ASUS P5B-VM - MY BIOS UPDATE experience

[bbalegere]

I have asus mobo P5B-VM
Details here
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...12&modelmenu=1
The most important feature of this motherboard is ASUS CRASHFREE BIOS 3
Processor is Intel core2duo e4300 1.8ghz (200*9=1800mhz)
RAM is dynet 1*2 GB DDR2 333mhz
Harddisk Seagate 160GB SATA
SONY DRU 835A DVD WRITER

The original BIOS version on my motherboard is 0613
I went to support.asus.com -downloads-BIOS
Here is found BIOS versions 1004(beta),1004(beta),0901,0804,0706

I first upgraded to 0706 using ASUS EZ FLASH 2.Everything went smoothly.
A few problems arose regarding the logo which was now being displayed twice.
NO probs.I upgraded to bios version 0804.All minor hiccups and problems were ironed out.
Then i upgraded to 0901.Still no problems.
Then I risked upgrading to beta version 1001.Still no problems with my computer.

Now i got carried away and upgraded to 1004 beta version without reading the warning.
This update was meant only people who had intel extreme processor.This update is to unlock the ratio multiplier for the processor.

Immediately after updating the bios my computer failed to restart.
I powered it off and switched on after 2 mins.
Before the Asus logo loaded I got an error message.

Intel Broadwater -G PCI accelerated SVGA BIOS
Decomplication or Disassembly prohibited

Then I got an error message OverClocking Failed.
Most unfortunately this update spoiled my motherboard.

My processors multiplier got locked 6 even though the bios showed the multiplier to be 9.
I confirmed this with cpu-z which showed my processor's speed as 1200mhz(200*6)

After this I experienced many minor problems while using windows xp and booting from bart pe cds.I got random BSODs.Even reinstalling xp did not help.

So I mailed ASUS support and they recommended me to downgrade the bios or give the motherboard back to the dealer for RMA service.

I downgraded my bios back to 0613 using EZ FLASH 2.Still the problem persisted.
I tried downgrading to the other bios versions as well ,still the problem was not solved.My processor was still running at 1200mhz(200*6)
Now each and every time i updated my bios to a different bios version i got error message on restarting.

Bad Checksum!
Overclocking failed!

I got this error message even when i tried resetting the cmos by opening the cabinet and removing the battery and shorting the jumpers and putting back everything correctly.

Then I found some very old BIOS version at the asus site
they are 207,304,404,507

I tried downgrading my bios to these old versions using ASUS EZ FLASH 2 and afudos.But it
was not possible.I got a message saying that the bios was too old.

So I found this
http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?...Language=en-us

I downloaded the afudos engineering edition and downgraded my bios to version 0207.
I did not follow the instructions carefully.
I made a mistake.
Instead of giving the command as

AFUDOS /ixxxx.rom /pbnc /n

I gave it as

AFUDOS /ixxxx.rom

After that i restared my computer and my computer failed to boot.I assumed that the bios update had failed.
So I read the motherboard manual and found that ASUS CRASHFREE BIOS should kick in at failed bios updates.So i inserted the motherboard cd(by the ejection pin to pull out the tray as the dvd drive did not open on pressing the eject button) and waited for the crash free bios read the original bios file from the motherboard and restore and my BIOS.

MOST UNFORTUNATELY IT DID NOT WORK AND NOW I CANNOT USE MY COMPUTER.IT SIMPLY DOES NOT BOOT.THE POWER LIGHT JUST KEEPS FLASHING ON AND OFF.

Then I opened the case and removed the battery and shorted the correct jumpers to reset CMOS ,waited for 1 min,put everything back.IT DID NOT HELP.

Now I have a few questions.
Is my motherboard dead?
Can it be repaired or should it be replaced?
Since processor was running at a speed lower than the rated speed is it spoilt?
Does a bad bios update spoil other hardware components as well?
How do I know which other components are spoilt?

PLEASE POST your views on this.

Regards
Bharat
AGNIPLUSE.COM

[phreak0ut]

Since you have tried different BIOS updates and still the computer doesn't boot, I think the motherboard is officially dead. Replacement is the only option.

[realdan]

well this shows that one dont play with BIOS update if one dont have any problem with the system..whether it is to be repaired or replaced i think will be decided by the manufacturer or the distributor

[src2206]

Hello

I also tried to update BIOS, but in my case I was having a system trouble- my SATA HDD was not recognized properly. I mistakenly updated to 1004beta version, and now I find that under CPU menu of BIOS, the multiplier is shown as Unlocked and the value is 9. I downgraded the BIOS to the last stable version 901 (I think) successfully using EZ Flash utility. But the multiplier is still shown as unlocked and it is 9. I also tried to reset the BIOS following ASUS mobo manual, but that did not solve the problem. I checked CPU-Z, I found that the processor speed being 1.8GHz, as it should be. I am using E4300 C2D processor. The memory is DDR2 667MHz modules, three in number, each of 1GB size.

Is there anything wrong with my system?