Bios rom checksum error "drive A error, system halted"

AugeK · Nov 6, 2021

I was thinking about an empty chip for diy programming but pre-programmed would do too.

Caring1 · Nov 6, 2021

Neither of the two CPUs you mention are on the compatibility list for that Motherboard.
Was it running prior with one of them?

AMD Athlon XP	3000+ (333MHz)
AMD Athlon XP	2600+ (266MHz)
AMD Athlon	1.4GHz
AMD Duron	1.8GHz (266MHz)
AMD Duron	1.3GHz

Mussels · Nov 6, 2021

RyzenMaster.sys said:
I don't have a desktop IDE hard drive at the moment. I am waiting on a laptop ide to desktop ide adapter to come from china.

Maybe I can write a floppy with a program that will allow it to boot to CD when the bios doesn't support it?

I forgot the name but you just need a bootloader seperate to the OS - load it on the IDE drive via another machine, but tell it to boot from disk 2 (or whatever number you think it'll be in the system)

Years ago i used a USB bootloader to boot my laptop from an SSD in the DVD bay, as the main slot had been snapped off by a previous owner

RyzenMaster.sys · Nov 6, 2021

Caring1 said:
Neither of the two CPUs you mention are on the compatibility list for that Motherboard.
Was it running prior with one of them?

AMD Athlon XP 3000+ (333MHz)
AMD Athlon XP 2600+ (266MHz)
AMD Athlon 1.4GHz
AMD Duron 1.8GHz (266MHz)
AMD Duron 1.3GHz

3200+ was the CPU it was running when it posted initially.

it showed up as a 2200+, though, probably because the fsb wasn't set properly. This board does not support 400mhz fsb, which is likely why the 3200+ isn't listed as supported.

Although I have others, the only 2 working Socket A CPUs I have are this Athlon XP 3200+ and an Athlon XP 2800+

Mussels · Nov 6, 2021

Yeah from ancient memories, they do in fact read as a lower model number if the FSB is set lower than default - but still work fine

I cant help but think you may need a new BIOS chip or SPI flasher here

RyzenMaster.sys · Nov 8, 2021

I have been communicating with a preprogrammed bios chip seller that advertises they sell bios chips for biostar socket A boards specifically.

They wouldn't comment on whether they thought a replacement bios chip would fix the issue and simply told me to contact the manufacturer for support on a 20 year old board. Lol! But after providing them with the information and photos of the chip, sticker on top, and physical engraving on the chip beneath the sticker, they told me they have a compatible chip that they could flash, so I purchased the item.

Big downside is that they are based in the Netherlands, which meant communication was a bit difficult and most importantly, shipping might take awhile. But this board is just for a retro system and I'm in no rush.

eidairaman1 · Nov 9, 2021

RyzenMaster.sys said:
Hello. I was assembling a socket A system and was doing some troubleshooting. Turned out my first athlon 3200+ was faulty. Luckily I had 2. Popped in the second and boom, it posted. (CPU shows incorrectly I think since the fsb is set improperly by default) View attachment 223045
As I only had 1 stick of ram in for testing and wanted to install the rest now, I needed to shut the PC off. Because my screwdriver was having issues bridging the power pins (painted) I decided to do the lazy thing and just yank the power cable from my PSU. This has never really been an issue before but apparently it corrupted my bios.
View attachment 223046
I'm stuck here. No USB power nor PS2 power. Can't go anywhere.

Athlon XP 3200+
Biostar M7VIT Pro

How do I fix this? I don't have an idea floppy drive. I have a USB one, but there is no power to USB at this point.

Do I need a floppy? Any other solution?

Hit delete key go in bios and disable floppy port

RyzenMaster.sys · Nov 9, 2021

I can't get into the bios.

eidairaman1 · Nov 9, 2021

As soon as you hit the power button, tap delete over and over in rapid succession.

RyzenMaster.sys · Nov 9, 2021

Doesn't work.

Mr.Scott · Nov 9, 2021

RyzenMaster.sys said:
Big downside is that they are based in the Netherlands, which meant communication was a bit difficult and most importantly, shipping might take awhile. But this board is just for a retro system and I'm in no rush.

