Restoring a Corrupted BIOS

AceCombat · Post by **AceCombat** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:34 pm

a friend has given me a computer to see whats wrong with it and it will not post at all. my comclusion is a Corrupted BIOS. the problem is, its a older type and is Soldered to the PCB. ive already tried removing the battery for a good 10 mins and also tried shorting the two terminals to drain its charge.

is this BIOS cooked or is there anything else i may have missed?

ive searched its model numbers and serial numbers with no results. i also searched the FCCID and got nothing. either this board is soo rare that the maker is no were to be found or something else that i have no idea why it wont turn up any results.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 3:48 pm

Removing the battery for only 10 minutes won't do you any good. The capacitors were nowhere NEAR drained by that time. Pull the battery, pull the ATX power cord from the motherboard and let it sit overnight.

Also, look in the manual for the motherboard for a jumper to short.

Max_T · Post by **Max_T** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 4:16 pm

u sure it's not the power supply or something? I mean might be something other than the BIOS.

JMEaT · Post by **JMEaT** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 4:20 pm

Leave her unplugged and un-batteried over night, then try again. If still no luck try the power sup as was said.

Could be toast though.

AceCombat · Post by **AceCombat** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 7:49 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Max_T:
u sure it's not the power supply or something? I mean might be something other than the BIOS.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

ive checked the PSU in a another computer, it is fine.

i started with the BIOS as the reason as it will not POST period, it does not even give me a POST Code or beeps, however, everything powers up and shows activity including the Video BIOS but it stops at the Main POST Test and gives me nothing.

i checked the monitor and the video card and they work fine. i have eliminated so far these itmes: PSU, Video Adaptor, HDD, FDD, Monitor, and the Mouse and KB ps2 plugs.

im still chewing on the mobo and BIOS, and i belive its going to be the BIOS as the culprit.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by MD-2389:
Also, look in the manual for the motherboard for a jumper to short.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

as i read that MD i relized i forgot to mention that i did set the jumper to "Clear", removed the battery and then replaced it witht he jumper still in the "Clear" position. and then tried booting after that and moving the jumper back to the "Normal" position

Canuck · Post by **Canuck** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 9:23 pm

[QUOTE]
as i read that MD i relized i forgot to mention that i did set the jumper to "Clear", removed the battery and then replaced it witht he jumper still in the "Clear" position. and then tried booting after that and moving the jumper back to the "Normal" position[Q]

Dollars to donuts you may have fried the mo-board...
make sure plug is removed from power supply, reset CMOS, THEN move jumper to normal, THEN plug in and reboot.

MD-2389 · Post by **MD-2389** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 12:43 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by AceCombat:
as i read that MD i relized i forgot to mention that i did set the jumper to "Clear", removed the battery and then replaced it witht he jumper still in the "Clear" position. and then tried booting after that and moving the jumper back to the "Normal" position<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ace, you more than likely turned that motherboard into a banter piece. I thought you were supposed to know better than that stuff. Don't they teach you that **** when you took your A+ cert. or whatever it was you took and supposedly passed?

For future reference, here's how you do it:

1. Remove CMOS battery.
2. Pull the jumper and set it to "clear" or "short". (wording depends on mobo documentation)
3. Reset the jumper back to the way it was.
4. Put the battery back in.

Thats it. Didn't you even read the motherboard manual? Surely the proper method is written down for you in black and white in there for quick reference....

BUBBALOU · Post by **BUBBALOU** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 7:10 am

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by MD-2389:
Didn't you even read the motherboard manual? Surely the proper method is written down for you in black and white in there for quick reference....<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

MD think about that for a moment and who you are talking to!

Time is up!

A+ basics do not apply here in this thread!

AceCombat · Post by **AceCombat** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 12:27 pm

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Canuck:
 Dollars to donuts you may have fried the mo-board...
make sure plug is removed from power supply, reset CMOS, THEN move jumper to normal, THEN plug in and reboot.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

the way it was acting prior to me testing it, im damn sure it was cooked already. he said it doesnt matter anyways, he was getting a new computer regardless of this ones condition, and if this one was toast, that it didnt matter. ill pull the drives and give those back to him. the RAM is usable along with both HDD's that were in it. and now he has a extra burner and DVD Drive to use.