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Thread: PC Won't Put After Bad BIOS Update

  1. #1
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    PC Won't Put After Bad BIOS Update

    Hello All,

    I'm in need of some serious help. I was updating my BIOS when I received a message during the process saying I had some kind of error on the A Drive. It asked if I wanted to "Abort, Retry, Ignore". I went to hit "R" for retry but the PC was already frozen. I hit ESC to exit but to no avail. Then I tried the old CTRL+ALT+DEL. Nothing.

    I turned the PC off and removed the floppy. But when I turned it back on, the PC powered up but won't actually boot. I then removed the CMOS battery and the PSU for about 1 to 2 minutes. I reinserted the battery and reattached the PSU hookup and tried again.

    Right now, the PC is on with power going to everything, but it won't boot. Not even the monitor is getting a signal.

    To make matters worse, there's a letter I need off of the PC for a job!



    The motherboard is an ASUS A7V8X-X. I was updating the BIOS when this all happened.

    Does anyone know what I can do aside from buying a new motherboard? ALso, if I bought a new MoBo, would that even guarantee to fix whatever the problem is?

    Thanks for any help and I'd really, really appreciate any advise.
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  2. #2
    Extreme Member! BipolarBill's Avatar
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    A new A7V8X-X would fix the problem for sure, but there are other, cheaper ways:

    http://www.badflash.com/

    You can also simply take the motherboard or the BIOS chip itself to a good PC shop and they can reflash the BIOS.
    MS MCP, MCSE

  3. #3
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    Thanks for the response Bipolar Bill! I've never had this sort of issue and am really lost here.

    If I purchase a new BIOS chip, how difficult is it to replace? I was under the impression that it's soldiered into the motherboard itself. $25 isn't a bad option as long as I don't have to do too much extensive work - so to speak.

    I did find the motherboard for $60.00 before shipping from what appears to be a pretty reputable dealer.
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  4. #4
    Extreme Member! BipolarBill's Avatar
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    If the BIOS chip is soldered in, order the motherboard.
    MS MCP, MCSE

  5. #5
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    Yep, it is.

    The $60 is apparently out of stock. But, I found another after shipping costs is $78. I didn't exactly want to be out $78, but I guess it could be worse, right?

    Thanks for your help Bipolar Bill! Hopefully I'll have my desktop back this time next week. As for the letter I mentioned I needed, I'm going to take my Hard Disk to a friend's house tomorrow.

    Thanks!
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  6. #6
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    I'm a liar! Before I put the PC away, I took another peek at my MoBo. I completely mistakened one of the chips on the MoBo for the BIOS chip. I was wrong. My BIOS chip sits in a socket.

    I took a little flathead screwdriver and was able to successfully remove it.

    I think I need to take another look at that BadFlash.com.

    2005 Champion: Solitaire Nationals

  7. #7
    Mod w/ an attitude Sterling_Aug's Avatar
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    You need to find someone that has a working system with the same exact size and type of BIOS chip. It doesn't have to be the same mobo model but it helps. Then you can reflash the BIOS using the working system.

    Since you are a newbie, it would be safer in the long run to buy a new BIOS chip and replace it. Be very, very careful putting the new BIOS chip in. If you accidentally spin the chip around and put it in backwards, you will fry it immediately when you turn the PC on. I have seen it happen.

  8. #8
    Ultimate Member Rocketmech's Avatar
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    Its sometimes possible to attempt a bootblock recovery .

    http://www.biosman.com/biosrecovery.html

  9. #9
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    This stuff is pretty interesting!

    Sterling_Aug, I think what you said might be the direction I go. But, also like you said, I might fry the new chip from http://BadFlash.com.

    I think I'm going to try and use the old chip and do was Rocketmech linked to. If I do that, I save $25. If it fails, then hopefully I can buy the new chip and correctly install it.

    One question: How do I know which BIOS version I have? AMI or Award?

    ASUS's site, for their BIOS, doesn't mention exactly which one I have. Plus, after reading over the link on how to perform a bootlock, I noticed that you should have either a .ROM file or .BIN. I believe it's an AWARD BIOS since I used AWDFLASH to do this in the first place. Plus, on ASUS's site, when looking at the tutorial on how to find what version BIOS you have, the screenshot has an AWARD text logo on it. Is it safe to assume that all ASUS chipsets use AWARD?

    Lastly, regarding the type of BIOS I have, the BIOS file I downloaded has an .AWD extension. I'd assume that this is short for "AWARD."

    Does all this sound like I'm on the correct path or am I going at it the wrong way?

    Thanks again for all the advice!
    2005 Champion: Solitaire Nationals

  10. #10
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    The latest non beta bios for your board is:

    A7V8X-X BIOS 1013

    http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us

  11. #11
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    Sweet!

    Okay, so here's what I got:

    The flash utility's name is "AFLASH.exe"
    The BIOS name is "A7V8xx13.AWD"

    Referring to the site Rocketmech linked, under the Award section, I think I should follow these steps:

    1) Insert Blank Floppy
    2) Right-Click and choose "Format > Create an MS-Dos Startup Disk"
    3) Create a text file called and put the following information in:

    @ECHO OFF

    aflash A7V8xx13.AWD /py/sn/f/cc/r

    4) Rename the text file to "Autoexec.Bat"


    Does all this sound on the up and up?

    Thanks again!
    2005 Champion: Solitaire Nationals

  12. #12
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    I just realized that there's already an Autoexec file. Perhaps if I hit "Show System Files", I would've seen that.

    But now, I have another question:

    In the command line, should I leave a space between the BIOS file name and the "/" before the parameters. On the link, that's how it is, but I just want to make sure.

    Thanks!
    2005 Champion: Solitaire Nationals

  13. #13
    Extreme Member! BipolarBill's Avatar
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    The "working system" won't work when you put the bad chip in it. Forget that.

    Stop talking to us and instead talk to a PC shop technician. Take the chip and the latest BIOS with you.
    MS MCP, MCSE

  14. #14
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    Well, I actually tried doing what the instructions from BIOSMan.com said and, just as BB mentioned, it did nothing. A quick fix was just too good to be true.

    But, I went ahead and officially placed an other with BadFlash.com. Unfortunately, I don't know of many PC Techs in my area. Aside from the Best Buys, (add more memory), and the CompUSA's, ($100 just to look at it), I'm kind of out of options.

    So, for now, I just ordered a new/preprogrammed chip from BadFlash.

    I'll update with how it all ends up working out.

    Thanks again for all the help!
    2005 Champion: Solitaire Nationals

  15. #15
    Senior Member joeyroland's Avatar
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    Well, I just wanted to post a follow-up in case someone else runs into the same/similar issue.

    I used the link Bipolar Bill suggested - http://BadFlash.com - and ordered a new BIOS chip. Since I have a laptop as a backup, I did free shipping. I ordered on Thursday and it was here today!

    I got the chip, made sure the orientation was correct, (wrote it down right after I removed the original one for reference), reset the CMOS battery - and the jumper just to be safe - and booted the PC up. Perfect!

    Anyway, I don't mean for this to be a review of BadFlash or anything, but $25 for everything, (including shipping), to fix what could've been a pretty expensive proposal sure saved a lot of headaches.

    So, to everyone who helped, thanks!!! I really appreciate everyone's help!
    2005 Champion: Solitaire Nationals

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