Quick Q: Do I have to use a boot disk to update a BIOS?

[Booz]

I have a ASUS P3V4X motherboard and I need to update the BIOS to ver 1005 because I think the temp readings are wrong. Only thing is that I don't have my floppy drive installed right now and I read in the manual that you need to use a boot disk to update the BIOS.

Is there any other way to update BIOS w/o floppy, and boot disk? I really don't feel like putting in a floppy drive, it will take me a while to do and I am new to that kind of stuff so I don't want to ruin anything. Thanks.

 

[LXi]

I dont think so, just reboot to DOS.

 

[Booz]

I don't understand. Where would I put the p3v4x105.awd file? Is there a directory or something I am supposed to put it in? Or do I have to but it on a disk then reboot? Cause remember I don't have my floppy installed.

Oh well...maybe I will just have to put in that damn floppy drive, but is there any other way???

 

[HaVoC]

You are STRONGLY advised to boot using a CLEAN boot disk. This means if you have Win9x system, just insert a formatted 3.5" disk into A: and then go to the DOS prompt (does not have to be restarted to dos mode) and type in "sys a:" which will transfer command.com and write the boot sector of the floppy. Then you reboot with floppy in and you will go straight to a DOS prompt. Note that your BIOS must be set up to boot from A: first within floppy enabled.

ANy other crap, included rebooting to "DOS MODE" could cause you problems when you attempt the BIOS flash.

 

[Caitiff]

To answer the rest of your questiong, the .awd file that you d/l will have to be 'installed' in the bios by using one of 2 programs. I may be wrong, but there are basically 2 different kinds of bios string, Award and AMI bios. You will need one or the other of the programs used to upload the binary file you have to the cmos. Check out this link to answer all your questions.
http://www.ping.be/bios/

 

[pdo]

Just go here http://www.bootdisk.com/ and get the Dr. Dos bootdisk and put BIOS and Flash utility in A: drive also and you're good to go. it's not that hard.

 

[Jhhnn]

Installing a floppy drive is easy compared to flashing the bios! Put the crossover part of the cable between the drive and the mobo, while observing the key slots on the cable, mobo and drive. plug in the power connector, and fire it up. if the floppy LED stays on all the time, the cable is reversed, probably at the drive end. I'm with HaVoC, He's giving you the straight dope. Check out WWW.Badflash.com before you do anything radical, they offer excellent service at a reasonable price.

 

[OneEng]

Re-flashing your bios is one of the few things you can do that could actually result in making your mother board a really interesting paper weight.

Follow the instructions for the update verbatim including the fresh boot from a bootable floppy! DO NOT INTERRUPT THE FLASH!

 

[Ulysses]

Too many cooks spoil the BIOS.

 

[bozack]

what a bunch of crappola, sure it is best to flash from a floppy but it really does not matter that much, you can flash from a bootable zip, cd rom or even your hard disk!!!wow isnt that a shocker, whatever method you use the flash program loads the whole bin before executing the actual erase/flash, the one stipulation is that you stay out of the windows environment alltogether, which means restarting in DOS in windows 95 and up is a no no. What you should do if you want to flash from your hard disk is creat a directory called bios and put it in your C:\ drive, in that directory dump your bin file and your flasher program. After doing this shut down your machine, let it sit for a second, because hard power offs followed by instantaneous power ons are not that good for components. Now as your booting hold the f5 key I think or f8 to bypass startup files, now your in a clean environment and all you should see is the dos prompt, from there change directory to the bios folder and load your flasher and bin from there with all the correct commands if necessary-you should have no problems providing that you have a good drive and you dont lose power in the midst of this operation.

People will say a bootable floppy is the best way to go, and most of the time they are right, there is less of a chance of making a mistake, it is easier, and it seems safer. Truth is if you flash from a bad floppy disk or drive you could be in the same amount of trouble if not more than from your HD, there is a greater chance of a floppy disk going bad than that of a new well working HD, if you do constantly bios flash make sure your disk is a-ok, replace it often to make sure your using a quality disk, and keep it well protected

 

[MisterM]

I´m sorry, but your all outdated!

edited:
Seems like I have been a little bit enthusiastic here, I would read through the complete thread first before doing this! And now back to the original post!

I just upgraded the BIOS of my P3B-F while running Win2k.
It was easy, there were no problems, and when I rebooted I had the most recent BIOS version.

Here`s how:
Go here:
http://www.asus.com.tw/products/motherboard/bios_tools.html

Download "asusupd.zip"
Download the most recent BIOS if you want to (you don`t even have to do it anymore!)
Unzip "asusupd.zip", execute the .exe you get.
Let the program install itself.
Execute the program from your start menu.
Point it to your BIOS file, or let it get it`s own BIOS through the Internet (I haven`t tried the 2nd method yet).
Tell it to proceed, then tell it to flash, let it flash your BIOS, reboot, and you´ve got it made!

This file must be very new, but it is able to flash an ASUS MB from within Windows. I just gave it a quick test on my P3B-F, running Win2k, and it was working perfect.
I won`t guarantee that it`l work though...

 

[OneEng]

You guys are flirting with disaster. Low level calls necessary to flash the bios are best made from a system disk boot. Although all here are knoledgeable enough to replace a mb if they need to, I seriously doubt anyone would want to. What harm can it be to follow the directions?

The mb's are your property. You can, of course, do with them as you please. As I said, they will make really interesting paper weights.

Incidently, for those of you who are insisting that bios flash should be attempted with out a boot from floppy, I would be interested to know how it is that you know so much more than the team of engineers that explicitly detail that the proceedure is to be done from a cold boot on a floppy.

I know I sound sort of harsh on you guys, but if this guy messes up his mb, wouldn't you feel bad about giving him bad advice? I know I would.

 

[MisterM]

OneEng:

I guess it`s safe to assume that if ASUS releases an BIOS flash utility that finally is working while running Windows after umm...10 years, it`l be pretty good, or they wouldn`t have released it.

The utility I have been using seemed quite new to me, and although awdflash.exe from an Bootdisk may be a bit more safer, he doesn`t have an floppy drive right now, and he doesn`t seem to want to install one, so I am pretty sure that my method is more than good enough.

You don´t sound harsh at all, but if you look at my link the BIOS flashing program for Windows is on top of all the other flash programs, do you think those engineers your talking about would let that happen if it wouldn´t be reliable enough?

I admit that I am a little bit enthusiastic, but I just did my first MB BIOS flash in Windows ever, and it was completely smooth.
My MB didn`t turn into an paperweight, it`s still working perfectly well, AND this solution is working without him reinstalling his floppy, and I think that was, what he was asking for.

 

[bozack]

one eng, simple abit for the longest time suggested that a bios flash be done from within a folder located on your own hard disk-with the only step being that you bypass the startup files. Most of my friends that are engineers and system builders have never ever flashed from a floppy, it is a waste of time-the only reason that they "mobo manufacturers" suggest for end users to boot from a floppy is to reduce the amount of morons that forget to bypass files at startup, with a floppy you dont need to worry about this step-a disk is a disk, whether it be a floppy, hd or not it all stores data and any can be flashed from-learn a little before giving mis-information please.

 

[MisterM]

sharkeeper:



<< You MUST use a floppy disk to boot. (and everything MUST run off the floppy as well if you're using NTFS!) >>



Umm....don`t you mean you had to use a bootdisk?

With that neat ASUS proggy you don`t have to anymore....I don´t know if it´s 100% reliable yet, but it did work for me (Win2k), all I had to do was starting the program, point it to the BIOS file, and then let it flash (all in Win2k).
Then I rebooted, and voila, my BIOS was up to date once again.

 

[Bozo Galora]

The ASUS liveupdate program essentially is an autoexecuting file that does all the steps you would normally do. ALL current ASUS mobo are in file (expands to 1.42 MB .exe) and gives a green GUI screen like when you load an app. ON HARDDRIVE folder! IT finds the bios file needed, checks the bios chip, and goes - NO input from user. No option to save old.
I tried it in full running (drivers etc.)win 98 on old non ASUS mobo, program took the ID from my BIOS chip, said not supported, but seemed to want to work.
Two guys on forum tried it here on Win 98SE, P3V4X, didn't work.
Does seem to work great in fully running Win2K, NTFS or FAT.
Unfortunately theres no friggin READ ME!!
This IS the future - the mobo makers are tired of replacing bios chips or badly flashed boards.

