I have really screwed up my BIOS on my desktop - HELP!

So, during the floods last week here in Georgia, we kept having power outages. I was trying to re-connect my Vista Home Premium Desktop back to the internet, and somehow my ethernet driver had disappeared.

I am running a Compaq Presario SR5130NX with an AMD AthalonTM 64 x2 Dual Core Processor, 1GB Memory, 200GB Hard drive, with another 120GB slaved off it, and an ASUS M2N68-LA Motherboard running it all.

I went to the HP/Compaq website to start updating drivers, and like a dummy, started trying to update BIOS on my computer while in Windows Vista. The computer froze, and I shut it off. Now when I power it on, I get:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting IDE ATAPI device...
Found CDROM, try to Boot from it ... Pass


DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

I insert the system recovery disk that I waited 5 days to receive in the mail, and it comes back with the same error message, to insert the system disk. If I don't have a CD in the CD drive at all, it says:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting IDE ATAPI device...
Found CDROM, try to Boot from it ... Fail

Detecting floppy drive A media...
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

I have researched multiple websites, have downloaded the old ROM file, 513.rom, which I extracted from the BIOS application file and renamed 513rom so that it can be read, as well as awdflash, the 8.59E version, I think, and a DOS6.22 file, trying to create a bootable CD so I can get the ROM file back to the previous version. Apparently I am doing something wrong, as I'm not much of a computer geek when it comes to creating bootable disks (I tried using Nero 5.5.5.9). I must be stupid... ?

Also, I have replaced the battery on the motherboard, and moved the CMOS pins from 1,2 to 2,3 for at least 30 minutes to clear the CMOS state, then moved them back. I have pulled both memory cards out one at a time, because at one point before the reset, I got the "no enough memory" with it all also. And at one point had lines of flashing different colors on my screen when hitting any of the keys after this had popped up.

What am I doing wrong? I obviously do not have an A: floppy drive, what is my computer looking for? How can I resurrect my desktop? All help appreciated!!!

 

Hi,

I'm going from this thread http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showpost.php?p=1067933&postcount=6

I've uploaded an ISO here with DOS 6.22 and the awardflash.exe and 513.rom files.

Burn using nero as an image file. Boot from disc.

Type R: <enter> (You should get an R:> prompt)
Type awdflash <enter>
Then type in 513.rom for the file name.

I can't guarantee that it will work but several people in that thread had success with that file.

 

Right, I saw that thread also and tried to follow the steps already. I simply cannot get the BIOS to flash. I went down to the local BestBuy, was going to buy a USB Floppy, and just for slaps n grins had the GeekSquad guy try to flash the BIOS there at the store. He said the CMOS was so messed up that my only solution is to buy a new motherboard. So I guess I'm shopping... Thanks for trying to help.

 

Were you able to boot the DOS CD? Did you get an error from the award program.
If you having trouble burning the CD to make it bootable try imgburn. Just choose "Burn iimage to disc".

 

The CD did not boot at all, in fact, the CD the GS guy used when it came up with the directory, didn't even read the whole filename. It said

"Directory of "NEW FOLDE" not available"

The folder was called NEW FOLDER. Something is wrong, like I said, the GS guy says I don't have a crash-free BIOS chip, the CMOS is corrupt and I need to just look at a new motherboard.

I'm looking now for a new one... It's an ASUS M2N68 - LA, (Ivy8 - GL6), which is a proprietary for HP/Compaq. If I get another ASUS M2N68 board, does it have to be the same version to work with my hard drive and all the video cards? Or can I pick up a similar model from somewhere else like TigerDirect, that isn't going to be ridiculously expensive?

I don't know of any other way to fix this, if they can't even flash the BIOS, I guess this is my only option? Thanks for the help, it was much appreciated.

 

I don't want to belabor the point but the fact that it said anything means your machine isn't completely dead. That Award BootBlock utility is there as a rescue point just for such a situation. It is probably very basic and limited to 8 letter filenames with 3 letter extensions. If his disk had a 9 letter folder whose name included a space that might be the problem. It would have been shortened to something like NEWFOL~1. That anything was trying to read a directory implies a basic OS was loaded. I still think burning the ISO I put in my first post is worth a shot. 5 minutes to burn and 2 minutes to run. It will either load to an A:> prompt or not telling you whether your motherboard can still load a CD. If it can't load the CD it is dead. If it loads then the awdlash utility will tell you if 513.rom is compatible with your machine.

