Do I dare? (Asus P5B question)

[freedomhays]

Sell your ram and buy some Crucial or Corsair.

[NickN]

I was not saying it is a bad board... I just mentioned at the time, which was before the majority of those BIOS updates, I did not feel like dealing with the bugs

The BIOS updates may have fixed everything since the board was very popular and they paid attention to it.

[beaky]

"Support X4 DIMM..."
Yep.  ;D

Okay; here's the next question, from the depths of my ignorance:
How exactly do I flash the BIOS? Floppy? CD? downloadable executable? Pentagram drawn on floor with ram's blood?
I started researching this a while back, and felt more confused than before.   :-/

[NickN]

The BIOS flash for newbies


lol

The one operation that can make or break your week

If it was in front of me I could do it for you in about 30 seconds give or take.

Flashing a BIOS is the one operation that can send a motherboard back to its maker for a new BIOS chip, or the dumpster. Most flashes go fine and without a hitch. They can be performed from DOS or Windows but I highly recommend to NOT use the Asus tool Windows method.

If you get into your manual and look up BIOS flashing, read up on it and post back and we will go from there. I will need to D/L your manual so I can see what you do. Most ASUS boards have a really neet boot system (hit ALT-F2 when the BIOS screen appears) in which the BIOS flashing utility is built into the motherboard. Once on the screen all you need is the BIOS file (unzipped) on a floppy disk and away you go.

Also, newer Asus motherboards have an emergency recovery system where if the BIOS will not boot you put the original Asus CD in the CD drive and turn on the computer. The system will reflash the BIOS from the CD and recover it.

The INSERT key when held down at boot on Asus motherboards will bypass BIOS settings and boot defaults for you to get into the BIOS in an emergency or if you make wrong settings. It can also be used to start an emergency flash from CD as I recall. Some do not require any input at all.

I do not know if the Pb5 has those features but I bet it does.

2 things about a BIOS flash..

1. If the power goes out while its being flashed or if you accidently reboot it, its trash

2. Always flash from DOS. The Windows utility many people swear by has been know to kill machines. Flashing a BIOS is so critical even a windows glitch can turn your machine into a door stop.

Grab the manual and look up the BIOS section. Flashing is usually noted right before the manual goes into the settings for the BIOS. See if it makes reference to ALT-F2 and the use of the CD in case of an emergency.

Once you go over that we will discuss it futher but I am sure I can talk you though it.. have a drink ready for when the job is done. Your first one is like your first unexpected dead stick landing

[Brett_Henderson]

I remember my first BIOS flash... it was tense... (Ram blood pentagram might have made me fee better)...

For you though.. it's not that tense, because without a flash, that board isn't worth much anyway.

If this helps... here's my version of what a BIOS flash is....



You create a bootable floppy with the flashing utility on it..

Go get the new BIOS and copy it onto the floppy..

Boot from that floppy (you might have to go into CMOS/Setup and make sure a floppy boot is a higher priority than the HDD)...

Run that utility from the DOS prompt and you'll have a few

[NickN]

Once you have done it a few times its really simple. Until you get that one flash where it refuses to boot and panic sets in.

I have had systems refuse to boot after a flash which were not dead BIOS chips or a bad flash, just required the memory be unseated, the CMOS reset by the jumper and it fired up.

I did come across a thread about the P5B where those who used the Asus Windows flash utility on that BIOS Asus said required a new version of the flash utility. They now have dead BIOS chips and they can not get the system to emergency flash. That is why I said, do not use Windows to flash a BIOS. Those who do enjoy things like bungie jumping and mountain climbing with no ropes.

[beaky]

Do I really have to use a floppy? I don't even have a floppy drive installed in this machine. I know they're cheap, but I'd rather not have to install a drive just for this operation.
I still have the Asus CD- will it pull it off that?

[NickN]

You can only use the CD for emergency "return to default BIOS" if you get a bad flash or to flash the BIOS that came with the board automatically. You can not use it to upgrade.

