GA-EP43-S3L - won't boot after Bios update - No Post

[yofezzo]

Hi,

I updated my BIOS today via the @Bios Option and selected what i know to be my motherboard.

Restarted and no Post Screen or Beep and all the LED's are lit up on the board.

I can hear the hard disks spin up and i only have two disks onboard and a NVIDIA GeForce 9600 graphics card.

My Win7 System has worked flawlessly for years and the BIOS option did present me with two options, have i just selected the wrong option?

thanks

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome.

I do wish people would read the FAQ on updating the BIOS before just jumping in and trying it. No offence just an observation.

What you have done is brick your motherboard by corrupting the BIOS. Normally this would mean a dead board and garbage. However luckilly for you Gigabyte puts a Backup BIOS chip on the board  and so we can hopefully get that to flash the Main BIOS chip and return your motherboard to working condition.

Before we go any further let me just give you some advice. If you want to update your BIOS don't use  the @BIOS program as it runs on top of the OS. Use the dedicated update tool QFlash. It is much safer (as you have discovered).

The next bit of information can be tricky to get to work so you will just need to keep trying until you are successful.

You can kick in the backup BIOS by shutting down the PSU from the wall, then hold down your case power button in and then turn on the power supply button, a few seconds later the board will start, shut off the power supply then.   Then you can turn on the power supply again and power up the board normally and DualBIOS will kick in.

Good luck.

[yofezzo]

Hi and welcome.

I do wish people would read the FAQ on updatiung the BIOS before just jumping in and trying it. No offence just an observation.

What you have done is brick your motherboard by corrupting the BIOS. Normally this would mean a dead board and garbage. However luckilly for you Gigabyte puts a Backup BIOS chip on the board  and so we can hopefully get that to flash the Main BIOS chip and return your motherboard to working condition.

Before we go any further let me just give you some advice. If you want to update your BIOS don't use  the @BIOS program as it runs on top of the OS. Use the dedicated update tool QFlash. It is much safer (as you have discovered).

The next bit of information can be tricky to get to work so you will just need to keep trying until you are successful.

You can kick in the backup BIOS by shutting down the PSU from the wall, then hold down your case power button in and then turn on the power supply button, a few seconds later the board will start, shut off the power supply then.   Then you can turn on the power supply again and power up the board normally and DualBIOS will kick in.

Good luck.

Thanks for the reply and the advice, no offence taken

I really do wish i'd have consulted the FAQ now too!

however i genuinely thought i had a program provided by Gigabyte which really looked like it would upgrade my bios,
sometimes lessons are best learned the hard way and i'm glad now i have the knowledge not to make this mistake again.

I've been trying the method described for about an hour now but no success,

I just can't seem to get the Backup Bios to kick in at all, I've read somewhere about connecting chips with wire but i don't think i'm ready for any of that just yet, i'm going to perservere for a while trying with the method you suggested and will post up any results i get, at the moment it's looking like i may need a new board

[Dark Mantis]

There is a hardware method for doing the same thing but if used it will invalidate your warranty. I wouldn't recommend this except as a last resort. Your motherboard should be warranteed for three years from the date of manufacture so I expect it is still covered. If necessary you can arrange to RMA the board.

This is basically the same as you are trying now but just put another way so thjat you might find it easier.

1. Turn off PSU from wall
2. Hold case power button in and turn on at wall.
3. As soon as board shows signs of life turn off at wall.
4. Turn on at wall again and press power button.

[yofezzo]

i've got a power supply with a switch andve been using the methods described but no joy,

a harsh lesson to learn as i think my boards out of warranty too

Thanks very much for the advice and help but i can't seem to make this backup bios kick in,

excuse me if this is a dumb question but would it help to take out the cmos battery and leave it a while, then try it?

[Dark Mantis]

By all means try it there is nothing to lose. I will PM you so check your inbox.

[ygtatc]

I have same problem with yofezzo what can i do ? I tried the solutions of Dark Mantis said and it's  not solved.

[Gloup_Gloup]

Hi ygtatc,

About Flash Bios
Normaly a End Key is for Flash a Bios. When the post appears.

...
Use a QFlash to reflash BIOS ( Never use @BIOS, because is not good orIt is not the best ..)

More help about How Do I Update My BIOS?  Read it, this is the best.
http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2441.0.html

But Before AND after Flash a BIOS...

I do not know if you've done that ... but I invite you to do so.

I suggest you apply the following instructions (quote from Dark Mantis) ...
===================================================

Hi
...

Try clearing the CMOS before installing the GPU. follow these instructions exactly.

Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.

Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least one hour before replacing it.
 
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
 
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Optimised BIOS Defaults.

Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self like disabling the floppy drive, disabling the full screen logo and making the HDD the primary boot device and then press F10 to save and exit.

And during a Flashing BIOS...

Hi
...
Try using QFlash to update the BIOS to the latest version and make sure that youi disable the "Keep DMI Data" on the QFlash homepage.

Gloup_Gloup

[ygtatc]

Hi ygtatc,

About Flash Bios
Normaly a End Key is for Flash a Bios. When the post appears.

...
Use a QFlash to reflash BIOS ( Never use @BIOS, because is not good orIt is not the best ..)

More help about How Do I Update My BIOS?  Read it, this is the best.
http://forum.giga-byte.co.uk/index.php/topic,2441.0.html

But Before AND after Flash a BIOS...

I do not know if you've done that ... but I invite you to do so.

I suggest you apply the following instructions (quote from Dark Mantis) ...
===================================================

Hi
...

Try clearing the CMOS before installing the GPU. follow these instructions exactly.

Remove the power cable from the mains supply and then press the power switch on the case for a few seconds just to drain any residual energy in the PSU capacitors.

Once done remove the motherboard battery for at least one hour before replacing it.
 
Next plug back into the mains supply and boot.
 
You will now need to enter the BIOS by pressing DEL and load Optimised BIOS Defaults.

Make any other changes to the BIOS settings to suit your self like disabling the floppy drive, disabling the full screen logo and making the HDD the primary boot device and then press F10 to save and exit.

And during a Flashing BIOS...

Hi
...
Try using QFlash to update the BIOS to the latest version and make sure that youi disable the "Keep DMI Data" on the QFlash homepage.

Gloup_Gloup

THANKS..

[silky]

Hi

I guess I'm lucky, I used @bios and upgraded the bios without problem.  I take on board your comments about @bios being dodgy so must ask why the hell is gigabyte putting it on their download pages if it's likely to brick mb's.

I note that there is a setting in bios on ga-x58-ud5 that needs to be enabled to back up bios to hd.  not sure how that works into dual bios recovery.
Another thing about waranty, boards are excluded if bricked by bios updating.

 

[Dark Mantis]

Hi ygtatc

Is your system running properly now or are you still having problems ?

If you still have issues please post exactly what they are and we will see if we can help you to resolve them.