How do I flash the BIOS?

TheBigCheese

TheBigCheese

TheBigCheese

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Joined
6 Sep 2005
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Hi guys

I've got an Abit IP35 that has the double boot problem - you switch it on from cold, all the fans spin up then it turns off and then boots properly.

I've looked at Flashmenu from Abit and also downloaded the zip file of the latest Bios (version 18 - it's on version 11 at the moment).

I'm a bit worried about how to do it though...

I've read elsewhere here that using the Flashmenu can corrupt the Bios and so knacker the motherboard.

I don't have a FDD attached but someone mentioned that it can be updated using a USB flash drive, is this correct?

If so how would I go about doing that?


Thanks very much for any replies :)
 
You should read the motherboard manual, in there it will tell you exactly what you have to do.

Generally it will go like this... Format *** USB stick to Fat 12 or 16, then rename the bios update to whatever the manual says and plonk it on the stick.

Then you should have to retrieve a .exe file from your mobo set up disk which also need to be put on the USB stick.

Once you have redone all of this then you set your boot options up so that it will boot from removable drives before the hard drive and boot the pc from the stick.

Or you may be able to access the stick from the Flash menu in your bios.

Though a lot of people have had problems formatting USB disks to FAT 16 as of late and vista doesn't seem to cover 12 anymore.
 
Thanks for the reply!

Unfortunately the motherboard manual simply says:
"[Load up Flashmenu]
5. This FlashMenu screen appears. You can easily update the BIOS from clicking [Update From File], [One Click LiveUpdate], or [LiveUpdate Step by Step] button.

That seems to be the 'official' way of doing it.

Unfortunately I don't have the Motherboard disc (not my computer, I'm just fixing a disaster), and it doesn't sound like it is always effective using pen drives.

Hmmm...maybe I should leave it alone...
 
a lot of boards do the double post, does not mean anything wrong with it.

all my asus boards do it if switched off at mains, but not if just turned off in windows.

why risk a bios flash.
 
I used Abit FlashMenu several times with my old Abit IC7 and never had a problem. I think flashing from Windows is a lot more stable than it's given credit for :p

Just recently bought an Abit I-N73HD for my LAN PC, and I'll probably just flash from Windows with this also :)
 
Thanks for the posts guys and the useful link :)

I've decided to leave it alone on this occasion, the owner of the PC was complaining about the double boot, but when I explained how it would be fixed and the potential problems that could be created they decided to leave it be...best idea really!

Thanks for the help though :)
 
Be careful helping others! Can come back and bite you in the butt! :(

Helped people before, but I get pestered if their machine breaks down again!
 
My P5Q-Deluxe does this on cold boot where the mains power has been turned off, posted here about it and it seems judging by the posts that this is normal.
 
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