I just installed a new MSI K8mm-v motherboard. Silly me, I tried updating the bios to the most recent version, and it went fine, but upon reboot, it ended up having checksum errors. I've tried the suggestions on the MSI web site, and I've tried some suggestions I found here (using commands in the autoexec.bat), but the motherboard simply reboots too quickly (and then hangs) before the dos bootdisc can be read. The keyboard does seem to initialize, and I've tried pressing and or holding different keys (delete, pause, F2, esc, Cntrl-alt-delete) with no response to any of them. I'd hate to have to RMI a brand new motherboard...does anyone have any suggestions or solutions? Ack!

You need to enter the BIOS screens and setup the values. Save and exit and you should be good.

If you had READ THE BIOS FLASH PROCEDURE information, you would know it is often NORMAL to get a Bios Checksum Error message after you flash! You EJECT THE FLASH FLOPPY after the flash when it reboots, go into the bios, set the date and time, save bios defaults and reboot!
The key to get into the bios Setup is probably Del. Press it repeatedly very soon after you boot or reboot, don't hold it down, and the Setup screen will appear.

Hi, thank you for your responses (although the second one is unnecessarily yelling, and I don't think you understand the severity of the problem).

Here's the deal, people - I can't get into the bios setup screens - I've tried maybe 50 times! Some message has been flashing on the screen breifly, and I finally took a picture of it using a digital camera, and this is what it says:

Award BootBlock Bios V 1.0
Copywright (C) 2000 Award Software, Inc.

BIOS NUM Checksum Error

Detecting Floppy Drive A Media...
Drive A error. System Halt
_

So, it appears I need to try what I've been doing, but with a different floppy drive. If I'm incorrect on what's happening, input appreciated.

Remove the floppy from the drive. You ARE continously tapping the DEL key as soon as you start the computer.

"Award BootBlock Bios V 1.0"

is NOT what you were initially talking about.

The Boot Block part of the bios has code for a bare bones fail-safe mode - if you see that message, you either flashed with the WRONG bios version, or you interrupted the flash process before it was finished, or you did something else wrong, or the floppy had undetected bad sectors on it that data was copied to. You can't get into the bios Setup because the majority of the bios code is no longer there when you have the Boot Block Bios error!

You might be able to recover your bios, but you need to be absolutely certain you have the right bios version!
MSI makes many very similar looking models, and different revisions of the same model may need a different bios versions.
Are you certain you have MSI K8mm-v ?
What motherboard Revision is it? Did you look to see if there were different bios versions for different revisions?

Some mboards have a jumper that must be in the right position when you flash your bios.
If you flash with it in the wrong position, your flash will fail, and in some cases you can end up with an empty bios.
Check your mboard manual to see if you have such a jumper!!

Some mboards have a setting in the bios Setup to enable or disable flashing the bios - check your mboard manual or the bios Setup!

With some bioses, if you are using bios passwords, you should REMOVE them before you flash or the flash may fail. Because of that, it is a good idea to always do this BEFORE you flash.

I recommend you use Windows to check your floppy using FULL format. FULL format is slower, but will find and exclude from use any previously undetected bad sectors on a floppy, a common problem these days.
In XP, RIGHT click on A: to find Format, DO NOT use the Quick format switch, format the floppy. After the format has finished, RIGHT click on A:, choose Properties - capacity is 1,457,664 bytes for an error free floppy. If it is less than that and the floppy is less than about 7 years old, I recommend you don't use it - it will probably get worse. Format another floppy instead.

BIOS Recovery Feature
For Award BIOS
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/...

Then you must do the things in response 2.
....

Award or AMI BIOS Flash Procedure
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/...

Yes, I just tried that again, in fact,without the floppy even hooked in....no screen, no luck.

What I do get (without any boot media, only pressing delete rapidly) is that same bootblock message as I posted above. If I counted it right, right after power is applied, I get seventeen rapid fire beeps, then this quick message.

I just tested the (donated) floppy on my old motherboard...it wouldn't recognize it either...so it must be fried. I'm feeling like a better floppy will do the trick...

READ ALL of response 5!

In response to the most recent (list) of suggestions: yes, I'm sure I have the right motherboard model, yes, I flashed it with the "right" bios (posted on the same page as my motherboard) but, now it's obvious that it's incompatible. It is possible something went wrong during the update, but the update was done from the cd and hard drive (no floppy was involved) so that was not the problem. My boot floppy has worked flawlessly before, but this time it seems to be the donated drive..which I'll solve tomorrow.

My advice would be to reset the BIOS to the original then do some more home work before trying to flash it again, most boards have ways of returning to the original here are the 2 common ones. From what i have seen most BIOS flashes end in tears.

Here are the procedures if the JUMPERS are present on the motherboard:

Locate, if possible, the instruction booklet for your motherboard. If you cannot locate the booklet, then user the motherboard references on this site to locate the manufacturer and see if a manual is available there. You may also want to closely examine the motherboard itself.

