[onthebusmall]

Alright new problem, i had updated my bios (Abit AV8 Mobo) and on reboot i got the message "error loading operating system". It wont allow me to boot xp from the cd, the error is as far as i get. Is there somthing in the bios i can change so that i am able to reinstall xp or a way to reset the bios? Im running out of ideas here.

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It looks like you should have used BIOS version 26 as explained by ABIT. If you flashed the wrong BIOS, then you are stuck for a while. There are places that can help reset the BIOS chip, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Which version of BIOS did you flash?

EDIT: Also, what OS are you using?

Edited by UV_Power, 02 March 2006 - 04:37 PM.

[UV_Power]

It looks like you should have used BIOS version 26 as explained by ABIT. If you flashed the wrong BIOS, then you are stuck for a while. There are places that can help reset the BIOS chip, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Which version of BIOS did you flash?

EDIT: Also, what OS are you using?

Edited by UV_Power, 02 March 2006 - 04:37 PM.

[Thebinaryman]

be sure the "boot sequence" is set to cd-rom before hard drive. and have the cd in the second after you power on your computer. some bios's have a "quick start" feature that skips POST so it boots to the hard disk in moments, so you need to get the cd in right away. if you get that working, you may want to try to "repair" before you go through a reformat, although reformats are a good thing to do regularly, but you may want to repair, then back up your data, then reformat.

also, you may have a bad cd, but this is less likely, try using a bootable utility for disk managment usually provided by your hard drive manufacturer.

[onthebusmall]

Yea, i believe i did flash the wrong bios version. I'm using windows xp home, is it possible for me to reset the bios myself?

[Thebinaryman]

you can easily reset the bios "settings" yourself, just pull out the power cord, and battery for a a while (sometimes they recommend an hour) and this will reset your settings. i do not think it resets the bios rom file itself. there is a chip called the bios, where the data, sorta like a "mini operating system" is stored, usually a few megabytes. there is another chip called the CMOS settings. i think pulling out the battery just resets the cmos settings, not the bios chip which you flashed. try pulling out the battery, but i think the only thing that can fix this is reflashing it with the correct bios. abit's suppourt should help you with that, i dont know off hand the exact steps to do so.

[onthebusmall]

i couldnt find any support from Abit on how to fix this.

[UV_Power]

Sorry for the late reply. I have been rather busy.

Unfortuneatley, there is no way to fix this problem yourself. But, don't panic, because there are solutions.

1) Go to www.badflash.com and see if that's what you want to do.
2) You can send your board to ABIT and they will fix it (for a fee).
3) Abit DOES send out new BIOS chips for pretty cheap, but I highly recommend getting a professional to replace it if you have never done it before.
4) Taking it into a shop where they can take care of everything (for a steep price )

Bottom Line: You are gonna need a new chip (or have badflash fix yours). Unless you wanna risk damaging the board and voiding the warranty, I'd have someone else with BIOS chip replacement experience do it for you.

My suggestion: Get ABIT to fix it.

[Rockster2U]

Whoa There .........

No need to be shipping anything anywhere at this point in time.

i had updated my bios (Abit AV8 Mobo) and on reboot i got the message "error loading operating system"

That means you are able to boot. What you can do is disconnect your power cord and then open up your case. Now, disconnect the ATX power header from your motherboard and locate your CMOS jumper. Move that jumper from pins 1&2 to pins 2&3 and wait about 10 seconds, then re-jumper it back to pins 1&2 and then re-connect your ATX power header to the mobo. Close your case back up and plug the power cord back in. Now, fire your system back up but keep dancing on the Delete key - this will get you into your system BIOS (basic in out system) which controls the hardware communication. You can follow your ABIT manual for general setting guidelines or select a default setup and you can also set boot device priorities. Anytime you mess this up to the point of becoming unbootable, you'll have to reset the CMOS (complimentary metal oxide semi-conductor) as described earlier. And, if you can boot as your quote indicates you can, you can also re-flash your BIOS if the bin file you have installed is in fact, incorrect.

Now, I've know Jack at Badflash for a number of years and I'd also send you to him if you develop a real problem. Fortunately, I don't believe you are in that tough a circumstance - yet.

[onthebusmall]

It seems that none of the suggestions worked, i keep getting a "error loading OS" message, ive even got a new av8 bios chip to see if that would work and no luck, i seem to have the same exact problem. Is my only option now to send the board to Abit?

[Rockster2U]

What kind of connector does your keyboard have. Is it possibly a USB connector?

[onthebusmall]

Heh, no. Heres exactly what happens, same with old and new bios chips. If i load default settings it will run the mem check but reboot halfway in and freeze at the setup screen and give me the same "error loading OS" message on reboot, if i run optimized settings and go to the post screen i have the option of hitting alt f2 and using AWD FLASH where it asks me for a floppy (dont have a floppy drive installed). Other then that i get the same error on every reboot and even if i list the cd drive ontop of the boot list in the setup it wont give me a option to boot from cd. I dont think i flashed the wrong bios version from the start because the setup screen appears to be the same with either of the bios chips unlike it was from when i had everything running. Should i install a floppy drive? Im not even sure it will be recognized if i do since the cd isnt. Thanks for all the help by the way even tho i havnt managed to fix anything yet.

Edited by onthebusmall, 10 March 2006 - 01:36 PM.

[Rockster2U]

OK, that provides some clarification - I wasn't sure if you were able to get into the BIOS or not, thus my question on uSB keyboard. I'd suggecst you run with only one stick of memory for starters and set that at auto-detetct or SPD. In terms of boot devices, and I'm being lazy here by not going back through this thread, why don't you set CDROM first then HDD0 or if you are running a SATA drive set it for serial or SCSI. Make sure your SATA controller is enabled in the BIOS if you have this type HDD. And make sure you have enabled other boot devices. Also please check to ensure that you have LBA addressing enabed. To keep things simple, I'd also pull every other card you have except video for the time being. Post back with results/characteristics after this done.



now I'll go back through this thread and make corrections if necessary.

[onthebusmall]

Ok, i tried using individual sticks of memory and it didnt seem to work. When i reset the cmos i notice it comes up as "cmos checksum error-reset to default" and all my drives are recognized and will sometimes go to the screen where i choose to boot windows normally or safe mode without freezing but then when i choose one it will freeze after. If i dont reset the cmos when i reboot my cd and hardrives arnt recognized.

[Rockster2U]

At first blush, it sounds like that puppy has some dodgy memory but you might make me do a little reading later on tonight. Have you left anything out re: problem description? In other words, did you make any other recent changes that you might have overlooked in your problem summation? Are you running everything at stock voltages and stock settings? Can you give me a heads up on memory mfg, type and speeds, even if you have it set to auto-detect and your Mobo has set the timings. Thanks.

[onthebusmall]

Everything is running stock as far as i know. My memory is 4 sticks of 512 pny ddr400 i believe.