Hello,
this is not what i wrote , i just grabbed it from the net . no credit to me.
my advice : dont flash bios in Windows
and flash only if necessary . and i think asrock mobos dont support the foll. method of recovery .( some eeprom limitations ).
PLZ pass on comments.Was it useful ?
PROCEDURE FOR RECOVERING A CORRUPT BIOS CHIP
By David Oakley
Amptron International Inc.
(Revised May 24, 2001)
INTRODUCTION TO BOOTBLOCK BIOS
Most BIOS code used today is called ‘BOOT BLOCK’ BIOS. A BOOT BLOCK type BIOS is
different from previous BIOS types in that it is divided into two distinct sections. The first section
of the BIOS is the BOOT BLOCK (hence the name). The BOOT BLOCK uses the first 24k of the
ROM and contains information necessary to initialize only critical system devices such as the
processor, memory and some ISA video cards as well as the floppy drive. The BIOS BOOT
BLOCK is a write protected area and cannot be over written by a BIOS flash utility without using a
special command line switch.
The second section is the SYSTEM BLOCK. The SYSTEM BLOCK is 232k in size and contains
the information necessary to initialize all other system devices such as the video system, input
devices, storage devices, COM ports and peripherals and performs the Power On Self Test. The
SYSTEM BLOCK constitutes the bulk of the ROM.
The illustration above depicts a standard 2Mb (256k) BIOS chip. Older BIOS chips may be only
1Mb (128k). The 1Mb BIOS chips are not BOOT BLOCK BIOS and therefore cannot be
recovered in the same way. If you have a 1Mb BIOS chip and your BIOS is corrupt then you will
need to reprogram the chip using the ‘Hot-Swapping’ method, or an EEPROM programmer.
UPDATING (FLASHING) YOUR BIOS
The process of updating your BIOS is called flashing. Because the type of ROM chip used is a
Flash EEPROM. To update your BIOS you use a utility called a BIOS Flash utility. When you
flash your BIOS the flash utility performs the following steps.
· ?Enters Protected Mode by loading the DOS 4G Protected Mode drivers
· ?Identifies the flash part (the BIOS chip)
· ?Identifies the flash part size and programming voltage
· ?Identifies the motherboard chipset
· ?Verifies the BIOS checksums (make sure that the BIOS file is correct)
· ?Erases the BIOS SYSTEM BLOCK (write over the data with all 0’s)
· ?Rewrites the SYSTEM BLOCK with the new BIOS file
· ?Loads CMOS defaults and reboots the computer
UPDATING (FLASHING) YOUR BIOS (Cont.)
If an error occurs within the first five steps of the flash process then an error message will be
displayed and the flash process will be aborted. Unfortunately if an error occurs after the flash
utility has erased the SYSTEM BLOCK then the computer will be disabled. The system power
will come on, but the system will not startup as it normally does and you may or may not see
anything on the screen. If your system has an AWARD BIOS you may see an error message on
the screen that says.
AWARD BootBlock BIOS v1.0
CMOS Checksum Error
At this point the system will attempt to boot from a floppy disk. You will be able to boot from a
bootable floppy, but without the BIOS SYSTEM BLOCK you can’t do much else.
METHODS OF RECOVERING A CORRUPT BIOS CHIP
There are four options available if your BIOS has become corrupt:
1) Use the BootBlock function of the BIOS to reprogram the BIOS ROM.
2) Use a method called ‘Hot-Swapping’ to reprogram the BIOS ROM.
3) Remove the BIOS ROM and manually reprogram it on an EEPROM programmer.
4) Purchase a replacement BIOS from the motherboard manufacturer.
This paper was written to aid you in reprogramming your BIOS using either of the first two
methods. If you are not comfortable or able to recover your BIOS using either of these methods
then it would be best to purchase a replacement BIOS chip from the motherboard’s manufacturer.
DIFFERENT BIOS DISTRIBUTIONS
There are two primary BIOS distributions used today they are AWARD, written by AWARD
Software and AMI, which is written by American Megatrends International. The methods used to
recovery your BIOS is different for each BIOS distribution, so it is crucial that your know which
BIOS distribution you have.
