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#1
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
Hello
Here's my BIOs query for you wonderful fixit people: A week prior to the checksum message described below my PC started up with an extra and unusual message, something along the lines of: "Primary Bios fail, now booting using secondary BIOS.." Of course I shoud have got help then, but I figured as long as everything eventually booted, why bother? After about 7 or so boots like this I got a dreaded checksum error message and could not access anything besides the floppy drive. A "fundi" told me to flash the BIOS, but I've struggled finding the correct one. Usually the ones I did try either froze up everything or did not work at all. I downloaded most of the flash utilities from a jetway site. And unfortunately the Motherboard Utility CD has a flasher for an Amibios chip. Aarrgh!! Please, please put me one the trail of a flasher that works, or any advice to help my ailing PC! Thanks Flipflop. ----------------------- CPU : AMD Athlon 2000 xp MotherBoard: Gigabyte GA-7VAX REV1.2, K7 Triton 400, FSB333 ----------------------------- First startup screen: GA-622-32C VGA BIOS rev2.2 Gigabyte VGA Bios 32MB ram AGP4X --------------------------------- Second screen: Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0 Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software Inc BIOS ROM checksum error Detecting floppy drive A media Drive media is: 1.44 MB Remove disks or other media Press any key to restart |
#3
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
Looks like Paul tracked down the proper tool for you. If it fails however,
it's time to replace the board. "Paul" wrote in message ... In article , wrote: Hello Here's my BIOs query for you wonderful fixit people: A week prior to the checksum message described below my PC started up with an extra and unusual message, something along the lines of: "Primary Bios fail, now booting using secondary BIOS.." Of course I shoud have got help then, but I figured as long as everything eventually booted, why bother? After about 7 or so boots like this I got a dreaded checksum error message and could not access anything besides the floppy drive. A "fundi" told me to flash the BIOS, but I've struggled finding the correct one. Usually the ones I did try either froze up everything or did not work at all. I downloaded most of the flash utilities from a jetway site. And unfortunately the Motherboard Utility CD has a flasher for an Amibios chip. Aarrgh!! Please, please put me one the trail of a flasher that works, or any advice to help my ailing PC! Thanks Flipflop. ----------------------- CPU : AMD Athlon 2000 xp MotherBoard: Gigabyte GA-7VAX REV1.2, K7 Triton 400, FSB333 ----------------------------- First startup screen: GA-622-32C VGA BIOS rev2.2 Gigabyte VGA Bios 32MB ram AGP4X --------------------------------- Second screen: Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0 Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software Inc BIOS ROM checksum error Detecting floppy drive A media Drive media is: 1.44 MB Remove disks or other media Press any key to restart Is this your motherboard ? The BIOS is associated with the motherboard, and the GA-7VAX is on the Gigabyte site. http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...OS_GA-7VAX.htm The download from that page is self-extracting - double-click to extract it. Inside is a flasher program "flash879", the BIOS file "7vax.f13" of size 262144 bytes, and the command syntax is shown in autoexec.bat as "flash879 7vax.f13". You can get a dowhloadable manual from here. PDF page 64 describes the options for flashing the BIOS. This is a pretty big download (8MB). Basically, you can make a DOS floppy boot disk, boot from the floppy, and with the flash879.exe and 7vax.f13 files copied onto the floppy, execute the "flash879 7vax.f13" command from the prompt. http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...al_GA-7VAX.htm If you still have the paper copy of the user manual, the procedure should be documented in there as well. HTH, Paul |
#4
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:26:56 +0200, Flip
wrote: Hello Here's my BIOs query for you wonderful fixit people: A week prior to the checksum message described below my PC started up with an extra and unusual message, something along the lines of: "Primary Bios fail, now booting using secondary BIOS.." Of course I shoud have got help then, but I figured as long as everything eventually booted, why bother? After about 7 or so boots like this I got a dreaded checksum error message and could not access anything besides the floppy drive. A "fundi" told me to flash the BIOS, but I've struggled finding the correct one. Usually the ones I did try either froze up everything or did not work at all. I downloaded most of the flash utilities from a jetway site. Did it occur to try Gigabyte's site? Seems like reasonable target since it's a Gigabyte board. Check your battery, take a voltage reading with a multimeter if possible or just replace it - CR2032 type is available at many drugstores for $2. And unfortunately the Motherboard Utility CD has a flasher for an Amibios chip. Aarrgh!! I don't see the problem here. Forget that you have a motherboard utility CD. I mean, never use one on that or any other motherboard. ALL the tools you need are available online in newer versions, a motherboard cd is just a collection of older and potentially more buggy software, always superceded by the downloads at the respective manufacturer's website. Please, please put me one the trail of a flasher that works, or any advice to help my ailing PC! Since it was an Award BIOS, you'd need only Google for "award bios flasher" or awdflash of a fairly recent vintage. I assume you will flash in dos, it's far safer and perhaps even moreso with a board acting funny to rule out all other variables (like more complicated flashing software or a giant OS like windows). I'd look at the battery first though, checking, replacing if warranted, then clearing CMOS. |
