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BIOS questions
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| da_MynDLesS_one |
| does anyone know anything about upgrading a BIOS? Mine is a couple of years old, so I was hoping for an upgrade. Do I have to pay for that kind of thing? Where can I find it? |
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| DJ RozzeR |
Before Installing (All BIOS Products)
Occasionally, when you change your BIOS or insert an extender card you may have to repartition and reformat your hard drives. If this becomes necessary it would result in the loss of ALL DATA on your hard drive. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you back up all data on your hard drives before installing your new BIOS, or extender card. NOTE: This is usually only necessary when you have a drive that was not fully supported by the original BIOS (as in the case of a 540 drive on a non-LBA system.) Another time this may become necessary would be if you are using a disk manager software such as EZ-BIOS to manage a large disk that your computer could not fully utilize before the new BIOS/extender card. There may however be ways to avoid a full reformat. So check the software before you delete.
1. Enter the CMOS (BIOS setup) of the original BIOS and record the settings.
Method 1: Enter each of the setup screens and press Print Screen.
Method 2: Using pen and paper record the information found in each of the setup screens. Note: This information may be useful in setting up your new BIOS. Do not change the new settings to match your original settings unless necessary. The Default settings are usually sufficient for everyday operation.
2. To determine how to enter the CMOS, you can
a) refer to your computer’s/motherboard’s manual, or
b) follow the directions to enter SETUP during boot, or
c) turn on the computer and look for the BIOS manufacturer’s name that displays on the first screen, and then refer to Table 1 for what keys to press. This table is by no means complete. Manufacturers are constantly changing things.
Note: A video BIOS identification screen may precede this screen.
For example: “Trident VGA BIOS ver 3.00.”
Table1
AMI Press DEL while the memory test is running.
AWARD Press DEL or CTRL+ALT+ESC during boot.
MR BIOS Press ESC at boot or CTRL+ALT+ESC later.
PHOENIX Press F2, CTRL+ALT+ESC or CTRL+ALT+S.
In order to avoid problems with the new bios it is recommended that the CMOS of the computer be cleared out. (The CMOS is an area of memory, which hold setting for the BIOS it is not part of the BIOS chip.)
There are a few ways to clear the CMOS
• Run the CLRCMOS.EXE program. if you did not receive this program it is available at http://www.unicore.com/awardutils.htm
• Check your motherboard manual for a clear CMOS jumper and instructions.
• Unplug the computer. Remove the battery and allow computer to sit for approximately 24 hours
• Use a PassROM chip. It is a hardware clrcmos.exe solution. PassROM
If your BIOS is set up to use a password, and you cannot remove it any other way, you can remove this password with PassROM. To order PassROM, call eSupport.com at 800-800-BIOS. Note: This will also clear the CMOS settings.
To remove your BIOS password with PassROM:
1. Follow instructions for installing a BIOS chip. NOTE: For a 32 pin BIOS socket and a 28 pin PassROM chip, leave four empty pinholes at the end of the socket with the notch.
2. When the chip is installed, turn on the computer. The PassROM will automatically erase the BIOS password.
3. Turn off the computer and re-install the original BIOS chip. When you re-boot the computer, the password will be gone.Installing a new chip:
1. Follow instructions for installing a BIOS chip.
NOTE: For a 32 pin BIOS socket and a 28 pin PassROM chip, leave four empty pinholes at the end of the socket with the notch.
2. When the chip is installed, turn on the computer. The PassROM will automatically erase the BIOS password.
3. Turn off the computer and re-install the original BIOS chip. When you re-boot the computer, the password will be gone.
3. Turn off the computer and unplug it.?
Make sure the computer is turned off and unplugged before you open the CPU case. Static electricity can hurt you as well as damage the sensitive components you are about to install. Be sure to grasp the metal of the CPU case before touching the inner components. Use a grounding strap, if you have one, attached to the system chassis.
4. Open the CPU case.
To open the CPU case, remove the cover’s retaining screws (if you don’t know which ones are retaining screws, refer to your user’s manual). There can be as many as six (6) of them along the back and side edges of the computer. Lift the cover off and put it to the side.
