Lost BIOS

[icmor]

A couple months ago, my desktop computer died. It said it couldn't find the bios. I have since replaced the tower. I have several questions; Is there a way to resurrect the old computer? If not, I know how to physically install the old hard drive into the new computer, but will I be able to access all my files and folders from it once I do that, or, to use it as a "separate" computer in the new one? I do have equipment to power up the old hard drive, and connect it to the new computer via USB to access data, but I'm looking for better solutions. One final detail, the old computer ran XP, and the new one is Windows 7. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Wes]

You may be able to re-flash the bios, but I doubt it. Check the manufacturers website to see if they still support the bios. If you install the old drive in the new pc, it should work fine if you do it right. If your old files were protected, you will have to "take ownership" of them. Depending on which OS you have, there are a number of different ways to do this, but this info might get you started. You wont be able to use it as a seperate pc. The old os on the old drive will not have the correct setup to run the new pc, and if it starts at all, which I doubt, it'll probably just crash right away.

[DragonLensmanWV]

The old drive will most likely not boot in your new computer, but I expect you know that already. However, all the files will be available, just probably not a lot of the programs will work. Depends how folder-friendly they are, if it installs only to it's own folder and needs no major Registry entries, chances are it will work under Windows 7.
A few questions:
1. Does your old tower boot up (beep and power) before it stops?
2. Do you know the brand and model # of the motherboard?

If it does power up, even if it fails to fully boot, chances are you can rescue the BIOS via reflashing or (sometimes they are there) recovering the BIOS(if it's a Gigabyte Dual BIOS board). If the BIOS chip is a removable one, there is a risky procedure where you can install a new BIOS chip (might be able to buy one from the vendor) and run it that way, or the even riskier boot with new(or borrowed) BIOS chip and while the puter is running, replace the new chip with the old one and use a Windows-based BIOS flash utility to write a new BIOS to the old one. Sometimes, if the computer will boot to a CD, you can use a CD-based utility, sometimes those are on the recovery disks that come with new puters. That's why I prefer to build my own, so I know what board I'm working with and can avoid problematic boards.

[icmor]

The old drive will most likely not boot in your new computer, but I expect you know that already. However, all the files will be available, just probably not a lot of the programs will work. Depends how folder-friendly they are, if it installs only to it's own folder and needs no major Registry entries, chances are it will work under Windows 7.
A few questions:
1. Does your old tower boot up (beep and power) before it stops?
2. Do you know the brand and model # of the motherboard?

If it does power up, even if it fails to fully boot, chances are you can rescue the BIOS via reflashing or (sometimes they are there) recovering the BIOS(if it's a Gigabyte Dual BIOS board). If the BIOS chip is a removable one, there is a risky procedure where you can install a new BIOS chip (might be able to buy one from the vendor) and run it that way, or the even riskier boot with new(or borrowed) BIOS chip and while the puter is running, replace the new chip with the old one and use a Windows-based BIOS flash utility to write a new BIOS to the old one. Sometimes, if the computer will boot to a CD, you can use a CD-based utility, sometimes those are on the recovery disks that come with new puters. That's why I prefer to build my own, so I know what board I'm working with and can avoid problematic boards.

The computer does start to boot up. It will show the manufacturer's logo, and shortly after that just stall out. It did give me a notice of lost bios. I went to the mfg's website, and it says to try hitting a combo of different keys when the logo pops up on the screen. It says to then click on "restore bios defaults", so I'll give it a try this weekend. Otherwise, I'll pull the hard drive and transfer the files I need to the new computer. I'll post after I try out my options.

[DragonLensmanWV]

One other thing to try since it does power up. Before trying to start it, remove the power cord from the back, open up the box. You will see somewhere a coin-shaped battery, about the size of a quarter but thinner. With the cord unplugged, remove the battery for a minute, then replace. Hook up the power cord and turn it on. This will restore the motherboard's defaults and it should start up fine from there. The BIOS is still functioning, so that's good, but it needs to be set back to default. This is an easier way. Otherwise, when it boots, you can hit a key (usually either the Del key or the F2 key) that will take you into the BIOS screen itself, where you can set the defaults by looking at the bottom of the screen to see which key you need to punch to do so. The battery removal is pretty easy, too.

[icmor]

Thanks! That's great information. I'll remove the battery before I try anything else.

[DragonLensmanWV]

Thanks! That's great information. I'll remove the battery before I try anything else.

Be sure to replace it before starting up.

[fjpod]

One more thing...with power off, of course, look for a set of jumpers on the motherboard. It is usually called jumper 1, or BIOS jumpers. It is usually, but not always, located near the battery if one exists. There are usually three pins in this set with a jumper on two of them. What you need to do is remove the jumper and put it on one of the pins that it was on, and on the one that it was not on. Leave it there for 3 seconds, then put it back where it was. Or if there are only two pins, simply remove the jumper for 3 seconds, then put it back. This restores the BIOS to factory settings.

