How do I tell if I have a fried BIOS chip?

[dwu182]

Everything seems to be fine... except I can't enter the BIOS. I haven't installed any OS yet. One thing I noticed is a small yellowish spot on the BIOS chip... does this mean it's fried?
I've tried holding Del, F1, F2, etc... and nothing works. All i get is some clicks every time I press a button. I tried replacing the video card but that didn't work either.

Thanks

My hardware:
GIGABYTE GA-M55SLI-S4 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ Windsor 2.6GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor

Also- how do I go about buying another bios chip? online or brick/mortar store ?

 

[peterhuang913]

take a picture
you dont buy bios chips, you grab a new slab

 

[dwu182]

actual size: 640x480






The BIOS chip is the small black square with the yellow spots on it. Well, nonetheless I'm going to replace the board... it's still in RMA range

 

[peterhuang913]

The small black chip in the picture is not the BIOS. It is an onboard power regulator/converter. Those things are usually prone to fry. In this case, it probaly died out. The word BIOS_WP on the motherboard actually refers to the three solder holes with on in a square. That is the the BIOS write protect that some motherboards have for the BIOS. The label does not indicate that the chip near it is the BIOS. Nevertheless, you will need to get an RMA in this situation.

 

[dwu182]

Wow, my bad. I guess I read the manual wrong. thanks for point that out.
And, thanks for all your help with this

 

[dwu182]

would this prevent my BIOS from being accessed?
When I turn on the PC, the case fans work and there's a beep.

And, I know for certain I am pressing the correct keys to enter it.

 

[peterhuang913]

I am not too sure what a fried chip can do to any of the system components. In order for me to know this, I would need to inspect where the lines that lead up to the chip come from. It may or may not affect the BIOS. I am guessing a RMA is the only option. Also, remember to come back to TF for all your computer needs. The people at TF will treat your problem as a personal case and will do their best to help and assist you to solve the problem.