I think I've killed a Socket7 BIOS \ VOGONS

I think I've killed a Socket7 BIOS

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First post, by devius

Posted on 2014-10-12, 11:05

devius Offline

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I recently aquired a DFI P5BV3+ Rev. B4 motherboard and I'm having a difficult time making it work. The CPU that came with it is a K6-2 350 and I got it with 2 sticks of 128MB PC133 SDRAM, and at first I had problems with memory compatibility. When powering on the system there would be a continuous beep with very short periodic interruptions. According to the manual this means there is some problem with the RAM and that I should try setting a jumper (JP4) that alters the RAM clock to be the same as the AGP clock (which is 66MHz). Now, when I set it this way the FSB and RAM clocks were 100/66MHz respectively. After this change the system would not boot and would not produce any beeps any more, no matter how many times I tried clearing the CMOS.

After doing some research I found a discussion where a guy said that DFI motherboards could easily get a corrupted BIOS by using any FSB/RAM ratio other than 1:1 😕 Although this discussion was about newer boards, it seems the same also applies to older ones as I have painfully discovered. 😢

I'm pretty sure the BIOS is dead because when I power on the system all the keyboard lights are on and they stay on until I turn the system off. I don't think the board itself is dead because using an ATX PSU I can turn the system on and off by shorting the two power switch pins.

From what I've been reading it should be possible to recover this BIOS chip by hot flashing it. However until yesterday, when I was looking for solutions to this problem, I never even heard of this process. I have flashed a lot of BIOS over the years, so I'm not that scared of doing it, however I don't currently have any other working socket 7 motherboard that I can use for the hot flash process. I do have two 486 motherboards which may do the job, a Chaintech 486SPM and an Epox VLB board that I can't identify. However, these are 486 boards, not socket 7 so I don't know if there will be any problems in regards to putting a more recent flash rom chip in there. Does anybody have any idea about this?

Reply 1 of 7, by n1mr0d

Posted on 2014-10-12, 11:40

n1mr0d Offline

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Don't hot flash, let someone flash it for you

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Reply 2 of 7, by PhilsComputerLab

Posted on 2014-10-12, 11:59

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Or get a flasher from eBay. Such a useful tool.

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Reply 3 of 7, by devius

Posted on 2014-10-12, 12:12

devius Offline

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n1mr0d wrote:
Don't hot flash, let someone flash it for you

Well, I could try to go to some local computer repair shops and see if they can program the chip for me. The problem is that I want it fixed now and all the computer shops are closed since it's Sunday. 😢

BTW, why shouldn't I try to hot flash it? Everybody that does it seems to be having success with the process, or could it be that I just haven't run into any hot-flashing horror stories yet?

Reply 4 of 7, by PhilsComputerLab

Posted on 2014-10-12, 13:11

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I've hot flashed a few times in the past 😀

But now I use a flasher.

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Reply 5 of 7, by carlostex

Posted on 2014-10-12, 15:26

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A flasher is a great tool to have, although some boards might have PLCC style BIOSes soldered directly. When they're socketed it's ok if you have and adapter to use with a flasher but if you do not, hot flashing is the obvious easier solution.

Reply 6 of 7, by Matth79

Posted on 2014-10-12, 17:07

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Described here... http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=62

Be aware that a mistake in the procedure could damage the "donor" motherboard, and also be aware that older standard 5V BIOS chip systems and newer 3.3V are incompatible.

So remember, it's an operation that could leave TWO dead patients!

Have to be careful to avoid static, contacting anything with a metal tool, dropping the chip onto any other contacts, or incorrect insertion.

As it says, you should be confident with normal flash procedures, and also with inserting / removing the chip ... doing it "cold" you have second chances - short something while it's powered, and it could be bye bye motherboard.

Reply 7 of 7, by devius

Posted on 2014-10-12, 18:56

devius Offline

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Matth79 wrote:
Described here... http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=62
...be aware that older standard 5V BIOS chip systems and newer 3.3V are incompatible.

Since the boards I have are from the mid-to-late nineties they should be compatible right? Or what do you mean exactly by "newer"? How much newer?

Matth79 wrote:
Described here... http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=62
So remember, it's an operation that could leave TWO dead patients!

Thank you for the link! I'm skilled at building and repairing electronic stuff so that shouldn't be a problem. I think I already fried/exploded my share of components so I'm not scared about something as "simple" as swapping one chip for another. I'll probably need to test the swapping thing without any power though, to be on the lookout for any possible complications, but I've decided to try to look for someone that can flash it for me first. Doing the hot flash will be a last resort only.

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