I'd make a new post in Hardware for advice on choosing a motherboard. I'm sure there are several options that will fit your case and you will get more experienced advice over there.

Good Luck!

 

It is still giving me the message:

DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER.

I have burned the Award2.iso file by itself to a disk using Nero 5.5.5.9, I have also burned Award2.iso, 513.rom, and DOS6.22.iso to a disk, and neither way works. The CD drive will "pass" when it finds it, but I can get no further. Am I using the wrong files?

Again, this is a Compaq Presario SR5130NX....

Sach2, I again thank you for all the help you've given so far. I'm just getting really frustrated with my system.

 

Still getting:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting IDE ATAPI device...
Found CDROM, try to Boot from it ... Pass


DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER


I have burned the Award2.iso program on a disk and tried running that alone. I have also burned a disk with Award2.iso, 513.rom, and DOS6.22.iso files. Still getting the same thing. If I change out disks, still getting Disk Boot Failure. I have tried resetting CMOS clear jumper, CMOS battery jumper, with pulling new battery. I have tried holding down the F10 key while powering up, and it says it's detecting the IDE/ATAPI device, and sits there... it will give two low-toned beeps and just sit there. What am I doing wrong?

 

The Award2.iso if burned properly (and the BIOS cooperates) should boot into DOS 6.22 and I've put the awdflash program (BIOS updater) and 513.rom on there also. I tried it on my computer and it loaded into DOS fine and the awdflash program will run.

Now it looks to me that your PC is trying to boot from the CD but is saying it is not bootable. So I'm guessing you are having a problem burning the disc as an image. I don't have Nero loaded on my PC so I can't give you step by step. In Nero Express there are only 3 options. You don't want Audio Cd or Data CD--the 3rd choice should say something like CD/DVD files from HD (or image file) to disc. That is the option you want. Choose just the Award2.iso (don't add other files to the disc). Burn it and try the steps in reply 2.
I'm not sure if this link is close enough to Nero 5 to follow but it might help it looks different than what I said above which is from memory of Nero 7 http://johnbokma.com/mexit/2007/01/05/burning-dvd-iso-image-with-nero-express.html

Better yet download imgburn and burn with that. Just choose "Write image to disc" and browse to the award2.iso. Burn (click the two icons in the bottom of the window to start burn) and try to boot.

 

One thought: to check if the CD you have burned is bootable you could boot from it in the computer you are running now. It should load to an A:> prompt. If it loads in this computer than you really do have a problem with your motherboard in the Compaq. The Cd will not make any changes to the computer you are using, after verifying that it boots then just eject it and restart.

 

I thought Nero was burning this stuff to my CD, turns out it was not even recognizing my CD drive built into my laptop... D'oh! I have downloaded imgburn, burned the Award2.iso file to the disk, and it is now in my CD drive of my desktop. And at the moment, it is just sitting there....

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting IDE ATAPI device...
Found CDROM, try to Boot from it ... Pass

_ <--- The underscore is flashing.

nothing so far, even when I hit keys...

 

Ok, I just tried to boot the CD on the laptop I'm using, and it didn't do anything. I don't know if this laptop has a different screen for POST, but I got the initial HP screen and then the screen flashed, it went to a blank screen with the flashing underscore, and then was completely blank. I let it sit that way for maybe 20 seconds, then shut the laptop off and pulled the disk out. I have not yet tried it in the desktop again...

I had tried it in the desktop a little while ago, after resetting the CMOS jumpers for a while, both of them, and left the CMOS password in 2,3, powering up, then moving back to 1,2, and had the CD in the drive when I turned the system on.

I got:
Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting IDE ATAPI device...
Found CDROM, try to Boot from it ... Pass

_ <--- The underscore was flashing

It sat there for several minutes and did nothing, am I moving in the right direction?

(I tried to post this a few minutes ago, but for some reason it said a moderator had to approve it??? )

 

I just want to make sure that you are using a CD that was burned as an image using either Nero or Imgburn.

It should only take about 20 seconds to load up and display an A:> prompt.

