BIOS update caused problem.HELP

[kavern]

HI,
I recently updated my bios from 5 to 5.6. When my computer boots up, it will have 3 beeping sound and an error message saying "abnormal hardware,please press any key to continue". It will freeze there if i dint press anything. After that, all runs well. Before update, i didn't have any such problem. What went wrong?
I followed the instructions given. Is there any solution. Is it possible to get back to my orginal bios state? If i knew this would happen i would not have update it. Please help.
My mobo is MS-6163 BXMASTER.
BIOS is award bios

[saphalline]

Ok, that's weird. BIOS updates that are more than a year old (for an old mobo no less) are pretty safe in terms of not breaking anything. What do you have in this thing? What OS? Gonna need more info now...

[mjc]

After you updated the BIOS did you go in and reload the default values?

Often until you reset the defaults the update isn't really complete...because the updated BIOS may contain values that are not compatible with the current settings and the defaults in the updated version are different than the original default values.

[kavern]

hi Salphine,
It's u again. Yup...it's weird to me. Although the PC works fine after pressing any key, but it's really annoying, and can't guess what will happen in the long run.
The exact message is " system hardware abnormal, press...."

WinMe, PC133 128MB, Q fireball 10GB. What kind of information do u need? I don't know what information that's related to BIOS.

I downloaded it from MSI and followed the instructions. Booting from floopy. Yup, i did go back into BIOS and load the default. I tried updating again and again. Still the same message appear. Do i need to change anything?

[Budfred]

Since you are getting 3 beeps, you can probably figure out what it is complaining about by looking up the beep codes. I am guessing RAM, but that is without looking it up.

Budfred

[kavern]

I went back and check the BIOS settings.
I notice something might be wrong here. Logic tells me that the figure should not be ZERO.
FAN 0 rpm
0rpm??? does that mean the fan is not spinning? Is this the cause?

[kavern]

Where can i check the beep codes?

[Budfred]

The 0 RPM may not be a problem, it depends on which fan it is referring to. If it refers to your CPU fan, then you are in trouble and should not run the computer until you get that fixed. If it refers to a fan that isn't even connected to the mobo, it is reflecting the fact that there is nothing there to monitor.

For the beep codes check here:

http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/award.htm

Budfred

[setoguro]

I'm moving in the dark a little here because I got info from a translated site. It's really weird reading. Check to see if there is anything abnormal in the hardware monitor setting in the bios?
Something about the (Special feature Setup) and -5v monitoring.

[kavern]

Ok setoguro..will try that when i boot later.
To Budfred, it's the CPU fan. It's 0rpm. But i open it up and check it. It is working.
And the beeping was 5 long beeps.(not 3 as stated earlier). Check the beep link but i can't find the meaning for 5 beeps.
However, when i set the detect cpu fan to disable, everything was NORMAL when booting up. I have have a celeron 466. Now i am wondering whether it does not have the ability to detect the fan because of the updated BIOS which has the detection function? I am just guessing.

[Budfred]

Does the fan have a lead that plugs into the mobo? If it doesn't then it is not set up for detection. If the fan is clearly working, then you only have to worry about whether it is cooling enough.

Budfred

[Whyzman]

Yes, you can revert back to your old BIOS by repeating the process you did earlier...you will need the older BIOS image file.

Did your BIOS update require you to jumper the Motherboard? If so, it's possible that you might have bumped the RPM monitor lead from the CPU fan. You might want to pull the lead off the the Motherboard header and reseat. Check of course for bent pins or anything abnormal...

Also, did you get all of the BIOS update "successful" messages at the end of the procedure?

[mjc]

How many wires does the fan have 2 or 3?

If it is only two then, it won't detect the fan speed.......and if it works with the speed disabled, then go ahead, a 466MHz chip isn't really all that critical to monitor......

[Whyzman]

Ah, yeah, check on that yellow RPM wire...if you have one!

[setoguro]

Pocking around a little more on the error message saying "abnormal hardware, press any key to continue" I found this here.

"Abnormal System Hardware, Press F1 to enter Setup or any key to continue".

"This warning message pops up in the POST screen if there is no fan connected to the 3-pin fan header on the mainboard. That is, if a 4-pin fan is connected directly to the power supply, the mainboard will give a warning message."

[mjc]

Like I said before....if you have the option to disable the fan monitoring and it clears up the problem, then use and don't worry about it.

It probably became a problem becasue the BIOS update you did added support for faster processors, where monitoring the fan speed could be critical and it enabled this option by default. In all likelyhood the option was always present, but just disabled. A 466 Celeron doesn't need fan monitoring.....trust me a sub 500 celie doesn't get that hot under normal use (overclocking is a different story).....I ran a 500 celie for a while with just a good heatsink, no fan >>> no adverse effects, because the heat sink was able to keep it cool enough for normal (not gaming use) and the temps stayed under 50° C. A 1 GHz+++ on the other hand will be toast.

[kavern]

well...ok...guess it's because of the stupid fan. It only have 2 wires. Cause me all the trouble.

[Whyzman]

Is your Motherboard header a three pin design? If so, CPU fans with the monitoring feature (three wire) are not very expensive.