Please help, newb messed up BIOS configuration, now it says starting flash recovery

[kefas]

Hi, this is my first post. I decided to jump into the exciting IT world around 2 months ago (from a completely boring subject 'business administration'), having system administration and/or programming as my target. I thought I will join a forum sooner or later anyway to find solutions to problems that I have or I'll probably be running into. I'm so happy to find out that PCguide.com also has a forum. So two weeks ago I ruined my moms computer somehow (she still doesn't know!), and this is what happened:

I don't really know much about the computer's specs, because I haven't tried to get the details from my mother, but this is what I know just by looking at it superficially:

Motherboard - MSI CoreCell
BIOS - AMIBIOS version 3.31a
Harddisk - Seagate, Barracuda 7200.7
By Simbadda (a local Indonesian computer manufacturer)
Intel Inside Pentium 4

I was trying to get her PC to boot from the USBdrive with a LiveUSB instead of the usual HDD. I tried every possible boot order combination, because I couldn't identify which one was the USBdrive. But it never worked and so in the end it would always load Windows from the HDD no matter what combination I tried (maybe this BIOS doesn't allow booting from the USBdrive...) So finally because I couldn't remember the original boot priority order, I selected "Load BIOS Setup Defaults" (and maybe also "Load High Performance Defaults" and maybe also some other changes, I can't remember)

And when I turn the computer back on there is a beep and a splash screen of MSI CoreCell and Intel, which never happened before. And then it says...

Realtek RTL8110S/8169S Gigabit BOOT agent
Press shift-F10 to configure................

(if I don't press anything within 5 seconds it keeps on saying...)

Boot failure
Insert BOOT diskette in A:
Press any key when ready

(if I press 'del' it goes to BIOS SETUP UTILITY)

(if I do press shift-F10, it opens up a screen I've never seen before with "Realtek .... BOOT agent" as the heading and the following configuration...)

Network Boot Protocol PXE
Boot Order ROM Disable (Int 18h, Int 19h, PnP/BEV(BBS))
Show Config Message Enable
Show Message Time 8 Seconds

And there is an explanation on the bottom for each Boot Order selection:
ROM Disable - Network boot disabled, boot local devices
Int 18h - Boot the devices ordered in BIOS Setup
Int 19h - Always boot network first, then local devices
PnP/BEV(BBS) - Boot ordered by BBS BIOS, if BBS BIOS is present

(and if I exit from either one of the last two screens (BIOS SETUP or Realtek BOOT agent screen), it goes to load the screen that I always see first everytime I turn the computer on when it was still working fine, which shows American Megatrend and its logo and the type of Intel processor. But it doesn't continue with the process as it usually did. It gets stuck at...)

DEL: Setup F11: Boot Menu F12: Network boot Go-> Flash Recovery
Starting Flash Recovery press "Y" to continue, press "N" to exit.

(if I press "N", it goes to...)

Boot failure
Insert BOOT diskette in A:
Press any key when ready

(if I press "Y", it says...)
Starting Flash Recovery... (and it beeps once every 10 seconds or so, but it doesn't go anywhere)

Another very strange thing is that in the Boot priority order within the BIOS SETUP UTILITY, I can now find only the floppy drive and the DVD drive. I don't see the Hard Disk drive anymore...

Can someone please shed light on this computer's problem and give a suggestion on how to fix it (if possible). Hopefully you guys can help a newb like me, because I have absolutely no idea of how serious this is and where to start fixing. Even though I have a broken computer, I'm excited to fix this!:D

[kefas]

I watched a good COMPTIA A+ preparation video two days ago, where the lecturer gave warnings about not to change configurations in the BIOS unless you know exactly what the implications are. And he also said to write down all the configurations before making any changes so that, you'll always have a set of configurations to go back to if you make any mistakes.

I didn't do any of those two!:( Now, I don't know what I did to mess up the computer! So I hope you guys would help me.

[mjc]

First go into the BIOS and find the option for Quick POST or something similar...enable that. Then disable the the 'splash screen'/EnergyStar or whatever it is called.

Both of those should get rid of the extra splash screens.

Then find the Floppy Seek option...disable it.

Then find the Network settings...disable Network booting.

Then set the boot order to CD...HDD...removable devices.

Make sure that the hard drive and optical drives are correctly identified by the BIOS.

Save and exit.

[kefas]

I thank you so much! But I can't fix it anymore, because they're going to have it repaired. I told my uncle several days ago, that he won't be able to use the computer and so he took it away before I could even try. Thank you so much though....!:)

[jlreich]

For future reference going into the BIOS and finding the "load optimal defaults" (usually on the last menu) and hitting F10 to save and exit should have taken care of any BIOS configuration mishaps.

[mjc]

For future reference going into the BIOS and finding the "load optimal defaults" (usually on the last menu) and hitting F10 to save and exit should have taken care of any BIOS configuration mishaps.

Except, maybe boot order...and it looks, to me at least, that somehow the machine was switched over to try a network boot...

[jlreich]

It should reset the boot order. But if not clearing the CMOS would do the trick.

And yeah it is definitely trying to boot from the network. PXE is the most common network boot environment. I use it quite a bit at work for booting OS's and up/downloading images. There are definitely others but PXE is the most common that I have seen.

Odd thing is that if there is no network bootstrap found it should move down the list of bootable devices. Obviously something got messed up in the BIOS that it wasn't finding the hard drive as a bootable device.

[Akuma]

Good call on entering into the IT world. =)

I would reeeally recommend you pay close attention to any changes you make and get used to remembering these changes too, as it will prove vital in the errors that you will make. It's normal. Human error is natural and we near enough always learn by fudging up.

[hackerballs]

it's a good thing with some of todays MB's that simply unpluging the cord and switching it off will reset BIOS........go jumpers go