P.S. Its CONTROL/F5 for stripped bootup

 

[medic]

Curious this discussion is, someone correct me but I have always believed the best way to flash was with a bootdisk with IO.sys, msdos.sys and command.com...nothing else except your unzipped flasher and bios.
This does have the benifit of loading less into memory on startup and leaves more conventional memory for the flash process.
An F8 startup loads into conventional memory... msdos.sys, io.sys, himem.sys, command.com and ifshlp, which is the installable file system helper.
Booting with a 3 file bootdisk loads two less programs into memory and could be important to a proper flash.
On the other hand
Up until lately you haven't needed to maximize available memory and there is the remote chance of a failed disk.
MisterM
I have heard that the new asusupdate file that appears to flash from in windows...doesn't actually do that in windows, it writes temporary batch files that flash the bios just before or after the reboot phase, giving you no control or save options.

 

[compuwiz1]

It's unbelievable how many bios flash addicts there are, who feel they have to flash with each new bios. It's not necessary and if you have a system that is working fine, then why break it. My belief is, the only time you should flash a bios is when it provides a fix for an issue that you presently have with your hardware, or to provide support for new hardware you are adding. Other than that, leave it alone!
BTW, I always flash from a clean boot to the commmand prompt, from my hard drive, with the flasher and bin file temporarily placed on the root of my hard drive.
I have flashed hundreds of bioses and only screwed up once, due to misreading and flashing the wrong file, meant for another board.

 

[Budman]

CRV , i actually have been using that Asus utility * flashed 3 times allready,It does it all from windows.

No batch file,you do it in windows &amp; reboot and it's done,no reading off the HD.

 

[Scifione]

I have never seen so many nerds get wood form flashing BIOS. I must say air on the side of caution, and go with what you know!

 

[OneEng]

Reguardless of what operating system you are using, you should boot from a floppy and flash your bios. This is true reguardless of if you are using a program with some type of user input, or one so automatic that it is impossible to mess up. The reason for this is simple. On a clean boot, you are guarenteed that there are no programs running behind the sceen. No hidden virtual device drivers to conflict with, no system sleep mode activated, etc. Any normal boot may load something that could conflict with the bios load.

For those of you who successfully violated the cold boot from floppy, congratulations. You saved yourself 1 whole reboot and risked buying a new motherboard. Personally, I don't gamble over $100.00 to save 1 reboot. It just doesn't make sense.

Installing a floppy drive is completely painless. If you can't get one for free, you can certianly get one cheep. You could most likely use one any way. They are still the standard of the industry when copying user files, so it isn't like wasting money on something you will never need.

Do you HAVE to use a boot disk to update BIOS?......No, but then again you don't HAVE to have insurance on your car when you drive either (even though it is illegal, I assure you the car will still run fine). Is your computer motherboard guarenteed to become a paper weight if you don't boot from a floppy? Of course not. To say it is would be like saying that if you drive your car without insurance, you are guarenteed to get into an accident and get sued.

Bottom Line:
If the manufacturer of the mb says to cold boot from a floppy to flash the BIOS, it is a good idea to follow the directions.

I was a aboard a US nuclear submarine for 6 years. Our Engineer Officer had a great saying that I use to this day:

THE STUPID SHALL BE PUNISHED!

 

[MisterM]

OneEng:

It seems like we won`t be able to agree here, to each his own. I`m more of an more risk more fun guy myself!



<< I was a aboard a US nuclear submarine for 6 years. >>



While you seem to be an &quot;Let me tell you a story.....back in 69`, when...&quot; kinda guy.

Scione:

It`s not the BIOS flash, but the fact that I now can put that sweet P3e 700 CB0 into my P3B-F, and overclock it to ludicrous speed! (I used to have the first BIOS revision on that one, so the new BIOS gave me Coppermine support... )
Are you projecting your subconcies desires into the rest of the forum members? I didn`t see anyone who was screaming &quot;Yeah bby, flash my BIOS to 1.00001!&quot;....

