How to update your Bios?

Born_2_Kill_83

Born_2_Kill_83

Born_2_Kill_83

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I want to update my Bios but I dont have the first idea about what to do
I have an Asus P5B Deluxe wi-fi I have downloaded the latest version from Asus and I'm ready to go.
Can any of you guys give a step by step guide on what I need to do?
THanks :p
 
Using ASUS EZ Flash to Update BIOS

The ASUS EZ Flash feature allow you to easily update the BIOS without having to go through the long process of booting from a diskette and using a DOS-based utility. The EZ Flash is built-in the BIOS firmware so it is accessible by simply pressing "Alt" + "F2" during the Power-On Self Tests (POST). Follow these steps to update the BIOS using ASUS EZ Flash.

1. Download the latest BIOS file from the ASUS Website. Save the file to a floppy disk. (Write down the BIOS file name on a piece of paper. You need to type the exact BIOS file name at the EZ Flash screen.)

2. Reboot the computer.

3. To use EZ Flash, press "Alt" + "F2" during POST to display the following screen.



4. Insert the disk that contains the new BIOS file into the floppy drive. You will receive the error message, "WARNING! Device not ready." if you proceed to step 5 without the disk in the drive.

5. At the prompt, "Please Enter File Name for NEW BIOS:_", type in the BIOS file name that you downloaded from the ASUS website, then press "Enter". EZ Flash will automatically access drive A to look for the file name that you typed. When found, the following message appears on screen.

If you accidentally typed in a wrong BIOS file name, the error message, "WARNING! File not found." appears. Press "Enter" to remove the message, then type in the correct file name. Press "Enter".



6. At the above prompt, type Y to continue with the updated process. Pressing N exits the EZ Flash screen and reboots the system without updating the BIOS. The following prompts appear if you typed Y.



7. Press Y to update the main BIOS ares. (Do not shutdown or reset the system while updating the BIOS area! Doing so may cause system boot failure.)

8. When the updated process is done, the message, "Press any key to reboot" appears. Press any key to reboot the system with the new BIOS.


i got this from the asus website, not done it myself on an assu board though.
 
Surely you could have found that your self?

By the way never use the windows flash tool as its ment to be very sketchy. Some use it and get away with it though.
 
8igdave said:
Surely you could have found that your self?

By the way never use the windows flash tool as its ment to be very sketchy. Some use it and get away with it though.
Click to expand...

It doesn't tell you that in the manual.
I think if your unsure about updating your BIOS its good to ask.
Threads started to appear in the motherboard forum after people had killed their boards using the ASUS tool.

The thefishdude''s post is good if you have a floppy.
There was a thread on here a few weeks back that showed approx 50% of people dont.
USB key is the way forward.
 
I think the manual has a section called ASUS Update Utility which tells you how to update via the internet using the Windows update utility! Also has a DOS based help page too from memory!

2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS
The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup.
1. ASUS EZ Flash (Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a floppy disk or the motherboard support CD.)
2. ASUS AFUDOS (Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a bootable floppy disk.)
3. ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2 (Updates the BIOS using a bootable floppy disk, or the motherboard support CD when the BIOS file fails or gets corrupted.)
4. ASUS Update (Updates the BIOS in Windows® environment.)
Refer to the corresponding sections for details on these utilities.
2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk
1. Do either one of the following to create a bootable floppy disk.
DOS environment
a. Insert a 1.44MB floppy disk into the drive.
b. At the DOS prompt, type format A:/S then press <Enter>.
Windows® XP environment
a. Insert a 1.44 MB floppy disk to the floppy disk drive.
b. Click Start from the Windows® desktop, then select My Computer.
c. Select the 3 1/2 Floppy Drive icon.
d. Click File from the menu, then select Format. A Format 3 1/2 Floppy Disk window appears.
e. Select Create an MS-DOS startup disk from the format options field, then click Start.
Windows® 2003 environment
To create a set of boot disks for Windows® 2003:
a. Insert a formatted, high density 1.44 MB floppy disk into the drive.
b. Insert the Windows® 2003 CD to the optical drive.
c. Click Start, then select Run.
d. From the Open field, type
D:\bootdisk\makeboot a:
assuming that D: is your optical drive.
e. Press <Enter>, then follow screen instructions to continue.
2. Copy the original or the latest motherboard BIOS file to the bootable floppy disk.
Click to expand...

2.1.2 ASUS EZ Flash utility
The ASUS EZ Flash feature allows you to update the BIOS without having to go through the long process of booting from a floppy disk and using a DOS‑based utility. The EZ Flash utility is built-in the BIOS chip so it is accessible by pressing <Alt> + <F2> during the Power-On Self Tests (POST).
To update the BIOS using EZ Flash:
1. Visit the ASUS website (www.asus.com) to download the latest BIOS file for the motherboard and rename the same to P5BMXWAP.ROM.
2. Save the BIOS file to a floppy disk, then restart the system.
3. Press <Alt> + <F2> during POST to display the following.
EZFlash starting BIOS update
Checking for floppy...
4. Insert the floppy disk that contains the BIOS file to the floppy disk drive. When the correct BIOS file is found, EZ Flash performs the BIOS update process and automatically reboots the system when done.
EZFlash starting BIOS update
Checking for floppy...
Floppy found!
Reading file “P5BMXWAP.rom”. Completed.
Start erasing.......|
Start programming...|
Flashed successfully. Rebooting.
• Do not shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot failure!
• A “Floppy not found!” error message appears if there is no floppy disk in the drive. A “P5BMXWAP.ROM not found!” error message appears if the correct BIOS file is not found in the floppy disk. Make sure that you rename the BIOS file to P5BMXWAP.ROM.
Click to expand...