5. Find the chip you want to change.
Look on the motherboard for the BIOS chip. The chip may have a label with the name of the BIOS manufacturer on it to make it easier to locate.
Depending on which chip you ordered, the chip on your system could have either 28, 32, or 40 pins. The chip could also be a PLCC chip. This chip is an almost square chip with 7 pins on one side and 9 pins on the other.
6. Remember the proper orientation of the chip.
When you find the chip, remember in which direction the notch is pointed. The notch is at one end of the chip and may look like an indentation.
Please refer to Figure 1.
Put the new chip in with the notch facing the same direction as the old chip. If you do not do this, you will destroy the chip and may be charged for a chip replacement. See Figure 1. Note: Never follow the orientation of the label. It may not be the same.
7. Be sure the chip is inserted in a socket, NOT soldered in see figure 2.
When you find the BIOS chip, make sure that it is inserted in a socket. If it is not in a socket, trying to remove it will cause damage to your motherboard.
Note: If the chips are not in sockets, eSupport.com Software, will not be liable for any damage caused by persons trying to remove them. If the chips are soldered in, call the eSupport.com Tech Support Department at (978) 686-2204 for options and solutions to this problem.
8. Carefully remove the old chip.
Use a chip puller to remove the BIOS chip from the socket. Place the prongs of the chip puller on each end under the chip and gently but firmly apply upward pressure and, if necessary, slightly more pressure on one end than the other, in a rocking motion, until chip comes free.
To Install BIOS chip:
WARNING! Do not pull on only one end of the chip or you will bend the pins as you remove the chip. If you do not have a chip puller, you can remove the chips by placing the blade of a small flathead screwdriver under one end of the chip(s) and gently turning it until the chip moves. Repeat this on both ends of the chip evenly, a little at a time, in order to avoid bending the prongs.
Note: Place the chip puller’s prongs between the chip and socket. Never put any tool under the socket - this could damage the motherboard. eSupport.com will not be liable for damage to motherboards resulting from improper removal/installation of BIOS chips.
9. Insert the new chips.
When the socket is empty, install the new chips. If the pins on the chips you received are slightly wider than the socket into which they must go, place the chip on a flat surface with the pins on one edge flat on the surface facing away from you. Hold the chip firmly and gently rock the chip forward until the pins bend inward a little bit. Repeat for the other side. (See Figure 3.) Check the fit of the socket. If the pins are still too wide, repeat the process.
Note: Remember to bend the pins only a little at a time. It is much harder to bend them in the opposite direction.
When the chips are the correct width, place the pins in the socket and gently press down on the chip, being careful not to press too hard or you may damage the motherboard.
If you have a PLCC chip then you cannot use the chip puller tool. If you cannot find a PLCC chip tool than you can use small eyeglass type screwdrivers.See figure 4.
Place the screwdriver blades in the notches at the 2 corners of the socket and pull screwdrivers away from each other. See figure 5.
To install the new PLCC chip into the socket, place the chip flat on the socket. Be sure that the notch is correctly aligned. Place your finger in the center of the chip and gently press down until the chip snaps into place.
You have now successfully completed the physical installation of your new ROM BIOS upgrade chip. Please refer to the setup manual you received with the BIOS or the troubleshooting section of this manual for further help with setup.
To flash upgrade a BIOS
WARNING: Flash upgrading your BIOS can render your system inoperative. e.Support.com will not be responsible for users who flash upgrade their BIOS and render their system inoperable due to the use of incorrect filenames or file types used to program the BIOS.
NOTE: Windows ME, 2K, and NT users. The install program that comes on the distribution diskette does not work with these operating systems. You must use the manual instructions and in most cases use a DOS 6.22, or Windows 95 or 98 operating system.
1. Boot computer to command prompt
2. Insert the disk into the computer. (If you received a download, then unzip the file onto a floppy first. See the note in step 3 below.)
