BIOS Flash Help

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
A

aaronpthomas42

Prominent
Jan 25, 2018
8
0
510
Hi there.
I asked in another thread about my system's repetitive crashes, when it would randomly and completely shut down a few minutes after login. With the advice gained from that thread, I have decided to try to flash my BIOS in a last-ditch attempt to solve the problem before purchasing a new motherboard.

Problem is, with my system losing power in windows, I don't think I will be able to flash it successfully before it dies, risking completely bricking the board (I still don't really want to completely destroy it).

And so my question is this: how would I go about flashing my BIOS without having to boot into Windows, and thus risking it crashing? Can it be done?

Specs:
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-970A-D3P (rev. 1.0)
BIOS Version - F3
 
Solution
jr9
Simple CMOS clear according to BIOS manual: Unplug PSU from power cable and flip the power switch off, short the CLR_CMOS jumper by moving the jumper block over them (located near the bottom right of the board and to the left of the SATA ports) or touch them with a screwdriver, continue shorting for 10 seconds, move the jumper block back to where it was, plug PSU back in/switch it on, load factory defaults in BIOS settings.

Try AMD Overdrive or CoreTemp if you can get into Windows or even in safe mode, or have a look in BIOS settings. Those steady temps aren't correct for sure.

Do you have another CPU cooler you can try? If you have your pump on your CPU_FAN header and the pump is dying and falls below a certain speed the system...
Sort by date Sort by votes
jr9

jr9

Estimable
Dec 6, 2017
2,212
3
3,960
What CPU are you running? Updating from F3 may not be necessary.

The only three things that can cause that cause instant shutdowns: motherboard, power supply area, severe overheating of the CPU. I'd also note that a lot of 970 boards have major issues with power management and generally are considered lower quality. My workflow for this PC would be

- Confirm CPU is supported by the F3 version of the BIOS. That depends on what your CPU is.

- Check and see if your CPU temps. If you are getting temps in the 80s-100s under load we should look into that.

- Try another wall outlet and computer power cord. Even the best PC will fail if the outlet is failing.

- Make sure it isn't the power supply by either trying another one or getting a shop to run a diagnostic for you. If you go the shop route they can also try another motherboard if you don't have one on hand.

- Try another AM3 motherboard.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

aaronpthomas42

Prominent
Jan 25, 2018
8
0
510
1 - From what I have been able to find, my cpu (fx-8350) is compatible with F3.
2 - My CPU temps are a constant 80.0. I will copy-paste a previous reply:
"... there is no fluctuation in the temperature - none at all, not even a single tenth of a degree. The temperature of 80 is present even immediately after booting when the computer has been unplugged for two weeks, and is rock steady at 80. The case, cooling pump and the mobo all do not feel close to 80 degrees. The pump and fan on the cooler seem to be working."
From this, I gather that something is malfunctioning.
3 - I have tried it at a friend's house with no success. The computer still experiences total shutdown.
4 - I have tested another power supply, again with no success.
5 - I don't have another motherboard, and I would prefer not to buy one if possible if this one can be fixed. However, it doesn't sound very likely so far, so this might be what I have to do.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jr9

jr9

Estimable
Dec 6, 2017
2,212
3
3,960
1. Good so BIOS update isn't going to do us any good then. A BIOS reset may be more helpful using the jumpers on the board and removing the battery, if you haven't done this already

2. Highly unusual. Are you getting a constant 80C from a good program like HWInfo? Use it and look at both CPU and core temps under load. I've never seen core temps do this as they are recorded by the CPU itself with sensors built into it. If you are overclocking, revert to stock. Also what cooler are you using?

It's good you ruled out power as the issue, it's down to CPU or motherboard now.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
A

aaronpthomas42

Prominent
Jan 25, 2018
8
0
510
1. If you could link a helpful guide, that would be great :)

2. From what I remember, it was doing it since I got it (second hand) and has persisted through all upgrades. I have not changed the CPU or motherboard, however. The 80 degrees was present in HWInfo, Speedfan and CPUZ, but I haven't been able to check now due to the crashes.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jr9

jr9

Estimable
Dec 6, 2017
2,212
3
3,960
Simple CMOS clear according to BIOS manual: Unplug PSU from power cable and flip the power switch off, short the CLR_CMOS jumper by moving the jumper block over them (located near the bottom right of the board and to the left of the SATA ports) or touch them with a screwdriver, continue shorting for 10 seconds, move the jumper block back to where it was, plug PSU back in/switch it on, load factory defaults in BIOS settings.

Try AMD Overdrive or CoreTemp if you can get into Windows or even in safe mode, or have a look in BIOS settings. Those steady temps aren't correct for sure.

Do you have another CPU cooler you can try? If you have your pump on your CPU_FAN header and the pump is dying and falls below a certain speed the system could shut down as a result to protect the processor.

Have you tried remounting your cooler?

If we eliminate CPU cooling the issue is probably the motherboard.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Solution
Zerk2012

Zerk2012

Titan
Ambassador
Oct 6, 2014
21,396
2,038
104,240


80C is way to high for the processor fix that first with a better cooler or clean out the cooler you have.. That could be your only problem.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom