Hey Everyone first off happy new year all,
Yesterday i got my new Intel Quad Core system. The first thing i did was re-format it and i installed windows and all the drivers from scratch and it all went fairly well, after i installed all the drivers for the Asus motherboard (Asus P5N32-E SLI) Asus AutoUpdate came up saying that there was a new BIOS update avaliable and it wanted me to update it,
so i went ahead and decided to update. Then as it was updating my whole system locked up while updating through the windows utility, i waited a min and then i thought this was getting no where so i decided to re-boot my machine (yes i know this shouldnt of been done but i more than likely had no choice)
and so when my system rebooted nothing came up on my screen for 10 seconds or so and then the BIOS came up with a BIOS checksum error which i was expecting because i had a feeling this would of corrupted the BIOS. Now i was with no BIOS and it would not boot at all. So i tried downloading the latest BIOS onto floppy as the BIOS was asking for a BIOS file to be loaded as it probably wanted to install a BIOS onto it,
So i tried to update it with the BIOS from floppy disk and on the bars where it writes and indicated that the white bars are successful and the reds mean that the writing is failing, and about 70% of the update fails and towards near the end it just pauses and stops, i waited about 5 mins or so but no luck so i just turned the machine off. After leaving it off then turning it back on again,
it came up with the Same BIOS info again so i got fed up and just switched he machine off. About 15 mins later i switched it on again and now nothing comes onto the screen at all, totally blank... Great i thought, now i bet i have killed the motherboard or something. All thanks to Asuss Online BIOS Utility program. So can any of you guys help me of how to get my machine back up and running or how to refresh or restore my Original BIOS? I also tried with taking the BIOS battery and re-inserting it but that didnt work, also i cannot find the clear CMOS jumper either LOL. Here is my new Spec:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 @ 2.6Ghz CPU - Water Cooled
Asus P5N32-E SLI Motherboard
320GB SATA Hard Drive
2 x NVidia GeForce 8800GTX Graphics Cards
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro
4GB Ballistix RAM (only shows as 2.5GB in Windows XP)
DVD Rom & DVD-RAM Drives
NZXT Case (its massive)
Thanks a lot guys - Liam
QuoteCrashFree BIOS 2
The CrashFree BIOS2 feature now includes the BIOS auto-recovery function in a support DVD. Users can reboot their system through the support DVD when a bootable disk is not available, and go through the simple BIOS auto-recovery process. ASUS motherboards now enable users to enjoy this protection feature without the need to pay for an optional ROM.
from: http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?modelmenu=1&model=1459&l1=3&l2=11&l3=397
Thanks iv just read about this feature but now i cant even get nothing to display on the screen when i turn the computer on! :cry: would possibly clearing the CMOS help if i can find the jumper?
Thanks - Liam
clearing the cmos is always a good idea when youre at the hardware level. Doing that and reseating everything on the board is the first thing Id it didnt spark up.
Dont know the system youre using but I wouldnt be suprised if theres a failsafe bios in there as well. Realistically you really want to be running bios updates *carefully* from a file on a local drive and obviously not shutting the system off.
Also from the same site
QuoteASUS EZ Flash 2
EZ Flash 2 is a user-friendly BIOS update utility. Simply launch this tool and update BIOS from a USB flash disk before entering the OS. You can update your BIOS only in a few clicks without preparing an additional floppy diskette or using an OS-based flash utility.
Also from floppy I know it was possible to reflash using the right switches on a bootable floppy so it started flashing even if you saw nothing on the screen.
Quote from: SteveFclearing the cmos is always a good idea when youre at the hardware level. Doing that and reseating everything on the board is the first thing Id it didnt spark up.
Dont know the system youre using but I wouldnt be suprised if theres a failsafe bios in there as well. Realistically you really want to be running bios updates *carefully* from a file on a local drive and obviously not shutting the system off.
OTOH if its a brand new system the best idea is not to open the box until hes checked with the supplier? I know the do not open labels arent worth the sticky stuff they are written on but they might be able to help.
How old is it? Can you say it was a Christmas present and was DOA?
Ive used a ASUS P5N-E in my house mates PC. When I flashed the BIOS through Windows the system does lockup for a minute or so, then comes back saying its updating. More than likely, you didnt wait long enough. :(
And when youve got it fixed, get a 64 bit OS so you can use your 4GB of RAM :-)
Nope the system is around 3 months old and it was my dads PC as he has just got a brand new Dell machine. It all went fine when i reformatted it to start with and re-installed windows and all the drivers again etc untill Asus popped up saying that there was a new BIOS avaliable to download. Walrus the machine locked up for like around 2 minutes before i decided to reboot it. After that it just came up with the Checksum error and now whenever i turn it on nothing comes up on the screen :( im going to try and hunt for the CMOS jumper later on and see if that will fix it. If all doesnt work still then i mgiht try and see if i can send it back to Asus for a replacement. Basically here is the procedure of what happens now when i turn the computer on,
Turn on >
all fans and everything spin and i can hear hard drive activity and the HDD light is lit up constantly for 10 seconds or so.. But nothing appears on screen >
Then HDD light disappears and computer does nothing at all, nothing still shows up on monitor.