To determine which BIOS distribution you have you can either read the sticker that has been
placed on top of your BIOS chip, consult the user’s manual, or contact the motherboard
manufacturer. I will elaborate on each of these methods below.
IDENTIFYING YOUR MOTHERBOARDS BIOS DISTRIBUTION
The quickest way to identify which BIOS distribution your motherboard uses when you cannot
boot the computer is to read the manufacturers sticker on the BIOS chip itself, however not all
manufacturers label their BIOS chips. To do this you must first locate the BIOS chip on the
motherboard.
Currently there are two popular BIOS chip package types in use; 32-pin DIP (Dual In-line
Package) and 28-pin PLCC (Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier). The most common is the 32-pin DIP
type so this is what you should look for first. The DIP package type chip is a rectangular black
IDENTIFYING YOUR MOTHERBOARDS BIOS DISTRIBUTION (Cont.)
silicon chip with a row 16-pins along each of the longer sides of the chip. The PLCC chips are
smaller square chips that are closely fitted into a plastic socket on the motherboard. The PLCC
type chips have a total of 28 pins, which are inline on all sides of the chip and one of the corner of
the chip is at a 45° angle.
The illustration below is a larger than normal diagram of what each chip looks like.
( This illustration is not to scale )
The motherboard manufacturer usually places a sticker on top of the BIOS chip, which specifies
the BIOS distribution. The sticker will either say AWARD! or AMI.
Another easy way to identify your BIOS is by checking the user’s manual. The manual does not
generally mention the type of BIOS you have, but in most cases it will include screen shots
(pictures) of the BIOS Setup Utility, which shows the BIOS name at the top. In your manual there
should be a section that discusses how to setup your BIOS. Read the BIOS setup section and
pay close attention to the illustrations. The following is an example of information taken from a
screen shot in a motherboard user’s manual.
AMIBIOS SIMPLE SETUP UTILITY – VERSION 1.20
©1998 American Megatrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This motherboard obviously uses AMI BIOS.
The third and final way to identify your BIOS is to call the motherboard manufacturer and ask.
This is often a pretty simple approach, but it is not uncommon for motherboards of the same
model to use different BIOS distributions.
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AMI BOOTBLOCK BIOS
With motherboards that use BOOT BLOCK BIOS it is possible to recover a corrupted BIOS by
reprogramming it from a floppy diskette as long as the BOOT BLOCK section of the BIOS
remains unmodified. When a system with an AMI BIOS has a corrupt BIOS the system will
appear to start, but nothing will appear on the screen, the floppy drive light will come on and the
system will access the floppy drive repeatedly.
AMI has integrated a recovery routine into the BOOT BLOCK of the BIOS, which in the event the
BIOS becomes corrupt can be used to restore it. The routine is called when the SYSTEM BLOCK
of the BIOS is empty. The restore routine will access the floppy drive searching for a BIOS ROM
file named AMIBOOT.ROM, (this is why the floppy drive light comes on and the drive spins.) If the
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AMI BOOTBLOCK BIOS (Cont.)
file is found it is then loaded into the SYSTEM BLOCK of the BIOS to replace the missing
information.
NOTE: Make sure that the PC speaker inside your computer is working before you proceed.
When the BIOS has been restored your system will beep four times to let you know.
To restore an AMI BootBlock BIOS follow these steps:
1) Format a good working 1.44MB floppy diskette.
2) Copy a working BIOS ROM file for your motherboard onto the floppy disk. BIOS ROM
files can usually be downloaded from the motherboard manufacturer’s web site. If you
cannot locate a BIOS ROM file for your motherboard then call the motherboard
manufacturer for technical support.
3) Rename the BIOS ROM file ‘AMIBOOT.ROM’
4) Turn the system on and insert the disk into drive A:
5) After about 3 ~ 4 minutes the system will beep four times. Remove the disk from the
drive. The computer will then restart.
At this point your BIOS should be restored and the system should startup normally. If your system
does not startup normally then try using a different BIOS ROM file for your motherboard and read
the TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS section below.
