Mega 865 Bios update...

Can I update my bios without my hard disk?
I tried to update my bios....
it says like this "do not turn off your computer or restart you system"
nothing happens just stay in there... what would be the problem?
Can i flash it?
Can you tell me what are the step by step process to update my bios?
Looking forward to hear from you guys...
Thanks
Ching

having read about this situation many times before, i am starting to think about it a little more
obviously the msi liveupdate software (nasty) has fcuked up the bios, and i'm thinking that this "boot-block" thing maybe trying to access a floppy disk in drive a: in order to recover the bios?
unfortunately, connecting a floppy disk is a bit tricky with the megas, but i'm guessing if you can use internal floppy drive connector (you'll need a cable BTW) to connect a standard 3.5" floppy drive, and you have a floppy disk with a BIOS image on it, will it then recover the BIOS using the image on the floppy disk?
under normal situations, many mobo manufacturers now include "dual-BIOS" (a la Gigabyte  ) whereby if main BIOS is corrupt, it reverts to the bios saved on second chip
msi's solution seems a bit "half way"....

Similar Messages

  • MEGA 865 BIOS Death, Need Help!

    I have searched the forums for a possible answer to my question, but to no avail...
    I flashed the BIOS of my new MSI MEGA 865.
    It said take out floppy disk and hit F1 to continue.
    I have flashed hundreds of BIOSes and never had this one happen.
    I hit F1 and got the following screen.
    Award BootBlock BIOS v1.0
    Copyright (c) 2000, Award Software, Inc.
    BIOS ROM checksum error
    Detecting floppy drive A media...
    Drive A error.  System halt
    That is the whole message.
    I have tried the following.
    New floppy drive
    New floppy cable
    new memory
    clearing CMOS w/power cord plugged in
    clearing CMOS w/power cord unplugged
    Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.
    Thanks in advance.

    If they don't then send them an email to ask if they can fix it for you (like swap the BIOS chip). It will cost but be the cheapest.
    There is a third option. You can fash an old PC which you no longer want with this BIOS file as long as it has the same BIOS chip then take that BIOS chip out and put it is your computer.
      Go on give it a go with your 861
    If you have no joy give be a personal mail and I do it for you with my 865 (expect 30 day turn around as I 'm in NZ)