3. Type install. Press . Follow the onscreen directions.
To flash upgrade a BIOS Manual instructions:
1. You must boot your system cleanly before performing a flash BIOS upgrade because your system should not be running in protected mode. This means that you cannot have any TSR’s, device drivers, or memory managers loaded into memory.
To create a clean boot disk In Windows:
¤• Insert a blank floppy disk in your A: drive.
¤•Open “My computer” and Right click on the A: drive
¤•Select Format
¤• In Format type select Full, under other options select “copy system files”, and then click on start.
To create a clean boot disk In DOS:
¤• Insert a blank floppy disk in the A: drive.
¤•Type “format a: /s” without quotes and press Enter.
Note: Windows may copy a hidden system file onto the floppy called “Drvspace.bin” view the floppy files in windows explorer. If this file is present delete it. (Make sure that the “Show all files” option is set in “Folder Options” when viewing the disk.)
2. Reboot your system with the bootable floppy disk in your A: drive. You may need to change the boot sequence in the BIOS setup from “C: first then A:” to “A: first then C:” before you reboot your computer. To do this get into the setup. If it is an Award BIOS then press the DEL key when the computer is counting the memory. Go to the BIOS Features page and change the boot sequence to A, C. If youdo not have an Award BIOS please refer to your users manual on how to change the boot sequence.
3. After booting up, take out the boot disk and insert the flash disk into the A: drive. Note: If you received the BIOS program via email, the BIOS filename will have a .ZIP extension. For example: 2A59CF54.ZIP. Uncompress this file with the pkunzip.exe utility or WinZip onto the boot disk you created. If you do not have a ZIP utility go to http://www.winzip.com to obtain one.
4. Confirm that the BIOS filename on the disk matches the name on the flash disk’s label. To confirm the BIOS part number filename, list the directories on the A: drive by typing “DIR A:” without quotes and pressing Enter. You should see a filename that matches the name on the disk label. For example: Disk Name =F2A59CF54, BIOS filename = 2A59CF54.BIN. Note: the F refers to the media type and can be ignored. Disk name F098b5ni = v098b5ni.BIO, Disk Name =F6A69KT54 = 6A69KT54.BIN
5. Write down the filename with the .BIN or .BIO extension on a piece of paper.
6. Run the flash upgrade program by typing BFLASH.EXE, or MRFLASH and pressing Enter. (Note: the flash program may have a name similar to the upgrade filename such as 2A59GU83.EXE.)
7. Follow the on-screen instructions. When asked for the filename to program type in the name of the file with the .BIN or .BIO extension that you wrote down, and press Enter.
8. When asked if you would like to save YOUR BIOS, select Yes.Werecommend this option because, if anything goes wrong, you can reinstall your original BIOS from this backup file. Type in a name for it like BACKUP.BIN. or BIOS.REC
9. When asked if it is OK to program, select Yes. Make sure that while the BIOS is being flashed that you do NOT turn off or reset the computer or your BIOS may be damaged. A message will display when it is ok to reset your computer. (note : if this process takes more than 5 minutes chances are the computer haslocked up, hopefully before flashing began. reset the computer. You may have to restart the computer)
10. When prompted, press the Reset button on your computer. You should see the new BIOS version display on the screen during bootup. Press the Delete key to setup your BIOS again.
F.A.Q.
Q: How do I tell what size BIOS chip is in my computer and what type it is.
BIOS chips these days come in 5 different sizes and 2 different types. Those sizes are 256k, 512k , 1MB , 2MB and 4MB chips. To tell what kind of chip you have, examine the chip. Peel the label back partially, usually on the end away from the notch. Look for a number that begins with either 27, 27c, 28,.or 29 The number that follows will be the chip size. i.e. 100, 010, or 001 = 1m chip 200, 020, or 002 is a 2mb chip.
If the number begins with 28, or 29 the chip is a flashable chip. If the number begins 27 or 27c, the chip is a standard EPROM. There are newer types of chips now being used. New chips will be posted on our website when available.
Q: I just installed a new BIOS, but when I turn on the computer, there is no video or sound. I can hear the hard drive spin, but nothing else
Make sure:
• That the CMOS was cleared before the chips were installed. If you did not clear the CMOS you may be able to do so now. Please refer to chip installation instructions.