2.1.3 AFUDOS utility
The AFUDOS utility allows you to update the BIOS file in DOS environment using a bootable floppy disk with the updated BIOS file. This utility also allows you to copy the current BIOS file that you can use as backup when the BIOS fails or gets corrupted during the updating process.
Copying the current BIOS
To copy the current BIOS file using the AFUDOS utility:
Main filename
Extension name
1. Copy the AFUDOS utility (afudos.exe) from the motherboard support CD to the bootable floppy disk you created earlier.
2. Boot the system in DOS mode, then at the prompt type:
afudos /o[filename]
where the [filename] is any user-assigned filename not more than eight alphanumeric characters for the main filename and three alphanumeric characters for the extension name.
A:\>afudos /oOLDBIOS1.rom
• Make sure that the floppy disk is not write-protected and has at least 1024KB free space to save the file.
• The succeeding BIOS screens are for reference only. The actual BIOS screen displays may not be same as shown.
The utility returns to the DOS prompt after copying the current BIOS file.

Updating the BIOS file
To update the BIOS file using the AFUDOS utility:
1. Visit the ASUS website (www.asus.com) and download the latest BIOS file for the motherboard. Save the BIOS file to a bootable floppy disk.
2. Copy the AFUDOS utility (afudos.exe) from the motherboard support CD to the bootable floppy disk you created earlier.
3. Boot the system in DOS mode, then at the prompt type:
afudos /i[filename]
where [filename] is the latest or the original BIOS file on the bootable floppy disk.
A:\>afudos /iP5BMXWAP.ROM
Write the BIOS filename on a piece of paper. You need to type the exact BIOS filename at the DOS prompt.
5. The utility returns to the DOS prompt after the BIOS update process is completed. Reboot the system from the hard disk drive.
Click to expand...

2.1.5 ASUS Update utility
The ASUS Update is a utility that allows you to manage, save, and update the motherboard BIOS in Windows® environment. The ASUS Update utility allows you to:
• Save the current BIOS file
• Download the latest BIOS file from the Internet
• Update the BIOS from an updated BIOS file
• Update the BIOS directly from the Internet, and
• View the BIOS version information.
This utility is available in the support CD that comes with the motherboard package.
ASUS Update requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Installing ASUS Update
To install ASUS Update:
1. Place the support CD in the optical drive. The Drivers menu appears.
2. Click the Utilities tab, then click Install ASUS Update. See page 2-3 for the Utilities screen menu.
3. The ASUS Update utility is copied to your system.
Click to expand...

To update the BIOS through the Internet:
1. Launch the ASUS Update utility from the Windows® desktop by clicking Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate > ASUSUpdate. The ASUS Update main window appears.

2. Select Update BIOS from the Internet option from the drop‑down menu, then click Next.

3. Select the ASUS FTP site nearest you to avoid network traffic, or click Auto Select. Click Next.
Click to expand...
 
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bit late but... just download the bios, unzip it> plug in usb stick>drag the .ROM file onto it>reboot and press alt+F2>choose the new bios> press enter> done;)


ps. a few things to do for a safe update!


1. save your configuered bios to a profile( all your settings are saved to a different part of the chip)
2. LOAD DEFAULTS
3. press f10 to save and exit
4. on boot up press alt+f2(as above)
5. on the next boot up, enter new bios and reload your profile(all your overclock settings are restored)
6. f10 to save and exit
hope this helps for next time(lates bios has a few problems on asus forums!)
c ya;):D
 
I have updated the BIOS using the windows GUI on well over 20 odd Asus mobo's and never had a problem! Provided the system is 100% stable in windows then using the windows BIOS update utility is perfectly fine!

If it was as bad as people make out do you actually think manafactures would bother releasing such utilities? Of course not otherwise they would be getting dead mobo's back left right and centre.

It's certainly safer and more reliable than using a dodgy floppy imho.
 
Jolly_Jason said:
I have updated the BIOS using the windows GUI on well over 20 odd Asus mobo's and never had a problem! Provided the system is 100% stable in windows then using the windows BIOS update utility is perfectly fine!

If it was as bad as people make out do you actually think manafactures would bother releasing such utilities? Of course not otherwise they would be getting dead mobo's back left right and centre.

It's certainly safer and more reliable than using a dodgy floppy imho.
Click to expand...

I have used the ASUS update on the A7N8X Deluxe with no problems.
Mind you, I do have a BIOS savior so I can always get it back.

Here comes the problem with the new boards. They don't have a removable BIOS chip, so you can't fit a savior and a bad flash means RMA.
It seems obvious that the software ASUS are using has issues with new boards given the amount of people that post on here with bad flashes.
It's all over the ASUS forum as well.
They have had loads of boards returned, but they did with the Nforce2 that have save and exit issues.
I think ASUS are well aware of the problem, but they are hardly going to admit it.
You need to start taking note when you see a few people having exactly the same problem, and that IS the case on the new ASUS boards and the windwows utility.

I've never had a bad flash with a floppy either, and I have done that many times.
Can't recall seeing a bunch of posts on here about bad flashes with floppys, but guess what we are seeing?
 
Hi all, my asus update utility shuts down after chossing the bios file, i think i will have to use the ez-flash utility, i dont have a floppy drive or usb stick though, can i save the bios file to a cd and update it with that through ez-flash?., if this can be done, can someone post simple steps on how do to it, thx all kind regards;].
 
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Count yourself lucky that the utility shuts down, that just goes to show how badly made it is! For the love of god man, dont use it!

The EZ BIOS flash is easy peasy, or if you will EZ-PZ :p

Just go and get a USB stick, you can get a small one for <£5
 
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