Bad Bios flash on Asus P4PE. Can you help?

MarkA · 08-14-2003, 08:32 PM

Hi,

This is going to sound stupid because I've been building systems for years now: but I used a bios hack to enable full raid on my Asus P4PE. The 1005 bios hack worked fine, but I reverted back to bios revision 1002 of the hacked bios. That completely hosed my system. No video, nothing . . . Asus Easy Flash doesn't work. The boot rom must have gotten corrupted.

I did as I've read here about clearing the cmos by taking the battery out and starting without the battery in. I even put a 1.6A back in. I may just be out of luck. I doubt if it's even worth ordering a new bios chip. The boards are pretty cheap now. I'm writing this on my trusty Gigabyte 8IRXP. I never had any of the problems others have had with the board. I guess I was lucky.

If you can help, thanks! If not, I just shot myself in the foot.

Mark

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garnet_abx · 08-14-2003, 08:47 PM

This is the instruction for a blind flash on another motherboard, so change whatever is necessary to adapt to your board. Good luck!

1. Create a boot floppy and copy awdflash.exe and the bios file you wish to try to load.

2. Create an autoexec.bat file in notepad (save the notepad file with a .bat extension) with the following text:

@echo off
cls
awdflash.exe 'name of the BIOS file.extention' /py /sn /cd /cp /cc /R (without the quotes)

For instance:

@echo off
cls
awdflash.exe a7v1005c.awd /py /sn /cd /cp /cc /R

3. ASUS's flasher doesn't support command switches so download the more general awdflash.exe (as opposed to aflash.exe)

4. Copy the autoexec.bat file you created above to the floppy.

files you should have on the floppy:

BIOS file.
awdflash.exe
autoexec.bat
command.com
drvspaace.bin
io.sys
msdos.sys

5. Disconnect all your devices except the floppy, CPU, RAM, Keyboard. (no Sound, Modem, NIC, HDDs or whatever)

NOTE: #5 ABOVE IS WHAT ENABLES THE BOOT BLOCK RECOVERY SYSTEM..YOU MUST REMOVE EVERYTHING INTERNAL BUT THE VIDEO CARD AND FLOPPY DRIVE. I ALSO SUGGEST YOU RESEAT THE RAM AS WELL BEFORE STARTING. UNPLUG THE TOWER FROM AC POWER FIRST, THEN PLUG BACK IN WHEN READY.

6. Put the floppy in the drive and boot up. You should be able to see some activity on the Floppy Drive's LED. If it just stays there doing nothing it may mean bad news. Nonetheless If you notice activity, let it finish and the FDD's light must be off for a few good minutes just to be sure before you reboot. Clear the CMOS

MarkA · 08-14-2003, 08:54 PM

Thanks, but it won't boot to the floppy. I did what you said already. If I could get to the floppy I'd be in luck. I've tried everyghing I can think of. I do appreciate the reply, though.

Mark

ierax · 08-14-2003, 09:41 PM

Your only option is a BIOS Saviour after that....

P4Northwood · 08-14-2003, 09:48 PM

When you turn on your computer, have the floppy in the drive. Make sure you have the awdflash program , and the bios file you want it to use.

Turn on the computer and hold down "ctrl" and "home" at the same time. Hold it down until the floppy drive starts to load up the file. Hold it down for at least 30 seconds after you power on the system.. You should be ok... Let me know how it went.. I have other ways to save the board. Try that first..

MarkA · 08-15-2003, 11:51 PM

Hi guys,

I tried everybody's suggestions. Thanks, but no luck. The floppy can't be accessed. No video, no nothing. She's dead. Oh well. I've tried several times to resurrect the board. Time to bury her unless I order a new bios chip. Not sure how much that would cost.

Mark

garnet_abx · 08-16-2003, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MarkA
Hi guys,

I tried everybody's suggestions. Thanks, but no luck. The floppy can't be accessed. No video, no nothing. She's dead. Oh well. I've tried several times to resurrect the board. Time to bury her unless I order a new bios chip. Not sure how much that would cost.

Mark

Asus boards have a 3 year warranty.....they should replace it at no cost.

MarkA · 08-16-2003, 09:00 AM

Thanks, but it was my fault, not Asus'. It's not the end of the world. It's a really nice board but I really don't like it overvolting my cpu by .1. I wan't to decide what I run my vcore at.

Mark

chimdogger_abx · 08-16-2003, 05:29 PM

I corrupted my boot rom on my P4P800 when I was trying to flash my bios and the system froze in the middle. I read a post that if you get a copy of the bios, put it on a floppy disk, remove your video card and reset your cmos. Fire up your computer iwith the floppy disk in with the bios that came from your motherboard on the disk. Your system should envoke the crash free bios option and look for it on the floppy drive. It worked for me. Give it a try.

Chim

MarkA · 08-18-2003, 11:21 PM

Hey,

I ended up ordering a new chip from badflash.com. I'm not sure it will help, but $24 isn't too bad of a risk. If it does work, I think I'll fix the bad chip at the same time with a hotswap . . . I've never done it before, but read here how to do it.

I got myself another floppy drive and it did boot from it, but only with the video card out. It went through the motions, but when I shut down and put my video card back in, still no video. I used the method above with the awdflash utility and the switches. I also tried with just the aflash utility. Thanks again for trying to help me.

Mark

MarkA · 08-19-2003, 11:50 PM

Hi,

This is my last update. I still have a chip coming but I wanted to tell you that I live close to TCWO.com. I asked Cory if I could bring in my chip and have them flash it. He said to bring it on in. He hotswapped my bios and flashed it at no charge to me. Im writing this on my resurrected P4PE. I gave him $10. That's all the cash I had on me.

If you've never looked at their website, they have some really good deals. Here's their address: www.tcwo.com.

Mark

08-14-2003, 08:32 PM	#1
MarkA Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 60	Bad Bios flash on Asus P4PE. Can you help? Hi, This is going to sound stupid because I've been building systems for years now: but I used a bios hack to enable full raid on my Asus P4PE. The 1005 bios hack worked fine, but I reverted back to bios revision 1002 of the hacked bios. That completely hosed my system. No video, nothing . . . Asus Easy Flash doesn't work. The boot rom must have gotten corrupted. I did as I've read here about clearing the cmos by taking the battery out and starting without the battery in. I even put a 1.6A back in. I may just be out of luck. I doubt if it's even worth ordering a new bios chip. The boards are pretty cheap now. I'm writing this on my trusty Gigabyte 8IRXP. I never had any of the problems others have had with the board. I guess I was lucky. If you can help, thanks! If not, I just shot myself in the foot. Mark
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08-14-2003, 08:47 PM	#2
garnet_abx SEXpert Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Nova Scotia, Canada Posts: 16,182	This may or may not help This is the instruction for a blind flash on another motherboard, so change whatever is necessary to adapt to your board. Good luck! 1. Create a boot floppy and copy awdflash.exe and the bios file you wish to try to load. 2. Create an autoexec.bat file in notepad (save the notepad file with a .bat extension) with the following text: @echo off cls awdflash.exe 'name of the BIOS file.extention' /py /sn /cd /cp /cc /R (without the quotes) For instance: @echo off cls awdflash.exe a7v1005c.awd /py /sn /cd /cp /cc /R 3. ASUS's flasher doesn't support command switches so download the more general awdflash.exe (as opposed to aflash.exe) 4. Copy the autoexec.bat file you created above to the floppy. files you should have on the floppy: BIOS file. awdflash.exe autoexec.bat command.com drvspaace.bin io.sys msdos.sys 5. Disconnect all your devices except the floppy, CPU, RAM, Keyboard. (no Sound, Modem, NIC, HDDs or whatever) NOTE: #5 ABOVE IS WHAT ENABLES THE BOOT BLOCK RECOVERY SYSTEM..YOU MUST REMOVE EVERYTHING INTERNAL BUT THE VIDEO CARD AND FLOPPY DRIVE. I ALSO SUGGEST YOU RESEAT THE RAM AS WELL BEFORE STARTING. UNPLUG THE TOWER FROM AC POWER FIRST, THEN PLUG BACK IN WHEN READY. 6. Put the floppy in the drive and boot up. You should be able to see some activity on the Floppy Drive's LED. If it just stays there doing nothing it may mean bad news. Nonetheless If you notice activity, let it finish and the FDD's light must be off for a few good minutes just to be sure before you reboot. Clear the CMOS __________________ Abit NF7-S 2500+ mobile 1.86g@2.4g OCZ 3500 EL Dual Channel Memory BFG GeForce 6600 GT OC My Computer Compare - 3DMark 2003; 3DMark2001 Folding will help save lives.........................maybe your own!
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08-14-2003, 08:54 PM	#3
MarkA Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 60	Thanks, but it won't boot to the floppy. I did what you said already. If I could get to the floppy I'd be in luck. I've tried everyghing I can think of. I do appreciate the reply, though. Mark
(Offline)