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AWARD BOOTBLOCK BIOS
With AWARD BIOS the process is similar but still a bit different. To recover an AWARD BIOS you
will need to create a floppy diskette with a working BIOS file in .BIN format, an AWARD flash
utility and an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. AWARD BIOS will not automatically restore the BIOS
information to the SYSTEM BLOCK for this reason you will need to add the commands necessary
to flash the BIOS to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The system will run the AUTOEXE.BAT file at
startup, which will in turn flash the BIOS. This is fairly easy. Here are the steps you need to take.
1) Create a bootable floppy disk. If you use Windows 95, 98 or DOS, this can be done by
going to the DOS prompt and typing the command. (Be sure to insert a disk first)
FORMAT A: /S
The /S switch specifies that the system files should be copied to the diskette to make it
bootable. If you are using Windows ME, Windows NT or Windows 2000 then you can not
use the /S switch with the FORMAT command. If you are unable to create a bootable
diskette because of the operating system you are using then you may download a
bootable diskette image from the BootDisk.com web site at (*www.bootdisk.com)
2) Copy a working BIOS ROM (.BIN) file for your motherboard and an AWARD flash utility
to the floppy disk. You can usually download these files from the motherboard
manufacturer. If you need help finding these files call the motherboard manufacturer for
technical support.
3) Use a text editor or the ‘edit’ command at the DOS prompt to create a text file named
‘AUTOEXEC.BAT’ and save it on the floppy disk. Make sure that the file name is
AUTOEXEC and that the extension is .BAT (nothing else). If you create this file from
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AWARD BOOTBLOCK BIOS (Cont.)
4) within Windows using a program such as NOTEPAD, you may need to change the file
extension from .TXT to .BAT
5) With the text editor add the following commands to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the
floppy disk and then save the changes.
@ECHO OFF
@AWDFLASH BIOSFILE.BIN /py
NOTE: The ‘/py’ switch will cause the flash utility to automatically reprogram the BIOS
without any user intervention. Be sure to change the ‘AWDFLASH’ to the name
of the flash utility that you are using and change the ‘BIOSFILE.BIN’ to the name
of the BIOS ROM file you are using.
If you are not sure what the command line switch to automatically flash your
BIOS is, type the name of the flash utility with the ‘/?’ switch after it at a DOS
prompt and a list of the available switches will be displayed.
6) Insert the diskette you created into the floppy drive A: on the system that you need to
restore the BIOS on. Turn on the system. The computer should startup, read the floppy
disk, run the commands in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and restore the BIOS.
At this point if everything went well then the BIOS should have been restored and the
computer should restart normally. If your system still did not restart normally then go to
the TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS section below.
‘HOT-SWAPPING’ A BIOS CHIP
‘Hot-Swapping’ refers to removing a BIOS chip from the motherboard while the system power is
on and the system is in an idle state. Hot-Swapping a BIOS chip is VERY dangerous to both the
system and the person attempting to remove the chip. This method of BIOS recovery should only
be performed by experienced technician as a last option. Hot-Swapping will work on any type of
BIOS chip as long as both computers use the same type of chip.
WARNING: If done improperly this method of BIOS recovery could cause severe damage to the
motherboard and BIOS as well as severe injury to the person attempting to remove
the chip.
Hot-Swapping requires you to have two computers with the same BIOS distribution and type. The
way it works is, while the second (working computer) is on the BIOS chip is removed and the
BIOS chip from the first (non-working) board is inserted in its place. The BIOS flash utility is then
run on the second computer and the BIOS chip is updated with the BIOS file for the first
computer. In essence you are reprogramming the bad BIOS chip on a different motherboard and
then putting the chip back into the non-working motherboard. The procedure is below.
1) Start the second (working computer) and go to a DOS prompt. Make sure that no
programs are running in the background.
2) While the computer is on carefully remove the BIOS chip from the motherboard and set it
aside. Be sure to note the orientation of the chip so that you can later inset it back in to
the motherboard exactly as it was.
3) Insert the BIOS chip from the first (non-working) computer in to the BIOS socket on the
second (working computer’s) motherboard.
‘HOT-SWAPPING’ A BIOS CHIP (Cont.)
4) At the DOS prompt run the BIOS flash utility and update the BIOS chip with the correct
BIOS file for the first computer. If you get a warning message that the chipset and BIOS
does not match continue anyway. If the flash utility will not allow you to continue and it is
an AMI flash utility then re-run the flash utility using the ‘/X’ switch to enter the utilities
graphical interface and manually reprogram the BIOS from there.