[DragonLensmanWV]

Removing the battery does the same thing. Reason I didn't mention that is that now many motherboards no longer have a jumper to do that, but just the two solder points you have to short with a screwdriver. Too much room for error there.

[icmor]

I tried removing the battery, replacing it, and then did a start up. It still stalled out at the mfg logo. I shut it off, restarted and hit the tab+del keys when the logo came up, and it took me into the bios. There were the following choice of actions: ctrl+c for clock settings, ctrl+p for performance settings, and ctrl+f for fail-safe default settings and restart. At the bottom of the screen was; del to enter settings. Unfortunately, absolutely nothing happens when I hit any of those combinations. By the way, there are 2 jumpers right by the battery. Not sure which one to try. Any suggestions?

[icmor]

Ok. Correction on the jumpers. One of them had three pins, so I tried that. Restart of computer took me right into bios. I was given a warning that the bios Guardian was disabled, I then hit space bar to continue, and I got a message saying detecting IDE drives. . . Nothing further after that, and hitting del for setup did not work. Computer is stalled at that point.

[DragonLensmanWV]

No warning about OS Not Found or anything? Just stops after detecting drives?

[icmor]

No warning about OS Not Found or anything? Just stops after detecting drives?

Nope. Not getting any other warnings.

[DragonLensmanWV]

When you moved the jumper to clear the CMOS (BIOS) you did put it back and not leave it in the clear position? If it's not put back, it will not work.
But, if you did, you just may have a hosed Windows install. If it's a brand name computer, you should have some CDs that came with it that can restore your computer. Be aware that using them will likely destroy any data you have on the drive. However, if you have a Windows XP disk, you can do a Repair Install that will preserve your data. Or you can put the drive in a USB enclosure and drag the data off it to your newer one,then reinstall the drive back in the puter and then restore.

[Wes]

Diagnosing computer problems over the net can be more difficult than diagnosing patients' visual problems!

[TLG]

If all you need is the files on the old hard drive, install it into your new pc - setting the jumper to 'slave' instead of 'master' or (I think) 'automatic' so your new pc doesn't try to boot from it. Then you should be able to just go into My Computer where you'll see your old drive (same as you would a usb drive) and everything on it. You will not be able to run any of your old programs but you can copy any files you want from the old onto the new. You may even be able to copy your Settings from your old onto your new so that it looks and navigates like your old one. *Note* In Windows you can't copy a program, it must be installed from a source.

[icmor]

If all you need is the files on the old hard drive, install it into your new pc - setting the jumper to 'slave' instead of 'master' or (I think) 'automatic' so your new pc doesn't try to boot from it. Then you should be able to just go into My Computer where you'll see your old drive (same as you would a usb drive) and everything on it. You will not be able to run any of your old programs but you can copy any files you want from the old onto the new. You may even be able to copy your Settings from your old onto your new so that it looks and navigates like your old one. *Note* In Windows you can't copy a program, it must be installed from a source.

Could you give me more detail on setting the jumper to slave. I like the idea of installing the old HD into the new tower, so I can move my files over to the new one. I've been re-installing the programs I used on the old HD, so I can move files to them. I know how to install the HD, but it's the jumper I need info on. Thanks.

[DragonLensmanWV]

A good idea for your old drive is to get a USB external box.Schlep your old drive into it, plug into your puter and there ya go. After you're SURE everything has transferred OK, then you can format it and use it for external backup.

[Wes]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...TA%20%26%20IDE

[DragonLensmanWV]

Exactly, Wes! Cheap and functional. And your old drive can still be useful.
It can be beneficial to test your drive with hdtune to determine if it's getting iffy.
http://www.hdtune.com/ The free test version will tell you all you need. There used to be a totally free version, so look around, you might find that one somewhere.

[TLG]

Could you give me more detail on setting the jumper to slave. I like the idea of installing the old HD into the new tower, so I can move my files over to the new one. I've been re-installing the programs I used on the old HD, so I can move files to them. I know how to install the HD, but it's the jumper I need info on. Thanks.

If you look on the hard drive you should see a double row of pins, one set (vertically) should have a small 'jumper' (probably marked as 'master' or 'auto' or....). Move that jumper onto the set of pins that save 'slave'. You should then be able to mount into your box, plug the wires in and see contents in My Computer.

icmore - if you see the pins but they're marked differently and you're confused, let me know what they say and I should be able to help you. If you like you can email me -> tonyATthelensguruDOTcom.