BIOS checksum error on EpoX 8K5A3+

[Aniras]

After a bad flash on my Epox 8K5A3+, I only have access to my system through the Boot BIOS. I've tried just about everything I can think of to reflash the BIOS correctly without physically taking the chip out and getting it reprogrammed or just getting a new one. I'm at wit's end, but you guys on the forum seem to know a lot about this stuff, especially in the posts I've read, so I'm hoping you might have some ideas. No previous topics quite cover my problem. This is kind of lengthy, so thanks for reading.

I flashed my BIOS using the ALT+F2 option when the computer started, and the update said it was successful. When the computer restarted, however, I got the Award Boot BIOS 1.0 screen. I don't remember if it said "BIOS ROM checksum error" the first time, but suffice to say I was quite nervous. I only found out after research that the Boot BIOS usually only displays using an ISA video card - I still had my AGP card in. I altered no hardware whatsoever. Must be a newer version of the Boot BIOS.

Anyway, it booted from the floppy I had in the drive that I'd used to flash from. I immediately tried to flash back to the old BIOS (I copied it to the disk from the EpoX website). I started AWDFLASH.EXE and entered the BIOS file name. It said "Please Wait!" and loaded the file from the disk. Then it displayed the progress indicator, but it remained gray, and never showed the flash beginning. I left it sit for about a half hour and then eventually turned it off. I tried the previous BIOS - the one that shipped with the board - with the same result.

With that not working, I tried clearing the CMOS using the jumper and then by disconnecting the battery for 20 minutes (just in case). The same thing happened. Everytime I've tried to use any version of AWDFLASH that's recognized my BIOS chip, it's sat at that indicator without moving, except for once, when it displayed some corrupt gibberish in certain places on the screen and did nothing. I've tried all the relevant switches with the same result.

That being a failure, I started looking online for suggestions, and I found UniFlash as the only universal BIOS flasher. Naturally, I tried it right away. However, it didn't detect my BIOS chip. I checked the chiplist, and sure enough, it was supported (it is the SST 39SF040). So was my chipset (KT333), even tested. I intially assumed the chip was damaged and no longer contained that data, but then I remembered that AWDFLASH actually displays that number right before it attempts to flash and crashes.

I then forced UniFlash to recognize the chip (code BFB7), and attempted to flash to the latest BIOS on the EpoX site. The first half of the bar all displayed red, the second half green, then there were verification errors both in the first half and two sections of the last half. The other official BIOSes had the same result. I tried the BIOS revision that originally corrupted it - amazingly, it all appeared to flash green, but there were two verification errors.

I concluded that it's not really writing to the BIOS when it flashes - I made a 512KB file of 0's and flashed it, and all of the areas reported red. I don't think I'm an expert at this or anything, but I assume UniFlash isn't really writing to BIOS - some kind of unknown write protection maybe?

So neither AWDFLASH or UniFlash will write to the BIOS. I don't know if UniFlash just doesn't support my board or if the Boot BIOS somehow has write protection enabled on it. I just can't think of anything else to try.

I don't have any other PLCC-type motherboards, so a hot flash is out of the question for me. I'm considering buying a BIOS Savior that's preprogrammed with my BIOS (although that's nearly the price of my board...) or getting a replacement chip from EpoX (they haven't gotten back to me yet about how much it will be). I don't know where I could get access to an EEPROM (or is it EPROM?) programmer in the Northeast Ohio area.

I'd appreciate any suggestions whatsoever!

Thanks...

R.J.

[NickS]

If you can boot the machine and run awflash, have you tried it with the /f command line option to use the flash routine in the BIOS ?

[Aniras]

If you can boot the machine and run awflash, have you tried it with the /f command line option to use the flash routine in the BIOS ?

I've tried the /F option a number of ways. Instead of loading the screen as if it is going to flash the BIOS before stopping, it just sits with a blinking "Please Wait !" at the bottom. I'm not quite clear about what the switch does, but it certainly doesn't seem to be working the way I'm using it. Are there any other switches that need to be used with it?

[NickS]

Not that I'm aware of.
"awdflash yourbios.bin /sn /py /cd /cc /cp /f" should do it.

