F-i90HD Many problems

[burgerri]

looking at the dead mobo's..is it even recommended to upgrade to bios version 13? anyone have any good experience with version 13?

[hotdp]

Hello people!

I have upgraded too 1.3. BUT it was not painless either. I upgraded from VISTA with the newest tool from abit. I got the error-screen after upgrade and had to borrow a video-card, plug in a dos disk and install the 1.3 BIOS from "dos".

The 1.3 seems too run fine! (the only change i can feel is the more correct temp. specs.)

BUT. I got some stability issues with my computer(I run Vista):

In my event viewer, i got lot of error:
The driver detected a controller error on \Device\Harddisk0\DR0.
And sometimes the computer freezes, i can move the mouse around but ctrl+alt+del dont work, only thing to do is hit "reset"?

When i play C&C3 it sometimes goes in "greyscreen", the screen gets grey the sound continuous for few seconds, and the the only thing to do is hit reset?

I have run memtest and other diagnostics but don't find any error's. I think it is the board! anybody have a advice?

Also, the screen sometimes go black for 1/10 of a sec (flicker one time) i use the onboard gfx?

~~David from Denmark

[mlarsen]

Did it really help just to use a seperat videocard? Mine seems also to lock my keyboard, did you just use a bootdisc that executes automatically?

[romeo9]

Perhaps this is why the first reboot works but with the system-halted message. Possibly the BIOS recovery firmware (not on the BIOS chip presumably, maybe the WINBOND chip has this) doesn't adequately support the gfx interfacing on the X1250 (or doesn't yet). Hence the halt.

So putting a PCI card (32bit 33MHz mode) into the machine and a floppy disk then opens the options up. I doubt I can lay my hands on a PCI graphics card before Abit UK can help me out.

As for crashes, controller error, keyboard stopping. Firstly I'd check that the DDR2 voltage is right for the memory stick you are using. Just because it starts doesn't mean it will survive a session once warm. Well, then I'd re-apply the chipset drivers. Then if you are not already, I'd go for a PS/2 keyboard/mouse even if just temporarily. USB strangeness has been mentioned elsewhere. Each new BIOS seems to kick Windows into discovering new hardware identities. So I'd assume this only gets better (in full release rather than beta or amateur firmwares).

Once in flash recovery mode, don't expect an awful lot of keyboard interaction. The only wedge of support in there is to get a new BIOS flashed. Seemingly with a PCI or possibly a PCIexpress (ie non-X1250) graphics card most importantly with it's own BIOS on the card. They all have this, I'm pointing out why this is fundamentally different to recovering while running with the integrated graphics.

1.3 may be having specific board issues, however I'd simply say to use a floppy method. Easier said than done, but I think it is possible to buy a USB stick that emulates a 1.44/2.88 floppy if having a clutzy drive around is simply wrong for you. I've got neither. However I might add an error code buzzer, PCI diagnostic card and a USB floppy-emulating stick at some point in the future.

While dead, a boot session does even seem to poll the DVD-ROM drive I've got inserted. So maybe there are CDR options if you can construct a flash utility as a boot-CD in Nero or such-like.

First thing Monday I'd hope that Abit.com.tw either pull 1.3 or change the advisory note to insist that people start with the AWDFLASH from DOS. Who knows, perhaps it burns slower than the windows version. Although I recall FlashMenu going through a verification OK. So maybe the problem is in the DMI or one of the other tick boxed options. You'll read elsewhere that the BIOS is fine if flashed in something other than the FlashMenu tool. You'd assume it is possible to do it without removing and exchanging the BIOS chip and ideally even to be able to recover if it goes bad with a 3.5", flash or CDR.

[hotdp]

Did it really help just to use a seperat videocard? Mine seems also to lock my keyboard, did you just use a bootdisc that executes automatically?

Hello
First time i rebooted, i did see the CSMO error, then reseted the BIOS, and then i got no display with my onboard gfx, because as he said, the std. setting is PCI-E.

So i got a PCI-E GFX-card, made a bootdisk, and a disk with the new bios (13). After that no problem

BUT. If i can get the board to be more stable, i WILL throw it in the trashcan

[PhilS]

I have flashed mine to 13 (and back) a number of times with no problems, but I used the DOS utility from a USB FDD.

Number 13 does seem to be working much better for me and my media center is now almost woring properly finally!

[hotdp]

I have flashed mine to 13 (and back) a number of times with no problems, but I used the DOS utility from a USB FDD.

Number 13 does seem to be working much better for me and my media center is now almost woring properly finally!

When you say "almost" what does still not work as it should?

No one else then me are getting freeze og greyscreen ind C&C3 ?

[zorg2000k]

ABIT Sean

Just PM you to see if you can help me with the same thing.

Cheers

Stuart

[dogfoo]

A VERY big thank you to ABIT Sean for getting a new chip to me so quickly.

Thanks mate!

[munk]

I had the same and I resolved it :

I Cleared the CMOS a couple of times, then i put in a PCIe GFX card and was able to get a display working. Using a boot disk I booted into dos and then i had another disk with the bios.

