p35-ds3l bios update issue

[rhaezor]

So I built my new rig lastnight. Everything installed fine. Installed windows xp, udpated all my drivers, played lost planet and other high end games.

I decided to look for any bios updates for my board (i should have left it alone). I downloaded the new version (f5). Used @bios to update the bios in windows, said it was successful and to reboot.

I rebooted and the first thing it did was turn off instead of rebooting.. So I turned it back on and this is what it does: Power supply comes on, fans and harddrive starts to spin up, no video yet, and then it just turns off for 3 seconds. Then it tries to come on again, does the same thing and turns off. It repeats this cycle endlessly.

I turned the pc off, unplugged power cable, put clear cmos jumper on for 10 mins, took it off, powered pc back on, still same result.

Tried with no sata drives hooked up, 1 stick of memory (tried each by themself), still no go.

Is it possible I am missing something or did Gigabytes own bios update make this board unbootable? Suggestions?

Thanks much

 

[rhaezor]

if using the 'clear cmos' jumper didn't fix this, is there any point to removing the battery for a while?

 

[badge]

I am not familiar with your particular MB, but read in your MB manual and check if there is a 'BIOS recovey' function using the MB install CD. ASUS has asuch a BIOS recovery feature. I have never needed to use it.

 

[tlmck]

Based on the way it is acting, I would suspect something other than BIOS, such as PSU or RAM. It is a new system, and generally if if you get a bad component, it will die in the first 24 hours or so. That has been my experience over the last 17 years anyway. You did not list your other specs, so that is the best I can do for now.

Just for the heck of it, you could try the battery thing.

 

[Zorg]

I know this doesn't help you now, but never use the @BIOS or any other Windows update to update your BIOS. Use the Q-Flash update in the future. In Q-Flash you can save the old BIOS in the event of a bad BIOS update. Go to Gigabytes website and download the original BIOS. Get a PCI graphics card. That's right, I said PCI not PCIe. Sometimes if the BIOS isn't too corrupted you can get video with a PCI card. If you have to, buy the cheapest one you can, they are cheap. Put the BIOS on a floppy, If you have to, spring the extra 6 bucks for a floppy. If it will boot press END and proceed to try to install the old BIOS. This all assumes that you don't have another bad component that died the same moment as the BIOS update, stranger things have happened, but it is unlikely. First try the PCI card and see if you can get into BIOS or at least to the loading screen and into the Q-Flash, If you can't I believe you are SOL.

Edit: Removing the Battery does the same thing as using the reset pins.

 

[rhaezor]

I found this on Gigabyte's features list for my motherboard:

Virtual DualBIOS
BIOS crash free protection with physical BIOS and Xpress BIOS Rescue
BIOS Setting Recovery
Recoverable safe and frequently used CMOS settings


I just find no referenc in using these above features. Anyone else know how to use this?

 

[trevorblain]

I have a p35c-ds3r (not sure how much different that board is than yours in specs), and ran @bios. went through the whole process then rebooted. Total shut down, then did that whole on and off thing about 4 times. I left it alone, let it do its thing, and it booted right up.

I think people get impatient and try to rush things along, hitting reset buttons, uplugging cords, and in so doing interfere with the process and end up corrupting their bios.

Not sure about your board, but when I initially turn the power on, right before the POST, it give me a fancy Gigabyte menu that lists those features and the appropriate keys to press for them. I could be wrong, but I think Xpress is f12 (use in lieu of del for bios settings).

 

[rhaezor]

No luck there.. tried it with no video card, still does the same thing. no beeps or anything. just on for 3 seconds then turns off. tried with no memory in, no cmos battery in, no pci sound card in. same thing. no sata connected. pretty much only cpu+fan, power supply and still nothing. i'll see if i can exchange it.

ps never updating bios thru windows again.

 

[trevorblain]

Any chance you have an old PSU from a previous system to test with minimal hardware, just to see if it might be the issue?

 

[nukemaster]

Well it will not boot(or try) with no ram...

This board does the reset thing when changing straps and when doing it bios recovery if it is not able to boot....

If i remember right one update made me wait for it to do it a few(maybe even 4 times) times..

So try with no drives just board video and 1 stick of ram and see what it does(be patent). at least this way your hard drives are not powering up/down/up/down.

Also when resetting the cmos it never hurts to unplug the power cord of shut off the psu then hit the power button to drain all the caps....

If the board has that easy recovery bios option(i says nothing about it on the website...) it would simply be placing a cd with your bios(even the motherboard CD has it in many cases) in the cd/dvd drive power up and wait...it would read it flash it and reset it when done......