Now in your laptop it should have loaded. Is your laptop set to boot from CD first? I would think the laptop would have given a no OS found or insert system disk error. Perhaps it is a display issue with the laptop not being able to render a picture from the drivers on that disc.

On your desktop the underscore is new. Did it display the flashing underscore the whole 3 minutes or so?

I'll have to think about it but if the Geek Squad got a message like directory not found it had to be able to load a DOS environment on that PC. Unfortunately, they didn't know/think about the naming conventions in DOS and couldn't get into their New Folder. If they got a DOS environment to load you should be able to as well.

 

I got frustrated with Nero, as it didn't want to work with the DVD drive on my laptop, so I downloaded imgburn's free software... I honestly thought I was using Nero and burning to the CD before, but it would create an Image file and then I'd have to use the write dialog to burn it, and I'm not sure it made it a bootable disk... LOL I'm just computer savvy enough to look really stupid and really screw some stuff up! I picked up some more CD-R's at WalMart today, 'cause I'm almost out!

Imgburn is a little confusing, but I did use the "write" dialog on it, label is DOS6.22, File sys is ISO9660 (Bootable), Joliet. Should I change that?

Yes, the cursor I saw blinked at me the whole time, and if I typed anything it still just sat there, I tried hitting F10, F1, F2, F12, R:, A:, Esc, Del, Ctrl+Del.... nothing but blinking.

 

That's exactly how mine looks. Mine blinks for about 20-30 seconds and then loads the DOS environment. Sorry, about the CDs, I have a spindle of 100 that I don't know what to do with. I burn them with abandon.

I made an ISO using DOS 5.0. Probably won't make any difference but since you have some fresh CDs give it a try when you get a chance. http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=af105ecaef85f964aaca48175a79d1c3e04e75f6e8ebb871

I'll think about it a bit more overnight.

 

Burning the new file now, same way. If this doesn't work, I'm gonna get some shut-eye myself and try again tomorrow... THANK YOU SO MUCH! I appreciate all you are doing to help me!

 

DOS 5.0 did the trick!!! I have an A:\ prompt!!! YAY! You are awesome!!!!

 

Ok... next problem... the computer is not recognizing R:, it says Invalid Drive Specification, the only two it sees are A: and B:... :/ Anyway, I at least have an A:, which is something. It's 3am and I'm going to bed, will try again in the AM...

 

Sorry, I did not test the Award5.iso. I now see that there is a limitation of DOS below v. 6.0 for using Boot CDs and adding files to the disc. I haven't figured out how to use DOS 5.0 to run your Bios update.

Since others in the old thread were able to load DOS 6.22 on that motherboard, I'm hoping there was just a corruption issue in the uploading/downloading of the original Award2.iso file and that is why it won't boot.

I made a new iso Award6.iso this time using DOS V.6.0 (closest to 5.0) that will see the awdflash and 513.rom files. Again, it boots on my PC.

In the meantime, I'm going to search around for a way to access the needed files in 5.0 and try to make a boot CD from scratch.

Again, I really didn't think this would be this complicated. :-o

 

Sach2, I want you to know that no matter what, you have been helping me SO MUCH and I can't thank you enough for what you've done so far! I was thinking about DOS 6.0, also last night, and was thinking I should use it (it came to me as I was trying to go to sleep) but since at least getting the A:\, I've been scared to shut off the computer! LOL! I am going to try that now, and will let you know what happens. You are still DA BOMB!

 

I burned the disk, it has the following results:

Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting IDE ATAPI device...
Found CDROM, try to Boot from it ... Pass

1.) FD 1.44 System Type-(00) (or something similar to this)
Starting MS-DOS...

Then it goes to another screen:

CD-ROM Device Driver for IDE (Four Channels Supported)
(C)Copyright Oak Technology Inc. 1993-1996
Driver Version : V340
Device Name : BANANA
No drives found, aborting installation

Device driver not found: 'BANANA'.
No valid CD-ROM device drivers selected
A:\>_ <--Flashing underscore

Do I need to download this driver for my CDRom? Also, this Award6.iso file you sent has lots more files that it burns to the disk, is that a good thing? Should I try to use DOS6.21 instead of either 6.0 or 6.22?

Again, I bow to your experience, expertise, and guru-ness!

