[jr2]

I've got a DFI PT880-ALF, which I usually run my games on... I decided to upgrade the BIOS, using the BIOS file 88LFD104.zip found here, and the BIOS flashing utility WinFlash 1.76 found here.  All went well and good, I told WinFlash to update all sections of the BIOS, it flashed them, it verified them as ok, and then I rebooted.

And I got a big, fat, nothing on the screen.  (The screen actually goes to standby, so I guess no computer input detected.)   First off, I tried shutting the thing off, letting it sit a few moments, and then back on.  Nada.  Then I tried resetting the CMOS settings.  Again, no results.  I have just contacted DFI about the problem, and now one of my computers (the one I was seeding hip63's SCP DVD on) is down, probably permanently, as the BIOS does not look hot-flashable (is not a removable BIOS).

Does anyone have an idea what could cause a bad BIOS flash where the flash utility verifies that the file has flashed OK, but it still goes bad?

[Fury]

I wonder if you selected wrong motherboard, because the file name in your post does not match the ones displayed on this page:
http://eu.dfi.com.tw/Support/Download/bios_download_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=2525&CATEGORY_TYPE=MB&STATUS_FLAG=A&SITE=UK

And you say your mobo model is PT880-ALF, not PT880-AL. Did you buy your mobo from a store or did it come with the computer? If it came with a pre-built computer, it might be a customized OEM-model that does not work with DFI's BIOSes. In which case you need to use the computer manufacturer's BIOSes for the mobo.

You should also check your motherboard manual if the motherboard BIOS can still be flashed with some sort of emergency recovery. My old socket 754 Asus boards supports emergency flashes and works even if nothing comes to monitor, so your DFI board may as well.

BIOS flash utility does not necessarily check if your motherboard is compatible with the BIOS you're trying to flash. It only checks if the BIOS checksum matches after flash is done, to prevent corrupted BIOS flashes.


Edit: You used WinFlash? I never trust flashing BIOS to any Windows application. I always create a bootdisk or bootCD for BIOS flashers. With Windows, you never know what goes wrong with myriad of different apps running in the background while BIOS is being flashed.

[Nuke]

i usually never flash my bios unless theres something seriously wrong with the original version. msi boards i know come with a utility to find and install the correct bios for your mobo. i only flashed my bios after reading some reviews about my board that indicated that the original version was a little bit buggy. even then a bios flash is a tad bit extreme. if it wasnt for the utility i probibly woulda never risked flashing.

its not impossible to recover from a bios flash failure as many would claim. i had one case where i was able to get a board with a bad bios to work by replacing it with one from another board of the same model. bioses have been swappable for ages, i remember seeing some 286 boards that had rather large but removeable bios chips (they actually required a flash from a uv light to erase, hence the term flash).

most bios chips are indeed swapable so that they can always load the firmware onto the chip before its installed. do some research on the bios chip itself. it may be possible to get a programming cable for it. its a cable you can connect from the chip to a serial port and should come with a loader program. then the bios can in theory be loaded from another computer. im not sure how much they cost. but its how the original version is placed on the chip at the factory.

[Fury]

I wonder why many seem to think BIOS updates are a bit on the extreme side. BIOS updates may fix many problems so it is worth doing if BIOS changelog reveals something that may affect you. Granted, BIOS updates aren't something as often done as driver updates, but it really isn't something "extreme" either, especially these days when many mobos have safe-guards against failed flashes.

[Nuke]

actually its a good idea with proper safegaurds in place. i just mean to say its foolish to jump to the conclusion that a bios flash is the only answer. i still consider it a last resort move.

[jr2]

The sad part is, I was trying to get dual channel to work, and only later realized I had to have the memory in DIMM1 and DIMM3 to do that; I had them in DIMM1 and 2.  I found this out after removing the cover to reset the CMOS; and after reviewing the website.

I bought the mobo from the internet; prolly TigerDirect or Newegg.

