Blown BIOS on P/I-P55T2P4
Ragnar Wisløff
looks well and truly dead. Is there any hope?
The board is rev. 3.10, last known good bios version 0207.002.
Any advice *really* appreciated this time :-/
--
Mvh
Ragnar Wisløff
----------------
life is a reach. then you gybe.
Ragnar Wisløff
>
> How did you blow it? Did you try clearing cmos? You might be able to
> get a new bios by purchasing a new eprom chip with the bios on it from
> Asus.
I wanted to flash Jan's BIOS version into the BIOS. Tried first pflash.exe
which came with board, it said the file was wrong size. Downloaded again,
same size, same problem. Then tried aflash.exe from ASUS, can't remember
the error message, then tried again. Same error. Then the menu came back,
telling me to turn off, which I did, not heeding the CAPITAL letters
warning in my manual not to do that. So, my bad.
Did I try clearing the CMOS? No, how do I do that?
Do you really think ASUS still has that BIOS in stock? That actually never
crossed my mind, but I guess they might. I'll look on the web page of
theirs.
Thanks for your response :-)
DaJo
/DaJo
"Ragnar Wisløff" <rag...@wisloff.no> skrev i meddelandet
news:2fpi9.23668$sR2.4...@news4.ulv.nextra.no...
Ragnar Wisløff
> To clear comos you could just remove the battery for a few seconds...
>
I feel a bit daft. I can't find the battery on this motherboard. There's a
rectangular chip that says "Real Time Clock" and "Lithium Battery", but
that's soldered to the board.
Could you give me a hint?
Nils
> To clear comos you could just remove the battery for a few seconds...
Garbage! Good luck removing the battery on the T2P4 - it's integrated into the
fat black Dallas chip...
To clear CMOS you'll have to close JP7 (in front of the middle ISA slot) and
then power up the board for a couple of seconds. Don't forget to remove the
jumper afterwards. Yet I don't think this will help much.
Here's how to revive the BIOS:
If you had a 2.07 BIOS on before: the boot block is the same as with Jan's BIOS,
so all is not lost:
Either insert an old ISA VGA card (remove PCI VGA), power up and you'll be able
to boot from floppy. Flash again. You need AFLASH 1.3 dated 09/28/98 or very
similar.
Or if you don't have any ISA VGA, make a bootable floppy with AFLASH and the
BIOS on, including an AUTOEXEC.BAT that load AFLASH with the BIOS. Pretty tricky
to blindly enter Yes/No at the right times though...
The following will work regardless of whether the boot block is intact as long
as the chip is functional.
Or you take another, working T2P4's BIOS, hold it firmly on the socket (do not
really insert it) and power up. The BIOS is copied to shadow RAM and can be
removed without crashing the board. Put the dead BIOS on the socket, hold it
down to make contact and run AFLASH. Be very careful not to touch the wrong pins
to the socket contacts while power is up.
I've used this 'warm flash' method even with completely different boards (same
BIOS size though) and it really works.
The last chance is to find an electronics vendor who sells BIOS chips and offers
programming services. Here in Germany I've very successfully worked with Segor
http://www.segor.de and they're excellent and cheap - dunno about Norway. There
are professional BIOS vendors (very pricey) and even Asus might help you, but
they're not cheap either and take quite some time.
Best of luck
Nils
Rainer Doering
wrote:
>[DaJo]
>
>> To clear comos you could just remove the battery for a few seconds...
>>
>
>I feel a bit daft. I can't find the battery on this motherboard. There's a
>rectangular chip that says "Real Time Clock" and "Lithium Battery", but
>that's soldered to the board.
>
>Could you give me a hint?
to clear CMOS use J7 (see manual)
Ragnar Wisløff
> DaJo schrieb:
>
>> To clear comos you could just remove the battery for a few seconds...
>
> Garbage! Good luck removing the battery on the T2P4 - it's integrated into
> the fat black Dallas chip...
Right. Thanks for restoring me to non-daft status.
