trying to flash the bios on my new computer
mother board is an evga 780i sli
I have made a cd from the iso file (actually made 2 from different bios updates)
following directions
Download the following .iso file: NF78_P08.iso
* Use a CD Burning software to burn the .iso image onto a blank CD (Nero, Alochol 120%, etc)
* Restart machine, and set the CD Drive as the primary boot device
* The BIOS flash process will begin, Press ?Y? to program BIOS
* After flash remove the CD, power off PC Completely
* Turn on the PC and load defaults in BIOS
i get the following message
“the program file’s part number does not match with your system”
ok great google that and come up with what appears to be a nice fix
type in “Awdflash 2Axxxxxx.bin /py”
and then get another error, this time
“please input file name”
or if I choose to save the old bios as anything it tells me file not found.
still no update, nothing flashed and I have been at this for a couple hours now.
Note also tried “Awdflash 2Axxxxxx.bin /py /sn /cc” and got the same damn issue with needing a file name.
also tried entering the actual .bin file name with no luck.
random constant errors and crashes combined with the fact that the damn thing thinks every hard drive I own is a 127gig drive.
bios flash to address the drive size issue and up next is a mem test to see if I have a bad stick of ram or need to reinstall XP again. (which I would really rather not do with a MB that thinks even my 160gig drive is a 127.)
The BIOS update might fix your 128 gig problem. If you’ve got an old version of XP then the BIOS may not be the problem. You may need to get yourself up to the latest service pack. I forget which versions of XP won’t access more than 128 gigs but you should be able to find that info easily on the net.
A BIOS update is guaranteed not to fix your crash problem. As Harmonious Discord said, you don’t want to even attempt a BIOS flash on a system that isn’t 100 percent stable. Flashing an unstable system is a great way to turn your system into a boat anchor.
The EVGA 780i SLI is a high end, modern motherboard. There is no way that its default BIOS has the old drive size restriction. Are you sure that is the model of motherboard that you have?
What does this bit mean? You don’t mix and match two different BIOS updates into one. You only take the most recent, non-beta version and use that.
The filename problem you’re running into is because not only do you have to specify which BIOS you are updating, you also have to specify what you are replacing it with.
The 127gb problem you are having is an LBA addressing issue, there should be an option in your BIOS to change it. Google it, I’m sure that you’ll find something.
It could also be a jumper issue on the hard drive. There is a compatibility jumper on some hard drives that could limit the usable amount of drive space.
It’s possible the “the program file’s part number does not match with your system” error is because you downloaded the bios for the incorrect motherboard. I’d go back and double check the numbers. Make sure you’re getting the numbers off the motherboard itself, too.
And yes, don’t try to update the bios on an unstable system unless you want a really fancy paperweight.
(Though some, like mine, come with a failed bios update fail-safe, though I haven’t tested it, so I don’t know how reliable they are).
Did you try putting the filename last? It varies from command-line program to program, but the convention is to first put the flags/options, and then the filename.
Also, let me tell you, a motherboard less than, what, 7? years old will NOT have problems with 128GB drives! The issue is absolutely not your BIOS. It is either a jumper, a setting inside the BIOS (some sort of compatibility mode), or a hidden partition.
Random crashes, especially with different error messages/causes, are the result of hardware problems. But, bad memory is not the only hardware problem that exists. Anything in your system might be causing instability. Troubleshoot by removing as much hardware as possible. Check for domed-up capacitors. Ultimately, it may be the Northbridge or CPU itself that’s burnt (are all your fans working?). But it ain’t got nothing to do with your BIOS.
And realize the “the program file’s part number does not match with your system” message might be telling you something really fn important
ok, created a memory test disc on another pc and ran it, found the bad stick of ram.
re the hard drive size, I am running nothing but sata drives with no jumpers at all, the version of XP I have is a corporate edition from 2004, with a separate service pack 2 disc. the bitch here is that installing xp on a big ass disc means I have to create a small partition just for windows then after service pack 2 go into disc management and format/partition from there, not really that big a deal I suppose.
So, at this point you have no need to flash your BIOS, correct? The random errors and crashes can be attributed to the faulty RAM and the LBA problem was a limitation of the OS (pre-SP1 Win XP), not the hardware.
There are utilities you can use to create a “slipstream” disk for XP. Basically, you run the utility to pull all of the information off of your XP install disk, merge in SP2 (you should probably just download SP3 instead and use that), and then create a new install disk with SP3 included.
I forget the name of the utility I used, but you should be able to find it easily enough on the web. If not, let me know and I’ll dig through my files at home to find it.
This will save you from having to do tiny partitions and other workarounds to get XP to recognize your disk.