Budman:

I agree.

compuwiz1:



<< I have flashed hundreds of bioses and only screwed up once, due to misreading and flashing the wrong file, meant for another board. >>



Doh!
Dare I say with the ASUS flash program for Windows that couldn`t have happend?

CRV:



<< Curious this discussion is, someone correct me but I have always believed the best way to flash was with a bootdisk with IO.sys, msdos.sys and command.com...nothing else except your unzipped flasher and bios. >>



It used to be the best way, and probably still is.

The ASUS program was working absolutely perfect in my case, here`s why I recommandet it:
1.) He wanted to flash without an floppy drive/bootdisk; it seemed to work great for me.
2.) Easy to use.



<< I have heard that the new asusupdate file that appears to flash from in windows...doesn't actually do that in windows, it writes temporary batch files that flash the bios just before or after the reboot phase, giving you no control or save options. >>



I`m not sure, it was showing the process of flashing the BIOS while I was running Win2k with an progress bar...

Bozo Galore:



<< Two guys on forum tried it here on Win 98SE, P3V4X, didn't work.
Does seem to work great in fully running Win2K, NTFS or FAT. >>



I honestly didn`t know that.
It was working fine on my P3B-F in Win2k, so I presumed (a bad thing, I know..) it`l work in Win9x too. (Well, on the ASUS page it does say Win9x, WinNT and Win2k as supported OS`s...)

edit:
Can we all agree on something? I don`t want to confuse the poor guy that started the thread even more!

How about this:

If you want to go the safe route, and if you want to eliminate possible problems, go the Bootdisk way, it`s reliable and has been used for years without problems.

If you don`t want to install your FDD, because your just too lazy to be bothered by that, and i you on`t care about doing something a little bit risky, you can either try my way with the ASUS program (but,since CRV said that it wouldn`t wor in Win2k, be cautious!), or you can try bozack`s way, and I would prefer bozack`s wa in your case, because I don´t know how good the ASUS program is working in Win9x.

 

[Booz]

Hi again. Thanks for all the help. My whole purpose of updating my BIOS to ver. 1005 for the ASUS P3V4X mobo was due to some extremely high temperature readings. I heard people saying this update fixes those &quot;spikes&quot; and stuff. You see...I just bought a pre-tested system with 533a FC-PGA celeron guaranteed to 800mhz with a Golden ORB air cooler and two 80mm case fans...yet I get a whopping CPU temp CONSISTENTLY in the mid-60's CELCIUS when overclocked and in the 48-52 range at 533mhz. Mobo temp always in mid 30's.

Now...I just turned on my computer and I noticed someting, that my BIOS is already ver. 1005! So I am stuck and don't know what is wrong and don't have to update it. I guess i'll have to call the company tomorrow.

Anyway, thanks for the help. I'll try that Window's updater when and if I ever do have to update this BIOS.

 

[MisterM]

Booz:


Hmm...that temperature does seem high, but you should consider that the ASUS P3B-F is monitoring the CPU temperature internally, so it will give higher readings than some older mainboards.

Do you use enough thermal compound?
How hot is it in your room?
You could try to flash the 1006 BIOS, although you may not want to.
Here`s what it does:


<< bx3f1006.zip
P3B-F BIOS Ver. 1006. 06/30/2000
Fix Windows 2000 cannot be installed if all PnP devices in Super I/O are disabled.
Support 566MHz and 850MHz CPU with clock ratio equal or greater than 8.5x.
Revise Coppermine Vcore limit for 128K cache Coppermine.
Fix Hardware Monitor false alarm of CPU vcore when using old celeron CPU. >>



Hmm...what voltage is your Celeron running at? It should be 1.65V, although it could be higher to make it stable....an high voltage can raise the temperature quite a bit....

 

[OneEng]

MisterM,
Yes. I agree to disagree with you.

Booz,
Have you run any stability tests on your system? Perhaps you should be looking at alternate cooling vs. BIOS changes.