>
> To clear CMOS you'll have to close JP7 (in front of the middle ISA slot)
> and then power up the board for a couple of seconds. Don't forget to
> remove the jumper afterwards. Yet I don't think this will help much.
Yes, I tried this, but no success, as you indicate.
>
> Here's how to revive the BIOS:
> If you had a 2.07 BIOS on before: the boot block is the same as with Jan's
> BIOS, so all is not lost:
I did, 0207.002.
>
> Either insert an old ISA VGA card (remove PCI VGA), power up and you'll be
> able to boot from floppy. Flash again. You need AFLASH 1.3 dated 09/28/98
> or very similar.
Ok.
>
> Or if you don't have any ISA VGA, make a bootable floppy with AFLASH and
> the BIOS on, including an AUTOEXEC.BAT that load AFLASH with the BIOS.
> Pretty tricky to blindly enter Yes/No at the right times though...
Hehe. Yes. I'll look for one.
>
> The following will work regardless of whether the boot block is intact as
> long as the chip is functional.
> Or you take another, working T2P4's BIOS, hold it firmly on the socket (do
> not really insert it) and power up. The BIOS is copied to shadow RAM and
> can be removed without crashing the board. Put the dead BIOS on the
> socket, hold it down to make contact and run AFLASH. Be very careful not
> to touch the wrong pins to the socket contacts while power is up.
> I've used this 'warm flash' method even with completely different boards
> (same BIOS size though) and it really works.
Ok.
>
> The last chance is to find an electronics vendor who sells BIOS chips and
> offers programming services. Here in Germany I've very successfully worked
> with Segor http://www.segor.de and they're excellent and cheap - dunno
> about Norway. There are professional BIOS vendors (very pricey) and even
> Asus might help you, but they're not cheap either and take quite some
> time.
Thanks. Probably cheaper to get another motherboard.
>
> Best of luck
And thanks for responding.
Jan Hill
witch file would you flash
this
http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/0207_j2.zip
or
0207_j2.bin ?
and what did your mainboard at the moment nothing? or try to boot from
floppy?
MfG
Jan Hill
Ragnar Wisløff
> one little question:
>
> witch file would you flash
> this
> http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/0207_j2.zip
>
Yes. MD5SUM of d47ac2e49eb61fc562c894f90434619b
Got the advise to start looking on
http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/k6plus.htm
> or
>
> 0207_j2.bin ?
No. Should it have been unzipped first? I didn't think of that. Return to
daft status :-/
>
>
> and what did your mainboard at the moment nothing? or try to boot from
> floppy?
At this moment it does nothing. When I power up it spins the disks, but the
screen is blank. I was advised to use an ISA VGA card, I need to go looking
for one. Booting from floppy does not change things, it seems to stop
before it gets there.
Jan Hill
> [Jan Hill]
>
>
>>one little question:
>>
>>witch file would you flash
>>this
>>http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/0207_j2.zip
>>
>
>
> Yes. MD5SUM of d47ac2e49eb61fc562c894f90434619b
> Got the advise to start looking on
> http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/J.Steunebrink/k6plus.htm
Look into the ZipFile and read the readme.txt
>
>
>>or
>>
>>0207_j2.bin ?
>
>
> No. Should it have been unzipped first? I didn't think of that. Return to
> daft status :-/
>
!!!!yes!!!!! (or did you a joke with me)
the bin file is exact 128kb it is the size of your Flashrom
>
>>
>>and what did your mainboard at the moment nothing? or try to boot from
>>floppy?
>
>
> At this moment it does nothing. When I power up it spins the disks, but the
> screen is blank. I was advised to use an ISA VGA card, I need to go looking
> for one. Booting from floppy does not change things, it seems to stop
> before it gets there.
>
>
>
search for uniflash or look at my Page there is a link to this programm
read the Readme and create a bootdisk like it is describe there.
Then try to recover your Bios with a Bootdisk, uniflash and the .bin file.
