Killed my friends motherboard

myahmacmyahmac
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
we were goint to flash the BIOS in DOS to update it to a faster one. while updating there was an error message something 9 and saying somethinwrong with the BIOS the options were escape or enter to continue and we decided to hit enter and see if it still worked. but it didnt. when the computer restarts nothing comes up on the screen at all it just stays black. need help quick cuz he wants to buy another MB.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 5
    stoostoo Posts: 1,490member
    Things to try before buying a new motherboard:
    • clear the BIOS setttings: there should be a jumper on the motherboard to do this; consult the manual. It's a bit like zapping the PRAM (but messier)

    • if the BIOS chip is socket mounted rather than soldered, you may be able to get one from the manufacturer cheaper than a new motherboard. It might also be possible to do a dodgy hot swap and flash if you have an identical working motherboard elsewhere (I wouldn't recommend trying).

    • create a boot disk that automatically runs the BIOS flashing program. The PC might boot far enough to run it. From a Windows PC, format a floppy disk with system files on it and put the BIOS/flashing utility on the disk. In the file "autoexec.bat" (create it if it isn't there) put the commands used to flash the BIOS last.

  • Reply 2 of 5
    ebbyebby Posts: 3,110member
    Hey! Welcome. Join the club. I did that too last week. Well, the upgrade worked great, then I went to reset the BIOS settings (by the jumper thingy) and forgot to restore my old settings. Woops! computer don't work!

    [quote]Originally posted by Stoo:

    <strong>
    • clear the BIOS setttings: there should be a jumper on the motherboard to do this; consult the manual. It's a bit like zapping the PRAM (but messier)

    • if the BIOS chip is socket mounted rather than soldered, you may be able to get one from the manufacturer cheaper than a new motherboard. It might also be possible to do a dodgy hot swap and flash if you have an identical working motherboard elsewhere (I wouldn't recommend trying).

    • create a boot disk that automatically runs the BIOS flashing program. The PC might boot far enough to run it. From a Windows PC, format a floppy disk with system files on it and put the BIOS/flashing utility on the disk. In the file "autoexec.bat" (create it if it isn't there) put the commands used to flash the BIOS last.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Option #1: Should work if you have a good BIOS in the first place. (I don't think you do)



    Option #2: The cure-all for BIOS repair. I had to have my computer repaired and all they did was remove the BIOS chip, put in a new one, and reset the settings. Then they erased the BIOS off the chip they took out of my computer and restored the old version. (Try this)



    Option #3: Won't work because you need the BIOS to run the program. (Chicken-or-egg stiuation.)



    [ 03-04-2003: Message edited by: Ebby ]</p>
  • Reply 3 of 5
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    if your friend has mutliple video cards, it likely defaulted back to the PCI vs. agp card. try connecting the monitor to another video card. (if he has one)



    otherwise can you give more info? any beeping sequences? are the fans starting up? HD spinning up?



    -alcimedes
  • Reply 4 of 5
    tt Posts: 1member
    [quote]Originally posted by alcimedes:

    <strong>if your friend has mutliple video cards, it likely defaulted back to the PCI vs. agp card. try connecting the monitor to another video card. (if he has one)



    otherwise can you give more info? any beeping sequences? are the fans starting up? HD spinning up?



    -alcimedes</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Ok here's da deal: Whenever i turn on the computer everything runs perfectly except it does not read the hard drive at all. There's no beeping sequences there is just black space everywhere and that is it.
  • Reply 5 of 5
    fotnsfotns Posts: 301member
    It sounds like the ROM is either corrupted or erased, including the boot block. If that was still available the PC would usually give an error beep and then automatically try to load from the floppy. The options available have been listed above by Stoo. I personally would do a hot flash, but if you don?t know what you are doing you could take out another PC trying it.
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