BIOS problem...I think I killed it!!

[beavereater]

OK...I think I fooked up. I downloaded the new BIOS, put it on a floppy. At the startup I hit Alt-F2 which starts the flashing. It automatically went to the floppy. It did everything, restarted itself at the post. I entered the BIOS and reset all the settings. THEN I saved and exited. It wouln't start up again. I turned off the PC, that didn't work. Then it started to BEEP!! So I flashed CMOS...nothing...what now?

[Faustus]

Not sure it will help but just to make sure... Have you did tried pulling the clear CMOS jumper on the motherboard? Some bios(es) act weird until you do after a flash.

If that doesn't help you may very well be in trouble.

[beavereater]

Yes, I tried clearing the CMOS with the jumpers. After doing this it just goes back to the beeping and does nothing.

[Faustus]

Ok just checking.

Well I hate to be the bring of bad news but... unless your motherboard has some special feature I dont know of then it sounds like its shot. stuffed. pickled. crapped the bed.

[beavereater]

Wouldn't it come up with a LED code other than the C1...something for "Fucked up BIOS"...or not. It was working well, I flashed it according to the manual, and now this shit happens. Don't get it...

[Faustus]

I guess you could always try pulling all the hardware our. Reseating the basic only see if it help. I just doubt it judging from what started the problem in the first place.

I've never fired a bios before, so I'm not sure what it would do. I'd think it would be kinda random for each person though.

[beavereater]

Well, I'm gonna pull the RAM out and switch slots...see if that helps. Hope something happens or I'm gonna have to go PC shopping tomorrow...

[b1tchm4gn3t]

May be me but I dont see that exact model on their site

[b1tchm4gn3t]

ok..this MAY be related

BIOS flash problems.
Our Nvidia based motherboards use a different style of BIOS chips than our other products. To successfully flash the BIOS you will need AWDFLASH.EXE v8.22a or newer. Older flash tools will corrupt the BIOS and leave the board dead. Please ensure to only download BIOS updates for our boards from an official EPoX website. Please note BIOS update files are not interchangeable between the EP-8RDA and EP-8RDA+.

This article applies to:
EP-8KDA3+ EP-8KDA3J EP-8RDA EP-8RDA+ EP-8RDA3+ EP-8RDA3G EP-8RDA3I EP-8RGA EP-8RGA+ EP-8RGM3I EP-8RGMI

Also appears you can order a new bios chip if that one is shot.

[beavereater]

I downloaded the one for my board, I am sure. It went through the whole process. It was only after, when I actually entered the BIOS to change the settings that things fucked up.

[Faustus]

That IS odd. If the flash failed it wouldn't have survived a reboot to GET to the bios. I'm not sure way to say.

[beavereater]

Well, I've left it on my table for now. Going to tinker around with it in a few minutes. Right now I'm online looking for my new PC parts...expect a post soon asking for a critique on my new parts...

[Faustus]

Unless the machine is just old I'd just replace the motherboard and be done with it.

[beavereater]

The thing is, I'd rather spend the money on something that I won't end up shelfing in a couple months. I'd like to get a better CPU, better video card and more RAM in the future. If I plan to do that I have to get a newer mobo that won't support the AGP card I have...or the ram...or the CPU

[psx_pirate]

This might work (it has for me in the past)

Disconnect power from pc, remove m/b battery, wait 15 minutes, replace m/b battery, boot up pc and enter bios setup, select load failsafe settings ... see if it boots into o/s ... if so you can alter the bios settings to suit your needs .. alter 1 setting at a time and then reboot ... if at any time it fails you will know which setting is caursing the problem .

[beavereater]

Problem is, it won't let me into the BIOS...it just sits there now when I power it on. Black screen...

[promark]

Do you get any POST beeps? if you do they usually mean something, if you search the BIOS manufacturers website they usually tell you

HTH
This may help don't know how up to date tho...

http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm
or
http://www.helpwithpcs.com/upgrading/post-beep-codes.htm

[beavereater]

It displays an error code on the mobo LED saying C1. The beep is sometimes there, and sometimes it isn't. Not sure why...it says it's a RAM issue, but the RAM works fine in my other PC.