Boot up probs

[Oz647]

Hi,

For some reason my desktop has died on me. When I start it up it gets to a screen that says "Scanning Bios image in hard drive..." and stops. Any ideas? Any help is gratefully appreciated.

[CaleyD]

I would try resetting the bios as a first move.

Turn of PC, remove all power leads, open the case and take the battery out of the motherboard then press the power button a few times to make sure you've got all power out of the system. Leave it doing nothing for 5 to 10 minutes and then put the battery back in, and power the PC back up.

Whilst your at it (and in case this doesn't work) take a look to see if there's a 3 pin connection near the batter which should have a jumper connecting two of the pins. If the above doesn't work, power off the system, move the jumper to pins 1 and 2 and then power it back on for a minute or two....then power it all off and put the jumper back to it's original position and start machine.

If neither of those work then it's quite possible we're looking at a hardware failure and something might need replaced.

[Scotty]

I would agree with 'D' ..... reset or upgrade the bios as mentioned.

Its likely to be one of two problems but without knowing the make/model of PC or the bios its hard to tell.

One possible scenario is that your original bios is toast and the machine is looking for a copy on the HD just as it says .... some manufacturers do actually store a backup copy of the bios information on the HD, in an area that is not accessible to mere mortals for just this eventuality. However, if your pc is just stopping after displaying that message then it is indicative that the file it is looking for is not present, or that this is not the problem .... either way, you seem f***** as they say in technical terms !

The other possible scenario, and this one could be a real bugger to solve ... is that you have a brand-name pc that has a special code built into the bios where it does a check to make sure the HD serial comes from the OEM suplier. Its not actually looking for a bios image in this case but some HD information. If you have switched your main HD or something has screwed up then you are S.O.L. usually.

In both cases, resetting the bios by removing the clock for 15 minutes as mentioned by CaleyD is worth a shot. If the reset doesnt work then you could try upgrading or flashing it ..... download the latest bios from the maker and put it on a floppy. If your floppy is set as first booting item then you should be good to go and it will update.

[Oz647]

Taa to both of you, I will try it today and report back later.