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Bad flash please help!!

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 8:14 am
by yhnl4
just recently i have flash my bios with a newer or older one(i'm abit confused on the version). The comp would just froze at the very beginning
and i can't go in bios setup. I've cleared cmos and took out the battery but even that failed.
I have a GA-6BXE revision 2 mobo by gigabyte & 2Mbit Award bios
PIII 600mhz
128 SD ram
heres the site for bios update

http://tw.giga-byte.com/support/intel44 ... m#link6bxe

now my questions are:
1.how do i know which bios version to download when you have flashed the wrong version in 1st place?
2.do i flash the bios updates one by one or just the latest one?
3.does my bios have boot block?
4.does the boot block method really work?

thanks in advance

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 10:51 am
by Rainbow
You should flash only the latest version:
02/06/2001-i440BX-8671-GA6BXE00C-00
Intel 440BX AGPSet BIOS for 6BXE V.F3a
http://ftp.gigabyte.com.tw/support/temp ... xe_f3a.zip

Which one have you flashed?

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:02 am
by yhnl4
i've flashed
6bxe210.zip 2.10
(Sep.01, 1998) 1. Support 256MB SDRAM

thought it would fix my ram problem

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:27 am
by Rainbow
You did a stupid thing: never flash old BIOSes - they might not support newer board versions. Try to set everything in BIOS to the slowest values - maybe it will be able to boot then. Otherwise you will need to hot-flash the BIOS (http://www.pppr.sk/rainbow/hardware/hotflash.html).

BTW.: If you're trying to use 256MB module with only 8 chips, it will not work. For i440BX chipset, you need 256MB module with 16 chips (double-sided).

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:41 am
by yhnl4
thanks i'll do that, btw is it possible to do the boot block approach?

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 1:53 pm
by NickS
I'm afraid the Award BIOS only does the bootblock thing when it detects an error in the BIOS checksum. If you flash the wrong BIOS it still has a good checksum, so it won't go into bootblock mode. Hot swap is the best bet.

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 7:34 pm
by yhnl4
i think might buy an EPROM or EEPROM which is better and how much does it cost?

Posted: Sat Nov 09, 2002 11:29 pm
by NickS
An EEPROM should be flashable in the future if you get the same kind as you have on the motherboard (check under the label for a part no with a 28 or 29 in it).

You mean you will buy one already flashed ? If there is a place near you that can flash it, why not take the one from your board ?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 4:50 am
by yhnl4
oops i meant an EEPROM programer, is it expensive?

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 11:10 am
by NickS
Generally an EEPROM programmer is expensive compared to, say, a new motherboard. There are a few cheaper alternatives

- "hot-swap" a.k.a. "hot-flash" where you take the chip out of a running machine and drop yours in to flash it - see the FAQ at the main Wim's site or Rainbow's site http://rainbow.host.sk/www/hardware/hotflash.html. I've done this a few times.

- if you can solder, you could build your own flasher card to plug into an ISA bus PC - here's a European place that sells kits
http://www.heise.de/ct/Redaktion/ea/fla ... asheng.htm - I don't know what you could find in Oz.

- do you know anyone at a local college who would have access to a programmer ?

- buy a new BIOS mail order

Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2002 12:08 pm
by yhnl4
i think i'll try "hot-swap" what are the risks involved? i don't wanna distroy my friend's board

Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 1:06 pm
by NickS
Well, you could blow your chip if you have the wrong chip type, and possibly damage the motherboard. If you have the same type of chip (or compatible) the risk is low, mainly physical damage to the pins of the chip. Do make sure the chip is the right way round and do not short out any pins when removing the chip with power on. I edited the link to Rainbow's description, check that out.

Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 5:11 pm
by yhnl4
i'm planning to use i430VX Mobo to hot flash my bios but i think the bios on the i430VX has 1Mbit and the bios i'm trying to flash is 2Mbit. Also the i430VX bios run on 12v as default. Now assuming that the 2Mbit bios run on 5v. Does any of these factors matter?

Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2002 10:13 pm
by NickS
Definitely. Don't try to flash a 5V EEPROM with the programming voltage at 12V. Is there a jumper ?

Posted: Tue Nov 12, 2002 5:53 am
by yhnl4
yes theres a jumper for EPROM 5v flash rom, should i change it?