5) Once the BIOS chip has been reprogrammed successfully carefully remove the BIOS
chip from the second computer and put it back into the first computer. Be sure to pay
close attention to the orientation of the chip so that you insert it correctly. Plugging in the
chip backwards will immediately damage both the chip and the motherboard.
6) Start the first computer. If all went well the first system should now be working again. If
not see the TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS section below.
TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS
PROBLEM: After following all of the directions the system will still not start normally. When the
system is powered on all it will do is try to access the floppy drive.
This would seem to indicate that the BIOS reprogramming was not successful or that
the BIOS ROM file was either damaged or not the correct one. Try the procedure
again using a different BIOS ROM file for your motherboard. Make sure that the BIOS
ROM file is for your exact motherboard model and revision.
PROBLEM: When the computer restarts the message ‘CMOS Checksum Bad’ and ‘Press F1 to
Enter Setup’ is displayed.
This is not necessarily a problem. This message is displayed when there are no
CMOS settings saved. This simply means that you need to set your system settings
(such as CPU speed, etc) Press whatever key you are prompted to and set the
CMOS settings accordingly.
PROBLEM: While trying to recover a AWARD BIOS the system starts to read from the floppy disk
and then stops and nothing else happens. When the system is rebooted it still has
the same problem.
This most likely indicates that there is something wrong with the boot disk. Double
check that the disk is bootable, contains the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the BIOS flash
utility and the BIOS ROM (.BIN) file. If all of the files are present and the disk is
bootable then double check the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Make sure that the name is
correct and that all of the commands are correct.
If you can see on the screen what the system is doing then try typing the commands
in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file manually to see if there is an error message that is
displayed. If everything checks out then try using a different BIOS ROM (.BIN) file. If
the problem persists use a different flash utility.
If you have any questions of comments regarding this procedure please e-mail me, my email
address is: davido@amptronusa.com
Good luck!
this is not what i wrote , i just grabbed it from the net . no credit to me.
my advice : dont flash bios in Windows
and flash only if necessary . and i think asrock mobos dont support the foll. method of recovery .( some eeprom limitations ).
PLZ pass on comments.Was it useful ?
PROCEDURE FOR RECOVERING A CORRUPT BIOS CHIP
By David Oakley
Amptron International Inc.
(Revised May 24, 2001)
INTRODUCTION TO BOOTBLOCK BIOS
Most BIOS code used today is called ‘BOOT BLOCK’ BIOS. A BOOT BLOCK type BIOS is
different from previous BIOS types in that it is divided into two distinct sections. The first section
of the BIOS is the BOOT BLOCK (hence the name). The BOOT BLOCK uses the first 24k of the
ROM and contains information necessary to initialize only critical system devices such as the
processor, memory and some ISA video cards as well as the floppy drive. The BIOS BOOT
BLOCK is a write protected area and cannot be over written by a BIOS flash utility without using a
special command line switch.
The second section is the SYSTEM BLOCK. The SYSTEM BLOCK is 232k in size and contains
the information necessary to initialize all other system devices such as the video system, input
devices, storage devices, COM ports and peripherals and performs the Power On Self Test. The
SYSTEM BLOCK constitutes the bulk of the ROM.
The illustration above depicts a standard 2Mb (256k) BIOS chip. Older BIOS chips may be only
1Mb (128k). The 1Mb BIOS chips are not BOOT BLOCK BIOS and therefore cannot be
recovered in the same way. If you have a 1Mb BIOS chip and your BIOS is corrupt then you will
need to reprogram the chip using the ‘Hot-Swapping’ method, or an EEPROM programmer.
UPDATING (FLASHING) YOUR BIOS
The process of updating your BIOS is called flashing. Because the type of ROM chip used is a
Flash EEPROM. To update your BIOS you use a utility called a BIOS Flash utility. When you
flash your BIOS the flash utility performs the following steps.