#5
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
On Fri, 13 Jan 2006 13:38:42 GMT, "Erick"
wrote: After about 7 or so boots like this I got a dreaded checksum error message and could not access anything besides the floppy drive. A "fundi" told me to flash the BIOS, Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0 Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software Inc BIOS ROM checksum error Detecting floppy drive A media http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...OS_GA-7VAX.htm The download from that page is self-extracting - double-click to extract it. Inside is a flasher program "flash879", the BIOS file "7vax.f13" of size 262144 bytes, and the command syntax is shown in autoexec.bat as "flash879 7vax.f13". prepare & use: http://users.volja.net/jerman55/FlashBiosFD.zip -- Seasons Greetings & Regards , SPAJKY ® mail addr. @ my site @ http://www.spajky.vze.com more than 3y - "Tualatin OC-ed / BX-Slot1 / inaudible setup!" |
#6
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 18:53:11 +0200, HA de Villiers
wrote: Thanks, but I still think it darn yucky and rude that they (Gigabyte) supply an altogether different flash utiity (Amibios) to the existing chip (Award) on their motherboard! It certainly is not ideal but often a utility CD covers several boards and some may need older flasher while newer flashers only cover newer boards... as they seem to have a combined ami/award flasher utility now. I forgot to mention that my machine had Windoze XP Pro installed a few months before. I suspect that this OS had something to do with my machine hanging. Also the power light (green) flashes as soon as my machine starts ( 3 secs on, 3 secs off) Maybe this might mean something... It's unlikely, any OS installed might have it's own problems but a system will still turn on, POST, and proceed up until the point that it tries to load that OS from whatever-media is present. It would seem more likely a general power or motherboard failure. |
#7
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
In article , HA de Villiers
wrote: In article , says... Is this your motherboard ? The BIOS is associated with the motherboard, and the GA-7VAX is on the Gigabyte site. http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...OS_GA-7VAX.htm The download from that page is self-extracting - double-click to extract it. Inside is a flasher program "flash879", the BIOS file "7vax.f13" of size 262144 bytes, and the command syntax is shown in autoexec.bat as "flash879 7vax.f13". You can get a dowhloadable manual from here. PDF page 64 describes the options for flashing the BIOS. This is a pretty big download (8MB). Basically, you can make a DOS floppy boot disk, boot from the floppy, and with the flash879.exe and 7vax.f13 files copied onto the floppy, execute the "flash879 7vax.f13" command from the prompt. http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...al_GA-7VAX.htm If you still have the paper copy of the user manual, the procedure should be documented in there as well. HTH, Paul Thanks Paul, I tried this but nothing happened, just an underscore cursor flicking below the last DOS command. Something else I forgot to mention in my original posting, which might have some relevance: I get a message to "Insert a system disk and press enter._" Now my machine has Windows XP pro as the OS, and the system disk I used was made from a machine with W98 SE. So the next screen states: Starting Windows 98 ----------------------- Preparing to start your computer. This may take a few minutes... The W98 startup disk could not create a temp. drive for the diagnostic tools. This may be because this computer has less than the minimum required extended memory... --- This could be something to do with FAT32 and FAT16 conflict - but I'm guessing. But at least at the end of this slurb I get a Dos prompt! This only allows reading of my A: drive. So I copied flash apps mentioned to a seperate floppy... But no luck. When my PC first went on the blink I tried quite a few award flash apps from gigabyte's site, this one looks familiar... Maybe all those attempts screwed the BIOS up further! -Flip You make a good point about the flash tool and the BIOS file. I didn't even think of checking for a mismatch, as the flash tool was bundled with the BIOS file. The "Flash879.exe" program, when examined with a hex editor, contains the text string "AMIFLASH OVERLAY AREA". If I look at the "7VAX.F13" file, it contains the text string "Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0". Generally speaking, you cannot mix tools from the two companies - the reason is that the flashing tool looks for a "BIOS hook", and the flashing tool will fail if it does not find the hook. If the existing BIOS is an Award BIOS, then the new BIOS file should also be Award, and the flashing tool should also be from Award. OK, I found the answer. http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard...oReflash_1.htm "DOS Flash utility Features - The flash utility is a combination of AMI and AWARD BIOS flash utility. You can use it with both AMI and AWARD BIOS." So that explains the FLash879 program. It is some kind of hybrid flasher. In the picture here, it looks like both flash chips are soldered to the motherboard ? I guess that rules out fixing this by buying a replacement flash chip from badflash.com . http://www.digital-daily.com/documen...byte-7vaxp.jpg The option you have already tried, is flashing from DOS. http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard...shbios_dos.pdf To make a floppy boot disk, there are boot disks on this site. (I haven't tried these, so don't know how difficult it is to make a working boot floppy with the files provided.) http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm Another option would be the built-in Q-flash option. That is a flashing program built into the BIOS itself. http://www.