Need help with flashing Bios

[minizzle]

Hey lately i've had this error come up when i turn on my computer.

''BIOs checksum error, detecting drive A blah blah."

and i have to restart my computer many times before it'lll boot properly.

so i've researched what the problem is and i've come to the conclusion of having to flash my Bios and see how that goes. The only thing is i've never done this before and need your help.

I dont have a floppy drive so i will be using a flash drive. what are the exact steps i take when going about flashing the Bios. How do i know it has worked..? any other information is appreaciated.


My motherboard is an ECS NFORCE4M-A (3.o)
with im guess AWARD Bios.


Thanks.

 

[Zorg]

Does it force you to reset the time? If so have you tried replacing the battery?

Let me see if I can download your manual for the specifics of your mobo.

 

[minizzle]

umm nope it just has that error message and halts the system. so i have to reset comp alot of times before it starts. um the only time i had to reset time was when i tried clearing the CMOS . as of right now Flashing Bios is what i am going to do next. just need steps on how to do so correctly with a flash drive. i dont have a floppy.. thanks =]

 

[Zorg]

If the battery was dead you should have te reset the time. If you were using the mobo for a long time and now you have a problem I would change the battery anyway, just to be sure. A low battery can cause problems.

It looks to me, from your manual, that there is only from floppy or from windows but the manual is pretty bad. I am not personally familiar with ECS mobos though. Maybe someone else here has some information or you could search the web. A floppy drive is really cheap if indeed you can't flash through a USB. I wouldn't flash through windows, as it's a little dicey. Additionally, there appears to be no info about it in the manual. These are the only references to flashing in the manual.

Updating the BIOS
You can download and install updated BIOS for this motherboard from the manufacturer%u2019s
Web site. New BIOS provides support for new peripherals, improvements in performance,
or fixes for known bugs. Install new BIOS as follows:
1 If your motherboard has a BIOS protection jumper, change the setting to allow
BIOS flashing.
2 If your motherboard has an item called Firmware Write Protect in Advanced
BIOS features, disable it. (Firmware Write Protect prevents BIOS from being
overwritten.
3 Create a bootable system disk. (Refer to Windows online help for information
on creating a bootable system disk.)
4 Download the Flash Utility and new BIOS file from the manufacturer%u2019s Web
site. Copy these files to the system diskette you created in Step 3.
5 Turn off your computer and insert the system diskette in your
computer%u2019s diskette drive. (You might need to run the Setup Utility and change
the boot priority items on the Advanced BIOS Features Setup page, to force
your computer to boot from the floppy diskette drive first.)
6 At the A:\ prompt, type the Flash Utility program name and press <Enter>.
7 Type the filename of the new BIOS in the %u201CFile Name to Program%u201D text box.
Follow the onscreen directions to update the motherboard BIOS.
8 When the installation is complete, remove the floppy diskette from the diskette
drive and restart your computer. If your motherboard has a Flash BIOS jumper,
reset the jumper to protect the newly installed BIOS from being overwritten.

AMI/AWARD Flash Utility
This utility lets you erase the system BIOS stored on a Flash Memory chip on the motherboard,
and lets you copy an updated version of the BIOS to the chip. Proceed with caution when
using this program. If you erase the current BIOS and fail to write a new BIOS, or write a new
BIOS that is incorrect, your system will malfunction. Refer to Chapter 3, Using BIOS for
more information.

WinFlash Utility
The WinFlash utility is a Windows version of the DOS BIOS flash writer utility. The utility
enables you to flash the system BIOS stored on a Flash Memory chip on the motherboard
while in a Windows environment. This utility is currently available for WINXP\2000. To
install the WinFlash utility, run AFUWIN.EXE (AMI) or WINFLASH.EXE (Award) from
the following directory: \UTILITY\WINFLASH AMI or Award.

The location of the utility is on the CD that came with the mobo. I'm sure you could download it if you have the desire to try the WinFlash

Good luck