• the power is connected to the system
• the monitor is connected and plugged in
• the connector from the power supply to the motherboard is properly connected
• that you have installed the chips facing the proper direction WARNING! Applying power to BIOS chips that are put in backwards will result in instant destruction of the chips!
• If you received two chips, try putting the chips in the opposite sockets.
Note: If you get a beep or a series of beeps, the chips are in the correct sockets.
Certain types of video cards require adjustments. In the BIOS setup utility, check:
• the wait state
• alternate timing
• turbo mode
• 16-bit BIOS access jumper/switches
• changing IRQ settings may alleviate this problem in some rare cases.
On some older systems with two chips, the original chips may be 128k chips, but the set you received are 256k chips. See your computer’s manual to determine the BIOS ROM size and find the settings for 256k (they may be referred to as 32k).
Q: When I save changes to the CMOS, the computer locks up. OR, when I don’t modify the CMOS setup, the computer counts the memory and then just freezes.
ANSWER:
1. Go into the CMOS setup and disable the external cache, then try to boot the system. If the system boots successfully, go back into setup and re-enable the cache now that the problem has been found. Try changing the settings for the cache (increase the burst read and read/write wait states). You change the settings in the external cache screen of the BIOS.
2. If the system still won’t boot, re-enable the cache and go to the integrated peripherals screen. Find the PIO modes (there should be 4) and set them to mode 0. If this corrects the problem then try setting the PIO modes higher until the system no longer boots. Then reset the PIO modes 1 level lower.
3. Set the PIO modes back to Auto. Then find the UDMA modes. (there should also be 4 of these) Disable all 4 of them.
Note: If your system has a VESA Local Bus in the setup,(486 systems) there may be options in the chipset setup for VLB ready and VLB delay which may affect whether or not the computer will boot past the setup. VLB ready with a setting of 1 wait state will in many cases allow a system to boot.
Q: I installed the BIOS, but cannot boot from the floppy (A:) drive.
ANSWER:
In the CMOS setup, depending on which BIOS you have, your options are Boot sequence or Quickboot.
• Boot sequence: make sure it is set to A: then C:.
• Quickboot: make sure that it is set to “off” or “no.”
If your computer still will not boot from the A: drive, make sure there is a boot disk in the A: drive. A boot disk is a floppy with system files on it necessary to start a computer.
To make a boot disk on a working computer:
1. Put a floppy disk in the A: drive
2. Type format A: /s.
3. We recommend that you also include Fdisk.exe, Format.com, and Debug.exe on the boot disk. They are in the C:\DOS or C:\Windows\Command directory.
If your computer still will not boot from the A: drive:
• check the physical connections between the drive and the controller card
• make sure the controller card is firmly seated in its slot make sure that the cable is connected to both drives with the red or colored edge closest to pin 1.
F.A.Q.
Q: My computer is up and running, but Windows will not run correctly or causes the system to reboot, or my computer locks up while loading DOS or Windows.
A: For DOS 6.22 or earlier
Your system probably has to be adjusted for the new BIOS. Boot the system with the most basic configurations as described below. If you are using DOS 6.xx, when you see the “Starting MS-DOS” message, press the F5 key to bypass the config.sys and autoexec.bat files. If you are using an earlier version of DOS, use a boot disk to start the system.
To isolate the problem you are having:
1. Copy the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files to files having the same file name but with different file extensions to preserve a copy of the original files. For example, CONFIG.ORG.
2. Call up the files in a text editing program and place “REM” before every line in both files.
3. Remove the REM statement from one line and boot the system.
4. Repeat this process for each line until the system has the problem you noticed before.
5. When you find the line causing the problem, load the line in a different way. For example, if it is loaded high, try loading it in conventional memory (by taking the “high” out of the line.
