Paul
Sat Mar 15 14:14:50 PDT 2008
The failed motherboard was a current Asus PK3 purchased in November 2007.
Asus documents bios recovery features, but none worked in this case. The
bios was soldered onto the board, not socketed, so replacement was not
practical for me. Asus tech support said the only fix was return it to them
for RMA. They estimated 2 weeks turnaround. I had purchased from Newegg, and
they agreed to ship me a new board immediately and take the failed one back.
That got me going again in a couple of days.
"bp" <bp@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:276433C0-9768-4B17-911A-B186DA3FCD07@microsoft.com...
>
>
> "Paul Shapiro" wrote:
>
>> I'm glad it works for you. I did exactly as you describe, with the bios
>> on a
>> local drive. I've done the same thing without a problem on various other
>> systems over the years. In this case I had to return my motherboard
>> because
>> only the first part of the update succeeded- it erased the existing bios
>> code. When it failed to write the new bios code, the motherboard wouldn't
>> even post. It would beep, the disk and fans would spin up, and after a
>> few
>> seconds it would all stop, repeating this pattern every few seconds. Very
>> sad experience with a newly-assembled system.
>
> Just curious but what year was the MB made? Must newer boards have several
> ways to recover a corrupt BIOS. My current boards as like 3 different
> ways.
>
> I also found it easy enough to BUY a new BIOS cheap the one time I messed
> one up. Cost like 12.00 bucks and was faster than returning the board.
>
>
>
>
>>
>> This is on an Asus motherboard with Intel chipset? When I called Asus
>> tech
>> support after hosing my motherboard, they told me NEVER to use the Asus
>> Windows bios update utility. I asked why it was available on the Asus
>> website and they said they had requested that it be removed, but not
>> gotten
>> a response from the Asus decision makers. Asus documents a bios-recovery
>> procedure, which did not do anything for me. Searching the web I found
>> plenty of similar reports.
>>
>> Given the fact that IF it fails it leaves the motherboard useless, it
>> seems
>> simple enough to me to use the update utility that's reached from within
>> the
>> bios setup and load the new bios from a usb flash drive.
>>
>> "Charlie Russel - MVP" <charlie@mvKILLALLSPAMMERSps.org> wrote in message
>> news:B5848DF6-3762-499F-817D-AA6D4FC7A295@microsoft.com...
>> > That's simply not true. I use the windows update utility regularly in
>> > 64bit Windows. The one caveat is that I suggest downloading the BIOS to
>> > a
>> > local drive first, then flashing from that.
>> >
>> > --
>> > Charlie.
>> >
http://msmvps.com/xperts64
>> >
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>> >
>> >
>> > "Paul Shapiro" <paul@hideme.broadwayData.com> wrote in message
>> > news:eSA8oHGhIHA.3352@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> >> BUT- If it's an Asus motherboard, DO NOT USE the windows-based bios
>> >> update utility. Most of the time it fails, leaving the motherboard
>> >> unusable. RMA is the only fix. Apparently the success rate is close to
>> >> zero when running a 64-bit os.
>> >>
>> >> If you can't find the Memory Remap option that John mentions below in
>> >> your current bios, you might want to verify it's included in the
>> >> latest
>> >> bios before you bother with the bios update. That's the setting you
>> >> need
>> >> to change for your system to see all the installed memory.
>> >>
>> >> Check to see if your BIOS has an option to update from a USB flash
>> >> disk.
>> >> Last resort, you could buy a USB floppy and use that.
>> >>
>> >> "John Barnes" <jbarnes@email.net> wrote in message
>> >> news:u45B26EhIHA.4396@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> >>> There is a 'remap' in the BIOS that should help you. You can see if
>> >>> it
>> >>> is already there and set it. You may be able to update your BIOS
>> >>> online, from the hard drive etc. Usually the MOBO mfg tells you the
>> >>> procedure and devices you can do it from where the downloads are
>> >>> available.
>> >>>
>> >>> "Loki1975" <Loki1975@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> >>> news:8C489D87-A59A-45DB-81F0-BD45B32F4986@microsoft.com...
>> >>>>I have recently installed the 64 bit version of vista home premium.
>> >>>>After I
>> >>>> installed 4GB RAM (compatible with the motherboard) the BIOS ony
>> >>>> registers
>> >>>> 3.2GB so have decided to try an update the BIOS but not having a
>> >>>> FDD. I
>> >>>> have
>> >>>> tried to make a bootable CD with no luck. Any ideas?