· ?Enters Protected Mode by loading the DOS 4G Protected Mode drivers
· ?Identifies the flash part (the BIOS chip)
· ?Identifies the flash part size and programming voltage
· ?Identifies the motherboard chipset
· ?Verifies the BIOS checksums (make sure that the BIOS file is correct)
· ?Erases the BIOS SYSTEM BLOCK (write over the data with all 0’s)
· ?Rewrites the SYSTEM BLOCK with the new BIOS file
· ?Loads CMOS defaults and reboots the computer
UPDATING (FLASHING) YOUR BIOS (Cont.)
If an error occurs within the first five steps of the flash process then an error message will be
displayed and the flash process will be aborted. Unfortunately if an error occurs after the flash
utility has erased the SYSTEM BLOCK then the computer will be disabled. The system power
will come on, but the system will not startup as it normally does and you may or may not see
anything on the screen. If your system has an AWARD BIOS you may see an error message on
the screen that says.
AWARD BootBlock BIOS v1.0
CMOS Checksum Error
At this point the system will attempt to boot from a floppy disk. You will be able to boot from a
bootable floppy, but without the BIOS SYSTEM BLOCK you can’t do much else.
METHODS OF RECOVERING A CORRUPT BIOS CHIP
There are four options available if your BIOS has become corrupt:
1) Use the BootBlock function of the BIOS to reprogram the BIOS ROM.
2) Use a method called ‘Hot-Swapping’ to reprogram the BIOS ROM.
3) Remove the BIOS ROM and manually reprogram it on an EEPROM programmer.
4) Purchase a replacement BIOS from the motherboard manufacturer.
This paper was written to aid you in reprogramming your BIOS using either of the first two
methods. If you are not comfortable or able to recover your BIOS using either of these methods
then it would be best to purchase a replacement BIOS chip from the motherboard’s manufacturer.
DIFFERENT BIOS DISTRIBUTIONS
There are two primary BIOS distributions used today they are AWARD, written by AWARD
Software and AMI, which is written by American Megatrends International. The methods used to
recovery your BIOS is different for each BIOS distribution, so it is crucial that your know which
BIOS distribution you have.
To determine which BIOS distribution you have you can either read the sticker that has been
placed on top of your BIOS chip, consult the user’s manual, or contact the motherboard
manufacturer. I will elaborate on each of these methods below.
IDENTIFYING YOUR MOTHERBOARDS BIOS DISTRIBUTION
The quickest way to identify which BIOS distribution your motherboard uses when you cannot
boot the computer is to read the manufacturers sticker on the BIOS chip itself, however not all
manufacturers label their BIOS chips. To do this you must first locate the BIOS chip on the
motherboard.
Currently there are two popular BIOS chip package types in use; 32-pin DIP (Dual In-line
Package) and 28-pin PLCC (Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier). The most common is the 32-pin DIP
type so this is what you should look for first. The DIP package type chip is a rectangular black
IDENTIFYING YOUR MOTHERBOARDS BIOS DISTRIBUTION (Cont.)
silicon chip with a row 16-pins along each of the longer sides of the chip. The PLCC chips are
smaller square chips that are closely fitted into a plastic socket on the motherboard. The PLCC
type chips have a total of 28 pins, which are inline on all sides of the chip and one of the corner of
the chip is at a 45° angle.
The illustration below is a larger than normal diagram of what each chip looks like.
( This illustration is not to scale )
The motherboard manufacturer usually places a sticker on top of the BIOS chip, which specifies
the BIOS distribution. The sticker will either say AWARD! or AMI.
Another easy way to identify your BIOS is by checking the user’s manual. The manual does not
generally mention the type of BIOS you have, but in most cases it will include screen shots
(pictures) of the BIOS Setup Utility, which shows the BIOS name at the top. In your manual there
should be a section that discusses how to setup your BIOS. Read the BIOS setup section and
pay close attention to the illustrations. The following is an example of information taken from a
screen shot in a motherboard user’s manual.
AMIBIOS SIMPLE SETUP UTILITY – VERSION 1.20
©1998 American Megatrends, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This motherboard obviously uses AMI BIOS.
The third and final way to identify your BIOS is to call the motherboard manufacturer and ask.
This is often a pretty simple approach, but it is not uncommon for motherboards of the same
model to use different BIOS distributions.
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AMI BOOTBLOCK BIOS
With motherboards that use BOOT BLOCK BIOS it is possible to recover a corrupted BIOS by
reprogramming it from a floppy diskette as long as the BOOT BLOCK section of the BIOS
remains unmodified. When a system with an AMI BIOS has a corrupt BIOS the system will
appear to start, but nothing will appear on the screen, the floppy drive light will come on and the
system will access the floppy drive repeatedly.
AMI has integrated a recovery routine into the BOOT BLOCK of the BIOS, which in the event the
BIOS becomes corrupt can be used to restore it. The routine is called when the SYSTEM BLOCK
of the BIOS is empty. The restore routine will access the floppy drive searching for a BIOS ROM
file named AMIBOOT.ROM, (this is why the floppy drive light comes on and the drive spins.) If the
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AMI BOOTBLOCK BIOS (Cont.)
file is found it is then loaded into the SYSTEM BLOCK of the BIOS to replace the missing
information.
NOTE: Make sure that the PC speaker inside your computer is working before you proceed.
When the BIOS has been restored your system will beep four times to let you know.
To restore an AMI BootBlock BIOS follow these steps:
1) Format a good working 1.44MB floppy diskette.
2) Copy a working BIOS ROM file for your motherboard onto the floppy disk. BIOS ROM
files can usually be downloaded from the motherboard manufacturer’s web site. If you
cannot locate a BIOS ROM file for your motherboard then call the motherboard
manufacturer for technical support.
3) Rename the BIOS ROM file ‘AMIBOOT.ROM’
4) Turn the system on and insert the disk into drive A:
5) After about 3 ~ 4 minutes the system will beep four times. Remove the disk from the
drive. The computer will then restart.
At this point your BIOS should be restored and the system should startup normally. If your system
does not startup normally then try using a different BIOS ROM file for your motherboard and read
the TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS section below.
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AWARD BOOTBLOCK BIOS
With AWARD BIOS the process is similar but still a bit different. To recover an AWARD BIOS you
will need to create a floppy diskette with a working BIOS file in .BIN format, an AWARD flash
utility and an AUTOEXEC.BAT file. AWARD BIOS will not automatically restore the BIOS
information to the SYSTEM BLOCK for this reason you will need to add the commands necessary
to flash the BIOS to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. The system will run the AUTOEXE.BAT file at
startup, which will in turn flash the BIOS. This is fairly easy. Here are the steps you need to take.
1) Create a bootable floppy disk. If you use Windows 95, 98 or DOS, this can be done by
going to the DOS prompt and typing the command. (Be sure to insert a disk first)
FORMAT A: /S
The /S switch specifies that the system files should be copied to the diskette to make it
bootable. If you are using Windows ME, Windows NT or Windows 2000 then you can not
use the /S switch with the FORMAT command. If you are unable to create a bootable
diskette because of the operating system you are using then you may download a
bootable diskette image from the BootDisk.com web site at (*www.bootdisk.com)
2) Copy a working BIOS ROM (.BIN) file for your motherboard and an AWARD flash utility
to the floppy disk. You can usually download these files from the motherboard
manufacturer. If you need help finding these files call the motherboard manufacturer for
technical support.
3) Use a text editor or the ‘edit’ command at the DOS prompt to create a text file named
‘AUTOEXEC.BAT’ and save it on the floppy disk. Make sure that the file name is
AUTOEXEC and that the extension is .BAT (nothing else). If you create this file from
RECOVERING A CORRUPT AWARD BOOTBLOCK BIOS (Cont.)
4) within Windows using a program such as NOTEPAD, you may need to change the file
extension from .TXT to .BAT
5) With the text editor add the following commands to the AUTOEXEC.BAT file on the
floppy disk and then save the changes.
@ECHO OFF
@AWDFLASH BIOSFILE.BIN /py
NOTE: The ‘/py’ switch will cause the flash utility to automatically reprogram the BIOS
without any user intervention. Be sure to change the ‘AWDFLASH’ to the name
of the flash utility that you are using and change the ‘BIOSFILE.BIN’ to the name
of the BIOS ROM file you are using.
If you are not sure what the command line switch to automatically flash your
BIOS is, type the name of the flash utility with the ‘/?’ switch after it at a DOS
prompt and a list of the available switches will be displayed.