[diceman111]

Hmm never had that kind of trouble but then I use ASUS they are the best

[jr2]

Hmm, my other mobo is an MSI K7N2 Delta2 Platinum (MS-6570E), it has never had any problems; also, I have had many other older computers and never had this problem except once with a bad floppy disk trying to update the BIOS (which, thankfully, the BIOS was removable and thus hot-flashable).

[Descenterace]

I find it strange that the board doesn't have some kind of hardwired autorecovery system in place. I thought they all had such features. I know every mainboard I've used in the past five years either had dual BIOS chips, or a recovery environment in ROM.

[Huggybaby]

Yep. Usually, if you have a floppy disk, and can move a reset jumper, you can put everything back. No fun though, you need the manual, another machine to get on the internet and do research, etc. It can surely make you sweat.

Still, I always flash from Windows nowadays, I'm a lazy guy, lucky so far.

[jr2]

...That's what I thought; I do have the other computer (MSI) for researching, I don't see any recovery feature besides CMOS clear, which makes me a bit surprised.  Especially considering they've got the dumb BIOS as one of those small chips that cannot be removed... I've successfully hotflashed old mobos 2 or 3 times before (Google Uniflash, make sure you get the updated one, there is an old site that's no longer maintained from like 2001 or something... the newest Uniflash IIRC is only a few months old).

[Huggybaby]

Man, that sucks jr2. 

Assuming the bios is correct and the flash utility is correct... And I know that you know your stuff, so it is.

Can you go into your BIOS settings when you boot? If so that's a good sign. When you flash, everything gets reset, often to wrong unworkable defaults. The CPU type and voltage settings may need to be set manually. Sometimes the CPU voltage is defaulted too low. If you can get into the BIOS, check those settings carefully. All you need is a keyboard, video card and boot drive (hopefully PATA on a standard IDE port), not even a mouse. And if your HDD is not PATA check that too. SATA drives are still not plug and play like they should be. You may want to remove any network cards or other peripherals while troubleshooting.

That sucks, and good luck! Don't give up yet! The fact that the flash went OK gives hope that the hardware is still OK, but the new defaults are wrong. DFI is a pretty good brand from what I've read. The LAN Party line is supposed to be up there with the best.

[jr2]

Heh, my monitor won't even turn on. 

[jr2]

I wonder if you selected wrong motherboard, because the file name in your post does not match the ones displayed on this page:
http://eu.dfi.com.tw/Support/Download/bios_download_us.jsp?PRODUCT_ID=2525&CATEGORY_TYPE=MB&STATUS_FLAG=A&SITE=UK

Uh, typo, I think... 'cause I know I went to the 880-AL / ALF page.  Thx though.

[MP-Ryan]

1.  Did you look for a jumper reset?
2.  Yank the battery and clear the CMOS.  Then try booting again.  Might just be a bad configuration.

EDIT:  And always flash the BIOS from a boot disk.

Also... you said your monitor won't power up?  That means no video signal.  Which means you should be getting some sort of POST error code (beeping in some variation).  It is possible, although unlikely, that your BIOS flash coincided with another hardware issue.

Yank all peripheral devices, the video card, the sound card, unplug the hard disks... strip it down to CPU and motherboard (don't put the RAM in either).  Power it on, see if you get error beeps.

[jr2]

K, I will try that... BTW, I did use the CMOS reset jumper, no results.

[Huggybaby]

Having no video at all is a big indicator.

Do you have a known good "golden" test video card you can stick in there?

[jr2]

Ya, I do.. I'll have to try that, too.

[jr2]

I just remembered, I have a POST error code ISA / PCI card (with LED code display & speaker)... I looked, I know I put it in one of my Maxtor hard disk boxes, but I can't find it just now... later, I guess.  Meh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC_Nu3qXUNA

[diceman111]

Just thought of something, if you have your motherboard manual or a chart of all the jumpers on the motherboard, look for CMOS Reset or something there always is (atleast every computer I have built)