Hot Flash

If you have a friend with the same motherboard or one that uses the same or a plug compatible BIOS chip, you may be able to "Hot Flash" your chip using your friend's motherboard. To do this you prepare your BIOS flash diskette as indicated above EXCEPT you do not include the AUTOEXEC.BAT file (you do not want this diskette to "auto-run" on your friend's computer or you may owe him or her a new BIOS chip as well!).

A chip-puller tool is recommend for Hot-Flashing.

If you don't have a chip puller tool, you can fashion one by straightening a paper clip and making a small bend at one end.

On two opposite sides of the PLCC socket is a small opening where the chip puller or straightened paper clip is inserted. If using a paper clip, ensure that your bend at the end will fit into the socket and under the BIOS chip like a small hook.

When using a chip puller tool, insert the ends of the tool into the openings on the socket and gently squeeze the tool to extract the chip.

When using a straightened paper clip, work alternating from one corner to the other, inserting the paper clip into the opening and gently pull up on the chip. Do not attempt to pull the chip all the way out on one corner because you will risk bending the pins on the chip or damaging the socket. Instead, alternate from one corner to the other, pulling up a small bit each time until the chip pops up from the board.

Before beginning with this process, it's imperative that you know the correct orientation of the BIOS chip in your board and your friend's board. PLCC chips have one corner that has been cut. This cut mates exactly to the PLCC socket on the motherboard. Also, if you peel any labels off the top of the chip, you'll see that there is a dot on one side of the chip that mates to a matching dot on the socket.

Know and remember your chip orientation. Mess up and you fry the chip .. this is the most common mistake when swapping out a BIOS chip, so take care.

Because you will be working on a running system, remove the chip from your friend's system beforehand. On both your chip and your friend's chip, tie dental floss or fishing line (both non-conductive) diagonally on the chip on the non-cut corners (mating to the extractor tool insertion openings). Tie the knot on the top and leave tails long enough that you can grasp them easily while the system is running. Do not leave tails so long that you risk having them caught up by a running fan.

Gently reinstall your friend's chip. Do not push it all the way in; simply ensure that you've pushed it in far enough that all the pins make positive contact with the socket and you can easily pull the chip up while the system is running. You may want to practice prior to starting up your friend's system.

Boot your friend's system with your BIOS flash diskette. When you reach the DOS "A>" prompt, gently remove the chip from your friend's motherboard and replace it with your chip. Take extra care that you do not bend any of the pins on the chip. Carefully insert your corrupted chip, aligning the chip in the same manner as the chip you removed.

Flash your chip using the command:

AWDFLASH.EXE xxxxxx.BIN /QI /PY /SN

Do not include any of the other switches in the command lines described above. You do not want your friend's computer to automatically reboot after the flash, nor do you want to clear your friend's CMOS memory. When Awdflash finishes and you get the F1/F10 reboot or exit message, turn off your friend's system using the switch on the PSU. You do not want to reboot your chip on your friend's system unless it's exactly the same model and revision motherboard.

Remove any dental floss or fishing line from both chips. Replace your friend's chip and then replace your own chip in your system.

Continue with the above instructions to manually clear your CMOS settings in order to complete your recovery.

where can i found this chip-puller tools? i check on my mobo and found this socket chip entitled U16. socket color is brown.is this the bios chips socket?