Help me understand bios corruption

[j0eb0b]

Please help me with this one. I have suffered repeated bios corruptions that do not allow my PC to boot norrmally. The machine always responds, after these failures, to a held "insert" key at boot time, loading a backup copy of the bios allowing me to boot to Windows (using an older bios) and ultimately recover by reflashing the bios, and although even though this works, it is not a permanet fix.

 

My machine configuration is as per my signature. When I try and reboot normally, the machine does not come up but only hangs at a "black" video screen.

 

How does the "bios backup feature work" and why does it come up when the main boot chip reports a corrupted bios? In all cases the problem is initiated by wall power failure (environmental or someone tossing the wrong switch). While this is recoverable i don't undertand why removing AC from a running system causes this system to fail and exhibit a blown bios. Is the correct response to reflash to bios chip as I have been doing?

 

 

Joe.

[RGone]

...sounds to me like you are extremely fortunate that your computer is acting as it is with a spiked removal of power as you say that is how it happens.

Number 2 it very much sounds to me as if you need to be using a UPS to stave off a very serious surge that kills mobo, cpu or even a hard drive.

Number 3 if you had a real bios corruption issue as many do you would not be holding the insert key and booting far enough to reflash the bios on that board but would be hot flashing or in need a pre-flashed spare bios chip or you would be using a bios savior.

 

No you do not hold the insert key down and boot and flash a corrupted bios as many will attest to. What you really have happening> I cannnot tell from your description but it is not what the rest of us call bios corruption of that much I am sure.

 

Sincerely, RGone...

[j0eb0b]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

 

Situation is this. I live in the Washington DC area and we periodically have pounding thunderstorms in the summer (as you do in MS). I live in an old house with children where people occasionally turn off wall switches that affect things like computer hardware, inadvertemtly. I have to live with this.

 

I didn't understand your response.

 

1) If the wall power fails, for whatever reason, on a DFI "sister" , is my situation the usual result?

 

2) Is it typical with the "sisters" to have a boot failure that manifests itself as I describe?

 

3) If one experiences a situation like I describe (black screen boot failure that responds to holding the "insert" key after reset ) Is it appropriate to reflash the bios?

 

I have four systems running on a LAN in the house, one of which is a DFI based system, the only one of which acts this way on system power failure. Do you recommed that I purchase an UPS specifically to to support my Ultra Infinity system?

 

THanks

Joe

[RGone]

...I went back and read what you wrote originally and then re-read my response and I don't think we are on the same channel.

 

1. Again, I will repeat that if you truly have bios chipset corruption and do not have bios savior and are not inserting a non-corrupted chip> then you do not have bios corruption as "any" of the rest of us have experienced. Period. If it would boot up with nothing but holding down the insert key to boot to reflash then the DFI sisters would have no reputation for needing bios saviors and spare bios chips!!! Do you get what I am saying?

 

2. If you are getting a message like "CMOS checksum error" that is not a bios corruption and I would have pressed the delete key down and entered the bios as the error I mention above says to F1 to proceed or DEL to enter bios and reset.

 

3. You do not say it but if you have no more NF2 chipset boards in use then you might see them appear 'fine' and the DFI or even another brand of mobo with the NF2 chipset act just like the 'sister' does. You ask why? Well the boot process and shutdown process of boards with NF2 is a little different in that during booting the bios chip is extracting and showing information that it must verify with the data called "user" preference and not "defaults" and part of this is put into one of the bridges of the NF2 chipset. I am not sure exactly which. It does this because I understand that the amount of data is more than can be stored or used in a normal bios and CMOS arrangement. So no not like a Via or say an Intel chipset. Now this is what my 'searching' has lead me to understand. and frankly and excuse my French> deeyam Nvidia won't let the explicit information out and what I just wrote is gleaned from ideas of those way smarter than a MS red-nake.