- Can you disable on-board USB ? I've heard that can get in the way of flashing sometimes.
- Can you disable all caching and shadowing ?

I'm just throwing in these ideas until someone who has a clue (like Rainbow) comes along. If the BIOS chip and the motherboard chipset are supported by Uniflash, I hope there's not something stupid like "connect 12V to pin x" as that will be tricky with a PLCC, and the manual does not seem to give any indication of a flash protect jumper or setting in the BIOS.

[Aniras]

Not that I'm aware of.
"awdflash yourbios.bin /sn /py /cd /cc /cp /f" should do it.

- Can you disable on-board USB ? I've heard that can get in the way of flashing sometimes.
- Can you disable all caching and shadowing ?

I'm just throwing in these ideas until someone who has a clue (like Rainbow) comes along. If the BIOS chip and the motherboard chipset are supported by Uniflash, I hope there's not something stupid like "connect 12V to pin x" as that will be tricky with a PLCC, and the manual does not seem to give any indication of a flash protect jumper or setting in the BIOS.

I tried "awdflash k5a32a25.bin /sn /py /cd /cc /cp /f" and got a slightly different result, but still no flash. It got past the stop during the blinking "Please Wait !" which the "/f" alone caused, and it detected the chip type and displayed "Programming Flash Memory -", but it didn't load the progress display (not even grayed out) or the legend below it, which it will do with no switches at all.

I can't disable anything because it only loads the Award Boot BIOS, which to my knowledge has no setup utility. The board is as close to jumperless as they come - it has a jumper to clear the CMOS and nothing more.

My current theory is that write protection is somehow enabled in my Boot BIOS - either by an engineering flaw at Epox or a malicious BIOS flash (although I'm not sure flashes can replace the boot BIOS without a special switch...). That would explain why it flashed originally, but won't flash now that it's booting from the Boot BIOS.

Or perhaps Uniflash doesn't work with my board, and AWDFLASH won't flash because of the state of corruption the BIOS is currently in (I've read reports of this happening in recovering a BIOS, although I'm not exactly sure why it would be...).

Thanks, NickS...I appreciate your help.

[Aniras]

I'm not sure if this will help, but my motherboard has a LED display to show POST error codes. I looked up the code at which it stops - and all the codes preceding it - so this information might be helpful to anyone who knows what's going on during the early stages of bootup.

It gets past codes C0 - C4 and stops at C5.

So it gets past:
Early chipset initialization:
- Disable shadow RAM
- Disable L2 cache (socket 7 or below)
- Program basic chipset registers
Detect Memory
- Auto-detection of DRAM size, type, and ECC.
- Auto-detection of L2 cache (socket 7 or below)
Expand compressed BIOS code to DRAM

It stops on C5:
Call chipset hook to copy BIOS back to E000 & F000 shadow RAM.

The next few, which it never gets to...
CF: Test CMOS R/W functionality.
01: Expand the Xgroup codes locating in physical address 1000:0

None of the rest of the steps that it doesn't get to seem to suggest anything about preventing a BIOS flash, except 10:
Auto detect flash type to load appropriate flash R/W codes into the run time area in F000 for ESCD and DRAM support.

But there's also the possibility that the error codes just don't come up anymore because it's using the Boot BIOS instead of the regular BIOS. I don't know. Hopefully this information can help someone diagnose the situation...

[Rainbow]

UniFlash often does not work properly on new boards

[Aniras]

UniFlash often does not work properly on new boards

Hmm...I figured as much. I used to complain when my hardware was always three years behind, but I'm finding more and more that sometimes that's a good thing.

Anyway, thanks...I can tell UniFlash is a great program (even though it doesn't quite work with my board yet) and I'll be sure to use it in the future. Keep up the good work!

Any suggestions on the cheapest way to get a replacement BIOS chip? Epox said it will take 2 weeks after they receive my order, which has to be mailed in, and that's $15...I could also get a BIOS Savior preprogrammed with my board's BIOS and shipped 2-day for $50 - a little more than I want to spend (nearly the price of a board). What's usually the best way to get a new one in a relatively speedy manner without spending an arm and a leg?

[Rainbow]

Try http://www.badflash.com.