- Joined
- Dec 19, 2000
- Location
- Lawrenceville, GA
After seeing a few more of these pop up over the past few weeks I went and dug up the little BIOS update guide I did a while back and revised it a bit. Those of you that know how to do it already may have your own methods and do it a little differently, but I felt this was the most straightforward and fail-safe method for someone doing it the first time.
1. Go to BootDisk.com and download the Caldera Dr. DOS boot disk image. Run that program and make a boot floppy. The Dr. DOS boot disk is what I highly recommend over a standard Win95 or Win98 boot disk. It loads no drivers or other resident programs that could cause a hang during the update process. It's just a pure command-line environment.
2. Go to the manufacturer's website and obtain the BIOS update for your respective motherboard. They normally package this in a Zip format containing the BIOS file itself along with the flash utility needed to perform the upate. Others package it in an EXE format and you can run that to extract what you need. If the flash utility is not included, refer to the website as to what you need. All BIOS chips are not the same!
3. Copy the files in #2 to a seperate floppy (BIOS update and flash utility. Others may be included as well if it is done through a batch program).
4. This is not completely necessary but this is a fail-safe guide to flashing. Before restarting to the boot disk, enter the BIOS and remove any overclocking you may previously have had. Either set to default or underclock if necessary. We don't want anything that could cause a freeze up during the middle of the write process.
5. Restart your computer using the Dr. DOS boot disk. Once loaded, remove that disk and insert the floppy with the flash utility and BIOS update on it.
6. Run the flash utility from the command line by typing in its name. Example:
A:\>AWDFLASH <hit enter> (note: Some include a batch file called UPDATE.BAT, or similar, that will automate steps 7-11)
7. The flash utility should be started now. It will ask you the file you want to write. Type in your BIOS update name exactly as it is. Example:
Filename to Flash: BIOSUPDATENAME.BIN <hit enter>
8. It will now ask you if you want to back up your current BIOS. Say "Y" for yes and name it something like OLD.BIN.
9. After saving the BIOS it will confirm if you want to continue with the overwrite. Type "Y" for yes and it will begin the write process.
10. DO NOT REMOVE THE FLOPPY DISK, TURN OFF THE COMPUTER OR RESTART THE COMPUTER WHEN THE WRITE BEGINS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. You will hose your ROM chip.
11. After it is done it will tell you it was succesful and you can restart. After restarting, go into your BIOS and set everything to BIOS defaults or Optimized defaults, save and reboot (You could also just reset your CMOS jumper...that is the most recommended method. Just unplug the power source and set the CMOS jumper to the clear position. It should be in your manual as to where this jumper is and what position it should be in to short it).
12. After #11 reboot you can go into your BIOS and set your BIOS settings however you want and you're all done.
I hope this helps anyone new and afraid to flash for the first time. It can be a scary process but if done correctly and with patience, everything should go fine.
1. Go to BootDisk.com and download the Caldera Dr. DOS boot disk image. Run that program and make a boot floppy. The Dr. DOS boot disk is what I highly recommend over a standard Win95 or Win98 boot disk. It loads no drivers or other resident programs that could cause a hang during the update process. It's just a pure command-line environment.
2. Go to the manufacturer's website and obtain the BIOS update for your respective motherboard. They normally package this in a Zip format containing the BIOS file itself along with the flash utility needed to perform the upate. Others package it in an EXE format and you can run that to extract what you need. If the flash utility is not included, refer to the website as to what you need. All BIOS chips are not the same!
3. Copy the files in #2 to a seperate floppy (BIOS update and flash utility. Others may be included as well if it is done through a batch program).
4. This is not completely necessary but this is a fail-safe guide to flashing. Before restarting to the boot disk, enter the BIOS and remove any overclocking you may previously have had. Either set to default or underclock if necessary. We don't want anything that could cause a freeze up during the middle of the write process.
5. Restart your computer using the Dr. DOS boot disk. Once loaded, remove that disk and insert the floppy with the flash utility and BIOS update on it.
6. Run the flash utility from the command line by typing in its name. Example:
A:\>AWDFLASH <hit enter> (note: Some include a batch file called UPDATE.BAT, or similar, that will automate steps 7-11)
7. The flash utility should be started now. It will ask you the file you want to write. Type in your BIOS update name exactly as it is. Example:
Filename to Flash: BIOSUPDATENAME.BIN <hit enter>
8. It will now ask you if you want to back up your current BIOS. Say "Y" for yes and name it something like OLD.BIN.
9. After saving the BIOS it will confirm if you want to continue with the overwrite. Type "Y" for yes and it will begin the write process.
10. DO NOT REMOVE THE FLOPPY DISK, TURN OFF THE COMPUTER OR RESTART THE COMPUTER WHEN THE WRITE BEGINS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. You will hose your ROM chip.
11. After it is done it will tell you it was succesful and you can restart. After restarting, go into your BIOS and set everything to BIOS defaults or Optimized defaults, save and reboot (You could also just reset your CMOS jumper...that is the most recommended method. Just unplug the power source and set the CMOS jumper to the clear position. It should be in your manual as to where this jumper is and what position it should be in to short it).
12. After #11 reboot you can go into your BIOS and set your BIOS settings however you want and you're all done.
I hope this helps anyone new and afraid to flash for the first time. It can be a scary process but if done correctly and with patience, everything should go fine.
