Flashing a BIOS

[[email protected]]

I just bought the 8kta3+ board and will be purchasing an Athlon XP 2000+ soon for it. I understand that I will need a BIOS update in order for it to support the XP - however, I will have to run the board to update it. So - my question is, can I run it on that XP chip and then update the BIOS? Basically - will the board recognize it initially as a lower speed chip, and then with the upgrade, recognize it properly? Or will it not work at all w/ the XP before the flash?

 

[ronin1967]

There are 3 ways to flash the BIOS on an EPoX motherboard, using Magic Flash from Windows(not an option for you), ALT+F2(might be an option), or Boot Disk(not an option). I have to admit I think the AT+F2 should work without a processor installed, but I am not 100% sure, however it is the only option you have unless you happen to have an old processor lying around.

Here is how it works:

The ALT+F2 Method

1. Download the required BIOS image file from the EPoX website.

2. Copy or extract the BIOS image file (named xxxxxxxx.bin) to a blank
floppy disk with no bad sectors on it.

3. Restart the machine with the floppy disk in the floppy drive
When prompted at machine initialization, press ALT+F2 to begin
performing the flashing of the BIOS.

4. The BIOS will automatically flash and reboot the machine.

5. After this, press DEL to enter the BIOS setup and select to "LOAD
OPTIMIZED DEFAULTS". After doing this select to "SAVE & EXIT."

6. Please note that this does not create a backup of the BIOS binary file.

7. This does not require you to have a bootable floppy disk.

That's it, it's worth a shot...good luck

 

[Kendan]

Ummmm, I think he will need a chip in there with any method. There is a good chance it will recognize it as a slower speed chip and is worth a try. But there is always the chance it wont. I am not familiar with the board so I am not sure what bios it is shipping with. Good Luck



Edit: Welcome to the forums

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the help, guys. I contacted Epox and they said that I would need a CPU in there for any method. They also went on to say this:

Dear User,
No, minimum components are require for you to flash the bios (CPU, memory, Video card and power support). Lastly, the board is officially approved for supported up to an Athlon T-bird 1.4GHz max only.

The board will not support XP processors at all with any guaranteed stability. We do NOT support XP processors on the 8KTA3+ board at all.

So I don't know if I should go ahead and get another board rather than this one or not.

 

[DeltaSierra]

I have this board with an XP1900 on it. Runs great. But, if you haven't bought the board yet, you should seriously consider one of the newer EPOX boards (8K5A2), or even the newest Gigabyte board (7VAXP).

 

[[email protected]]

I have this board with an XP1900 on it. Runs great. But, if you haven't bought the board yet, you should seriously consider one of the newer EPOX boards (8K5A2), or even the newest Gigabyte board (7VAXP).

The reason I am going for this board is because I don't feel that the advantages of DDR over SDRAM justify the cost increase, so for an SDRAM board, I was going to go with this. Do you know if the XP chips will originally be downclocked until I can flash the bios, or wont they work at all?

 

[jstnmcgl]

EPox bios update

I have an Epox 8K7A that posted with my XP1600+ as a 1400 TBird until I flashed to the 10/17/2001 bios before it would show properly.

 

[ronin1967]

My fault I was responding to a similar question and copied the text into here, jstnmcglis is right, install the processor, and flash with whichever of the 3 methods I mentioned previously...