  • Things to know before (and after) building a Mega 865

    As I am seeing a lot of the same questions regarding the Mega 865 I created this document,
    29-Oct-2004 Added Northwood benefits
    29-Oct-2004 Emphasized NOT to use live update for bios update
    Processors in general
    Start with the processor, I would say get something around 3 gighz (give or take) which is quite affordeble. If you are going for a prescott, make sure you upgrade your bios to 1.3 (see below).It will run a bit hot (understatement) otherwise.
    If going for northwood any version is ok I believe. When I chose mine I let $$$ descide, and the prescott was on sale. (If I would buy a CPU for the Mega again, I would most likely go for a Northwood this time). Before buying your processor make sure your processor is supported, you can find the supported processors here;
    http://cweb.msi.com.tw/program/products/slim_pc/slm/pro_slm_cpu_support_detail.php?UID=547&kind=4
    Harddisk
    As for Harddisk, I would suggest anything goes but take a serial ata since that is becoming the new standard nowadays.
    When buying a HD larger than 130 Gig, make sure you install from a Windows XP SP1 CD (or higher) or divide your HD in smaller pieces. Otherwise you will not get a bigger partition than 130 Gigs.
    DVD/CDROM
    As for DVD/CD player, there is a special thread (see below) where everyone states if their DVD/CD player is working with the mega (there are some issues with some drives in HiFi mode, EVEN if they are MSI)
    Mega PC barebones optical drive compatibility list
    Memory
    As for memory, get at least 512 Mb or 1024 Mb if you want to sit cosy. two sticks of DDR400 (a.k.a 3200) will do. Get a a-brand like Kingston, Samsung or look around on the forums what will work.
    Installing Windows XP
    Before installing Windows disable your USB devices, if you fail to do this you run the chance of not installing Windows XP on your C: drive (harddisk) and this will cause you trouble later on. After installation is complete you may enable them again.
    Prescott processors & full size AGP cards
    As for the GPU (Graphics card), this depends on what you are going to do with it. If you wanna try out at showshifting, and viewing get one with integrated TV tuner. Or use the on-board (some people are quite happy with it) and add a separate PCI tv tuner. If you wanna do hefty gaming (Doom3, Far Cry ... etc) you may want to get an better one. I'm quite happy with my Radeon 9800.
    Please note; According to MSI, Prescott processors in combination with full-size AGP (add-in) cards are not supported. This is most likely a power issue since the full-size cards use a lot of power to run. Some forum members, stuborn as they are, are running with a full-size card.
    Also note that you are installing a full-size card on your own risk in combination with a Prescott processor.
    To calculate your estimated power supply take a look here;
    http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
    The following graphics cards seem to be working (please add to this thread if you have tested a full-size card with a Prescott processor so I can add it to this document)
    Club3D Radeon AIW 9800 PRO
    ATI Radeon ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT
    ATI Radeon 9800 SE
    AOPEN Aeolus 5900XT 128 Mb
    Wise words from Stu:
    If you do not want to take chances, go with a Northwood processor. Apperantly there is little perfomance difference between a Northwood and a Prescott processor, and the Northwood runs slightly cooler too.
    Windows XP Service Pack 2 & Bios Update
    When installing Windows XP with SP2 make sure you have the latest Bios version loaded (1.3) or install a Microsoft work-around fix. SP2 will not install without it, and you will have a hard time getting your system to work.
    The Microsoft work-around fix can be found here;
    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;885626
    The latest bios version can be downloaded here;
    http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_detail.php?UID=547&kind=4
    To install the latest bios, I would advise against using live-update. Use one of the following options instead;
    1) Burn a bootable CD-Rom also containing the bios and flash software, (note some of the original Win98 CD's are bootable to MS-DOS prompt)
    2) Create a bootable USB-memory key
    --- Download the HP util to create one
    --- http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html
    --- Then create a bootable floppy on an other system or download from
    --- http://www.allbootdisks.com/
    --- (I used the Win98SE No ramdrive )
    --- Then use the HP tool (on an system with an floppy drive) and enter a: as the source for booting,
    --- and use the above created floppy.
    --- Then copy the rest of the files from the a:\ drive (like autoexec.bat, config.sys etc) to the memory key.
    --- ... and ... voila one bootable USB
    --- make sure in the bios that the boot order of the USB key is before the Harddisk and your set to go.
    3) Attach a floppy drive to the Mega 865
    Bios update failure
    Some people still manage to goof-up their bios, by doing the bios update from windows (winflash, live-update). I think there is only one road to travel when this happens, you have to attach a floppy drive to your mega. Then follow the following instructions (Award bios)
    http://www.msi.com.tw/html/support/bios/note/boot.htm
    Good luck !
    PC-Alert
    Do not use the PC-Alert version from the MSI website as this does not work together with your Mega 865, instead only use the one on the CD-Rom that was supplied. In general even the supplied PC-Alert has caused a lot of grief (Taking up resources, reboot problems ... etc). If you choose to install PC-Alert, at least remove it from your start-up folder where it is installed. You can always start it manually from the MSI menu in your Start menu.
    A good alternative to Pc-Alert is Speedfan, this program should be able to spot your 2 temeperature sensored CPU fans. You can then connect these fans to the CPU temperature sensor and be able to tweak the RPM's according to your need. Speedfan 4.17 can be found here;
    http://www.almico.com/speedfan417.exe
    Temperatures
    As these tiny PC's have very little space, it is quite normal for them to run a bit hot. Do not be alarmed to see CPU temperatures around 60-65 degrees when running on load (depending on your processor of course).
    Wireless Network adapter
    As for wireless internet, the mega865 has a built-in mini-pci nic (network card). which supports only the 11 Mbps data rate. I think you have to try it out and see how it goes, you can always upgrade to 54 Mbps. I would suggest to get a 54Mbps access point, so you can always upgrade if needed (54Mbps will also work with 11 Mbps) Some forum members have succesfully replaced their Wireless Network adapters with a 54Mbps one. The following network adapters seem to be working;(please add to this thread if you have tested a wireless 54Mbps network adapter so I will add it to this document)
    Intel PRO/Wireless BG Network Adapter
    6 Channel sound
    I recently bought a 5.1 set from Soundblaster. You can connect the 3 connectors to the back of your Mega, then in the Sound util set it up for 5.1 surround sound and you are ready to go. Definately worth it !
    Reboot problems
    When you run into problems when the Mega reboots suddenly, watch out for a couple of things.
    Always check your event/log viewer. It is in your configuration management, but the easiest way to start it is to enter the following in your Run or Command line entry
    eventvwr /s
    Check if you see red-dots in your application section or system section. Google the problems before dropping them on the forum ! (As most problems are not Mega related IMHO)
    One problem I had was caused by BITS 1.5, I had to upgrade to BITS 2.0. (I think it was recently released by Microsoft-Update but I mention it anyway). Bits 1.5 caused my Mega to reboot.
    LCD Display / Sound problems
    If you have any problems where your front LCD display is not working or your on-board sound is 'missing' first try unplugging your mega from the power outlet (so completely powering down) for 2 minutes. If you still have problems, drop them on this forum.
    LCD API ?
    Alas, no external programs are available to 'drive' your LCD display. Nor will MSI release an API/Blue print on how to control it.
    If you find anything missing here or have additional tips, please add them to this thread and I will update this document.
    Good luck with your Mega !
    Raymond