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard...ios_qflash.pdf My understanding of the dual flash on the Gigabyte boards, is it isn't truly dual. You have one boot block, and two main BIOS code images. If the boot block is corrupted, I think that prevents the computer from POSTing. The boot block may or may not be reprogrammable. (If Gigabyte has a FAQ, it will do a better job of explaining this than I can.) When the boot block executes, it gets to load one of the two main bios code blocks. There is likely a main body code block contained in each of the BIOS chips. The BIOS contains options to boot with the main or the backup BIOS code. The BIOS also has the ability to (1) attempt to checksum the BIOS it is supposed to boot from and (2) if the BIOS is corrupted, switch to the other BIOS image and boot from it. You really need to study the documentation carefully, to make sure you are flashing the correct chip. Q-flash (the built-in flash utility - operates from the BIOS) can be used apparently, to flash the BIOS the computer is currently booted from, or it can flash the non-boot image. The DOS flasher is supposed to only flash upgrade the non-boot image. That makes Q-flash more powerful and more dangerous than the DOS flasher. Something else you can experiment with, is making a backup copy of each BIOS (main and backup). Perhaps that will give you some idea, as to which one is corrupted. Q-flash has the ability to make backup copies of both the main and the backup chips, for study with a hex editor. As long as the backup files are stored on a floppy, you can attempt to use them if problems crop up in your programming experiments. Take the backup copies first, before doing anything else. This is a bit like flying a 747, when you are used to flying a Piper Cub. And with the flash chips being soldered to the board, there isn't a very convenient recovery plan, if both BIOS flash chips are corrupted. Still, I think Qflash is your best bet, if Qflash is still working. Post back if you make any progress. Paul |
#8
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
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#9
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
In article ,
says... Looks like Paul tracked down the proper tool for you. If it fails however, it's time to replace the board. Thanks Erick, bu that's not exactly what I want to do. Finances are low, when I had a job a 5 months ago I splashed out R400 (about $70) on a Thermal take fan for the CPU. So I admit I'm rather reluctant to purchase a new or risk a 2nd hand board. "Paul" wrote in message ... In article , wrote: Hello Here's my BIOs query for you wonderful fixit people: A week prior to the checksum message described below my PC started up with an extra and unusual message, something along the lines of: "Primary Bios fail, now booting using secondary BIOS.." Of course I shoud have got help then, but I figured as long as everything eventually booted, why bother? After about 7 or so boots like this I got a dreaded checksum error message and could not access anything besides the floppy drive. A "fundi" told me to flash the BIOS, but I've struggled finding the correct one. Usually the ones I did try either froze up everything or did not work at all. I downloaded most of the flash utilities from a jetway site. And unfortunately the Motherboard Utility CD has a flasher for an Amibios chip. Aarrgh!! Please, please put me one the trail of a flasher that works, or any advice to help my ailing PC! Thanks Flipflop. ----------------------- CPU : AMD Athlon 2000 xp MotherBoard: Gigabyte GA-7VAX REV1.2, K7 Triton 400, FSB333 ----------------------------- First startup screen: GA-622-32C VGA BIOS rev2.2 Gigabyte VGA Bios 32MB ram AGP4X --------------------------------- Second screen: Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0 Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software Inc |
#10
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Award Boot Block BIOS rom checksum error
In article ,
says... Is this your motherboard ? The BIOS is associated with the motherboard, and the GA-7VAX is on the Gigabyte site. http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...OS_GA-7VAX.htm The download from that page is self-extracting - double-click to extract it. Inside is a flasher program "flash879", the BIOS file "7vax.f13" of size 262144 bytes, and the command syntax is shown in autoexec.bat as "flash879 7vax.f13". You can get a dowhloadable manual from here. PDF page 64 describes the options for flashing the BIOS. This is a pretty big download (8MB). Basically, you can make a DOS floppy boot disk, boot from the floppy, and with the flash879.exe and 7vax.f13 files copied onto the floppy, execute the "flash879 7vax.f13" command from the prompt. http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard...al_GA-7VAX.htm If you still have the paper copy of the user manual, the procedure should be documented in there as well. HTH, Paul Thanks Paul, I tried this but nothing happened, just an underscore cursor flicking below the last DOS command. Something else I forgot to mention in my original posting, which might have some relevance: I get a message to "Insert a system disk and press enter._" Now my machine has Windows XP pro as the OS, and the system disk I used was made from a machine with W98 SE. So the next screen states: Starting Windows 98 ----------------------- Preparing to start your computer. This may take a few minutes... The W98 startup disk could not create a temp. drive for the diagnostic tools. This may be because this computer has less than the minimum required extended memory... --- This could be something to do with FAT32 and FAT16 conflict - but I'm guessing. But at least at the end of this slurb I get a Dos prompt! This only allows reading of my A: drive. So I copied flash apps mentioned to a seperate floppy... But no luck. When my PC first went on the blink I tried quite a few award flash apps from gigabyte's site, this one looks familiar... Maybe all those attempts screwed the BIOS up further! -Flip |
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