Takes like 10 days from NL to US. I just sent some hardware there.

RyzenMaster.sys · Nov 9, 2021

Mr.Scott said:
Takes like 10 days from NL to US. I just sent some hardware there.

Not bad at all. What type of shipping did you use?

Mr.Scott · Nov 9, 2021

Just plain old USPS international. Nothing fancy.

The small package you're getting will probably go first class international. Might be quicker because it's smaller.

rslayerr · Nov 9, 2021

i hope the price of the bios chip wasnt too much exagerated,to the point of buying another compatible motherboard instead

RyzenMaster.sys · Nov 9, 2021

rslayerr said:
i hope the price of the bios chip wasnt too much exagerated,to the point of buying another compatible motherboard instead

$10 shipped. Most of that price is probably shipping.

Mr.Scott said:
Just plain old USPS international. Nothing fancy.

The small package you're getting will probably go first class international. Might be quicker because it's smaller.

they told me "will ship by standard post/lettermail (without Track & Trace)..."

And I'll get it in 10-40 business days.

If I wanted faster shipping with tracking it would be 20 euros more. Definitely not paying for that.

Mr.Scott · Nov 9, 2021

RyzenMaster.sys said:
$10 shipped. Most of that price is probably shipping.

they told me "will ship by standard post/lettermail (without Track & Trace)..."

And I'll get it in 10-40 business days.

If I wanted faster shipping with tracking it would be 20 euros more. Definitely not paying for that.

I totally understand. It's expensive to ship there. The motherboard I sent was 60 bucks to ship.

System Name	H7 Flow 2024
Processor	AMD 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asus X570 Tough Gaming
Cooling	Custom liquid
Memory	32 GB DDR4
Video Card(s)	Intel ARC A750
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus 2TB.
Display(s)	AOC 24" Freesync 1m.s. 75Hz
Mouse	Lenovo
Keyboard	Eweadn Mechanical
Software	W11 Pro 64 bit

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard	AsRock B550M Pro4
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 34 Esports One
Memory	32GB (4x8) Team Group DDR4 3600 CL18
Video Card(s)	ELSA RX5700XT w/ 2x Arctic P12 MAX fans
Storage	Sabrent Rocket Q 1tb NVME 3.0
Display(s)	Dual Monitors: 27in Sceptre 1440p 165hz IPS (Main) + 27in MSI 1080p 144hz (Left) on monitor arms
Case	I don't want to talk about it
Audio Device(s)	Logitech X530 5.1 Spearkers + Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i 80+ Platinum
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Leopold FC750R Cherry MX Brown
Software	Microsoft Windows 10 Professional x64

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
Motherboard	AsRock B550M Pro4
Cooling	Arctic Freezer 34 Esports One
Memory	32GB (4x8) Team Group DDR4 3600 CL18
Video Card(s)	ELSA RX5700XT w/ 2x Arctic P12 MAX fans
Storage	Sabrent Rocket Q 1tb NVME 3.0
Display(s)	Dual Monitors: 27in Sceptre 1440p 165hz IPS (Main) + 27in MSI 1080p 144hz (Left) on monitor arms
Case	I don't want to talk about it
Audio Device(s)	Logitech X530 5.1 Spearkers + Sennheiser HD58X Jubilee
Power Supply	Corsair HX850i 80+ Platinum
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Leopold FC750R Cherry MX Brown
Software	Microsoft Windows 10 Professional x64

Bios rom checksum error "drive A error, system halted"

AugeK

Caring1

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

RyzenMaster.sys

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

RyzenMaster.sys

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

RyzenMaster.sys

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman

RyzenMaster.sys

Mr.Scott

RyzenMaster.sys

Mr.Scott

rslayerr

RyzenMaster.sys

Mr.Scott

System Name	PCGOD
Processor	AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard	Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling	Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory	16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage	Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s)	NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case	AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s)	Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply	Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse	Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard	Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software	Windows 7 Pro 64

System Name	Master
Processor	Pair of Xeon X5675's @ 4.3
Motherboard	SR-2 Classified
Memory	12 GB of Corsair Dominator GT's @ 2000 7-7-7-21
Video Card(s)	EVGA GTX680
Power Supply	EVGA Supernova 750