Shut down your computer and disconnect the power plug.

Now identify where the jumpers are located, then check the present pin location and the location of the jumper on those pins to determine their default location. Write it down!

Next, move the jumpers from the their default location (Example: from across pins #1 and #2 ) and then place the jumper across pins #2 and #3. Should be L shapped.

Leave the jumper in place for 20 to 30 seconds and then return it to its default location.

Now plug the power cord back in and restart the computer.

When the computer begins it's startup (boot) process, tap the DEL, F10 or F1 key, (whichever is appropriate for your computer) to get into the Bios/CMOS setup.

Once into the Bios/CMOS setup, look for a section or area to set the Bios/CMOS to its default settings. This will return the motherboard to either its basic or optimum settings depending upon the motherboard manufacturers settings. You will then need to verify certain settings, such a CPU and memory as well as hard drive type and size recognition.

After making any final adjustments, save your settings and restart the computer. The Bios password should be gone and the Bios set to its optimum settings.

If the jumpers are NOT PRESENT or not available:

The procedures for clearing a Bios/CMOS without jumpers is essentially the same as those given above when they are present, it just takes a little more effort.

Shut down the computer and disconnect the power plug.

Identify where the battery is located on the motherboard. It will be approximately 1/2 inch in diameter.

Normally these batteries are held into place with one or more small clips over the face of the battery. Carefully lift the battery out of its socket and set it aside. Note: Some batteries are actually soldered to the motherboard, so take that into consideration and be careful.

Leave the battery our of the computer for about 20 to 30 minutes and then return it to its socket.

Now plug the power cord back in and restart the computer.

When the computer begins it's startup (boot) process, tap the DEL, F10 or F1 key, (whichever is appropriate for your computer) to get into the Bios/CMOS setup.

Once into the Bios/CMOS setup, look for a section or area to set the Bios/CMOS to its default settings. This will return the motherboard to either its basic or optimum settings depending upon the motherboard manufacturers settings. You will then need to verify certain settings, such a CPU and memory as well as hard drive type and size recognition.
After making any final adjustments, save your settings and restart the computer. The Bios password should be gone and the Bios set to its optimum settings.

Hope this helps

giarc720
"My advice would be to reset the BIOS to the original"

Most of his bios code is now either not there or it is corrupted - only the boot block portion of the code is intact. If he is fortunate he could restore his bios using the Award Recovery procedure, but if he did not save a copy of his present bios to a floppy before flashing the new one, restoring the bios to the version it had on it is probably not an option.
Clearing the cmos or removing the mboard battery won't help for his problem.
He cannot get into the bios because the cmos code is no longer there or is corrupted.
....

mvrablik

I took a look at the support info for your model, and it's mboard manual.
Support for K8mm-v:
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?...

- there is no jumper on the mboard that enables/disables flashing the bios.
- your mboard does not have a dual bios
- all you have is a clear cmos jumper, which is only supposed to be used when your computer has no AC power to it.
- the bios Setup info in the manual is incomplete and does not say if there is a setting in it to enable/disable flashing the bios.
- there is only one motherboard revision series - 1.x - therefore all of the available bios updates should work.

See this:
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/...
and see page 10, procedure page 11 in this:
The command line you use must specify the actual award flash utility name and bios update name you are using:
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/...

You must be using an error free floppy if you make a flash floppy, or a Recovery floppy. See how to ensure that near the end of response 5.

The floppy must work in the floppy drive connected to the computer. If in doubt try another floppy drive and/or data cable, or test the floppy drive and/or data cable on another computer.

See this:
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/...
and see page 10, procedure page 11 in this:
http://www.msicomputer.com/support/...
The command line you use must specify the actual award flash utility name and bios update name you are using.
.........

Your bios flash chip is pictured as being in a socket, not soldered directly to the mboard, which is a very good thing.

It is quite possible the flash chip is now physically damaged and can no longer be successfully flashed by any method - this is COMMON. These cheap flash chips can only be flashed an unpredictable small number of times - it can physically fail the FIRST time you try to flash!

If nothing you try works even after following the proper Award Recovery procedure, if you are in the US, you can get a new bios chip already flashed with the latest bios update for your mboard model from places such as http://www.badflash.com .
If you're not in the US, there are other similar sites.
You can also alternately get a modern bios UPGRADE, which will enable all features possible, even ones not included in the newest manufacturer's update, but that option is more expensive.
Be very careful if you go that route - there are often circuits under the middle of the chip socket, and often components around the socket, that you must not damage when removing the bios chip!
.....

Thank you again for your input. Some notes:

1. The bios chip is, in fact, soldered onto the board. Yes, the same picture is in the manual they sent with it (and the manual says very little - one of the shortest manuals I've ever seen!).

