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Bios load failure Dimension 8200
Hello,
I was attempting to flash bios upgrade A09 from A01 on my Dimension 8200. During the install it stopped at 21%. I waited for over an hour and then rebooted the computer. After the reboot all I get is a blank screen. The computer does not start the loading process. Any ideas on what do?
Thank you,
Scott
Message Edited by sjg1617 on 08-17-2004 09:18 PM
Chances are you are suffering from a bad BIOS flash which has trashed your motherboard, but here are a couple of things to try first: Try clearing your NVRAM. This procedure can be useful in resolving problems where the machine fails to boot. Normally you would clear the NVRAM by entering the BIOS Setup, but it would appear that you can not do so. The alternative would be to remove the battery from the motherboard to clear the NVRAM. With the machine unplugged from the wall remove the battery from the motherboard. Then with the machine still unplugged press the On button for several seconds to dissipate any remaining electrical charge on the motherboard. Then re-install the battery, plug the machine back into the wall and see if it will boot normally.
If the machine still fails to boot then strip the motherboard down to the bare minimum. By bare minimum I mean remove all expansion cards, disconnect all drives and leave just the processor, memory and graphics card in the machine. If the machine will at least boot there is hope and you can try reflashing the BIOS after connecting the appropriate drive.- With any BIOS upgrade there is a slight element of risk and that is why it is frequently mentioned in this forum.... if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Unfortunately about the only precaution you can take is to not remove power from the system while the BIOS upgrade is in progress or do the BIOS upgrade during a time when outside weather conditions may indicate a possible power failure. An interrupted BIOS upgrade can trash the system. In your situation this was not the case and the BIOS upgrade just died in mid-stream thus corrupting the existing BIOS on the motherboard. With this kind of scenario there really isn't any precaution to take other than avoiding unnecessary BIOS upgrades. If the machine was still under warranty did you try contacting Dell Tech Support to see if they would make good on the replacement? Usually they won't unless the upgrade was done under their supervision, but it maybe worth trying.
My warranty has expired. I was flashing the bios due to the numerous upgrades I have done to the machine. I don't think there a single factory piece left in it. I just wanted to make sure I didn't do anything wrong flashing the bios. I've never liked messing with a boards bios and now I know why. Thanks for all the helpful information.
Scott
sjg1617
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Posted August 18th, 2004 01:00