6) Insert the diskette you created into the floppy drive A: on the system that you need to
restore the BIOS on. Turn on the system. The computer should startup, read the floppy
disk, run the commands in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file and restore the BIOS.
At this point if everything went well then the BIOS should have been restored and the
computer should restart normally. If your system still did not restart normally then go to
the TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS section below.
‘HOT-SWAPPING’ A BIOS CHIP
‘Hot-Swapping’ refers to removing a BIOS chip from the motherboard while the system power is
on and the system is in an idle state. Hot-Swapping a BIOS chip is VERY dangerous to both the
system and the person attempting to remove the chip. This method of BIOS recovery should only
be performed by experienced technician as a last option. Hot-Swapping will work on any type of
BIOS chip as long as both computers use the same type of chip.
WARNING: If done improperly this method of BIOS recovery could cause severe damage to the
motherboard and BIOS as well as severe injury to the person attempting to remove
the chip.
Hot-Swapping requires you to have two computers with the same BIOS distribution and type. The
way it works is, while the second (working computer) is on the BIOS chip is removed and the
BIOS chip from the first (non-working) board is inserted in its place. The BIOS flash utility is then
run on the second computer and the BIOS chip is updated with the BIOS file for the first
computer. In essence you are reprogramming the bad BIOS chip on a different motherboard and
then putting the chip back into the non-working motherboard. The procedure is below.
1) Start the second (working computer) and go to a DOS prompt. Make sure that no
programs are running in the background.
2) While the computer is on carefully remove the BIOS chip from the motherboard and set it
aside. Be sure to note the orientation of the chip so that you can later inset it back in to
the motherboard exactly as it was.
3) Insert the BIOS chip from the first (non-working) computer in to the BIOS socket on the
second (working computer’s) motherboard.
‘HOT-SWAPPING’ A BIOS CHIP (Cont.)
4) At the DOS prompt run the BIOS flash utility and update the BIOS chip with the correct
BIOS file for the first computer. If you get a warning message that the chipset and BIOS
does not match continue anyway. If the flash utility will not allow you to continue and it is
an AMI flash utility then re-run the flash utility using the ‘/X’ switch to enter the utilities
graphical interface and manually reprogram the BIOS from there.
5) Once the BIOS chip has been reprogrammed successfully carefully remove the BIOS
chip from the second computer and put it back into the first computer. Be sure to pay
close attention to the orientation of the chip so that you insert it correctly. Plugging in the
chip backwards will immediately damage both the chip and the motherboard.
6) Start the first computer. If all went well the first system should now be working again. If
not see the TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS section below.
TROUBLESHOOTING PROBLEMS
PROBLEM: After following all of the directions the system will still not start normally. When the
system is powered on all it will do is try to access the floppy drive.
This would seem to indicate that the BIOS reprogramming was not successful or that
the BIOS ROM file was either damaged or not the correct one. Try the procedure
again using a different BIOS ROM file for your motherboard. Make sure that the BIOS
ROM file is for your exact motherboard model and revision.
PROBLEM: When the computer restarts the message ‘CMOS Checksum Bad’ and ‘Press F1 to
Enter Setup’ is displayed.
This is not necessarily a problem. This message is displayed when there are no
CMOS settings saved. This simply means that you need to set your system settings
(such as CPU speed, etc) Press whatever key you are prompted to and set the
CMOS settings accordingly.
PROBLEM: While trying to recover a AWARD BIOS the system starts to read from the floppy disk
and then stops and nothing else happens. When the system is rebooted it still has
the same problem.
This most likely indicates that there is something wrong with the boot disk. Double
check that the disk is bootable, contains the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, the BIOS flash
utility and the BIOS ROM (.BIN) file. If all of the files are present and the disk is
bootable then double check the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Make sure that the name is
correct and that all of the commands are correct.
If you can see on the screen what the system is doing then try typing the commands
in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file manually to see if there is an error message that is
displayed. If everything checks out then try using a different BIOS ROM (.BIN) file. If
the problem persists use a different flash utility.
If you have any questions of comments regarding this procedure please e-mail me, my email
address is: davido@amptronusa.com
Good luck!
