Main BIOS checksum error

[nigel28c]

Hi,

Have searched the forum for related posts and followed all sugestions, but still have a problem!

On boot up my system is looping:

 Main BIOS checksum error! ..........  BIOS Auto-recovering ...........

It just continues to do this. I have powered down, removed battery, waited 10 mins, replaced and tried again - left it overnight - tried again, no change!!

The MB is a G31M-ES2L F8.     BIOS v. 20/05/2009-G31-ICH7 -6A99OG0EC-00

I am unable to get into the BIOS to check/reset to defaults as it loops into the checksum error before then.

Any advice appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte UK Forum.

I take it that this is a new build.
 
Have you tried updating the BIOS with @BIOS before the problem?

If you post a list of your hardware including the revision of the motherboard it would be a big help.

[nigel28c]

Hi Dark Mantis,

Thanks for the welcome.

No this is not a new build.
Originally an Acer Aspire M1640. MB was replced when just out of warranty and Win 7 installed. Recently the system was having problems and I found the hard drive to be faulty. Replaced drive. Used Norton Ghost to re-image from old drive. Had slight problems repairing OS (boot mamager failed to find OS loader error). Login to system ok, left running for a few minutes, powered down and switched off for the night. Next day I'm getting the BIOS checksum error!!

system consists of:

MB - Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L : BIOS v. 02/05/2009-G31-ICH7-6A99OG0EC-00 : CPUID: 06FB PATCH ID: 2096064K
CPU - E4700 2.4GHz Core2 Duo
RAM - 2GB DDR2 667
nVidea GeForce 8400
Drive - Hitachi 500GB

Hope thats all the info you require
Thanks

[Dark Mantis]

What PSU do you have powering the system now?
Is it the original crappy Acer model?
If so what output is it supposed to be and how old?

[nigel28c]

It's the original Acer PSU.
About 2 years old, output 250W.
I have tried to reduce the load by disconecting the dvd, but no change.

[Dark Mantis]

That is the problem I am sure. The manufacturer recommends 500W minimum and when you think yours is 250W minus about 10% for degradation that leaves you with a top output of 225W ( assuming it was ever 250W in the first place). No where near enough. I would suggest that you purchase a PSU with a single 12V rail of a minimum 550W output to allow for any future upgrades. Seasonic or Corsair are both good makes although there are several others.
Hopefully it hasn't damaged any of the other components when it gave up.

[nigel28c]

Thanks dark Mantis,

Resolved.

Tested with PSU from my computer. Have managed to get it working again. One memory module is damaged and I suspect it might have caused the damage on the hard drive 

Yet again many thanks.

[Dark Mantis]

You are very welcome.

It is just a shame that you were caught out by this easy to make mistake. So many people spend a small fortune on their components and then expect some cheap and nasty PSU to run it all.

[vik1990]

I have the same Bios Checksum error.
My Pc just starts in morning but den if i restart or try starting pc in evening or night i get this error again, it just start in morning .
My MotherBoard is Ga-g31-esc n i recently change my PSU with output of 450W and my dvd rom doesnt detect Dvd cd, it just read normal,
Hence is the Same Psu output problem with me also....Please reply fast n i hope u will
Thanking You in advance

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

Your PSU is not a powerful enough unit at all and that is if it is really 450W. Many no name PSUs say thast they are 450W or whatever but are actually nowhere near that in reality. You need to purchase a decent make/model that can be relied upon and a minimum of 550W if you are running a very basic machine. If you want to use a half decent graphics card or several drives etc probably 650W upwards would be appropriate.

Any of these are good quality and can be relied upon: Enermax, Seasonic, CWT, Corsair, Thermaltake, Enermax, Gigabyte, Coolermaster, Antec, and many others so you shouldn't have problems locating one. Try and find one with a single 12v rail if possible.