 

Tried to edit my last post, but missed the time limit....

Looked up this error, what happens if I copy the files to my HD, then edit Autoexec.bat file to call CD 'banana' instead of 'IDECD000'? Do you think this will work? Can't hurt to try it at this point, right?

 

OK, I have one more ISO.

If it boots it will give a couple ways of getting to the flash files but the basic interface should be fine.

Boot from CD.
Type or tab to 2 (AwdFlash) <enter>
Type filename in box 513.rom <enter>
Read carefully to make sure that the ROM file is compatible with your machine. I can't tell you exactly what the messages will say but it will probably be a Warning Confirmation and when you say OK it should take a couple of minutes.

 

Ok, it booted, I got
1. MSDOS
2. AwdFlash

I typed '2' and hit enter, and got:

This driver is provided by Oak Technology, Inc..
OTI-91X ATAPI CD-ROM device driver, Rev D91XV352
(C)Copyright Oak Technology Inc. 1987-1997
Device Name : CDDRIVER
No drives found, aborting installation

Device driver not found: 'CDDRIVER'.
No valid CDROM device drivers selected

*** XMS RAMdisk v1.91 (FU - 08/98): Not enough free memory (size reduced).
Installed as drive R:.

CuteMouse v1.9.1 alpha 1 [FreeDOS]
Error: device not found
Invalid drive specification
Bad command or file name
X: CD DRIVE
R: RAM DRIVE

R:\> _ <--Flashing cursor

GRR! Well, I walked away from it for a couple hours to do some other stuff... Now I'm back at it. What is up with the driver for my CDROM? Or is this even the problem? Should I do another burn with that last ISO file and just find this driver it's looking for and add that to the disk when I burn it?

 

The problem is that before DOS 6.0 there was no MSCDEX.exe file which helps load virtual CDROMS. Without that file there is nowhere to store the awdflash.exe and 513.rom in memory so you can execute them. DOS 5 works because it doesn't try to mount a drive for those two files. But we need them. I tried finding a way to burn those files on a separate disc but couldn't find a format that DOS 5 can read.

Is your CDROM a SATA device? A relatively small connector rather than a wide data cable. That might be why it works on mine and not yours, my CDROM is IDE.

I'll look around a bit more for how to add the files in a way that makes them accessible. You can't type anything at the flashing R:_ cursor--is that correct?

 

Yes, it is a SATA drive, I can't execute anything, it comes up with it already called R:, I can change to A: and do a DIR, it gives me a list of files:

AUTOEXEC BAT
BOOT DAT
COMMAND COM
CONFIG SYS
CTMOUSE EXE
HIMEM SYS
IO SYS
MSCDEX EXE
MSDOS SYS
OAKCDROM SYS
XMSDSK EXE
XMSDSK TXT

12 files, 352,275 bytes
0 dirs 1,102336 bytes free

If I go back to the R: and do a DIR command, it says

Volume in drive R is MS-RAMDRIVE
Directory of R:\

File not found
35,531,776 bytes free

Should I try reloading the disk with DOS5.0 again?

 

The problem is that we make an ISO with a list of DOS 6 or greater files and the Bios files. When it boots, DOS loads all its own files on A: and is supposed to create a drive R: and put the BIOS files there. It does this by telling the computer that there is a CDROM hooked up to R:. But because there are no places for IDE CDROMS on that computer the computer comes back and says I don't have any places for CDROMS so there is no drive R: to copy the files to.

DOS 5 doesn't even try to create a drive R: and just ignores the BIOS files.

In both cases the BIOS files are on the disc but we can't access them. I can't understand how others didn't have this problem with the motherboard. I'm going to look for a specific BIOS boot CD that might work for sata CDROMS. But I am getting discouraged because I've seen a few threads that are at our crossroads but none have been resolved.

 

Can we do some kind of ghost?

I found this thread:
http://radified.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1246296515

Don't know what to do with it, because I'm not DOS-savvy, but what do you think?

I do have a DVD-RW.... (D'oh! Sorry.... didn't even occur to me before. I have some DVD-R's on hand.)

 

It looks like it might be promising. Give me 30 minutes.

 

Sach2, Can I tell you I love you? LOL I LOVE YOU!!!!

