Totally unorthodox BIOS flashing...

Killa|3yte

2[H]4U
Joined
Dec 22, 2002
Messages
2,266
Well yesterday I botched a friends BIOS, after reading a bunch of forums, I think I've come up with a pretty unorthodoxed and dangerous method for re-flashing it. We managed to yank his BIOS chip. I can order another for $24.99, but tell me what you guys think.

We need to reflash an A7N8X-DX. I have an MSI KT4V-L. Now they use the exact same 32 pin standard BIOS chip. Heres what I can do.

1) Get the bootable floppy with AWARD BIOS flash and A7N8X BIOS image file all ready.
2) Yank my MSI BIOS chip and put dental floss under it to use as a pull tab. Re-insert MSI BIOS chip.
3) Get BIOS ready to flash (note MSI uses AMI BIOS and A7N8x uses AWARD, will this cause a problem?)
4) Right before hitting 'OK' to the flash, yank the BIOS chip in the MSI board while computer is running and insert the chip that needs flashing. Hit OK and flash the BIOS
5) Profit? :p (Reinsert MSI BIOS chip into MSI Board, and reinsert A7N8X chip into that Board)

Now heres my concern. I botched the BIOS on the ASUS board simply rebooting while BIOS was open (or something :confused: ) I was wondering if yanking the BIOS chip while its running would corrupt BOTH BIOSes. Is this possible? Any comments, am I crazy?

CLIFFS - EDIT: Ok, for all of you who are confused. Basic question is: doing a BIOS hotflash, do they have to be the same motherboard?
 
As long as the chips are *identical*, this should work. One thing though, on the good motherboard, go into the BIOS settings and turn on the "cache BIOS to RAM" setting. Also, you might need to override any safety features in the flashing program. I don't remember the exact switches, but there is a way to force it to flash. As long as you're careful removing and reinserting the chips, you shouldn't run into any problems. I did this exact procedure on a dead motherboard about 2 years ago, and it worked flawlessly. AFAIK, both machines are still operational today.
 
Originally posted by hjellec
As long as the chips are *identical*, this should work. One thing though, on the good motherboard, go into the BIOS settings and turn on the "cache BIOS to RAM" setting. Also, you might need to override any safety features in the flashing program. I don't remember the exact switches, but there is a way to force it to flash. As long as you're careful removing and reinserting the chips, you shouldn't run into any problems. I did this exact procedure on a dead motherboard about 2 years ago, and it worked flawlessly. AFAIK, both machines are still operational today.

Will definately look for those options in BIOS, thanks!! :D
 
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