Do I need a BIOS??

C

calpolyarc

New Member
I just had a barebones system built for me with an ASUS P4C800 E Deluxe mobo, P4 3.0 Ghz, 2 gigs PC3200, 80 gig SATA hard drive, and a DVD Rom. I finally figured out how to install XP Pro, but I notice that everytime I restart the startup screen says 'No BIOS Detected', what should I do about this?? Thanks.
 
Ummm... YES! A computer isn't a computer without a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). Without a BIOS, your computer is just a piece of scrap metal.

The BIOS is incorporated into the motherboard, and runs on a battery.
The fact that you were able to install XP Pro indicates that your BIOS is working (or at least: was) - without a BIOS, you wouldn't have been able to do that.

A BIOS can be erased, and that might be what has happened?

Go to http://www.asus.com.tw/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=P4C800-E%20Deluxe, download the latest BIOS, put it on a disk, and run it :)
 
sounds liek maybe CMOS checksum error. your battery might be dead or in the worst case the BIOS chip could have issues. try clearing your CMOS if you cant get it running and maybe reseating the battery or getting a new one.
 
Thanks guys, just as a follow up question to running the bios: I see the word bios in regards to the asus mobo all over the place, like CrashFree BIOS, Flash BIOS, Fudori BIOS, etc... I'm assuming these all have different purposes?? Which one do I want to do?? Thank you very much!

ps. My front USB port is not working, under device manager it says there are no drivers installed, and it doesn't find one when I search, I think I read somewhere that this may be due to a setting in the BIOS?!?

Thanks again.
 
A BIOS can be erased, and that might be what has happened?
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On ASUS boards if the primary BIOS gets erased, it gets autorestored from the secondary backup (which is hardcoded so it doesnt need a battery)
 
If I haven't created a BIOS and my computer is running fine, do I need to do anything? "If it aint broke then don't fix it", right? :P Actually, now that I think about it my front USB port isn't working and I think I read somewhere that it might be due to it not being configured in the BIOS :eek: , does that sound right??
 
you have a bios of some sort. A BIOS isn't a piece of software that you can elect to install or create yourself. You can be running an out of date version of a bios, but that's about it. Look on the Asus website for an updated BIOS for your board. Asus boards are super easy to update. As for the USB ports...if you are running off the backup restore bios, then they might not be supported. That bios version is a "limp mode" bios. Designed to be functional enough to let you obtain and install a new updated version. So update your BIOS and i think all will be well
 
Dang... The instructions on the ASUS website tell me that I need a floppy drive to update my BIOS (something to do with AFUDOS??). Well I don't have a floppy drive, only a DVD ROM (<- kicking myself). Is there an alternative way?? :confused: So far I've downloaded P4C81017.ROM and AFUDOS.exe

Thanks!
 
If your computer is running fine, then no need for a BIOS update. But if it's absolutely necessary, you could borrow a floppy drive for that operation.
As for the front USB port, check if in the BIOS all USB ports are enabled.
 
In the BIOS -> Advanced -> USB Configuration I have the following items:

USB Function [8 USB Ports] <- That's the maximum number
Legacy USB Support [Auto]
USB 2.0 Controller [Enabled]
USB 2.0 Controller Mode [HiSpeed]

USB Mass Storage Device Configuration

Any more suggestions?? :confused:
 
How many USB plugs are on the computer?
Once I had a problem with a mobo with only 2 USB ports -- they didn't work if 4 USB ports were enabled in BIOS.
 
I found out that I can use my portable 128mb USB drive as a 'floppy drive' so I was able to load the updated bios, upon which my RAID controller got the driver it needed and my front USB port came to life! :)
 
Do I need a BIOS??
Click to expand...
You dont have a choice... you've got one :P

"If it aint broke then don't fix it", right?
Click to expand...
You can also interpet it as "if it aint broke, it doesnt have enough features"

does that sound right??
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Doesnt sound wrong.

Dang... The instructions on the ASUS website tell me that I need a floppy drive to update my BIOS
Click to expand...
You prolly need to for most mobos/bioses

As for the front USB port, check if in the BIOS all USB ports are enabled.
Click to expand...
And that the headers are connected
 
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