 

I'm having a lot of trouble with this driver. It is supposed to work with both IDE and SATA drives so it should work on mine for testing purposes. I keep getting your error from post #24. I'm going to keep working on it. Maybe I'll upload an ISO in a little while for you to test, to see if it is because I am testing on an IDE.

 

I keep getting a no cdrom device error with this ISO. I'd like you to try using it to see if it works only on sata drives. Meanwhile, I'll read up on the driver.

 

hey schatzie_k and sach2

just read my babble..lol..i have ADD..thats why it might be lengthy..
and might be a little hard to read..

i fixed the same problem...easy..10 minutes

it will help you if you finally figure out..
what i pretty much kinda know..
im pretty sure your not going to fix it the route your taking...

im not trying to butt in here on your guys hard work..
i read your first page about the problem..
seems like you had to shut down in the middle of a bios update..

i did the same thing on a Abit NF7s Ver 2.0 board i built a year or so back..
it froze..
and i said shit..
knowing i would have to shut it down with out finishing the bios update..
bios and shut downs are bad things..lol..

i fixed it so easy in the end..
in the end..
end is the main word...
i spent over a week trying to go the route your going..

what im going to suggest...
its easer then it is made out to be to fix it..(reading about doing it on the net)
what im going to suggest..

it took me 10 minutes to fix it..
it was so easy..
after i fixed it..
i thought shit i wish i would have done that 2 weeks ago..lol

im going to suggest 2 Options...
one is somewhat easier..

i used option 2..
because i didnt know any one who had a Abit NF7s Board..

i tried so many different programs DOS this DOS That..
i Never did get that to work..
i spent DAYS and HOURS trying the go the route your taking..
you might fix it who knows...
BUTT..
i think you really only have 2 options..
and both have to do with your Bios Chip..

if your chip soldered in then you cant do Either..
BUT NEWER MOTHER BOARDS..(Which Yours is)
DO NOT!..have Soldered in bios Chips..
there in a little box type chip plug..
they just plug in

OPTION 1.....
Hot Flash..(Hot Swap)..some people call it hot swap..some call it hot flash..
i'll put a link showing how its done..
its a good article..with lots of nice pictures..

Option 1 requries knowing someone who has the EXACT same Motherboard you have....
if you do know someone who has a ASUS M2N68-LA you can try a Hot swap..

here read about it..step by step directions once you get to page like 2-3
theres some nice pictures..
Hot Swapping Bios chip


Option 2

the just pop it out and pop it in method...lol..

they POP out So easy..with a really really little screw driver..
like wiggle it out..
pry one end a little..pry the other end a little..
wiggle it out..

and you can get one chip for like 5-10 bucks..

here look at some of the Asus Bios chips on Ebay..
Most come flashed already..(just ask the person selling them)..
or tell them what bios you want..

heres a link check them out..
http://computers.shop.ebay.com/Computers-Networking-/58058/i.html?Manufacturer=ASUS&_nkw=bios%20chip&_dmpt=Motherboards&_fln=1&_ssov=1&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

i did option 2...
and then i did option 1 and fixed the Corupted chip after one day when i was board..just to do it...now i have 1 good chip laying around..lol..

one thing i would say dont mess up..
the chips have a notched corner..
and the socket has a notched corner.
a real little notch in them..
if you wear glasses..or want to try doing this in the dark..lol..
make sure you put te notched end of the chip..into the notched end of the socket...
or you will fry the chip...and maybe even fry the board...

whats your IQ?..you seem pretty smart from what i read so far..
but can you change a flat tire?...lol..JK..

just remember chip corner notched..
fits into the socket with the notch...

you need to find the chip number..
its under the sticker on it...the lil shiney sticker..
that has something like...
pheonix bios ....blah blah..(numbers)..
blah blah...

peal the sticker up..try and save it..
peal it off easy..who knows you might need the info one day..
i just stuck mine back on the new chip..

the REAL CHIP NUMBERS ARE UNDER THE STICKER
theres the REAL CHIP NUMBER UNDER IT...
its probally something like a...SST 49LF080A..
a SST CHIP...SST is the people who made it..
or a WINBOND...like a WINBOND W39V080Axx

yeah all you have to do is peal the sticker off..
give one of the guys selling Bios chips on ebay..

those numbers and what your mother board is..
and they'll hook you up...

like this dude..he hooked me up easy..
heres a like to his eaby store..
he DEALS IN BIOS CHIPS..
it happens to alot of people..lol..Frying a Bios Chip..
i think im pretty sure you fried yours..
and your not gona get it fixed using software..
i could be wrong..
but..
it would be so much easier..
to open the case..
get a little screw driver..or a hair pin..
wiggle out the Bios chip..
and pop a new one in..
start it up...BAM...
they'll even flash the Newest bios for you..
they did mine perfect..

heres a link to his store..email him..and tell him what happened..
and he'll help you out..
anyways heres his store link..
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Bios-Depot__W0QQ_armrsZ1

or just go to ebay...and type in BIOS CHIP..
anyways..

yeah if i was there i could fix your computer in 7 minutes if i had the bios chip..

damn i typed alot..lol..hope some of it made any sense..
yeah i have ADD..
sorry if it was to much for you to read..

just thought i might try and help...
yeah..pop it out pop it in..lol..
anyways..good luck with it..
hope ya get it going..

:wave

 

Similar results as #24:

GCDROM V2.3, 8-24-2006
SATA Native IDE controller at I-O address F700h/F500h, Chip I.D. 10DE03ECh.
Driver name is "MSCD000".
No CD-ROM drive to use; GCDROM not loaded!
Device driver not found: 'MSCD000'.
No valid CDROM device drivers selected

*** XMS RAMdisk v1.91 (FU - 08/98): Not enough free memory (size reduced).
Installed as drive R:.

CuteMouse v1.9.1 alpha 1 [FreeDOS]
Error: device not found
Invalid drive specification
Bad command or file name
X: CD DRIVE
R: RAM DRIVE

A:\> _ <--Flashing cursor

Notice it goes back to an "A" prompt this time, not an R prompt.

I guess we are both stumped at the moment... Is there something else I should try and purchase tomorrow? I have another "floppy" port on the motherboard, that's technically not a floppy drive, it has the same number of pins on it that you would use to connect another HD... Or would that throw another wrench into the mix?

Anyway, I have to work tomorrow, so I think I'll turn in tonight. Sach2, I still think you are awesome, and you have no idea how much you are helping, otherwise I'd be clueless and spending $$ on a new computer, which is the last thing I want to do right now.

 

Mikesmith,

Trust me, that is something I've considered, but there is no notched end, and to me it looks like it's soldered in there. I haven't tried it, but I don't know anyone who uses the same motherboard as me, or else I'd use the IT guys at work. 'Cept all we have at work are Dell's that are about 4 years old, and starting to crap out on us.

The reason I say it looks soldiered in, is there are all these mini-pins coming off the only thing on my MoBo that looks like it could be a BIOS chip, and it's not in any kind of socket. Nothing like the pics I've seen of a BIOS chip anywhere. I've considered your route already, and because of what I'm looking at, I stopped right there.

Thanks for the suggestion, if I can't get this route to work, I'm looking at replacing the whole MoBo....

 

Sach2, I neglected to mention:

When I get the choice, if it's saying 1, DOS, 2, AwdRom, it's at least picking up something off the CD, right? or it wouldn't be giving me that choice of a file...

Anyway, I'm stumped.

 

That's just a menu screen that loads before it tries the cdrom drivers. I've got to get up early as well so I am off to bed.

I'll try to forget about it tonight and re-read the last error message tomorrow. I'm missing something obvious.

Good Night!

 

your right i think..
i just looked at your board here..
heres a pic of it..is this it?
M2N68-LA (Narra) Compaq Presario

yeah i cant belive that a newer board like that does not have its bios chip in a socket..
its way newer than any of my abits or MSI's i've owned..
thats kinda bullshizz..its soldered in..
sorry to bother you..
carry on..lol..
good luck...
i hope im wrong..but i kinda hate to say..
i really do think your chip is curropted..

you could have one of your tech guys..
solder a new one in..
use some QUICK SOLDER (TRADE MARK NAME)
and a solder wick..
but if they aren't good at soldering..
your screwed..
i could maybe do it with what i have Quick solder and solder wick..
and i would only give a 50/50 chance of it surving the heat..
you really need a hot air solder station (to much money for me to own one)
to do it proper..
hope you get it fixed...
i'll keep my eye on you guys and see what happens...
GODD LUCK GUYS!!..
yeah if that a picture of your board its soldered in..

