Is My Motherboard Really Fried

A

Alejo

Distinguished Member
Im getting different opinions about my little dilema. A couple of days ago i decided to update my bios, (ignorantly) thinking it might restore my drivers for the CD-ROM and DVD RW. After re-start...well it did not re-start and that is where I am right now :huh: !!
However I cant seem to get consistent answers, when i turn the computer on it says BIOS Sum Error-- Tried to boot from CD-ROM Fail....if i insert the XP CD it passes and then i am able to make it to the full system recovery but then i get--- Hard Drive Write Error!!---Press any Key! It just wont do anyting no matter what and how many keys i press.
So there I am and now what :blank: !!!
 
Hello Alejo...

First step: Don't panic.
It's *possible* your mobo is fried, but it takes a lot more than most people think to actually kill one - so odds are it's not.

What's you *exact* mobo model?
 
OK,

Open the case, take out the battery, turn on the PC, turn off the PC, wait 10 minutes, plug the battery back in, turn on the PC.

That'll clear the CMOS and may fix your problem.
 
Tried it, same error (Preparing recovery partition- HARD DRIVE WRITE ERROR) - PRESS ANY KEY TO CONTINUE- , however keystrokes are not recognized?!
 
Do you have a USB keyboard?
You should always deal with the mobo and BIOS with an old PS/2 connection or converter.
 
OK, makes sense now.

Most important question: do you have important files that you can't risk losing? Because it's possible that what we do next loses these files or even that they are already lost.

Your MBR is corrupt.
 
Alejo said:
no, not at all. everything that is important is on external HDD.
...and it is disconnected.
Click to expand...
That was a smart move.

How old your motherboard is, and which processor you are using, I'm just asking? :lup:
 
OK, great.
I presume you have another PC.

I need you to take out your HD, stick it as a slave in the other PC
Go to CG Security, download testdisk: http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Run it on the other PC, select the slave HD, tell it to clear the MBR and partition table.

Turn the PC off. Take the drive out, and stick it back in the old one.
That should do the trick.
 
ok no problem. yes i am on another deskto, my HDD is an ATA and i do not know how to set these up as a slave/master. i dont think i have to do that right? just plug it into the other ATA port on the motherboard and go at it!
 
ok small snag, this PC is an not too old POS and the main HD is SATA. the MOBO has ATA ports but no power. could i use the power from my computer, while pluged into the ATA port of the other?
 
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