 

So you do not shutdown correctly and the data is not looked at during shutdown as it should much as Windoors can be corrupted when you don't shut it down correctly. You I know have seen that. Fragments of files and such show up when Windoors is not closed properly and such is about the same situation is my guess when you just 'bang' the DFI board off. Again if the bios was corrupted you would not press the insert key and reboot to reflash the bios> you would be dead in the water and hollering my board is dead.

 

I have never seen corrupt bios bootable without some form of bios swap and then "re-flash" the defected bios chip.

 

4. I have UPS on all my computers as you are correct we have flash thunderstorms and I do not wish to have my computers killed off. My UPS's have 'line' conditoners in most of the ones I use and I have each computer on one. When my lites flicker as they do, nothing happens as the battery backup kicks in for that minor instant and also the spike created as the lights flicker is dappened. I never even know it has happened except for the clap of thunder and the lights flashing on the UPS.

 

If your electrical supply is that iffy and it was myself; which by the way I realize it is not, I would feel obliged to UPS every computer for a longer life expectancy and data intergrity. Now that in essence may have gotten us on the same page. Hope so. If not, then I still am without a clue as to your symptoms and suppose you have 1 mobo in the many I have heard of that works entirely different from any of us in the forum. And I guess that might be possible but you may rest assured that I have no experience with such.

 

Sincerely, RGone...

[j0eb0b]

Rgone,

 

Thanks for your considerable patience and detailed reply. I believe that your point 3. explains what I am seeing. And, yes, you are right that I have not experienced "bios corruption" (and a good thing that is).

 

All of my other equipment is VIA or Intel based and my experience with nVidia chipsets is limited to my NF II Ultra. I now understand the differences I experience between these environemnts.

 

Point 4. about UPS is well taken and will be acted upon.

 

We are now on the same page.

 

Joe

[RGone]

...not to worry man about patience. I just am ole MS red-nake and the only resource I have is to read again and see if myself and the poster are on the same page and channel. I suspected we were not.

 

After posting my RE:, I almost drove a fellow forum member nuts by phone questioning him about your symptoms and my RE. Again as usual, he thought at first I was quite mad. Hehehehehe. I asked him could he do what I presumed you were saying your computer would do and of course he said I was nuts. He thought mine would suddenly act differently than we had all come to expect and hence he knew it was myself had gone mad. Hehehehehehe.

 

We discussed a few things and then he told me in his experience there are two things with no firm definition. 1. bios corruption and 2. overclocking. As I know he is a retarded, OOOPs, I meant retired EE and was a good one; I suspected him to be correct as in truth until Nvidia decided to foist the NF2 off on users as "the thing"; a corrupted bios was not a household or forum buzz word. Long live Nvidia. Heehehehehe. And in truth the overclocking of today with the assist of the motherboard manufacurers; in no way resembles the process of the early days. Not nearly as much skill required especially in hardware and soldering and now every user thinks overclocking is "his right", rather than privilege. Once overclocking enters the realm of an ancillary set of user controls on the motherboard> I am not so sure that it is still overclocking in the 'strictest' sense. But I digress and ramble.

 

I am more than glad we are 'same paged' and wish you all the success in your efforts, henceforth.

 

Sincerely, RGone...

[m0ng0d]

Originally posted by RGone

3. You do not say it but if you have no more NF2 chipset boards in use then you might see them appear 'fine' and the DFI or even another brand of mobo with the NF2 chipset act just like the 'sister' does. You ask why? Well the boot process and shutdown process of boards with NF2 is a little different in that during booting the bios chip is extracting and showing information that it must verify with the data called "user" preference and not "defaults" and part of this is put into one of the bridges of the NF2 chipset. I am not sure exactly which. It does this because I understand that the amount of data is more than can be stored or used in a normal bios and CMOS arrangement. So no not like a Via or say an Intel chipset. Now this is what my 'searching' has lead me to understand. and frankly and excuse my French> deeyam Nvidia won't let the explicit information out and what I just wrote is gleaned from ideas of those way smarter than a MS red-nake.

I did not know this, as this is my first nF2 as well

 

good question j0eb0b;) that was a mighty fine nugget that you plucked outta RGone's head:nod: