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Bios Flashing Problem...

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by voltorsfury

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Hey everyone, I am trying to Flash the bios on my msi motherboard MS-6741. I am using the AFUdos utility that comes with the bios update. I am using adsfi713.exe and bios file a6741vms.370 the command I am running is "adsfi713.exe a6741vms.370" and all that happens is the program responds with the switch options as if I used a ? in the command. I have tried using the switches to no avail, I get the same result. I am booting from a dos cd with dr dos installed created with Nero 11 rom burning. The Hdds are disconnected. The only third party device is my Nic. Please help.. Thanks!!

17 replies

by robo_dev

if you are using afudos, then start with afudos /h

Update main BIOS image only
Code:
afudos mybios.rom /P

by voltorsfury

i am sorry for the misinformation, MSIs website says it is award flash, not afudos. I apologize!

by oh smeg

If you do not you'll turn the M'Board into a piece of scrap that no longer works.

Not sure about MSI but most M'Board Makers have warnings about BIOS Flashes and you need to take notice.

I'm more than a bit lost here as well you said your M'Board was a MS-6741 and when I search MSI US for this I get 2 Models a K8TM-ILSR and a K8MM-ILSR both of which have AMI BIOS not Award.

http://us.msi .com/service/search/?kw=MS-6741&type=product

[i]remember to remove the space from between the [b]msi[/b] and the [b].com[/b] for a working link.[/i]

Also why are you attempting to Flash the BIOS here? What Problem are you experiencing that requires a BIOS update?

Col

by voltorsfury

That is a very long story, I was told it was corrupt and to flash it by a reputable source. I can only get as far as post and boot to cd, it powers off intermittently, (not the bios settings) it won't boot to hdd(no matter the boot order) and after post a bunch of RRRRRRRR's show up on the screen, the problem is the it won't let me write to flash the bios. My model is the K8MM-ILSR (I am sure of it as I have loaded bios b4 on the system about a year ago and still have the bios in a folder) This system is used as a Windows Home Server and it started acting really weird about a week ago and then stopped booting all together. Even with the HDD's totally out, and No usb's hooked up minus the keyboard and mouse(I even tried no mouse and just PS2 keyboard) I get the same weird stuff, In my opinion it is shot but I am trying to save it.... Bios is a last resort... as far as Award and AMI I am just using the file that is included in the ZIP download with the Bios file.

by oh smeg

Doesn't sound like a BIOS Issue.

But none the less you could try replacing the BIOS Chip places like BIOSman sell them with your preferred version of BIOS Loaded. I always change the Chip when it comes to customers servers as it saves any possibility of taking the server down owing to a Bad BIOS Flash. BIOSman I have found to be very fast and reliable over the years.

http://www.biosman .com

[i]remember to remove the space from between [b]biosman[/b] and the [b].com[/b] for a working link.[/i] ;)

Also have you tried clearing the BIOS by removing the Battery & Power Lead or BIOS Clear Jumper before you even attempt to Flash the BIOS?

Col

by voltorsfury

What else could it be? I am banging my head on the wall trying to get this system running. Could be the mother board, that's all that's left, minus the power supply and Nic. I will remove the nic now and see what happens. I don't think it will make a difference though. Please advise as to what you think it could be? Thanks!

by voltorsfury

I figured out the MB issue, I realized the fan stopped running intermittently. I removed the ram and tried one at a time and it works now, no more shut downs and no more fan stopping. Not sure if it is a ram chip or a slot, will have to troubleshoot some more but I wanted to update the thread. It even booted to HDD and let me fdisk so it isn't the bios, You were right Oh Smeg. Thanks for your input!

by oh smeg

It's got a heap of Diagnostic Tools which I think you'll find useful. ;)

http://www.ultimatebootcd .com/download.html

[i]remember to remove the space from between [b]ultimatebiitcd[/b] and the [b].com[/b] for a working link. ;)

Col

by voltorsfury

Its the weirdest thing, I am able to partition my hdd now, but I can't install Win7 Win2008 or Win Home Serv 2011, they all fail at expanding files...

by hal 9000

Check the RAM that's a sign of failing RAM the Files not expanding. ;)

Col

by voltorsfury

I am running a full memtest now on all RAM, I put the other chip in to test. Will report back. BTW this Ultimate Boot CD is a GREAT tool, thanks for the suggestion!

by voltorsfury

OK the memory passed all tests. I even ran stress tests on the system with no errors after running Memtest. Now I hate to say it but have to, could it be a virus in the bios? I didn't think such a thing was possible until 2 days ago researching my issues. Apparently assembly language can write a virus to the bios, The systems are constantly changing, minus I can't write to flash the bios or install windows. I am going to try installing linux now, I am about to give up on this MB and replace it. The problem is I have 2 servers running(well 1 server now..) A 32 bit and a 64 bit, and of course the downed server is the 64 bit. I was getting ready to upgrade the 32 bit server soon when all this started.. Uggg

by voltorsfury

I was using bootit bare metal to partition the drive last night as windows would not let me delete old partitions. Apparently it writes to the MBR because when I just rebooted with out a cd in the drive it booted to c:\ and said Bootit error:78 you may have a virus. Now I am using dariks boot and nuke to wipe the drive totally, maybe the original virus(if it was a virus) is in the mbr, because I have wiped all partitions out..let me explain what lead to this. My windows home server was constantly port scanning every system on my network. My main pc kept blocking it at the firewall and added the server to the untrusted systems(AVG) and I pulled the network cable. I rebooted the server and it would not start up. This lead to where I am now since I started this post, wanted to give some more background info.

by voltorsfury

Still can't install 2008 server, win 7, or Home Server (they are all 64 bit. I can install win 2003 server...(32 bit) I tried to upgrade to 2008 32 bit and it got the same failure when expanding files. Ubuntu fails too, starts to load and goes to a blank screen and dies. I just ordered a new mother board so I think this thread is done.. Thanks for the help!

by oh smeg

Strangely enough I have a similar problem with a system that came with Vista and I can not reinstall Vista, 7 or anything but XP after trying to install 8 from DVD.

I loaded the 7 HDD and used the Upgrade 8 Tool and the 64 Bit version of 8 installed without missing a beat but if I pull the HDD and try installing any other OS except XP it falls over.

That's defiantly something to do with the BIOS as 8 Messes with it but that's the only time I've ever run into any BIOS problem similar.

You could always try changing the BIOS Chip provided that your M'Board doesn't have soldered in BIOS Chips. I do that for all my customers Servers so that the possibility of a bad BIOS Flash taking the server down doesn't exist. I don't need to do it often but it's a Godsend when it's required. Only takes a couple of minutes to change the BIOS Chip and it's faster than Flashing the BIOS.

Col

by voltorsfury

I will try that. I will have to do some research and look at the chip physically to see if it can be done.

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