08-14-2003, 09:41 PM	#4
ierax Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 54	Your only option is a BIOS Saviour after that.... __________________ Rig 1: Asus P4C800 -E DLX (ex Abit IC7-G) P IV 2.4c, @3.0 GhZ 2x256 Corsair XMS 3200, Sapphire 9700 SONY DRU-500, Creative DVD 2x RAID 1 Diamondmax-9 S-ATA 60 GB Suse Linux 8.2 Maxtor Diamondmax-9 S-ATA 120 GB WD Raptor Antec 480 W PSU Lian Li PC-71 Asetek Waterchill Rig 2: Abit NF7-S v2.0 + XP1700 DLT3C @2.3 Ghz WD 1200 JB 120 GB, Yamaha Cd-RW F1
(Offline)

08-14-2003, 09:48 PM	#5
P4Northwood Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 731	When you turn on your computer, have the floppy in the drive. Make sure you have the awdflash program , and the bios file you want it to use. Turn on the computer and hold down "ctrl" and "home" at the same time. Hold it down until the floppy drive starts to load up the file. Hold it down for at least 30 seconds after you power on the system.. You should be ok... Let me know how it went.. I have other ways to save the board. Try that first.. __________________ ASUS PC-DL Deluxe 2x 2.4GHZ Xeons @ 3.2Ghz 1.55v 1024 EL DDR PC3700 Gold 2x IBM U160 18GB 10,000 RPM 2x Seagate SATA 80GB 7200RPM ATI Radeon 9700Pro 550 WATT Xeon PSU (620 WATT) Peak Soundblaster Audigy PcGamer Not done Yet!
(Offline)

08-15-2003, 11:51 PM	#6
MarkA Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 60	Hi guys, I tried everybody's suggestions. Thanks, but no luck. The floppy can't be accessed. No video, no nothing. She's dead. Oh well. I've tried several times to resurrect the board. Time to bury her unless I order a new bios chip. Not sure how much that would cost. Mark
(Offline)

08-16-2003, 09:00 AM	#8
MarkA Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 60	Thanks, but it was my fault, not Asus'. It's not the end of the world. It's a really nice board but I really don't like it overvolting my cpu by .1. I wan't to decide what I run my vcore at. Mark
(Offline)

08-16-2003, 05:29 PM	#9
chimdogger_abx Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 33	I corrupted my boot rom on my P4P800 when I was trying to flash my bios and the system froze in the middle. I read a post that if you get a copy of the bios, put it on a floppy disk, remove your video card and reset your cmos. Fire up your computer iwith the floppy disk in with the bios that came from your motherboard on the disk. Your system should envoke the crash free bios option and look for it on the floppy drive. It worked for me. Give it a try. Chim __________________ Asus P4P800 Deluxe Pentium 2.4c @ 2.9 ATI Radeon 9500 Pro 2 x 512 Corsair XMS PC3200c Western Digital Special Edition 80gig Antec Soho File Server Case Antec 400W PSU
(Offline)

08-18-2003, 11:21 PM	#10
MarkA Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 60	Hey, I ended up ordering a new chip from badflash.com. I'm not sure it will help, but $24 isn't too bad of a risk. If it does work, I think I'll fix the bad chip at the same time with a hotswap . . . I've never done it before, but read here how to do it. I got myself another floppy drive and it did boot from it, but only with the video card out. It went through the motions, but when I shut down and put my video card back in, still no video. I used the method above with the awdflash utility and the switches. I also tried with just the aflash utility. Thanks again for trying to help me. Mark Last edited by MarkA; 08-18-2003 at 11:28 PM..
(Offline)

08-19-2003, 11:50 PM	#11
MarkA Registered User Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 60	Hi, This is my last update. I still have a chip coming but I wanted to tell you that I live close to TCWO.com. I asked Cory if I could bring in my chip and have them flash it. He said to bring it on in. He hotswapped my bios and flashed it at no charge to me. Im writing this on my resurrected P4PE. I gave him $10. That's all the cash I had on me. If you've never looked at their website, they have some really good deals. Here's their address: www.tcwo.com. Mark
(Offline)

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