If this dose not work try to find a computeer shop or anybody who has a
eprom-burner ... maybe he can write the Bios to your FlashRom
and thake a look at www.wimsbios.com ->formus
Nils
> Should it have been unzipped first? I didn't think of that. Return to
> daft status :-/
Uh oh, there went the boot block...
Sounds like you're in need of a second T2P4. Either borrow one or look in Ebay,
you can sell it afterwards. Or buy a defect one, the BIOS is most probably
intact.
Nils
Ragnar Wisløff
>
> !!!!yes!!!!! (or did you a joke with me)
I wish it was a joke.
>
> search for uniflash or look at my Page there is a link to this programm
> read the Readme and create a bootdisk like it is describe there.
>
> www.jan-hill.com/bios.html
>
> Then try to recover your Bios with a Bootdisk, uniflash and the .bin file.
Ok. Found the site, now reading ...
>
> If this dose not work try to find a computeer shop or anybody who has a
> eprom-burner ... maybe he can write the Bios to your FlashRom
Yes. Well, it might just be time to get another motherboard.
>
> and thake a look at www.wimsbios.com ->formus
Thanks.
--
Mvh und freundliche Grussen
Ragnar Wisløff
>
> search for uniflash or look at my Page there is a link to this programm
> read the Readme and create a bootdisk like it is describe there.
>
> www.jan-hill.com/bios.html
>
> Then try to recover your Bios with a Bootdisk, uniflash and the .bin file.
I did not work. There is no reaction from the floppy drive at all, so I
cannot use uniflash, even if it looked like being exactly what I needed.
Perhaps it needs the boot block to initialise the floppy, and that boot
block is corrupted.
Thanks anyway.
Ragnar Wisløff
> The following will work regardless of whether the boot block is intact as
> long as the chip is functional.
> Or you take another, working T2P4's BIOS, hold it firmly on the socket (do
> not really insert it) and power up. The BIOS is copied to shadow RAM and
> can be removed without crashing the board. Put the dead BIOS on the
> socket, hold it down to make contact and run AFLASH. Be very careful not
> to touch the wrong pins to the socket contacts while power is up.
> I've used this 'warm flash' method even with completely different boards
> (same BIOS size though) and it really works.
I was thinking (no joke), will this work using another motherboard than the
exact same you wish to flash the BIOS of? I have another Asus board, a
TX97-X. What if I boot this using its own working BIOS, then remove that
BIOS, then run aflash with the right flash image (I think I understand
which one now) onto the dead BIOS from the T2P4. As long as aflash puts the
right image onto the dead BIOS, it does not matter which motherboard is
used? The idea is that this procedure is just a very crude eeprom-burner.
I don't want to ruin yet another motherboard, so please tell me if this is
fundamentally impossible.
Egil Solberg
"Ragnar Wisløff" <rag...@wisloff.no> wrote in message
news:L1Ai9.23829$sR2.4...@news4.ulv.nextra.no...
> [Jan Hill]
>
>
> >
> > !!!!yes!!!!! (or did you a joke with me)
>
> I wish it was a joke.
You flashed a zip-archive......oh no.
Yes you will have to get a new mobo.
André Janz
>
> I don't want to ruin yet another motherboard, so please tell me if this is
> fundamentally impossible.
This probably won't work, but on the other hand it shouldn't damage the
other motherboard. (I personally know someone who tried this several
times, didn't work.)
You might really try to find somebody with an flash-programmer, maybe a
computer shop. Just carry the BIOS file with you on a floppy.
André
Nils
> I was thinking (no joke), will this work using another motherboard than the
> exact same you wish to flash the BIOS of?
In principle, yes. It depends on the motherboard, on the quality of the
apropriate flashing software (use the one that belongs to the flashing mobo, not
the one the original mobo needs; it helps a lot if it's the same), and the size
of the BIOS chip MUST be the same.
> I have another Asus board, a
> TX97-X. What if I boot this using its own working BIOS, then remove that
> BIOS, then run aflash with the right flash image (I think I understand
> which one now) onto the dead BIOS from the T2P4. As long as aflash puts the
> right image onto the dead BIOS, it does not matter which motherboard is
> used? The idea is that this procedure is just a very crude eeprom-burner.
