Flashing My Bios

[locutis]

PLEASE HELP ! NEED TO FLASH BIOS ! I am working on a good friends "Pre-System" bought from CSO made by Amptron.

Machine is PK-7810-XA and Has NO Hard Drive. I am installing a Maxtor 40GB "Diamond Max X8" but the machine won't show BIOS, keyboard won't activate, nor will Mouse. I imagine the Battery is dead so changed it with new, but still no BIOS. I have the flash I downloaded from AMPTRON that the support person emailed, but I'm afraid to start without specific instructions which weren't included.

Can Someone PLEASE :confused: Assist by telling Me the procedure I should follow to flash the BIOS, and if this should be neccessary at all ? :confused: I am confident I can do this if only I had a bit of competent advice to follow!

;) Thank You for Your time for answering this probably simple question ! :)

[Buzioid]

Well, you won't be able to do ths is your keyboard won't work, and you don't get a display on your screen!

[locutis]

OBVIOUSLY NOT MUCH HELP, OF COURSE THERE'S NO DISPLAY ON THAT MACHINE! ANY SUGGESTIONS I CAN ACTUALLY USE ?

[Buzioid]

Well, you asked about how to flash a BIOS, and you can't do that with no keyboard and screen! You didn't ask about getting the screen up!

[keith]

If the machine isnt posting then there may be deeper problems that flashing the bios wont fix.

Has the machine worked before? Do you get anything when you turn on the computer any beeps or anything on screen? Are the fans inside spinning when the machine is on?

It might be that something is broken either your cpu, video card or the mobo itself, so you might have to test them individually on a different machine.

As for flashing the bios you need to created a bootable floppy disk with the bios update on it. The only time I have flashed my bios I used a program called DrDos7x. When you run that program from windows it will create the floppy that you will need and then you just copy the bios flash to the disk. The when the computer starts have it boot from the floppy and it will load the program that DrDos7x put on the disk. Then when your in that program you will have an option to type the name of the bios flash and the program will flash your bios.


btw Welcome to XPC :D

[locutis]

Yes, The machine DID Work prior to this, with a 10GB Hard Drive, and Linux mandrake 7.2 loaded. Now that I finally received The Maxtor 40gb drive, It wont show anything for screen, keyboard or mouse. no way to set bios if I can't get it on monitor, or use KeyBoard, so Now, what ?

Jumpers are at factory settings on Motherboard, hard drive jumper is correctly set on master. Wish all could be reset somehow, but no way to tell. Wont flash bios until I'm comfortable with doing it. can buy a new BIOS, but they should give it up free since battery was dead on arrival of pre-system, NO?
Will Write manufacturer, AMPTRON, and see what They say.

Thanks for Your time !

[Buzioid]

So you are saying that all you did was replace the HD in your computer???

[locutis]

I bought the machine as a pre-system, meaning it has no O/S or Hard Drive, but everything else!

Now, I installed a drive with linux (10GB Drive) which worked. now, I have the 40GB drive I ordered, and want to install it, then XP After. I get no bios to read, no keyboard, no monitor and no mouse. See the problem ?:confused:

[MDS]

try booting with the HD unpluged the ribbon cable that is and see if it boots. A new drive won't keep a system from booting up because of bios ploblems. Make sure keyboard and mouse plugs are not switch around and boot into bio's without the hard drive. Also you may check to see if it will still boot with another drive as a bad hd can cause a system not to boot at all

[LordKwiKSilva00]

i got a question along these lines also...is it possible to flash a bios with a bootable cd??? i am ready to flash mine also, and i have flashed b4 with my dads system, but the floppy drive in his worked, so i did it with a floppy disk...the floppy drive in my system doesnt work, but i can make bootable CD's with Nero eXpress that came with my burner...i dont have any working floppy drives(offhand anyways) and am in the works of getting one when i get the cash...but i would like to flash myu bios, as i got a proc on trade comin from a friend(locally) that my board doesnt support. it is ECS K7S5A rev 1.x with an Athlon Tbrd 1.33 ghz and i am trading for an 1800 xp

[Mntsnow]

I have flashed with a bootable CD but I will admit it was the scariest thing I ever did...but it worked....When it comes to flashing bios' I still prefer to use a floppy drive. (I have a floppy drive that I use just for this job...as most systems I build in the last year do not have a floppy drive in them)

[LordKwiKSilva00]

i am just afraid to try it, as i have also never made a bootable cd with nero...lol...i have the bios update and flash util, but i dont want to flash just for tha fact that if i fook it up, i am screwed, unless i can find a way to recover the current bios. dont know if there is a recovery jumper or not on my board

[Buzioid]

You know, I have heard everyone talking about being scared as heck when they flash their bios, but for me I have done it multiple times on multiple systems and I wasn't the least bit scared. I know that if you mess up your BIOS is gone, but I just never have been scared to do it.

[jasewes]

I am having problems with my PC not POSTING and most interested in similar problems. Can someone explain what is meant by flashing BIOS??