    rkoppen i salute you  
    a truly glorious summing up of the main points asked about the Mega 865 in particular, although many points will invariably refer also to the other Mega series
    if i can add my tuppence worth, anyone considering going for a powerful graphics card can always shy away from the prescott
    i was reading an article just when the prescott core cpus came out and the review basically said that there wasn't really much performance wise between the new prescott and the older Northwood cores.
    obviously newer prescotts have higher clock speeds now (3.2? 3.4??), but surely a 2.8ghz CPU is still going to be powerful enough to play the latest games!! (in conjunction with a top graphics card obviously)
    is the extra temp increase surely worth the extra couple of hundred mhz?

  • Mega 865 No Boot!

    Brand new Mega 865, BIOS 1.1, SATA HDD, 1GB RAM, booted fine, installed Win XP Pro, tried to update the bios, it wouldn't work. It kept saying that it couldn't verify the image or veryify the file or something (sorry...a bit vague I know).
    So I quit out of that process (Latest version of Live Upadate) and tried to restart the machine to see if anything in the BIOS was causing it to fail (write protect or anything).
    When I boot now, I don't get anything on the screen and I get a series of beeps.
    First of all I get a long beep followed by two short beeps in sucession.
    Then there is a break of about ten seconds and there are two beeps back to back in a much lower tone.
    Nothing I press seems to do anything, and I've tried resetting the CMOS on the mother board.
    Any help would be apprecaited.
    Thanks
    Warren

    I suppose there have been enough accounts about dead mobos due to Live Update failures, for MSI to take a notice of that...
    On my other "big" system (which has Gigabyte mobo) there is some sort of "dual BIOS" thing, meaning that system has a chance to recover if the "live update" goes wrong...