LiAM
or if you can find another m/b the same... then you can just sway the bios chips over ;) (easy, they just slot in)
I did it before when I did the same... killed my bios, so borowed my brothers bios chip, booted up, swaped the chips back (while it was running) ran the bios update thing... and bingo, all fixed ;)
Quote from: knightyor if you can find another m/b the same... then you can just sway the bios chips over ;) (easy, they just slot in)
I did it before when I did the same... killed my bios, so borowed my brothers bios chip, booted up, swaped the chips back (while it was running) ran the bios update thing... and bingo, all fixed ;)
Thanks thats an idea lol... but i dont know anyone else with the same motherboard as mine! also does it just like come off when you lift it up or something? i thought that usually that the BIOS chip were usually soldered to the motherboard? Whats worrying me the most is that now nothing appears on the screen when i turn the computer on as before when all this first happened i got a checksum error on the BIOS :S
Liam
nope, they just push in :)
ebay for a broken one... ?
or cough*buy another then send it back*cough
;) ;)
Quote from: knightynope, they just push in :)
ebay for a broken one... ?
or cough*buy another then send it back*cough
;) ;)
Funny enough im tempted to just get a brand P5N32-E and fit it into the comp as i bet i will have probs trying to get around Asus for a replacement lol
Liam
New development,
On my motherboard i have got a CLRTC_EN Jumper which is the Clear CMOS Jumper incase non of you did knew that. The 1-2 Pins indicate "Default" and i changed this to pins 2-3 "Clear RTC a.k.a CMOS" and then i left it as it is and turned the PC back on and then on my screen i got into the BIOS to this only seing this feature called "Award BootBlock" and it kept trying to boot from the CD drives and then the Floppy disk drive. Does this mean that it wants to reinstall a new version of the BIOS etc?
Thanks - Liam
yep, it probably does mean that.... give a cd/floppy a try and see what happens ;)
Quote from: knightyyep, it probably does mean that.... give a cd/floppy a try and see what happens ;)
My dad is going to send me the DVD Disk that came with the motherboard when he first got the PC brand new and from what iv read thats got a back up BIOS pre-installed on the disk as part as the "CPR" utlility thing to recover the BIOS, lets hope all goes well.
Liam
Quote from: LiamQuote from: knightyyep, it probably does mean that.... give a cd/floppy a try and see what happens ;)
My dad is going to send me the DVD Disk that came with the motherboard when he first got the PC brand new and from what iv read thats got a back up BIOS pre-installed on the disk as part as the "CPR" utlility thing to recover the BIOS, lets hope all goes well.
Liam
Must be the one I gave link to.
Ok before i decide to try and get this fixed in a couple of days when i can, as Bear said in his first response to this and also from the Asus product page about the CrashFree BIOS feature, i also sent Asus an email about this problem and the responce i got was near enough the same as what it says about the CrashFree BIOS feature but the women in the email kind of explained it differently:
"1.Turn OFF the computer and unplug the power cord.
2.Remove the onboard battery.
3.Move the jumper cap from pins 1-2(default) to pins 2-3. Keep the cap on pins 2-3 for about 10 seconds, then move the cap back to pins 1-2.
4.Reinstall the battery.
5.Plug the power cord and turn ON the computer.
Then try to recover BIOS by the support CD(CrashFree BIOS)."
BUT, on the Manual for my motherboard it says KEEP pins 2-3 on while you update the BIOS as it is the only way it will work and it will not work if the pins are on 1-2. Im confused of which statement is correct??
LiAM
What the woman explained to you is how to clear/reset the BIOS, you should follow her instructions first, then follow the manuals instructions when updating the BIOS.
so when clearing:
Move the jumper cap from pins 1-2(default) to pins 2-3. Keep the cap on pins 2-3 for about 10 seconds, then move the cap back to pins 1-2.
when updating:
keep the jumper cap on pins 1-2 (default)
Yeah iv done the clearing part already, but on the Manual it says to keep pins 2-3 on even when updating as this is the safest and the only method for it to work apparently. Iv tried it when moving the pins back to 1-2 but it will jsut display that blank screen thingk again untill i move it back to 2-3. Il give it a go,
Thanks - Liam
YAY iv finally got my problem sorted now after using the Support Disk i got today and it installed the original BIOS on it. Now iv got it up and running the Pins 2-3 and still in place so should i put it back to pins 1-2 or leave them as 2-3?
Thanks - Liam
If you leave it on 2-3 Im pretty certain it wont save any BIOS settings if you change them.
It should be fine back on 1-2 now youve fixed the BIOS.
Nice to hear youve got it sorted.
Its horrible when you brake something youve only just got.
Ok thanks guys for your help :) iv noticed now that before i had this problem in windows my 4GB of RAM was only showing up as 2.5GB and also in CPU-Z it didnt display my Motherboard Make & Model for some reason but now after this BIOS restore its dispaying the RAM as 2.75GB and in CPU-Z now it displays all the infomation correctly :)
Thanks - Liam
are you running xp 32 bit or 64 bit ?
you need to run 64bit to be able to use all the ram :o
Quote from: knightyare you running xp 32 bit or 64 bit ?
you need to run 64bit to be able to use all the ram :o
32-Bit, yeah i know 32 bit limits the ammount of RAM to 2.75GB lol probs not gonna upgrade to the 64 bit version though..
Liam