Jase+

[keith]

Flashing your bios is like updating drivers with alittle more difficulty and danger :)
It is usually required if have upgraded your chip or installing a larger hard disk drive than is supported. Bios upgrades also sort out problems with the board or compatibility issues.
So unless you have recently changed your computer part flashing wont help.
It might be easier if you start a new thread and post your system spec and os and any changes you have made. Also if you could say what happens when you turn the computer on ie do the fans spin does the hdd sound and does the hdd light flicker
And hopefully we should be able to help you with your problem :)

[jasewes]

Thanks Keith, I'll do that...one more thing, I'm brand new to this PC building lark, but dead keen learn as much as poss. IS there anywhere you know of where I can get simple ( yet comprehensive ) info on PC's and how they work, for example definitions on all the parameters, that are visible when you go into Setup /BIOS...

Any suggestions welcome.

Jase+

[locutis]

WHAT ABOUT THESE RESET JUMPERS SOMEONE MENTIONED ?

Where are the JUMPERS located to reset or refresh the BIOS That someone mentioned earlier ? That may be something helpful to put machine back in factory condition. THE MACHINE SPECS ARE AS FOLLOWS.

Product: PreSystem
Model #: PK-7810XA
Serial #: A810023XA65284
Driver CD: ROM

__________________________________________________ _________
System Configuration:

Operating Sys: Windows XP
CPU Type: AMD Duron
CPU Bus Freq: 133MHz
CPU Speed: 1.3GHz
Memory Type: 168-Pin SDRAM DIMMs
Memory Amount: 256
Memory Layout: 32x8
Memory Speed: PC-133 (133MHz)
H.D. Brand: Maxtor
H.D.Capacity: 40 GB
BIOS Date: 1999
Video Type: Built-in
Video Brand: Unknown
Video Model: N/A
Sound Type: N/A
Printer: N/A
LAN Adapter: Realtek
MODEM Type: N/A internal

When system is turned on, fan runs, , Lights light up, A: DRIVE lite stays lit (wont go out) and HDD lights flicker. CD ROM Drive operable, but no keyboard, monitor or mouse functions work. No Beeps occur, and because Mouse and Keyboard wont work, So, I cannot hit "Delete" to enter BIOS upon bootup. Only thing working on monitor is its internal screensaver Which shows Red,Green,Blue patch declaring I should check the connection, no signal detected, but it's obviously plugged in correctly, as are mouse & keyboard.

I've tried "Boot Disks" but nothing is read by A: DRIVE as No O/S is loaded onto new hard drive yet.( 40GB Maxtor, Factory fresh, new, empty) Have XP Home (full edition) to load into drive, if & when i get BIOS to Return.

So, Machine seems totally functional, except I cannot get into the BIOS. I checked battery originally shipped, it was DEAD, I replaced it with new one, but no BIOS is present. Did it disappear because of DEAD BATTERY ?
How can it be reset, and what about the jumper setting on the mother board?
Can jumpers be set to refresh the BIOS display? Why is it gone now? How do I restore the BIOS? Someone must have an answer out here, and There MUST be an answer.

Thanks for any & all help !
;)

[Mntsnow]

I will try and post more later but one thing caught my eye. A: DRIVE lite stays lit (wont go out)

Sounds like you have the Floppy drive cable flipped upside down (reverse the cable so that the "red" strip on the side of the cable is now on the other side if you get my meaning)

Yes if the bios battery is totally dead that can prevent a system from booting. as for where your bios clear jumper is I will have to reply later as I will have to look up your motherboard first. Maybe someone else will have that done before I get home

[MRCOMPUTER]

Don't bother trying to flash the bios. The problem is not there.
Remove the drive cables and any add-on cards and try again.
Check the cmos jumper. Clear it once and return it to the normal position. This presystem uses the PC Chips M810/Amptron K7-810LM mainboard. If you do not have the mainboard manual that came with it, download it from Amptron or PC Chips.

Use the onboard connector for video and make sure the sdram is firmly seated in Dimm slot #1...:)

[Mntsnow]

Here is the download link to the manual for the motherboard that MrC was able to identify for you
http://www.amptron.com/manuals/K7-810LMR/v1.6/810lmr16-d.doc

And the webpage about that mobo is http://www.amptron.com/html/m810lm.html

Enjoy

[Mntsnow]

btw your CMOS Jumper is "JP4" which should be by the Memory slots.

Jumper JP4: Clear CMOS Memory
Use this jumper to clear the contents of the CMOS memory. You may need to clear the CMOS memory if the settings in the Setup Utility are incorrect and prevent your mainboard from operating. To clear the CMOS memory, disconnect all the power cables from the mainboard and then move the jumper cap into the CLEAR setting for a few seconds.

Function .... Jumper Setting

Normal Operation Short Pins 2-3 (jumper on these two pins)

Clear CMOS Memory Short Pins 1-2 (jumper on these two pins)

[locutis]

In order to save time, space & Extra Clicks, I will GRATEFULLY THANK MNTSNOW and Mr.Computer for their advice on the jumper settings! Thanks gentlemen, I'll let You know how I make out!

Your time and input has been most valuable !:p