Note: You may have to undo all of the load high and device high statements that your memory maker added and re-optimize them by loading the device drivers “high.” For Windows 95/98
1. If possible copy the windows CD to a directory/folder on the hard drive. (you may temporarily lose access to the CD)
2. Boot to Windows. If you cannot boot to normal mode then boot into “Safe Mode”
3. Open the device manager
4. Find the “System Devices” key.
5. Remove all entries under this key.
6. Shut down the system and restart. Windows should redetect all the devices, and set them up properly. Things should now work correctly. If not you may need to reinstall windows either over itself (this way you will not lose your software settings, or completely by deleting the windows directory, or reformatting the hard drive.
Q: When running BFLASH, I get an INSUFFICIENT MEMORY error message. What do I do?
If you receive a message insufficient memory error here is one solution
• Copy HIMEM.SYS to the floppy. (it can usually be found in the windows directory/folder)
• Create a new config.sys file on the floppy. (use either edit in dos or notepad in windows)
These lines should be in the config.sys file
Device = a:\himem.sys
DOS = high
Stacks = 0,0
• Save the file created to the floppy (be careful not to erase the config.sys file that is on your hard drive.)
• Copy the himem.sys file from your windows directory to the floppy.
If this does not solve the problem it is possible that your flash chip voltage is set to 5 volts. BIOS chips are made to be readable at 5 volts and read/write at 12 volts it may be possible to change this via a jumper on the motherboard
Make sure there are no write protect jumpers for the flash. Make sure you used the proper flash loader. Your motherboard may need a special loader specific to your board.
If all else fails, you may need a physical chip upgrade. While eSupport.com attempts to provide support for all flash chips, it may not be able to upgrade all of them with a flash loader because:
• The manufacturer may have arranged so that part of the chip could not be erased in an attempt to set up a boot block.
• The chip may be one of the few chips that BFLASH or MRFLASH does not support.
In the event that you are unable to flash the system please contact our tech support department to determine if a chip upgrade can be provided for your system.
have hun ROZ |
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| Wiley |
| If your talking about upgrading the BIOS software then go to the manufacturers website and get the necessary utilites, there should be some instructions on the manufacturers site is well. Its pretty straight forward as most of the questions it asks you when your upgrading are either yes or no, like if you want to back it up your existing bios, a good idea is to print out the instructions before you attmept to upgrade it :) |
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| Fir3start3r |
| And if it ain't broke....don't bother fixin'... |
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| da_MynDLesS_one |
whoa... that was a heckuva lotta info, rozzer! Thanks!
Some of it kinda flew right over my head, but I got the idea :D
One of my problems is that I checked out Award's site, and it says something along the lines of them having to send me an upgrade kit and charge me for it. I always thought upgrading your bios was free (?) |
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| da_MynDLesS_one |
| quote: | Originally posted by Fir3start3r
And if it ain't broke....don't bother fixin'... |
that's true... but it's not so much that as it is inconvenient...
My USB port doesn't work, and when I installed XP, my computer wouldn't shut off on its own, like it would with 98.
And yes, I tried changing the settings in windows and in my bios and nothing worked :( |
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| Fir3start3r |
These guys have a cool little utility that will tell you all the technical info about your BIOS (s/w version, etc etc).
Of course they'll want info and try to get a hold of you to convince you that your NEED the upgrade they are trying to sell you... :(
There some more info on BIOS stuff here. |
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| DJ RozzeR |
| just leave it alone , you will only spend the next week in your bedroom with a screwdriver trying to fix it. take it to a pro for $20 |
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| jonsimmonds |
The best advice I have is goto the revelant newsgroup for your mothorboard, and ask a question there about it, people who look there may be able to offer more advice.
Jon |
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| verminator |
| quote: | Originally posted by da_MynDLesS_one
, and when I installed XP, my computer wouldn't shut off on its own, like it would with 98.
And yes, I tried changing the settings in windows and in my bios and nothing worked :( |
that shouldn't have anything to do with the bios though...
i used to have win2k on a 4 year old computer before i got the computer i use now. everyone worked and etc
but if you are upgrading, you should let someone who got knowledge about this do it for you. if you it up while flashing it, you have to buy a new mainboard ;/ |
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