MSI 6117 - flash gone bad

[Rolf]

Hi,

here are in more or less random order things I jotted down which I found on my motherboard. Hopefully, this is enough information to fully identify my mobo and BIOS.

- mobo MSI 6117
- Award BIOS v4.51PG
- MD2.33P MS 6117 Ver:1 LX6
- sticker on BIOS chip: PCI/PNP 6S6 S/N 105224828
- bottom of BIOS chip: Taiwan VA1 OI27085690
- below sticker on BIOS chip itself: W29C020-90 and 7470I270856901VA

I have tried to flash the BIOS in my MSI 6117 mobo from a Vobis (German computer retailer) computer which I bought a while back . I got the update straight from MSI. The version I chose was 3.2 for Award BIOS. Since the flash program warned me that "The program files part number does not match your system!" I retracted at first, but after reading a bit in the MSI FAQ I figured it was safe to flash nonetheless. I assumed the only thing at risk was my warranty which of course has long been over.

Well, of course things did not turn out quite so good. My mobo is pretty much dead, it does not boot and the monitor remains black. I am looking for advice and help on how to revive the mobo. I have saved the original BIOS, how do I get it back into the chip? The fine wimsbios.com FAQ mentions 4 ways for recovery:

1) Boot-block BIOS. Is the MSI capable of doing this? I have tried but the floppy was not accessed. Only the HDD LED gets lit. Will the 6117 with badly flashed BIOS be likely to support an ISA graphics card?

2) buy a new BIOS chip. OK, this would obviously do it.

3) Hot-Swap. I have already bought another 6117 on ebay but the guy did not have a clue that indeed he had a different board It is some Gateway2K board but I cannot find a BIOS chip anywhere on that thing I assume that if my suspcion that neither 1 or 4 will work for me are true, it will be my best option to get another MSI 6117 off ebay.

4) Flash Recovery Jumper. The MSI has the Intel 440 LX chipset but I did not find that jumper on the board. Can the 6117 do it?

TIA for any comments on the best route.

Best regards

Rolf

[NickS]

Hi Rolf, sorry for the delay.
I flashed an MSI MS-6117 Ver 1 LX6 (Fujitsu OEM) just last week with the MSI standard BIOS, no problem. I then tried an experimental BIOS which hung the machine and did not allow me to load from diskette. I used the hotflash technique to recover.

1) Boot-block BIOS. Is the MSI capable of doing this? I have tried but the floppy was not accessed. Only the HDD LED gets lit. Will the 6117 with badly flashed BIOS be likely to support an ISA graphics card?

There is a chance. Also there is a chance it may boot from an ISA FDC or multi-function controller. I did not have one with me at the time but the ABit PH-5 I needed to recover next day loaded from an ISA MFC diskette port.
If you believe you sucessfully flashed the wrong BIOS, you can try to force a checksum error by connecting the A15 and A16 pins (2&3 IIRC, but check) with a small screwdriver blade as you boot. This did not help with the experimental BIOS I was using, probably because I needed an ISA FDC.

2) buy a new BIOS chip. OK, this would obviously do it.

Yep.

3) Hot-Swap.

It worked for me.

4) Flash Recovery Jumper. The MSI has the Intel 440 LX chipset but I did not find that jumper on the board. Can the 6117 do it?

No.

[NickS]

BTW, did you clear the CMOS after flashing ?

[Rolf]

Hi Rolf, sorry for the delay.

Hi NickS,

thank you for the insightful comments and please don't excuse yourself for posting only 48 hours after my original question. Who am I to demand that anybody replies at all and 48 hours is pretty fast in my book. Some paid support does not have that quick a turnaround. I am very grateful to you for sharing your wisdom and doing so in your spare time!

I will try the hot-flash and/or the boot-block technique once I get my hands on the necessary equipment. I will come back and report either failure or success.

You suggested another method which involved a forced checksum error and as far as I understood no further equipment than a screwdriver.

If you believe you sucessfully flashed the wrong BIOS, you can try to force a checksum error by connecting the A15 and A16 pins (2&3 IIRC, but check) with a small screwdriver blade as you boot.

I have to admit that I do not quite fully understand yet. What is it that you are trying to do with the checksum error? BTW, I had indeed cleared the CMOS after flashing (change IIRC Jumper J1 once while Mobo is off, then return to initial position) but that did not change a thing.

Furthermore I need your help on locating the correct pins. I know the W29C020 has a "nose" for orientation, but how do I go from there? I have found a generic pinout (see image below). Is that correct for my BIOS chip?



Thanks again for your help.

Best regards

Rolf[/img]

[Rolf]

3) Hot-Swap. I have already bought another 6117 on ebay but the guy did not have a clue that indeed he had a different board It is some Gateway2K board but I cannot find a BIOS chip anywhere on that thing

OK, in the meantime I have found out that this board is a 4000206 from Gateway. Can anybody confirm that this thing does not have an EEPROM so that I will not be able to use it for hotflashing? Just in case anybody bothers to let an old fart (i.e. me) not die clueless, where is the BIOS stored on that thing?

BTW, I just had to flash it to the newest BIOS This time, luckily, everything turned out fine. Always living on the edge

Best regards

Rolf

[ajzchips]

Looks like it's one of those superflat chips soldered onto the board. I believe it's the one on the lower left corner with a white sticker on it.



It's quite logical to suppose that's the BIOS chip because the pins that control it are right next to it:

[Rainbow]

There's the recovery jumper - so try it.

[Rolf]

There's the recovery jumper - so try it.

Hi,

thanks for the hint. But the Gateway2000 board is working fine. It's the MSI board that I have trouble with. I only got the gateway board from some clueless guy on Ebay who sold it to me as being an MSI 6117. NickS has already posted that unfortunately the MSI 6117 does not have a recovery jumper

Best

Rolf

[NickS]

Rolf,
did you try an ISA multi I/O or diskette controller to see if it will read a diskette ?

Shorting pins 2 & 3 together should cause a checksum error, which should cause the BIOS "bootblock" to try to load a new BIOS from diskette.

[Rolf]

did you try an ISA multi I/O or diskette controller to see if it will read a diskette ?

Not yet. In the current situation I'd rather not do anything before I understand what I am doing.

Shorting pins 2 & 3 together should cause a checksum error, which should cause the BIOS "bootblock" to try to load a new BIOS from diskette.

That sounds good. Would this be only for an ISA card or possibly for the on-board Floppy controller as well? I think I have an ISA floppy controller stored somewhere at my parents' place but it will be another few weeks before I pay them a visit

[NickS]

For the MS-6117 I was looking at, the bootblock did not work with the on-board controller. It will not harm the board if you wish to experiment.