All fixed

[Knirfie]

@ABIT Sean

How do I go get a replacement BIOS chip in the Netherlands? I also flashed my mobo with the 1.3 bios and now get a black screen. Unfortunatly my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive so I can't make a floppydisk to use with BootBlock.

[ABIT Sean]

@ABIT Sean

How do I go get a replacement BIOS chip in the Netherlands? I also flashed my mobo with the 1.3 bios and now get a black screen. Unfortunatly my laptop doesn't have a floppy drive so I can't make a floppydisk to use with BootBlock.

You can buy one from www.abitshop.nl or email technical@abit.nl

[Knirfie]

Thanks

[pc86]

hi folks,

I think I got the same problem as some of you,

I try to upgrade the BIOS to 1.3 and after the reboot, nothing on the screen (I am using the HDMI as video output).

I put a VGA screen with the same results.
I removed HDD & RAM power on still the same problem

I send mail to abit support two days ago, I am still waiting for their answer

Any help would be helpful

regards

Philippe from France (so poor english

[romeo9]

Hi PC86.

You have many choices that will work but at the moment you are quite stuck.

i) Optionally:

If you have an old PCI card or a PCIexpress graphics adapter, install it now. Then you'll have some chance of seeing more than either the black screen or beyond the "BIOS recovery" or "checksum invalid" alert.

ii) Note:

The reason why the HDMI and VGA port are apparently broken is that now that you've booted a couple of times, there is no longer any video-BIOS resident. The board is almost just a bunch of chips with no means to use them. Absolutely the lowest common denominator but the graphics functions count as add-ons to the computer. No way to initialise them until you get a valid BIOS in place.

Choices:

1. Contact the Abit representative or agent in France and ask for a replacement BIOS to be swapped out as you followed the instructions on the website and killed your ability to boot with a LiveUpdate. Thanks Sean. I've received one EPROM chip. Up and working again!

Now I've got two, and this weekend I also have an EPROM programmer to hand to compare the results of 1.5.03 with that of burning on the EPROM burner itself or from DOS. I've established a few options for folks who get stuck:

2. Create a 1.44 floppy on another PC, install a floppy drive on the F-I90HD and then with a disk created with the BIOS on it. The details for which can be googled for. The small bit of BIOS left in the computer (probably in the clock/environment chip) will serve you for this.

3. Same as 1. but try a boot-sector type of CDR/CDRW disc. Your light may go on for the drive, this is a good indication. EIDE optical drives maybe better than SATA enhanced units.

4. Purchase a new EPROM from ebay or from a google. There are many vigilantés out there!

5. See if the BIOS is the same size/spec on another PC. The details are listed earlier in this long post. SST 49LF080A 32pin quad package (PLCC). Feasibly you can boot any PC into DOS, carefully extract the original firmware while the machine is running ("hot") and then move over your F-I90HD to the donor PC and flash it. The risk is that you could end up with two defective boards.

6. Find a local electronics company or hobbyist with an EPROM burner that is compatible with the 49LF080A serial-programmed device type.

7. RMA your board and say that it stopped being able to POST. This will probably cost you more than most of the above options depending on whether your retailer will collect from you or not without it costing you. It is also dishonest in that you may not have followed the Abit advice that states that you should not upgrade the BIOS just to keep up to date. The recommendation, to paraphrase it, infers that you should only use it to fix a specific problem or multiple problems. I think this is more for the manufacturers benefit in case they make a mistake like the 1.3 LiveUpdate problem you have.

8. Buy an EPROM programmer. I have access to an ELNEC unit from Poland. Cost more than the F-I90HD did though and needed an additional regulated direct current power supply unit at yet more cost to the owner.

Preventative:

A) Never upgrade future BIOS without seeing someone else managing to do it the way you'll plan to.
B) Always default to using DOS for the burning process (ideally with a power protection unit / UPS)
C) Buy a spare BIOS chip as soon as possible. In my opinion this should be served by a USB2 stick anyway and the CR2032 button cell should be a AA battery compartment that can accept a rechargable battery. Also, all Abit boards, overclock-centric ones and these mATX ones should still have a 80H diagnostic LED and a CMOS-reset jumper or boot-sense-watchdog-circuit. Generic motherboard builders are slipping behind Apple's Intel based incarnations.


I'm starting to conclude that the F-I90HD had a bad batch. I bought 6 and 4 were returned within a month of building them across similar spec machines but on different case designs and PSUs. The two that are still working are the oldest two I received with a serial number within a few from eachother in number. I think the bad ones I had may just have been built earlier and had some fabrication glitch. I may visit this cool dual-head Core2 compatible board again. Somewhat depending on Penryn CPUs and how X38 works out.

The GA-G33M-DS2R is a fine board but not as good as the F-I90HD if you have an 800FSB CPU and less than half decent (low low latency) PC2-8500 memory that supports stock JEDEC 1.8V memory voltages. If Gigabyte had the same fault it would be very much harder to resolve as their G33M-DS2R EPROMs are not socketed.


Good luck PC86.

[pc86]

Hi romeo9,

you are great

thanks for all the info,

I will update the forum as the problem is resolved..