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Resolved Need help flashing bios with a bin file

Discussion in 'PC Hardware' started by geno368, 2011/05/16.

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  1. 2011/05/16
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I am trying to rebuild an XP computer that is dead. I have downloaded the latest bios update from Xp and it is a bin file. I created a msdos boot disc and copied the bin file to it, but there is no autoexec file to run it. What should I do?
     
    geno368,
    #1
  2. 2011/05/17
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Give us some details. Which brand and model? If self built, which motherboard? That would be a good start to find the BIOS update procedure.

    That's confusing? You don't download the BIOS file from the OS manufacturer but from the hardware manufacturer. I'll move the thread to the hardware forum.
     
    Christer,
    #2


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  4. 2011/05/17
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    Why do you want to flash the BIOS? It should only be done if an update will fix certain issues you have.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #3
  5. 2011/05/17
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    The computer is totally un-responsive. It is an HP551w and when powered on it just won't post. I want to flash the bios and then re-install the XP Prof. It is a Missouri board
     
    geno368,
    #4
  6. 2011/05/17
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    BIOS don't just die so odds are good that flashing won't do a thing excpet maybe make matters worse.

    What is the history behind the pc? Did it run fine till recently and then jsut die? If so, the power supply would be my first guess.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #5
  7. 2011/05/17
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I don't have a lot of history. About 6 months ago, my cousin left it with me and it was heavily infected with virus and malware. I started cleaning it up and in the meantime he bought another system. I was busy at the time so I put it aside. Now I have time to fix it since he gave it to me. When I try to load the xp Home disc, I get the message that NTLDR is missing, Control/alt/del to restart. I do that and get the hp splash screen for a second and then the same message.
     
    geno368,
    #6
  8. 2011/05/17
    PeteC

    PeteC SuperGeek Staff

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    Sounds very much to me that you are trying to boot from an install CD without the CD first in the boot order - check in BIOS.

    If I have misunderstood your terminology Google is always your friend - NTLDR is missing
     
    PeteC,
    #7
  9. 2011/05/17
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I did make sure that floppy was first, cd next and hd last..is that ok? Also, I don't seem to be able to get to setup right now
     
    geno368,
    #8
  10. 2011/05/17
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    Unless you're booting off a floppy - it should be last in the boot sequence. You don't want to wait on every boot while the pc checks to see if there is a floppy disk inserted.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #9
  11. 2011/05/17
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    ok, how do I get back into bios with the NTLdr error?
     
    geno368,
    #10
  12. 2011/05/17
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    There is only one way to get into the BIOS - the same way you've been doing it;) Press the F1 key or what ever key you've been pressing as soon as you power on the pc.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #11
  13. 2011/05/18
    Bill

    Bill SuperGeek WindowsBBS Team Member

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    When you formatted the floppy, did you make it bootable?
     
    Bill,
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  14. 2011/05/18
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I created am msdos boot disc, and it does boot to a promps
     
    geno368,
    #13
  15. 2011/05/18
    denny13

    denny13 Inactive

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    Great tips, thanks for sharing guys! There's a lot of informational support here.
     
    denny13,
    #14
  16. 2011/05/18
    SVEN

    SVEN Well-Known Member

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    SVEN,
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  17. 2011/05/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Searches on the web have rendered different results. Some indicate that it is an ASUS PS4-LA motherboard with Award BIOS. Other indications are that it is with Missouri BIOS.

    At HP I found Missouri BIOS Update. It defines the latest BIOS version as 3.04. If the version on the computer is earlier, you could do the update but I don't think it will resolve the problem.
     
    Christer,
    #16
  18. 2011/05/19
    Christer

    Christer Geek Member Staff

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    Suggestion:

    On a different computer, create a bootable floppy (I use the Windows 98SE), download Delpart.exe and add it to the floppy.

    Set the boot order to "FDD - CD/DVD - HDD ". With the floppy in the drive, restart the computer and when booted type in "delpart.exe" > enter. Follow the prompts to delete all partitions on the hard disk. (Be sure that you want to do it because there's no way back.)

    When done, the floppy goes out and the XP-CD goes in. Restart and hopefully you'll be able to install XP on an empty hard disk which means that the first step will be to create C: as the primary partition.
     
    Christer,
    #17
  19. 2011/05/20
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    More info: I put in the XP OE disc and it checks the system and then goes to Windows setup loading files (Windows Executive) and just stays there forever. I swapped out the HD with same results. Do any of you think the bios update is necessary?
     
    geno368,
    #18
  20. 2011/05/20
    Steve R Jones

    Steve R Jones SuperGeek Staff

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    Read my two posts;)
    Odds are real good the BIOS has nothing to do with your problem.

    Try testing the ram with memtest86.
     
    Steve R Jones,
    #19
  21. 2011/05/21
    geno368

    geno368 Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    I don't have a lot of history. About 6 months ago, my cousin left it with me and it was heavily infected with virus and malware. I started cleaning it up and in the meantime he bought another system. I was busy at the time so I put it aside. Now I have time to fix it since he gave it to me. When I try to load the xp Home disc, I get the message that NTLDR is missing, Control/alt/del to restart. I do that and get the hp splash screen for a second and then the same message. I removed the cmos battery and restored the defaults and then changed the boot order to the cd first.. Now when I power it up, I don't get the post beep( I haven't in a long time) or the post page. BTW, bios does see the HD (Samsung) I checked the bios date and it is the current one listed on the HP site, so I guess the update is not needed. How can I get the OS to load? Thanks, again
     
    geno368,
    #20
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