2. I do have a copy of the old bios, somewhere on my harddrive ,but it is prohibitively difficult to access while the computer is down, as there are many functional versions available for download. I believe (my guess)that what happened was that I downloaded the most recent version, which was labeled "1A", and was more recent than "1.9", and while there was no warning listed, I now think that "1A" is in fact an alpha version (referring in all cases to the global site). My initial version was something like "1.7", but this may not be accurate, since I can't look at it. Lesson learned too late.

3. If I boot with a good floppy drive, dos disc, and the files/autoexec.bat set up just as they say, I get the initial bootblock bios screen, it recognizes the floppy drive, and just as it's starting to read it, it reboots and then hangs. This is very frustrating, because if it didn't habitually reboot, then I think I could get the flash back to what it was before.

4. I've tried pressing Delete millions of times - there is no cmos screen available in bootblock mode, and there does not (yet) seem to be any way to prevent it from rebooting just as it's setting up the emergency bios.

5. My only other thought is memory. It has a kingston ddr333 256mb single sided module, which was running fine, and I had just tested using a memory program and it did fine. I just wonder if this sketchy bios is rejecting it. I say that because sometimes I get a steady stream of beeps when I try to boot it (without a drive) and somewhere it said that Award Bios beeps like that for a memory error. Anyway, it's not worth it to buy another memory module to see if that's it.

6. My only question is if anyone might have a keyboard command or physical trick on the motherboard to prevent it from rebooting just as it takes the floppy.

"The bios chip is, in fact, soldered onto the board. "

Oh oh. Not good. The mboard picture and the manual shows it in a socket.

"3. If I boot with a good floppy drive, dos disc, and the files/autoexec.bat set up just as they say, I get the initial bootblock bios screen, it recognizes the floppy drive, and just as it's starting to read it, it reboots and then hangs."

Not good. I think it says on the web site it is supposed to take about 2 minutes to flash the bios. I think it's supposed to reboot, you would eject the floppy at that point before it loaded again, but certainly not that soon.
Did you check out the floppy you are using by formatting it beforehand as I suggested ?

"This is very frustrating, because if it didn't habitually reboot, then I think I could get the flash back to what it was before."

??? You'd have to explain your reasoning for that to me.

"4. I've tried pressing Delete millions of times -"

As I've already said twice, Del cannot get you into the bios Setup anymore because most of the bios code - including what you see in Setup - is missing or corrupted.

"My only question is if anyone might have a keyboard command or physical trick on the motherboard to prevent it from rebooting just as it takes the floppy."

There is no trick like that that will work with boot block mode. There is so little code in the bare bones boot block it cannot recognize the keyboard.
.....

So far from your symptoms it sounds like the bios flash chip is physically damaged, in the main part of the chip somewhere where the other code is supposed to go.
You could try another floppy, another bios version, make sure you do everything right, but I doubt it will help. You probably have a bios chip that can no longer be flashed sucessfully.

Since you cannot easily remove the bios chip, you have several options.
- Get another mboard - probably the cheapest option - if you want to be able to use all your present components, get yourself a new or used replacement mboard that will take them (one that has the same chipset will be able to use the same ram for sure).
- Replace your mboard bios chip - If you live in the US (only) the last time I looked around on the web site http://www.badflash.com
he has a service where he can replace the soldered on flash chip on your mboard with a new one already flashed if you mail the mboard to him. Needless to say, that costs more than him shipping you a removable flash chip
...

I have a MSI mboard collecting dust that has a dead bios and a soldered on flash chip that I didn't bother getting repaired (I can't get badflash to do that; I'm in Canada). I got a new Asus mboard for reasonable money that could use the same cpus and I lucked out that the ram also worked.

"I say that because sometimes I get a steady stream of beeps when I try to boot it (without a drive) and somewhere it said that Award Bios beeps like that for a memory error."

If the ram worked fine in this mboard before, it's extremely unlikely there is anything wrong with it.
Standard for most Award bioses if you have a ram problem is a beep lasting about half a second, silence for half a second, a beep for half a second, silence for half a second, forever, continuosly, the mboard does nothing but beep, or you may get no beeps at all. You definatly get those error beeps if no ram at all is installed. You might not get them if there are contact problems in the ram slots, in which case.... See response 2 in this - try cleaning the contacts on the ram modules.
http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...
However I don't know if the beeps would even work properly if the bios is corrupted like yours is.

Well, it's a "new" board (bought on ebay from a dealer, in box), so, I think I will RMA it through MSI, but I'll talk with the seller first to see if he can help.

Maybe this is just a fluke, or maybe I made a mistake in the flash process, but it's disappointing that they use such a cheap chip. Otherwise, it had the look of a nice, solid board. Bottom line, I should simply be willing to spend more $ on a mainboard, so this doesn't happen...

You don't have any grounds to RMA it. There is no guarantee flashing the bios will work - you do so at your own risk.

Make sure you get one that has the flash chip in a socket next time and NEVER flash your bios unless you MUST!