GOOD LUCK GUYS!!!

 

Right, that looks close enough to my board, mine is the IVY6, not the Narra. But the chip looks exactly the same, yes.

 

Finally, an ISO that works the way I want it to work. It bypasses the CD drivers all together. Your ROM files are on A: (where they belong)!

You will just get an A:> prompt
Type in awdflash.exe <enter>
Type in 513.rom for the filename <enter>
Read the warnings carefully. I get wrong part number for my machine which is correct. You should get something like "Are you sure...Don't turn off power during the upgrade".

If this doesn't boot, I will rework it using DOS 5.0 which we know runs on your machine.

Good Luck!

 

Cross your fingers the one above works! I'm having little luck on a 5.0 disk.
Any problems at least try a Dir command on the one above and let me know if you get a file listing which includes awdflash.exe and 513.rom. Thanks!

 

Sach2, I will give this a try just as soon as I walk in the door at home. I really appreciate this, and I'm sure anyone else that has the same model computer as me and does the same screw-up I did, will LOVE you as I do! Will make an update around 6-ish this evening, EST and let you know how it works.

 

I GOT THE UTILITY OPEN!!!! YAY!!!!

Only problem now... it says the program file's part number does not match with my system. Darn it! So... the upgrade on the bios is an Ivy5.14 file, on the website, anyway... What to do now? can the boot catalog be re-written with that one? or should it be re-written with the file name called 513rom?

Sach2, you are AWESOME!!!!!

 

Yes, I can rewrite it. Where is the link to Ivy5.14? Are you fairly sure that is the correct file?

 

I think it may be, that is the bios file I was trying to upgrade to that was on HP's site... Only thing I can think of. I've already extracted it from that application, one of the things i was trying to do myself before I got desperate and posted here...

I kept trying to use 513.rom because that is all I had found in my research of other folks who needed to flash their BIOS with my same computer.

This is the 5.14 file. It was called sp40912 on the HP/Compaq site.... The previous one that I found all the research on, that everyone said was the last working one was sp37190, and what I'd read was that the Ivy5.14 was not a good file. Another place the guy said it would only work if he renamed the 513.rom file 513rom... I can research and figure stuff out, I just don't know squat about programming! LOL

 

here is the site where I was reading about the guy using the 513.rom file and renaming it: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board...&thread.id=2262&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
I think the info is on page 3...

Here is the first thread I found because it was the same motherboard I have: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?p=1067933#post1067933

 

You have done your research! I was just starting to read the HP thread. I haven't gone through the whole thing but decided to just put the ISO together figuring you will get an error message if the file isn't compatible. ISO.

In the meantime I was reading on the awdflash.exe file. You will get a screen asking if you want to save the old BIOS. I think you might as well say No because if you say Yes it will be unable to save anywhere or will only save to virtual memory which will be deleted as soon as you restart your machine. You can try both ways but if it hangs when you say yes and enter a filename such as rom.old just ctrl+Alt+delete to reboot and say No next time.

I'll finish reading the HP article in the meantime.

I renamed the ivy5.14 file it is now ivy.rom so use that in the program when it asks for file to use for update. So awdflash <enter> ivy.rom <enter>

 

IT'S WORKING!!! OMG!! IT'S WORKING!! YAY!
(Sorry, got a little enthusiastic there....)

Had to type it in as ivy.rom for the file name, but I think it just updated it!!!

I had the same pics as what was in that HP forum link, that Louis posted, it ran and now I'm back at an A:\, so I should be able to reboot now, and it come up normally, right?

I just had to know what to type in, it didn't like Ivy.rom, it didn't like Ivy, it wanted it as all lower-case... and it ran!!!

Sach2, dude, I owe you BIG TIME!! Your kung-fu is VERY strong! LOL

 

Yes, if you are back at the A:> prompt just eject the CD and Reboot.

Here's the link for the screens. Last one should be, complete hit f1 to continue. Which I guess goes back to A:>, where you are now.

Fingers crossed!

 

Sach2, you are the most awesome person EVER!!! I can't thank you enough for all your help!!! What is a good way to thank you for saving my computer? :-D YAY!:drool