Re: What is best way to Flash Bios Update on a computer?
From: R. C. White (RCWhite_at_msn.com)
Date: 06/25/04
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Date: Fri, 25 Jun 2004 08:35:20 -0500
Hi, Joe.
As you know, "how to flash a BIOS" is not a Windows question because the
BIOS flash happens long before Windows begins to load.
In WinXP, it's very easy to make an MS-DOS startup diskette. (I haven't
used Win2K in nearly 3 years, so I've forgotten how to do it there.) Just
make sure a blank (or expendable) diskette is in the floppy drive. Then
right-click on Drive A: in My Computer (or Windows Explorer). Choose
Format..., then on the next menu, choose "Create an MS-DOS startup disk".
This creates an MS-DOS boot floppy that just boots MS-DOS - and quits at the
A:> prompt. You can then add whatever drivers, utilities or other programs
that you need or want on that floppy. If your hard drive volumes are
formatted FAT (any version), you can read them after booting from the
floppy, but you can't read any NTFS volumes (without a third-party program).
The only BIOS flashes I've done have been for mobos with Award BIOS - never
a Gateway. I download a self-extracting .exe file of about 256 KB; this
extracts into a .bin file containing the actual BIOS code, and AWDFLASH.EXE,
which writes that .bin to the EEPROM, plus a .bat file with the proper
command, and a Readme. All these extracted files fit comfortably on the
boot floppy, so I just extract them to there, then set my computer to boot
from the floppy and reboot. After the flash completes, I remove the floppy
and reboot to my HD - and check the opening screen to be sure that the BIOS
line at the bottom has been updated. Usually, the only part of that line
that has changed is the date. Then the boot continues to load Windows as
before.
> If I am running Windows 2000 with NTFS, can I take a WIN 98 DOS Boot
> diskette with the system on it and then copy all the bios update files
> to it and reboot the computer?
Sure. The BIOS flash procedure does not need to read the HD at all. It
needs just MS-DOS itself (io.sys and msdos.sys) and the files extracted from
the BIOS package.
RC
-- R. C. White, CPA San Marcos, TX rc@corridor.net Microsoft Windows MVP "Joe Donaldson" <tryitoz@hotmail.com> wrote in message news:33cea2e8.0406241620.422535a@posting.google.com... > What is best way to Flash Bios Update on a computer? > > > I have run into a few scenarios helping my friends to flash their > Bios. Gateway makes it a bit difficult for their older computers. > > However to make it simple. > If I am running Windows 2000 with NTFS, can I take a WIN 98 DOS Boot > diskette with the system on it and then copy all the bios update files > to it and reboot the computer? > > I ask this since Windows 2000 and am not sure about XP do not (to my > knowledge) have a way to create a DOS Bootable Diskette. I have of > course been to www.bootdisk.com > > ..however I am wondering if my proposed solution would work for all > Windows computers since we are flashing the BIOS and this a a pre > Windows load event. > > Thanks, Joe
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