how to backup bios....

[rjk44]

Ages ago I did it on older PC's ...
Using floppy emulation on CD...adding DOS command line flasher.exe prog. and a *.ROM file to be added to the *.iso image as well as the three DOS files, before making *.iso image and burning etc.

Just been refreshing on the old stuff, and to cut long boring story short,
when I get to the point of adding Asus's BUPDATER.EXE and M5A97E20.CAP to the three DOS files,
...ready for the 2.88mb image, it chokes on Asus's bios file - M5A97E20.CAP's 8.194mb's
...obviously too big for a 2.88mb floppy image !

So, okay, I know I could re-flash the bios with that *.cap by slapping it on a USB stick, but, that's not what I was trying to do, I wanted to back the current CMOS out, as a backup, but, at 8.194 mb's how does one do it ?

The Asus AI tweaker has several methods for getting a new bios in, but, no way of backing it out, unless I'm missing something - somewhere.

all brilliant ideas welcomed

ooops! just spotted that bios v.2603 *.cap file is 8,194kilobytes , not mb's !!
...and that I've been using 1.44mb 3.5" floppy's, will have to get some 2.88mb ones.
....back to the drawing board.

regards, Richard

....getting rustier by the day !

 

[inachu]

Last time I looked at a few modern bios they allowed for downgrade.
What year does the bios say it is?

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Just down load the old bios from the Asus site, nobody backs up bios files any more. Use a bootable USB, It's a thing they use instead of the floppy.

 

[John Connor]

Gigabyte has two BIOS chips in case one mess up. Plus they have a utility called @BIOS which will load the BIOS and backup the BIOS. But the best methoud of loading a new BIOS would be via flash drive.

Now what good is a BIOS backup when the BIOS chip won't work? How will you upload the BIOS?

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Asus top boards have back up chips too, I've had both die on a RIVE board. Just booted of a jump drive n loaded it, you can always swap a chip from an extra board which I have also done. Helps having extra sitting around, even if there not the same. Once booted I swap back the real chip n flash it.

 

[John Connor]

I don't understand. How do you swap a BIOS chip while the computer is running? I guess that is possible? I mean you have to desolder.

 

[ArisVer]

Old BIOS chips were not soldered. If your chip got screwed, swap to a working one, start the computer, then swap the screwed chip back in and flash it.

 

[John Connor]

Screw it back in? I would think it would be an IC socket of some kind?

 

[inachu]

Yeah back in the day you used an IC chip extractor to send it to the EPROM to wipe it clean so it can be reprogrammed but many today are permanent.

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Yeah back in the day you used an IC chip extractor to send it to the EPROM to wipe it clean so it can be reprogrammed but many today are permanent.

If it is locked then how do they get flashed, don't make statements that ar not true. EPROM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EPROM

They can be erased by touching the pins to metal, but what do I know!

@John Conner,
You need to keep up with the time's Asus bios chips are not soldered, yes you can HOT SWAP a Bios chip.

 

[Ketchup]

As others have said, you can flash to an older BIOS, the same BIOS, or a new one.

Some boards (such as Gigabyte) have dual BIOS, in case of emergency.
Many boards allow you to save personal BIOS settings.

I see no reason to back up a BIOS onto a floppy.

This should probably go into the motherboards subforum.

 

[ArisVer]

Screw it back in? I would think it would be an IC socket of some kind?

Screwed as in: fucked, bad flashed chip.

 

[tcsenter]

The BIOS read/save utility will not span to multiple volumes or create multiple files, so obtaining more than one 2.88MB floppy isn't going to help you. Nor will most of the PC BIOS ROM utilities work from multiple files to flash the BIOS, so what is the point?

Just buy a new serial EEPROM with a prior ROM version already flashed, from some vendor. Or setup a bootable USB drive.

 

[rjk44]

Hi

This thread seems to have warped off into some peculiar places !

My point was that it used to be a simple affair to plonk a flasherprog.exe onto a bootable floppy disk, and maybe also a *.rom, bios file and control the thing with command line /switches.

i.e. I've always saved the current bios out to disk first, THEN uploaded a newer one.

To me it beggars belief that, for all the bells and whistle features on my new / not too old, M5A97 EVO rev.2.0 board and the Windows crapware that came with it for reflashing the bios :-
...and in bios - save bios multiple "profiles" i.e CMOS+other settings to NVRAM somewhere etc.?
...and stuff in a USB stick with a *.CAP bios file on it, to flash in a new file.
...and after downloading ASUS's flasher prog. bupdater.exe and latest *.CAP bios file.

Description Bios Renamer for USB BIOS Flashback
1.Put Bios file and Bios renamer in same folder
2.Execute the Utility
3.Use new Bios file for USB BIOS Flashback. File Size 202.85 KBytesupdate 2012/11/08 Download from Global


Version 1.30 Copy Link
Description Bupdater Utility V1.30 for flash BIOS under DOS. File Size 39.23 KBytesupdate 2012/02/22

....what a load of shit !

....booting to DOS bupdater /? or bupdater /h
wouldn't even produce a normal list of command line switches !

anyhooo, just for the sake of it I slapped the latest *.cap file on a USB stick, stuck it in the appropriate USB slot on back panel and it updated okay.

It seems that ASUS tried to make something flashy and sophisticated about reflashing the bios, with no thought given to function for saving out the current bios, that used to be in previous versions.

regards, Richard

 

[PhIlLy ChEeSe]

Not sure which board you have but yeah, you can flash it with just the CPU and PSU hooked up to it.

 

[tcsenter]

Sooooo....your complaint is that the PC industry won't stick to a BIOS ROM size that will fit onto 30 year old storage media that has been considered laughably obsolete for 10+ years??

 

[Ketchup]

I have to say rjk44, that I don't understand your problem here.

My last three Gigabyte boards involved downloading the Windows BIOS update application and clicking the update button. The utility did the rest.

My Lenovo was download a file that has it all, exectable, BIOS, everthing. Just 2 button clicks, IIRC.

My Asus board was pretty much the same.

Pretty much all boards still offer a manual install option using a Flash drive, but I will take a speed and simplicity option any day of the week!

 

[ArisVer]

True. My notebook BIOS update involved downloading an exe file and running it from Windows. Can't be simpler than that apart from auto update.

 

[XavierMace]

Hi

This thread seems to have warped off into some peculiar places !

My point was that it used to be a simple affair to plonk a flasherprog.exe onto a bootable floppy disk, and maybe also a *.rom, bios file and control the thing with command line /switches...

Computers have changed in the last 10 years. You don't flash the BIOS from a floppy disk any more. You do it right from inside Windows in most cases.