Helllllppp Mmeeeee!

illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
edited October 2004 in Off-Topic
<div class="IPBDescription">BIOS ERASED!</div> <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Award Bootblock BIOS v1.0
Copyright © 2000, Award software, Inc.

Scanning BIOS image in hard drive...

Unknown Flash MEMORY!
Can not find BIOS image in Hard Drive or diskette!
<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

This occurred after I was having problems with the BIOS and cleared my CMOS by removing the battery.

I've tried creating a Floppy with the newest BIOS for my mobo, but either I'm doing it wrong or my system is ignoring the floppy.

Help me internet; you're my only hope!

Athlon 2600 + Barton
Giga-byte GA-7n400L
512 MB RAM
Radeon 9500 Pro.
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Comments

  • NarfwakNarfwak Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 5258Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS1 Playtester, Playtest Lead, Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Gold, Reinforced - Diamond, Reinforced - Shadow, Subnautica PT Lead, NS2 Community Developer
    You have a Gigabyte motherboard?

    Good luck.
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  • Cereal_KillRCereal_KillR Join Date: 2002-10-31 Member: 1837Members
    does that have "Dual Bios" ? Gigabyte boards sometimes have this...
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    No dual BIOS to my knowledge. I seriously need some help though.
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  • CabooseCaboose title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
    <a href='http://www.giga-byte.com/Tree/Tree_63.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.giga-byte.com/Tree/Tree_63.htm</a>
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    Thanks, but if anyone can give me a quicker method that doesn't involve emailing tech support that'd be great. <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    I'm so happy I'll be building a new computer soon....soooooo soon.
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  • jumpingjodajumpingjoda Join Date: 2003-12-14 Member: 24367Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited October 2004
    Why bother with us noobs? Just talk to gigabyte support, they should know what to do. This is usually the first thing I do when I can't solve the problem on my own.

    edit: don't email, you have a phone right? It's much quicker.
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  • XythXyth Avatar Join Date: 2003-11-04 Member: 22312Members
    When you wiped the CMOS, was your power supply on/plugged in :/
    I've heard bad things can happen if that is the case...
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  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Xyth+Oct 31 2004, 09:17 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Xyth @ Oct 31 2004, 09:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> When you wiped the CMOS, was your power supply on/plugged in :/
    I've heard bad things can happen if that is the case... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Ditto.
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  • TheFrostmourneTheFrostmourne Join Date: 2004-09-14 Member: 31708Members
    I think you might be flashing it wrong.

    Does Gigabyte have a specific program for flashing the BIOS (which I highly doubt) or have you tried a third-party DOS program.

    I'm pretty much a n00b when it comes to mobo BIOSes but I know a lot more about Video Card BIOSes, so if I'm saying stupidities tell me.
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  • TyrainTyrain Join Date: 2003-01-03 Member: 11746Members
    Flashing bios is easy actually. I did it with 3 of my boards. Everyone runs great. Didn't had any gigabyte boards though.

    Thats what I usually do:
    1. Google
    2. Mainboard Homepage
    3. Google
    4. Tech support

    If your bios is cleared than I think the only thing to do is order a new bios chip. Should be possible.
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  • SandrockSandrock Join Date: 2002-12-16 Member: 10905Members, Constellation, Reinforced - Shadow
    Err, unless I'm mistaken, the bios settings have long been able to be written to the CMOS. The only reason motherboard manufacturers still put a battery on the motherboard is to keep the clock accurate. Thats all the battery does now-a-days iirc. In order to clear the CMOS, there is a jumper you need to change. Unless Gigabyte boards STILL rely on the battery...
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  • ZelZel Join Date: 2003-01-27 Member: 12861Members
    theres a huge difference between cleared and erased.

    the bios is a program that tells the motherboard how to use electricity and keyboards and basic stuff like that. cleared means all of the settings are reset to defaults, time goes to january 1, and people often do this to reset bad values. pulling the power cord then removing the battery, then leave it alone for an hour or so will acheive this.

    erased implies the programming as been wiped by some power surge. if thats the case you need a new chip, because there isnt enough programming left to be used to reprogram it! it needs to know how to use a floppy drive for instance in order to flash itself.

    i dont know which state your particular board is in, as most computers with an ERASED bios wont give you anything on the screen at all, and most with CLEARED bios will simply tell you so and reset the values to defaults happily.
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  • antifreezeantifreeze The guy with the goods&#33; Join Date: 2003-05-12 Member: 16232Members, Constellation
    New mobo for you. Hate Gigabyte boards. Asus all the way!!
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  • funbagsfunbags Join Date: 2003-06-08 Member: 17099Members
    Asus and Abit are my favs <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    MSI aren't terrible either, but asus = win, expecially for middle market machines.
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    This is the message I get when I boot the computer up:

    <!--QuoteBegin--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Award Bootblock BIOS v1.0
    Copyright © 2000, Award software, Inc.

    Scanning BIOS image in hard drive...

    Unknown Flash MEMORY!
    Can not find BIOS image in Hard Drive or diskette! <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    So, maybe the BIOS is corrupted. I don't know much about mobo's, and this one has been pretty good so far. I think maybe I'm trying to flash incorrectly. It's really important to me that I don't lose the data on my HD though, particularly the songs I have been producing and working on lately. So, I'd much rather not get a new mobo. Also, considering that I won't even be using that computer in 2-3 months (building my own), investing more money would be a waste.

    Flashing BIOS > new mobo.

