea what the BIOS flashrom looks like or where it is located.

Also can anyone confirm that my BIOS ID string is in fact a Chaintech 7ATA? This is my first time doing this and do not know what i am looking for to correctly ID my MB, and i have no manual or documentation to tell me for sure what make and model i have. I searched the ID string and this website (www.wimsbios.com) id'd that string as a Chaintech 7ATA MB. Thanks for everyones help, i hope i am successful tonight when i get home and try this.

[Aristoi]

Well i was unsuccessful, i tried changing several different utilities in 7.xx and just renaming them to AWDFLASH.EXE, and it still would not take. The Chaintech website's troubleshooting section for "Erase Chip Fail" or other error message indicating a failed update attempt shows up suggests:

1)Your mainboard`s `Flash BIOS Protection` has been enabled
FIX: Disable the `Flash BIOS Protection` in the BIOS

I do not know how to change this without getting into the bios, any recommendations?

2)Your mainboard is an older model (486) and does not have a programmable FLASH BIOS
FIX: Use an EPROM programmer to program the BIOS or ask your supplier for help

Not in my case my mainboard is a P3

3)Your FLASH ROM chip is defective
FIX: Contact your supplier or nearest Chaintech branch office for a replacement of your FLASH ROM chip

Is there any thing else i can try before i have to go this route? I really need to access the data on my hard drive, and do not have access to a spare PC

[NickS]

2) 7ata0116.exe ??!?? > File is a self-extracting archive - should extract into a .bin file and maybe a flashprog

I do not know how to do that. I was following Chaintechs MAINBOARD BIOS UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS from their website. They said to create a boot disk and load the utility and execute the file from the utility, and save your old bios, which is exactly what i did.

That's fine, if you followed step 4 you should now have a .BIN file on the diskette. So you then used the command "awdflash" and used the name of the .BIN file ?

I am sorry but i am a coplete newbie to this and I have no idea what the BIOS flashrom looks like or where it is located.

In the picture at http://www.chaintech.de/PRODUCTI/mainbo ... A/7ATA.htm there are two rectangular black chips in the bottom right. Your board probably has only one; it would have two if it had the Twin BIOS option.

Also can anyone confirm that my BIOS ID string is in fact a Chaintech 7ATA? This is my first time doing this and do not know what i am looking for to correctly ID my MB, and i have no manual or documentation to tell me for sure what make and model i have. I searched the ID string and this website (www.wimsbios.com) id'd that string as a Chaintech 7ATA MB. Thanks for everyones help, i hope i am successful tonight when i get home and try this.

The BIOS ID string in the latest Chaintech 7ATA BIOS is:
01/16/2001-8371-686A-TA6LKC0CC-00 and the message is simply:
01/16/2001
and that looks right for your board. They only list one Slot A MB, so I assume yours is Slot A Athlon, i.e. it looks like the picture?

1)Your mainboard`s `Flash BIOS Protection` has been enabled
FIX: Disable the `Flash BIOS Protection` in the BIOS

I do not know how to change this without getting into the bios, any recommendations?

Default should be "disabled" according to the settings in the latest BIOS, so try clearing CMOS by moving JP7 to position 2-3 for a couple of minutes (remove the mains lead from the PSU or switch off at the wall before doing this).

[Aristoi]

Yes i have an Athlon 800 cpu. Thanks for the help. OK i took the covers off the case, i have a single bios chip. I found the jumper you talked about and downloaded the manual from chaintech to know which on the JP7 is. I unplugged the power to the case, moved the jumper to 2-3 for 5 minutes. The floppy has AWDFLASH and 7ata0116.exe and .bin. I movd the jumper back, plugged it in, inserted floppy, crossed fingers, and hit the power button, but unfortunately i get the same beep, and message:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 1998, Award Software,Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting floppy drive A media
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

Drive Media is: 1.44MB
Automatic Load AWDFLASH.EXE
!!ERROR--Load AWDFLASH.EXE Failed!!
REPLACE DISK AND PRESS ENTER

What else can i try?

[NickS]

What OS did you format the diskette under ?
See http://www.neoseeker.com/forums/index.p ... ead&t=3283. It seems weird, but I've learned not to expect everything to be logical.

[Aristoi]

I am a little slow but i think i am figuring this thing out (i am such an idiot!). I just found out by researching this as much as possible i was suppose to disable that nifty BIOS write protection feature in the bios settings before i started this ordeal. Oh well i guess some of us learn the hard way. Anyway I have a Win98 boot disk, BUT i couldn't fit the flash utility or the flash file on there so i created a SECOND disk with these 2 files on there. Didn't i tell everyone in the beginning that i am a newbie at this. Reading FAQ#9 again it just finally clicked that everything i need to get out of my locked "protected" bios is right in front of me.

FAQ#9
Award: The boot-block BIOS will execute an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on a bootable diskette. Copy an Award flasher & the correct BIOS *.bin file on the floppy and execute it automaticly by putting awdflash *.bin in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file.

1) how do i make room on the boot disk to do this, i tried removing the readme.txt file but still not enough room on the disk, is there anything else that is on there that is not needed for what i am trying to do?

2) So if i understand the instructions i need to copy the flash utility AWDFLASH.EXE, and the file i want to flash *.bin file, in this case 7ata0116.bin onto the Win98 boot disk i created before i screwed my bios up. Then i need to add a line that will execute the utility that is already on the disk, and the bin file i want to load. No question here just making sure i have this step correct

3) If i do step #2 above, and that is what i am suppose to do. What is the exact line i need to add in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file? Is it:

AWDFLASH 7ata0116.bin
or
AWDFLASH.EXE 7ata0116.bin

4) I can do step #3 by just opening and editing the AUTOEXEC.BAT that is on my boot disk using my laptop, by simply inserting the disk and double clicking it, and i insert this line where exactly?

Sorry i am such a noob but we all had to start somewhere. Thanks for everyones help.

[NickS]

From the error message it appears that the bootblock will try to load awardflash.exe directly if the diskette is not bootable. The link above suggests that for this to work you need to put awdflash.exe and your .bin file on a diskette which has been formatted by an older version of Windows, e.g. Windows 98.

Another good explanation of what to do is given at http://www.amptron.com/documents/Recover.pdf, but you seem to have it right. Make sure your bootable diskette has config.sys disabled and that autoexec.bat contains the single command line to flash the BIOS.

What is the exact line i need to add in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file? Is it:
AWDFLASH 7ata0116.bin
or
AWDFLASH.EXE 7ata0116.bin

Either should work, but the second is more specific. I would use:
AWDFLASH.EXE 7ATA0116.BIN /py /sn /cc /cd /cp

If you are interested, there's a good explanation of what the various command-line switches do at http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainbo ... pdate.html