  • Radio in Windows? mega 865

    Sorry if this is a repost but I've searched and searched for an answer.
    I'm been setting up my mega 865 (about 2 weeks now) and just about ready to install in the lounge room when I thought I'd have a look at PC ALERT off the MSI cd (I know - bad move!) now I get radio in windows with no apps running!
    I've Tried:
    I uninstalled PC ALERT but still there!
    Turning off PC at the wall for a day...
    Turned off Showshifter and Girder (the only 2 apps running)
    System:
    MEGA 865 - Bios Vers. 1.30
    2.8 Celeron
    Radeon  9550
    Compro Videomate TV Gold+ tv card
    80Gb WD IDE
    XP SP2
    Showshifter
    Girder
    Thanks for your help - I could not have got this far without this forum...
    Regards Martin

    Sorry, I overlooked the fact that you have a Mega 865 instead of a 180.  Is there no way to control the Radio volume on itself?
    Offtopic: I see you also have a Compro Videomate card. Good choise! Did you notice that they have updated the software to version 2.0? It adds a lot of functionality, you can for example choose your own codec for recording. It is also possible to sort the TV-channels. Although the Compro site warns about the use of 2.0 software when having a 1.x card, it is possible to do so.
    JaDi.

  • Mega 865 Fan Control after standby

    Hi,
    With the Mega 865 Bios in S3 mode, I am noticing that when XP SP1 resumes from Standby or Hibernate mode the fan stays on full power. Is anyone else noticing such a problem?

    it would appear to be from the other thread i have read.

  • Mega 865 wireless network problem.

    Hi all,
    New here and seeking a solution to a specific prob.
    Have built a system from with a MSI Mega 865 Delux. P4 Chip, ATI all in wonder graphics/TV card, Maxstor 160 GB hDD.
    System is specifically as a home entertainment/ video capture and record.
    Problem with wireless networking.
    I have a wireless network with three PCs all with USR wireless cards and a usr 8054 router which actually does little but extend the rance of the network, Internet connection is through host computer on a single channel ISDN line.
    When I connect to the network with my Mega 865 (XP TO XP) the connection is massivly slow, in fact pages on the net refuse to load it is that slow.
    The 865 is causing the host compiter to drop its connection to the router for about 50 % of the time, I can see its icon flashing red as the connection is dropped and returning to green as it reconnects.
    It sounds like an incompatibility issue some where but I can't find anyone else with the same problems.
    Any ideas anyone?
    Thanks, Epirb.

    Quote
    Originally posted by Normunds
    Quote
    Originally posted by epirb406
    PS didn't I read somewhere else on this forum that SP2 is a bad idea with this machine?
    To my knowledge, the SP2 caused trouble for Mega 865 if a certain type of P4 CPU was installed (Prescott?)
    That was so because this sort of CPU requires some "alternative" microcode to be loaded into it upon startup.
    One published workaround was to replace certain file in the SP2 package with its predecessor from SP1,
    another (more solid, IMHO) - to upgrade the BIOS of PC so this revised microcode is loaded with BIOS. At this point in time, I believe, the revised Mega 865 BIOS is available as an official release.
    You are right, the issue is only with certain processors; see also (this includes the m-soft workaround too)
    http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;885626
    This revised bios is not available IMHO, one of our forum collegues managed to get a beta version of a new bios, which does the trick. If you need it give us a shout.
    Ray

  • Mega 865 has problem Prescott cpu

    i use mega 865 bios ver 1.20 with  Prescott 3.2 E .
    mega bios `PC HEALTH MENU `cpu core V 1.77
    Prescott just need 1.4 V
    when bios repair for  Prescott

    Sounds like they didn't get everything worked out in the BIOS prior to release.  Ever download and install a new point release of something and feel like it hasn't been thoroughly tested?
    That's because many point releases are really beta releases.  It's evil in many ways, but it's the way of life for many software vendors/shops.

  • MEGA 865 ERROR During Flash BIOS

    ...And no longer works... when boot, appear a message like this: " searching media floppy drive A error" (or something) "BIOS checksum error", and sound a never ending "beep"
    I cant remember exactly the messages.
    Is there a hope for me????
    Is there a recovery method?
    Please, help!!!!
    THX

    The bit I don't understand is that the 865 BIOS turns the A drive off by default so I don't understand why it is looking for an A disc. Where did you download the BIOS from and is it possible you got the wrong one?
    If you have got the wrong one, which can happen then it sounds like you not in that bad a shape. With BIOS they tend to write information into a non overridding part of the BIOS to allow the BIOS to be flashed from the floppy disc, this allows for reflashing if a virus hits the BIOS. Normally the Mega865 BIOS turns the A disc off but it sounds like your A disc is still turned on. If this is the case then you will need to connect a Floppy drive to you system (plug for the floppy is need the front of the MB) and follow the instruction on this page for award
    I would also recommend download a new BIOS at the same time just in case 865 BIOS 1.3 .

