What is a BIOS?

BIOS is an acronym meaning Basic Input / Output System. It is stored in a chip called ROM (read only memory). Most of the latest motherboards now use EEPROM's (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) (also called "Flash" BIOS) which can usually be upgraded by the user. (The earlier versions of the BIOS had to have the chip physically removed and replaced with a another chip programmed with a later BIOS version.) When you switch on your computer the BIOS is the first program to run . It initializes and tests the hardware in your computer (called Power On Self Test or POST). When everything is running, the BIOS program initiates and loads the operating system. The information in the BIOS can be changed by running Setup (sometimes called CMOS Setup). A set of routines called Run-Time Services, which is also a function of the BIOS, help operating systems and application programs to manage the hardware.

BIOS Flash Upgrades

Flashing your computer bios can be a very intimidating chore. Many users are unfamiliar with this type of activity and are apprehensive about doing things that could potentially damage or render their system inoperable. Because of these risks, we advise users to flash their bios only if the newer bios will fix a specific problem that they are having. With computer bios upgrades, newer is not always better.
Due to the high risk of damage to motherboards by incorrectly flashing a Bios WebHQ will never distribute, instruct or perform bios upgrades of any kind.

Who made my motherboard

In order to obtain an updated BIOS for your system, you will need to identify the motherboard manufacturer and BIOS identification number. To do this, reboot the machine. You will need to record the BIOS ID string, which will be located at the bottom-left corner during startup. On most systems, you can press the Pause key during the memory test to suspend the process and allow more time to properly copy the ID string.

CTBIOS ID Program

If you can boot your motherboard use CTBIOS to reveal the possible manufacturer for motherboards older than 1997. Download and run this DOS utility which will read the AMI/AWARD bios id string. If you can't locate the manufacturer yourself from the CTBIOS information then send WEB HQ the output. You can cut & past the info or redirect the output to a text file and send it thru email. Create the TEXT file using this DOS command line: CTBIOS.EXE >> WEBHQ.TXT

we strongly suggest you use this utility thats found on our Diagnostic Tools download page:
biosagent.zip 306k Bios Agent 3.45 reports BIOS string, model#, chipset, cpu, memory

Accessing BIOS Setup

If you require the CMOS Reset and don't have the proper jumper settings try these methods: Our Help Desk receives so many requests on clearing BIOS/CMOS Passwords that we've put together a standard text outlining the various solutions. Take note that resetting the CMOS settings may cause the motherboard to revert to a default password on some boards. The password is usually Award, AMI, etc...see below
When clearing the CMOS, it's NOT done by pulling the lithium battery or DALLAS chip off of the motherboard for a short period of time. Instead, there is a jumper on the motherboard that clears the CMOS. The jumper varies for all motherboards, so you will need to see which jumper applies to your motherboard.

#1

Did you recently 'flash' your computers BIOS, and needed to change a jumper to do so? Perhaps you left the jumper in the 'flash' position which could cause the CMOS to be erased. A system with a seeminly dead Bios might have actually been erased by an incorrect 'flash' upgrade attempt.
Please Note: older 486 motherboards did not have 'flash' support because it wasn't invented at that time. Its possible to find and download 486 Bios binary upgrade files for these older boards but they require the binary files to be 'burned' into an EPROM, and the PROM Writer costs over $900 US !! Anyone attempting to 'flash' an non-flash motherboard will corrupt the Bios leaving the motherboard completely unuseable...
don't believe me? come see the stack of boards we've recieved over the years

#2

Its possible your system may have reverted to its default password.
Try these as passwords (case sensitive):   AMI    Award    bios    setup    cmos   
AMI_SW    AMI!SW/    AMI?SW/    AWARD_SW    j262