Actually there is a workaround for no floppy using a bootable CD with the BIOS file on it. I have done it but it is a pain in the ass to setup because you have to burn a CD with a boot record on it and the BIOS file included. Hit ALT-F2 and follow instructions

Another method comes with newer ASUS boards, that is the use of a USB stick. Newer BIOS/board have the ability to read a USB stick just like it was a floppy. I do not know if the P5B has that feature or not. If so it should be in the manual under BIOS flashing. All you need to do is hit ALT-F2 at boot and the flash screen should come up.


If you want you can go ahead and reboot, hit ALT-F2 and take a look at the tool... you cant do any damage if there is no file to read. Just take a look at the screen and how it is set up.

[Brett_Henderson]

This will show how long it's been since I've done it (and my ignorance)..

[Keep It Simple]

It would be prudent to determine just what version of the P5B it is as there are different BIOS' for each one.

[freedomhays]

Do I really have to use a floppy? I don't even have a floppy drive installed in this machine. I know they're cheap, but I'd rather not have to install a drive just for this operation.
I still have the Asus CD- will it pull it off that?

Go to the Asus website and download this from the download page for your MB...........................,


BIOS-Utilities
Version      V7.10.05      2007/06/18 update
Description      ASUS Update V7.10.05 Install Program for Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista & Windows 64bit XP/2003/Vista.
File Size      4.21 (MBytes)
Download from      Global USA Europe China Japan


Then download the latest BIOS,

Version        1803        2007/11/30 update
OS      DOS / All OS
Description      P5B BIOS 1803
1. Fix CPU ratio will not reset after load BIOS default
2. Enable support for N/2 Ratio option
File Size      606.11 (KBytes)
Download from      Global USA Europe China Japan

These are in zip form,  I use winzip,

Then run the update program and install the BIOS from a file,  the file will be te BIOS you downloaded and saved after you unzipped it.  It will be a .rom file.


I have always used this,  make sure you have all programs shut down and youe electricity will not go off.

This bios update program should be on the cd that came with the Mb also.

[NickN]

You haven

[freedomhays]

Looks like another issue with the P5B,
I've never had that board but I've had about 12 other asus boards and never had a problem,  I just updated that way in my new  ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULAI guess it's out there waiting for me.
Asus though will send you a new rom chip with bios for fee ,  I herd.
Read that on some other PC forums...

[NickN]

Its not the board, it's windows
in order for that utility to work it has to access low level features and any issues between Windows and the hardware can interrupt communication to the chip, just like if the power went out.

Since Windows places a load on a system even with no software running flashing from Windows is like putting one in the chamber and spinning it.

The utility itself has udergone god knows how many changes and they keep updating it constantly but the bottom line is if a board goes back to them for checking and the original BIOS is not in the chip they can refuse to honor the warranty.

Yes, they do ship out chips but not for free unless you register the product and ship them the old one. Also, many of them are no longer placing the chips in sockets and they can not be removed. Instead the board has all the functions for emergency recovery.

In the old days we use to force an emergency flash. Most network admins did not even know this one... if you removed every single connection to the MB other than power and the floppy... in other words, 1 stick of memory, disconnect the drives, keyboard, mouse, remove the video card, other PCI cards, a blank mobo with just the floppy, then place the flash utility on a floppy with a BAT script and the BIOS, the computer would go into maintenance mode and flash the BIOS blindly.

anyway, Windows is really not the place to access a BIOS

[beaky]

Everyone's been very helpful- thanks a lot.
But God, no...no more hardware changes!!!  :o  
If it comes down to making do with it as is, so be it... I don't have much time as it is to just sit back and fly a nice flight; since I built this rig I've spent more time farting around with it, FS9, and the OS than I have flying the sim (which is why I built this thing in the first place!).

Sometime this weekend I will  delve further... I may go with the floppy; seems simplest and most likely to succeed. Kinda smarts to buy a floppy drive; maybe I should get a tape drive while I'm at it.

BTW, if anyone is wondering, here are the details I neglected to post initially:

P5B Deluxe (no wi-fi but two LAN ports)
Chipset: Intil P965