  • System Control Manager on Mega 865 Pro

    Hi,
    I Have a Mega 865 Pro, I would list whats in it but do not consider that any of this would help.
    The system has the System Control Manager software installed which allows for you to use the buttons on the front of the system within Windows XP, if the software is not installed or running then one of the problems is when you use the CD eject key the system will restart.
    The software runs normally on my account where I'm an admin.  However, if I have any other accounts running then the software will not run with the following message.
    MGSYSCTRL
    Detecting Model type failed!
    You may not run this program correctly
    Can anyone assist in making sure that I do not give my kids admin access under Windows XP?
    Thanks
    Rob

    Update.
    This has now been resolved by performing the following.
    1, Download the bios update using the link below, the MSI update utility never reconised that there was a newer version of the bios available.
    http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/download/dld/spt_dld_detail.php?UID=602&kind=4
    This fixed the reboot issues when using the eject cdrom button!!
    2, The System Control Manager cannot be used under a non admin account, this was corrected by performing the following.
    export from mthe registry, and then delete:-
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
    "MGSysCtrl"="C:\\Program Files\\MSI\\System Control Manager\\MGSysCtrl.exe"
    And Change to:-
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
    "MGSysCtrl"="C:\\Program Files\\MSI\\System Control Manager\\MGSysCtrl.exe"
    Then run the new on the Admin account only.
    Hope this helps some of you!
    Regards
    Rob

  • MEGA 865 Fan Control Problems using suspend/hibernate

    I'm still having problems with the MEGA 865 CPU fan speed going to MAX after I come back from suspend or hibernate until a reboot of the system.
    This is super annoying.
    MSI tech support sent me a BIOS they thought might solve the problem... but it's OLDER than the one on the web site, PLUS it doesn't fix the problem  
    When will MSI look into this problem? When will a real fix be available? :(

    MSI sent me an updated 1.1 BIOS which actually fixes this problem. Unfortunately when I now resume from hibernate or standby the computer is so slow I have to reboot it - sort of defeats the point don't you think!
    As for a response from Tech support. Well I might aswell get some

  • New Mega 865 Problems

    Really need some help here, something is going horribly wrong.
    Right heres the spec:
    Brand new Mega 865 Deluxe version
    a 512MB module of Geil PC3500 Golden Dragon Ram
    P4 3Ghz Northwood 800FSB
    Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti4600
    Western Digital IDE 8MB Cache 160Gig Hard Drive: set to Master
    Nec 8x DVD Double Layer Dual R/RW IDE BLACK Burner OEM: set to Master
    I'm trying to install Windows XP Home onto it, I have two legit versions, one with SP1 and one with SP2 and neither of which are working correctly.
    The version with only SP1 on it says the partition on the harddrive isn't XP compatible please delete and create a new one (so I do) when I do this I get same message over and over again, never ending cycyle.
    The version with SP2 installs only to hard drive fine after a full NTFS format but it gets to the stage where it restarts your PC at the end of the installation where it stays in dos. What it should do is load up into the GUI final part of the installation, it doesn't get this far. Instead i get the message "Disk bot failure, insert system disk and press enter."
    As for updating the bios, the whole process seemed really complecated when you can't get into windows to do it through MSI's utility and don't have a floppy disk drive because you have the deluxe version. Also I'm not even sure I can update the bios without windows even installed, I made an emulated boot cd with the dos flashing utility and new beta bios on but that isn't working either.
    I have tried changing around jumper settings and bios settings including boot device prioritys etc but it's not getting me anywhere. I had heard good things about this shuttle and don't really want to have to return it but this forum is pretty much my last resort.
    Any help apprechiated, thanks.

