Bios Hell!
 

Hi, I recently wanted to install linux on my old 166 p1. It has 64 mbs ram , so it would be able to cope with a cut down down windows manager. I got mandrake 10.1 and using smartboot manager boot to mandrake cd and finished the install, wiping a working win98 in the process. After reboot, LILO comes up to let me choose the Linux and jsut after that, the pc hangs, just after BIOS CHECK SUCCESSFULL. I boot to DOS using a floppy and can't get to the C: drive
So i figure that smartboot manager must of messed up the ROM BIOS. I also can't get to the BIOS setting as the person I got the machine from nicely put a password onto the BIOS and now can't remember what it is.
Right, then I wanted to flash the BIOS. So I go looking for the correct rom BIOS update and the flash utility(AWDFLASH)a nd a couple of others and guess what , none of them wants to work.

AWDFLASH tells me that the ROM BIOS isn't a new AWARD BIOS, please update the ROM BIOS. (isn't this what i want to do with this utility?)

AMIFLASH --which is actually FLASH818-- after choosing the .ROM file, i tell it to "go ahead" , I hear it loading from the floppy and then just hangs, no crashing , nothing just freeze...

Biostar(the makers of the board) -- says to load the AMIBOOT.ROM file onto a floppy, boot up and hold in the CTRL & HOME keys , i do this and the system replies with a keyboard error press F1 , after which it just says "insert a boot disk"

smartboot manager, when I want to boot from the harddrive it throws a "NO ROM BASIC- SYSTEM HALTED" fault

I insert a winME boot disk and run FDISK which says it cant find a c:drive

I am lost at this point , what else can I do?, this was a fully working machine a week ago, now its just a doorstop, or another place to put books on.
I can't , Oh, during boot up it clearly says there is a hardrive there , so what now? Any suggestions as I am out of ideas...really!

Got the mobo doco ???.
Usually there's a jumper to zap the BIOS.

Yes, that jumper they tell you *NEVER* to use ;)

If it really is just a door-stop now, you could try that, and you might be able to use the flash floppy to get a new BIOS on it.

You could try resetting the CMOS. Usually removing the battery for a few seconds will do it and clear that password as well. Of course if the update programs trashed the chips EEPROM then you're probably out of luck unless you can physically remove the chip from the PC and program it in a programmer. But if it's still booting to bootdisks, it's likely that isn't the case.

Just as a small comment, the capacitors may take several minutes to drain (approx 15 to 20), but as DaHammer suggested, removing the battery should reset the settings back to their default values -- J.W.

Surely you reformatted the 'C:' drive so it should now be a '/'. Have you tried booting a live CD to check the partitions?

If your BIOS does have a battery, removing the battery and then shorting the contacts should force the discharge of any electric (with machine unplugged of course) instead of waiting for it to discharge which can sometimes take a while =(

If it doesn't 'look' like it has a battery then you need to short that jumper... This method wasn't used too terribly much with the old hardware...

I also aggree with APB_4, try a LiveCD and see what happens there - could be a bad LILO install (I do suggest LILO compared to GRUB for old stuff)

I didn't try a live cd yet that but every cd that I get to says there isn't any drive to load onto.

I looked onto the board there isn't a battery, but where would be agood start to look for that jumper settings as I don't have the damn manual either, damnit.

Any ideas on why I can't flash the Rom Bios though, perhaps the password?

The Battery: They make some odd ones, I believe it's with the BIOS Chip =(

There should be a chip on the mother board with the logo of the maker on it (Normally)... The jumper to reset it is NORMALLY around the BIOS Chip...

Basically you close the jumper and on some pcs, turn the pc on for a few seconds and turn it back off... Other PCs, unplug the PC, close the jumper for a few sec and then remove the jumper...........

This maybe a stupid question but do you know what BIOS Chips normally look like? (All of mine, from OLD to NEW PCs all look about the same so...) you might be able to look at any online manual to get an idea of with it looks like...

will have to try it tonite, thanks, will get back to you all....