    And just to let some people know, Giga-Byte apparantly does not have actual phone tech support. There are contact numbers but no tech support number.
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  • Cereal_KillRCereal_KillR Join Date: 2002-10-31 Member: 1837Members
    At least you can be assured you won't lose the data on your hard drive because of a bios fault.
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  • LegionnairedLegionnaired Join Date: 2002-04-30 Member: 552Members, Constellation
    Should just be able to order a new BIOS chip. 15 bucks and 2 weeks, most likely.
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Legionnaired+Nov 1 2004, 07:03 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Legionnaired @ Nov 1 2004, 07:03 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Should just be able to order a new BIOS chip. 15 bucks and 2 weeks, most likely. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Not worth it. I still haven't received any response to my tech support email, and my patience with Giga-Byte grows thin. I'm not home much tonight, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt that I'll have some sort of reply by tonight.
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  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Join Date: 2003-08-05 Member: 18951Members
    well your hard drive is fine...

    if it's not detecting your floppy drive, maybe it'll detect your hard disk? you could take out the HD, put it in whatever computer you're using now, load up the BIOS image onto it, and put it back in the computer you want to flash?
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  • TyrainTyrain Join Date: 2003-01-03 Member: 11746Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Zel+Nov 1 2004, 07:37 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Zel @ Nov 1 2004, 07:37 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> theres a huge difference between cleared and erased.

    the bios is a program that tells the motherboard how to use electricity and keyboards and basic stuff like that. cleared means all of the settings are reset to defaults, time goes to january 1, and people often do this to reset bad values. pulling the power cord then removing the battery, then leave it alone for an hour or so will acheive this.

    erased implies the programming as been wiped by some power surge. if thats the case you need a new chip, because there isnt enough programming left to be used to reprogram it! it needs to know how to use a floppy drive for instance in order to flash itself.

    i dont know which state your particular board is in, as most computers with an ERASED bios wont give you anything on the screen at all, and most with CLEARED bios will simply tell you so and reset the values to defaults happily. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Uh sorry you're right. It was 4 o'clock in the morning mixing things up.
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  • antifreezeantifreeze The guy with the goods&#33; Join Date: 2003-05-12 Member: 16232Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Cereal_KillR+Nov 1 2004, 12:32 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Cereal_KillR @ Nov 1 2004, 12:32 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> At least you can be assured you won't lose the data on your hard drive because of a bios fault. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Hemm it's giga-byte, im thankful he's still alive to tell the tail...

    Either get a new bios chip or a new mobo. Go asus and you can get a decent on for $60 or so. I got mine for £40 and it has SATA, AGP 8x, 400Mhz FSB, pc4000 ram ,yadda yadda
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    Just to reiterate, I am <b><i>not</i></b> purchasing a replacement motherboard unless I have no other option. So please, if you can't help solve the problem without telling me that Giga-Byte sucks or that I should just buy a new one, please don't bother posting. I need help, not purchase suggestions.

    And I'm still waiting to hear back from Giga-Byte tech support. I'm going to give their corporate office a call later on today when I get home from work.

    Also, if someone can please post directions for creating a floppy disc containing BIOS that will be in whatever format needed for the mobo to pick it up, that'd be great.

    Oh yeah, just to add to the problem, I have only 1 floppy in my house. My mom tossed the rest awhile back and didn't tell me.
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  • antifreezeantifreeze The guy with the goods&#33; Join Date: 2003-05-12 Member: 16232Members, Constellation
    Thats how. But usually once your bios has been eaten its the end of the line with regards to that sorta thing because your mobo doesn't know how to start your pc up. I sadly think that bios chip has hit the end of the line.

    The only way i know to flash a bios is through dos mode, i don't think it can be done before then.
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  • ZelZel Join Date: 2003-01-27 Member: 12861Members
    most boards require you to get to DOS, then run a special flash command you can download from the manufacturer.

    to get to DOS try making a boot floppy from bootdisk.com, and if that wont work, gigabyte MIGHT have a special way to get it done, but youre on your own with that one.
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    edited November 2004
    I love you both. A pricey h00ker awaits you both in your futures.

    I will try this "boot disc" tonight. Muahahahahahahaha.

    (is on lunch break).
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  • illuminexilluminex Join Date: 2004-03-13 Member: 27317Members, Constellation
    Bah, the bootable floppy did nothing, unless I am supposed to include the bios on the disc as well.

    Saddening.

    I do have this second computer right now. Can I remove the bad comp's HDD, put it in this one, replace the bios with the new one and go from there?

    After all, the computer says it is scanning the HDD.
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  • Chaos_LlamaChaos_Llama Join Date: 2004-04-23 Member: 28124Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Narfwak+Oct 31 2004, 05:58 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Narfwak @ Oct 31 2004, 05:58 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> You have a Gigabyte motherboard?

    Good luck. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    What's that supposed to mean?

    The store i bought my gigabyte mobo from said it was one of the best. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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  • ZelZel Join Date: 2003-01-27 Member: 12861Members
    the bios is stored on the motherboard, you wont find one on the harddrive.

    if it is scanning a harddrive for a new bios, then that is a speacial feature of your motherboard that is very nonstandard. that means youre going to have to look up the manual for the board and read carefully how to do this reprogramming of bios.

    i can only tell you how it is done normally, and that isnt working in your situation.


    heres a TON of technical information on gigabyte motherboards. <a href='http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11' target='_blank'>http://forums.pcper.com/forumdisplay.php?f=11</a> theres a search feature you can try from there too.
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  • GiGaBiTeGiGaBiTe Join Date: 2003-10-07 Member: 21489Members
    lol if your bios eeprom has been corrupted or erased, there is no "boot with a dos disk" the computer needs the instructions from the bios to tell it that it has something to boot off of.

    read your motherboard manual, with most motherboards they have a failsafe thing that if a virus messed up your bios, or you had a bad flash you can put a *.bin image on a floppy and hold down some modifier keys and it will reprogram the eeprom so you can boot again.

    i have a super micros dual PIII board and i had to do that thing once because the power to the computer was interrupted during the flash and the bios got corrupt.
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