Yes, that is the exact idea. The TX97 also uses 128 KB Flash EPROMS, so it
should work.
> I don't want to ruin yet another motherboard, so please tell me if this is
> fundamentally impossible.
I can't guarantee anything, but I've used this technique to flash around a dozen
dead BIOS chips (most of them not from T2P4s and some not even from Asus mobos)
on my old trusty T2P4 without having one single problem. Not one mobo, nor chip
fried. I guess this is very possible though. ;-) To make sure I kept a running
system I always had a second, programmed BIOS chip lying around, but I've never
needed it.
I think it is important to make the time between touching the BIOS to the socket
and making full contact as short as possible. For that you should make sure the
pins are at a 90° angle to the body so they'd touch the socket contacts easily.
Use a smooth, hard surface (table) to align the pins.
And don't remove the chip out of the socket while power is applied. Rather
remove it before powering on and then just hold it onto the socket while
switching on. As soon as the first beep is heard or the screen is coming you can
remove it.
Of course, the very first thing to do is to discharge yourself and your
equipment on a radiator or similar. Try not to touch any contacts with your
fingers etc. Putting the chip onto the socket with the wrong orientation WILL
destroy it - mind the notch.
If you're not sure what to do, do contact me again before trying.
Nils
Ragnar Wisløff
>
> I was thinking (no joke), will this work using another motherboard than
> the exact same you wish to flash the BIOS of? I have another Asus board, a
> TX97-X. What if I boot this using its own working BIOS, then remove that
> BIOS, then run aflash with the right flash image (I think I understand
> which one now) onto the dead BIOS from the T2P4. As long as aflash puts
> the right image onto the dead BIOS, it does not matter which motherboard
> is used? The idea is that this procedure is just a very crude
> eeprom-burner.
>
This really worked, but using pflash. The box is back online!
Thanks to all who took the time to give a hand, if you're ever in Oslo I'll
buy you a beer :-)
Jan Hill
Documentation and ask in the Forum at WimsbiosPage.
Why Uniflash:
- it supports many (most all) FlashRoms
- it supporrts many diferent chipsets (also Intel HX and TX)
- you can write what you want in the Flashrom (there is no check if use
the correct Bios for your Board SO YOU CAN FLASH the T2P4 Bios on the
TX97 BOARD .. most other Progrramms don't allow that)
I "Hot Flashed" sometimes a Bios (befor I get the ct-flasher it is a
ISA-Card for programming FlashRoms)
Tips:
set Bios shadowing -> on
set the Bios protect/flash Jumper correect if the TX97 Board has one
set the BiosWrite Protection -> disable (in Bios if your Bios support
this feature)
use uniflash
make more than one disk with uniflash and the Biosfile
use (in Uniflash) the advance Options to write the Bios with BootBlock!
before all read the documentation of your TX97 and Unifllash to use the
correct settings.
ask if somthing is not clear! than try it
MfG
Jan
Jan Hill
the new Bios ..
Jan
Ragnar Wisløff
Your comments are very good. I was more lucky than I deserved in that I had
another motherboard so close in design to the dead one. I really did
nothing else than what I posted, but yes, I did read the manual of the
TX97, there were no jumpers and nothing special to do.
Thanks ever so much for you interest and help!
Nils
> This really worked, but using pflash. The box is back online!
Great! Nice to hear!
> Thanks to all who took the time to give a hand, if you're ever in Oslo I'll
> buy you a beer :-)
CU in Oslo then. 8^)
Nils
KALLE
>> To clear comos you could just remove the battery for a few seconds...
>
>Garbage! Good luck removing the battery on the T2P4 - it's integrated into the
>fat black Dallas chip...
Not on the later ATX versions.
But you are right for his AT version.
read you :-)
KALLE
--
see http://www.jump.net/~lcs/kalle/ for T2P4 and some other outdated information.