 

[rhaezor]

changing straps? What do you mean? From one of my above posts, the features it has are:

Virtual DualBIOS
BIOS crash free protection with physical BIOS and Xpress BIOS Rescue
BIOS Setting Recovery
Recoverable safe and frequently used CMOS settings


I can find no documentation on how to use either one of those. They list the feature on the box, but I see NOTHING in the manual about it.. why would this be? Oh well. I have since returned this one and will have a new one in a day or two.

Question..

Is it possible that use their crappy @bios windows program is what causes the bios not to be recoverable? If you use the option available during the POST, instead of in windows, would it allow the motherboard to save the good bios?

 

[rhaezor]

This is my motherboard. http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2599

Scroll to the bottom.. Note what it says in the "Safe" category. I don't know if I had to do something prior to flashing in order to make use of this or what.. they should have said something in the manual.

 

[nukemaster]

I build a system with your board(and a 6750 cpu) 2-3 weeks ago i am fully familiar with it. Even that fact that it hates crucial rendition ram and randomly does massed things with that ram...

changing straps?

When the board starts it will set the chipset boot strap. this depends on your FSB 800,1066,1333, higher maybe(1600) either way Asus boards do it as well....

As said your restarting will also happen when an OC fails...thats part of the safe thing they mention

i will add some comments

afe is the key feature of GIGABYTE S-series motherboards with the following elements: Excellent hardware design(solid caps and better[meh its ok....] voltage regulation system) reinforced BIOS protection through GIGABYTE Virtual Dual BIOS Technology(lets you flash your bios from a CD if its corrupt...did you try to boot with the MB CD in and wait to see if it would read and flash back?) and GIGABYTE BIOS Setting Recovery Technology(If the board fails to boot it will reset and resotre that last bios settings that worked...settings not the bios it self...thats virtual dual bios is for). Unique system software such as Xpress Recovery 2(lets you ghost your hard drive to a hidden partition on your main hard drive. This is similar to what HP does but they use asus), PC Health Monitor(Temps and voltages, it will warn you of any reading out of spec), HDD S.M.A.R.T(Self Monitoring And Reporting Technology. Allows the board to tell you if a drive is starting to fail...that drive must support it..all drives do not....turn it on in the bios)., and C.O.M.(Corporate Online Manager is some kind of networked admin feature....see more on there site) further strengthen the stability and reliability of your PC!...more(go clock more for more info )

If trying the cd thing fails and reseating everything does not work. RMA it and get a new one. lesson learned. flash from windows = bad....

there is some more info on straps here
http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/146820-intel-overclocking-redefined-guide-successful-overclocking.html

 

[rhaezor]

I have already RMA'd it, should get new board Tues or Wed. Coincidentally I had the MB Driver cd in my drive at the time all this happened (I had to take it out later when i was boxing up my motherboard.) It would just keep powering up and then turning off, even with the CD in there. I did not go into the Q-flash utility even once, as this all happened about 6 hours after I loaded up Windows.

Even so, wouldn't you think virtual dual bios would have done something after it repeatedly powered on and shutdown? How do you boot from the other virtual bios if you can't even get to a post screen?

 

[rhaezor]

It would have been nice to know about this article beforehand

http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/NewTech/old_motherboard_newtech/flashbios_qflash.pdf

Oh well. Live and learn.

 

[nukemaster]

Yes it would have done something...

The bios has what they call a boot block. in most cases this is never corrupted. The boot block tells the bios to do its thing. Gigabyte tells it to check the bios and if its gone bad to look on a HDD(if nothing here then it goes to the CD) for a computable bios. In your case you had it all on enough that is should have fixed it self.

It looks like your boot block somehow got corrupt too and it was unable to recover. this kind of thing can happen. The RMA should fix it....

In any case after a flash make sure you do not power down until it does it...if it resets...let it do it.....killing the power during a flash(even if it looks to be powering on and off, it may be doing something.)

Either way next time you flash the best option is to use a flash stick(make sure you set usb disks(forget what they call it, but its with usb legacy.) to on...)

 

[boner]

ok try what the experts says in here and also try to remove the battery for 10 minutes and if you still have the box of the motherboard and dont put any drivers at all... just one memory stick and the video card and the power supply and see if that helps

 

[rhaezor]

Got my new motherboard yesterday.. works like a charm Same exact board, except as a bonus this one is revision 2.0 and dead one was revision 1.0

Thanks for all the input guys. I will forever be more cautious updating the bios, and never thru windows again .. AND i'll actually read the release notes. Bricked my first new mobo and the killer was the release notes says it only fixes a ps2 keyboard issue.. i use USB!! lol

 

[nukemaster]

glad you got the new one install and all is good...

 

[boner]

yeah