    I guess rkoppen is right (although I've never dealt with XP home edit, and in my "vanilla" XP pro setup the card reader did not interfere)
    On previous OS-es supporting NTFS there always was a chance to select additional 'stroage" devices where to install the system into.
    Other thought - when setup proposes to delete/reformat existing partitions, it usually shows the available size (at least that is/was so with NT4 and Win2k, and XP Pro) Is the indicated size anywhere in the neighborhood of the HDD capacity you have? (probably not, if you try to "reformat" an empty card reader )

  • I need help Mega 865 pro still restart by itself

    I bought Mega 865 pro last month. I already have install XP pro (very hard to install). In during install It's restart many time and then Mega865 pro do reinstall and complete by itself. I'm wordering because I think It can install so I shut down it. However, in the morning of the next day I try to re-open windows XP, so It can startup. However, I didn't install Instanton program, just driver install. Also, Windows still restart by itself. I'm no idea what the exactly I must do or I need to flash Bios for P4/3.0 GHz 800M LGA775/2M FSB 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 EM64T   please!!! Help me...How must I do? .... see below my stuff. 
    PS. How do the flash Bios? please explain me .
    Mega PC 865 Pro P4 Home
    CPU: P4/3.0 GHz 800M LGA775/2M FSB 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 EM64T
    HD 160GB Seagate SATA
    NEC 16X DVD-RW
    RAM : Corsair VS1GB DDR400 PC 3200
    VGA card: MSI RX9600Pro-TD 128 Radeon AGP 8X
    Monitor: Fujiplus 19"

    flashing BIOS is only dangerous if you go blundering in without knowing what you are doing. you know you need to update the BIOS, as long as you read all relevant advices first, then you should have no problems!
    basically you need to copy the BIOS image fie from your CD to a RAMdrive created in memory by a Windows 98SE bootdisk. that avoids the risk of bad floppy or CD read errors. you can find bootdisk images here: www.bootdisk.com

  • Mega 865 don't recognize on first time a SATA HDD after shutdown from Windows

    Hi,
    I have problem with a SATA HDD (Maxtor 300GB Diamondmax10) in MEGA 865 Barebone:
    After I shutdown the PC from Windows when I turn on again the PC the HDD don't start on first time, I need to turn off the PC and turn on again and the HDD will start and recognize.
    I tried to format HDD and reinstall Windows, to test the HDD with Maxtor Powermax utility and install the hard disk in other PC but the hard disk is ok. Last I turn on the PC without connect the SATA cable, only the power cable and the hard disk start properly every time.
    I tried to upgrade BIOS to last version 1.30 and I make various configuration of BIOS and also I tried to replace SATA cable.
    There isn't SATA driver in CD supplied by MSI (only Intel INF driver but no solve the problem).
    I think that every time that I shutdown the PC will be stored a standby command in SATA controller that no permit to start the hard disk on first time.
    I hope that you help me. Thanks.

    Quote
    Originally posted by alexd
    The another post has no reply to solve the problem.
    That's right, at least for now.
    I tried to imply that perhaps your particular type of HDD has some compatibility problem with the SATA ctontroller of Mega 895. Therefore my suggestion was to see if microcode/firmware updates are available for the HDD.

  • BIOS Update - how?

    In MSI's docs they tell you to make a bootable floppy to update the BIOS. This is an obvious problem for the MEGA 865 as it has no floppy drive. Also, all the research suggests that creating a bootable CD or an ISO of one requires me to have a bootable floppy on hand. Given that I do not have access to either a floppy drive or a USB memory device, how can I make a bootable CD with my updated BIOS on it? Thanks.

    I also had this when I tried a CD ROM. I think it tried to write soimething to the CD and couldn't ?
      Live update with 1.3 has nuked many a machine BEWARE 

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