killed my (new) mobo??? [Archive]

FijiJohn

06-28-2002, 11:31 PM

After putting just the basics of my IWILL XP333-R and Athlon 1700XP system together and making sure it worked (booted right up first time), I added a couple of drives and SWITCHED THE PS2 MOUSE AND KEYBOARD connectors, then tried to start it up.

Now it appears that the KB PS2 port is blown. Am I really totally screwed??

rond36

06-29-2002, 04:33 AM

What do you meen by switched the PS2 mouse and keyboard connectors you can't switch them they won't work KB goes to the KB port and the mouse goes to the mouse port.

Have you tried a USB mouse and KB?

Imperion1

06-29-2002, 12:22 PM

What do you mean by, that you switched the ps2 mouse and keyboard connectors?
Are both ps2, but 1 has a ps2 to usb converter? Or vice-verse?
Be sure that you have the usb mouse and keyboard options in the bios set to enabled.

smily_03

06-29-2002, 01:04 PM

believe it or not, some machines will work perfectly well if you switch the ps/2 mouse and keyboard connectors (this is from experience). others will not work, but shouldn't damage the mobo.

paramufay

06-29-2002, 01:34 PM

Originally posted by Imperion1
What do you mean by, that you switched the ps2 mouse and keyboard connectors?
Are both ps2, but 1 has a ps2 to usb converter? Or vice-verse?
Be sure that you have the usb mouse and keyboard options in the bios set to enabled.

I believe what fuji means is he plugged the ps2 mouse into the keyboard connecter (mobo) and vise versa. Now after correctly pluging them in to the right port (ps2) the mouse works but the keyboard doesnot.

Take the keyborad to anouther pc and try it or try anouther keyboard in the problem pc. It is possible to damage the ps2 ports.

FijiJohn

06-29-2002, 03:37 PM

Yes, in my haste to try the additional drives Ihad just added, I accidentally plugged the PS2 KB into the PS2 mouse port and vice versa, then turned it on. That appears to have been the end of the mobo.

I have tried two good KBs and neither works. The KB lights flash twice and then nothing. (I also get all kinds of error messages on boot up - and it does not see any drives other than the floppy - but it does boot off the WinM floppy.)

FijiJohn

06-29-2002, 05:09 PM

FWLIW - I always get a "BIOS ROM Checksum error" message first. I have tried to clear the CMOS but that does not seem do anything. If no KB is attched, I do get a msg that "KB is missing".

Also, it turns out that if I let it boot off a Win floppy, SOME keys work but not others. (I get the same thing no matter which of 3 KBs I try.) I get uppercase so I get ! @ # instead of 1 2 3 etc.

Ctrl Alt Del does not work either. Thoughts or suggestions????

howlin_mad

06-29-2002, 05:36 PM

i'm not qualified to answer BUT..
does'nt that sound like some of your driver's are missing??

i would try if you can (with no mouse) re-installing the OS...over the existing one
it won't do any harm...and might help:t :t :t

FijiJohn

06-29-2002, 06:07 PM

I'm simply trying to boot to a floppy (like the WinME OS floppy). However, my KB does not work to even choose among 'Boot with CD', 'Boot without CD' etc.

paramufay

06-29-2002, 06:33 PM

ummmmmmm sounds like u damaged the ps2 keyboard port. probley a resistor or diode...without a schematic of the mobo its gonna be tough to repair.

if u can ....get the correct pinout voltage to the keyboard port and compare it to the defective pc. This will at least let you know what voltage is too high/low on what pins.

Imperion1

06-29-2002, 10:58 PM

Sounds like a messed up ps2 port to me. Could be that only 1, maybe 2 of the pin holes were damaged. Since you did say that sometimes some of the keys work.

FijiJohn

06-29-2002, 11:56 PM

Yeah, but without a schematic (and maybe even WITH one) I don't see how I can do anything to repair it. Looks to me like I simply need to replace it. Sigh.

morpheus kain

06-30-2002, 12:29 AM

Is it still under warranty? If it is I would send it back because it may be a bad motherboard which could lead to a load of problems later on. Sorry about your bad luck!:(

PuterTutor

06-30-2002, 03:00 AM

The last mouse I got came with a ps/2 to serial adapter, have you got one of those laying around, if so try that, might just get you through for awhile, but you will probably want to go ahead and get a new mb. I would check if it's under warranty though.

FijiJohn

06-30-2002, 03:55 AM

It's definitely under warranty. I even paid $20 extra for the extended 2 year warranty.

If it were the mouse port that was problematic I could proabably work around it But getting by without most of the keys on the keyboard is more of a problem. :rolleyes:

The Gooner

06-30-2002, 10:52 AM

From my own personel experience
"BIOS ROM Checksum error" means MOBO knackered.

I had 2 boards giving the same mesage and couldnt do anything with them, I rang the supplier as they were under warranty and they said send them back there broke.

If your board is under warranty I would take it back, tell them about the checksum error you might get lucky and get a new board.

smily_03

06-30-2002, 10:55 AM

A bios checksum error generally means that the information contained in your CMOS has gotten corrupted. Try clearing your cmos, believe me, this has helped with this error in the past. The fact that your mobo can detect when there isn't a keyboard attached sounds very promising in that it wasn't damaged. The values stored in CMOS are very sensitive to things such as ESD, and it isn't uncommon for them to be erased or scrambled. Plus, it only takes less than a minute and if that fixes the problem, then you've saved yourself the trouble of doing an RMA, shipping, and waiting for a new mobo.

Johnny Fist

06-30-2002, 01:25 PM

Just go out and spend the $7.00 on one of those adapters that'll make it so your keyboard will plug into a USB slot.

imac9556

06-30-2002, 02:21 PM

Hey,
I had the same problem with the BIOS Checksum error also on my MOBO and i figured out what went wrong and my system is working perfectly now. If you want the answer please email me or post back here. email address: imac9556@NOSPAMhotmail.com (take out the NOSPAM part and replace it with @hotmail.com) :) Thanks:t

Johnny Fist

06-30-2002, 04:29 PM

Why not just post your answer here like everybody else? What are you, six years old?

FijiJohn

06-30-2002, 04:40 PM

Originally posted by imac9556
Hey,
I had the same problem with the BIOS Checksum error also on my MOBO and i figured out what went wrong and my system is working perfectly now. If you want the answer please email me or post back here.

Please answer here and make your solution available to all of us.

FijiJohn

06-30-2002, 04:47 PM

Originally posted by smily_03
A bios checksum error generally means that the information contained in your CMOS has gotten corrupted. Try clearing your cmos [snip] it only takes less than a minute and if that fixes the problem, then you've saved yourself the trouble of doing an RMA, shipping, and waiting for a new mobo.

Well, one of the first things I tried was disconnecting the power cord, putting the CMOS jumper in place, waiting 10 minutes, then trying it again. No change. However because I saw nothing to indicate CMOS cleared, I tried some other approaches as well (i.e., removed the battery for an hour - no change, and used debug and poked bad data into the CMOS memory space -- a generally dynamite approach to force the BIOS deaults to load). Still no luck.

imac9556

06-30-2002, 06:23 PM

Well first of all, I AM NOT SIX YEARS OLD, I am 14 years old! I didn't post an answer at first becasue some other Forums said don't post stuff that people don't need. Second, I thought the post after the BIOS checksum error fixed his problem. Well, this is that answer.

First,
In windows 95 or 98 or Me create a boot disk that boots to the dos prompt.

Second,
Download the BIOS image from your motherboard website

Third,
Copy the image into the disk.

Fourth,
Is it asking for anything else? Like on my system, it said BIOS Checksum error, please insert AWARDFLASH.EXE to continue (or something like that)

5th:
Copy the file, if needed to the disk also.

6th:
Boot the disk on the screwed up system:

7th:
Now, run your BIOS flash program or flash your BIOS with the BIOS image.

That error means, that the BIOS screwed up, but not enough to display an error whats wrong. Reflashing the BIOS repairs and replaces the screwed up BIOS with the brand new BIOS file. That should do it for you. DO YOU THINK I AM 6 YEARS OLD??? :confused:

imac9556

06-30-2002, 06:25 PM

FijiJohn

06-30-2002, 08:00 PM

Thanks for the suggestion. I am trying an autoexec.bat approach as without a KB it is bit hard to "run the BIOS flash program."

(And you earlier post was not in keeping with the conventions of this forum. The rudeness of the response to you also was not appropriate. Thirdly, a response to someone who was rude should not simply be returned rudeness. That WOULD be juvenile.)

imac9556

06-30-2002, 08:08 PM

Thanks, look for the manufacturer's bios flash utility and the image file, and put it on the disk. Then you can edit the autoexec.bat and config.sys files. thanks! good luck!

Met-AL

06-30-2002, 08:38 PM

To clear the CMOS, don't you need to leave the PC plugged in, set the jumper, hit the power, set it back, and then turn it on? That's the way it is on my IWILL KK266-R.

Try it with the PC plugged in still.

FijiJohn

06-30-2002, 09:45 PM

Sad to say I have tried all of the above and nothing has revived it. When I try to flash the BIOS it gets part way thru and hangs right after it starts "Verify." There it sits with the floppy drive spinning and spinning and spinning. Rebooting brings no changes from where I started. I think it's time to pull the life support and say goodbye.

belgarath16

06-30-2002, 10:29 PM

I agree with {imac9556}...the same thing happened to couple of machines I repaired before. Flashing the BIOS with the right utility and a good image file worked each time.

You state that that flash won't contine now...you could be up the creek with no paddle:(
Assuming the CMOS is integral with the board.
Make sure your flash utility is the same revision as the BIOS...sometimes different levels require different utilities.

It's almost the 4th, you could take a few M-80's and......:)

Good Luck!!!

morpheus kain

06-30-2002, 10:38 PM

Can't you just order new IC's?

iowaboy

06-30-2002, 11:10 PM

well more than likely your only option is to replace the motherboard. return it as defective. though on some mb's the keyboard controller can be replaced which it sounds like it is bad. but since the bios flash seems to be hanging there is a real good chance that the bios is also bad or it may be the main problem. there are times that no matter what you do you can never get the bios to reflash. one other thing you could try is to take the cmos battery out and also jumper the cmos to short, this will make sure the cmos is cleared. I have had to do this before in order to either get a keyboard to be recognized or to flash a bios. not the most standard of procedures but worked. I have had to do thjis procedure many times on ibm's thatw ere giving everyone else fits. I was just lucky but i didn't tell them that and left everyone else wondering.