Ask Leo! by Leo A. Notenboom

Flashing my BIOS failed, how can I recover?

Search First! Then browse: Categories | Full Archive | By Date | Newsletter

Home » Hardware

Summary: When flashing your BIOS fails, there typically is only one remedy: replace the chip where the BIOS is stored.

After I flashed my BIOS and restarted my computer, I got a beep message, and the screen went blank. Every time my computer starts now, it gives that beep message and isn't doing anything at all. Is there a remedy?

The BIOS, or Basic Input Output System, is also sometimes called "Flash BIOS" because even though it's stored in hardware, it can be replaced or updated via a processes often called "flashing".

When flashing your BIOS fails ... you're in trouble.

The BIOS is software stored in hardware, and it is often referred to as firmware. It's the software that performs the power-on self test, the very first steps of the boot process, and provides the basic interface to much of the hardware.

Occasionally it needs to be updated. In fact updating your BIOS is frequently a solution for certain types of hardware compatibility issues.

Unfortunately you need a working BIOS to even get to the point of flashing it. Or do anything else, for that matter.

As a result, when a BIOS flash fails, the only typical remedy is to physically replace the chip on the motherboard in which the BIOS is stored with one containing a working BIOS for that motherboard. That probably means going back to the manufacturer of your computer or its motherboard.

Related:

Helpful? Get new articles weekly by email in my FREE newsletter!

Your Name:
Your Email:


Why Subscribe?

Article C2236 - November 30, 2004

Was this article helpful? «Yes» «No»

Recent Comments
48 Comments

I had a failed BIOS flash on my Toshiba A215-S7444, I found these guys on the web: www.aqstech.com they did the repair for around $99. Give them a call, they're one of the only places in North America that can do this type of repair.

Posted by: Brian at September 1, 2009 7:07 AM

Hey, can anyone answer instead of asking more and more questions? I have an HP Pavilion dv2000 with fried BIOS. Any advice on how to bring it back to life? Thanks!

Visit the HP support site and look for instructions on resetting the BIOS, or potentially replacing it. The details vary from machine to machine.
Leo
04-Nov-2009

Posted by: Dimas at November 3, 2009 7:41 PM

during flash bios online with win vista just it got stuck nothing moves, restarted the computer nothing works

Posted by: msi k9a platinum at December 23, 2009 11:51 AM

Hope someone can help. Here is the scenario.
At bootup the screen says "Reboot & select proper boot device. Never makes it to windows.
If I go into the bios then exit the bios whether or not I make any changes then the computer boots to windows. Restarting, windows always starts back up. Starting from cold start, I get the message again "Reboot & select proper boot device"
Thanks, mike

Posted by: mike farrell at January 28, 2010 1:00 PM

I updated my BIOS and after restart in turned to be error and it failed to update my BIOS and i also have problem with my keyboard and External hard disk my keyboard wont work then i have to unplug and replug my keyboard. so i thought of updating my BIOS and i happened to real bad... what should i do to run my pc

Posted by: Aravindan at February 8, 2010 6:40 AM

Post a comment on "Flashing my BIOS failed, how can I recover?":






(Email Address will not be published.)

Remember Me?

By popular demand...
my tip jar
Cuppa Joe
Buy Leo a Latte!

(you may use HTML tags for style)

RSS feed Subscribe to the RSS Feed specifically for comments on this article.

Before commenting, please...

  • Read the article at the top of this page. If your comment shows you didn't, it'll be deleted and ignored.

  • Comment only on this article. Use the Google search box at the top of the page if you have a question about something else.

  • Don't include personal information in the comment. No email addresses. No phone numbers. No physical addresses.

  • Don't spam. Excessive links to unrelated sites within a comment or across multiple comments will cause all such comments to be removed.

  • Don't ask me to recover lost passwords or hacked accounts. I can't, and those comments will be deleted.

  • I can't respond to every comment. And I can't vouch for the accuracy of others who do.

Please wait. Your comment is being processed ...


Question? Ask Leo!