I know there are some tech-headed people here... hoping someone can help me out

[fish3k1]

Ok, time for an update:

I've had no joy, and have ordered a new board. Thanks to those who tried to help, was very much appreciated.

As things stand, the guy who runs my local computer store has offered to take a look at the board just to see if it can be saved (we're on pretty good terms, so he's basically doing me a favour) but I don't expect much.

[lordlundar]

Yeah, the best rule of thumb for BIOS updates is to reserve it for people who know EXACTLY what they're doing. Even done properly, there's no guarantee it will be perfect, and messing up a BIOS install effectively trashes the board.