Is my BIOS really updated?

OS / Drivers / BIOS
Post Reply
purrkur
Linux Guru
Posts: 687
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2003 5:57 pm
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Is my BIOS really updated?

Post by purrkur »

I downloaded the latest RV bios since I was "cleaning" up my machine. Everybody has been raving about this so I thought, why not stay current?

I read that there was information on how to do this on the forums so I did some checking since this BIOS isn't from Abit (I have flashed countless MB's before) and I found some instructions. Here is what I found confusing:

On this page:
http://www.bp6.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=928
which seems to be the "official" BIOS upgrade guide I found this:

Code: Select all

AWDFLASH bh6_fu.bin /py /cc /sn /cd 
Fine, I thought. I'll go with that. But after a bit more reading (yes, I must be getting old, I am not used to reading TF manual...) on this page I found something different:
http://www.bp6.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=2119
Here is what it said:

Code: Select all

AWDFLASH YOURBIOSFILENAME.BIN /PY /SN /CC /CD /CP
After a bit of thinking I decided to go with the first statement because the second seemed to have something to do with a broken BIOS.

While flashing my BIOS I noticed when it was filling in the blocks to show BIOS upgrade progress, that two of the "blocks" were shown as unchanged (towards the end).

My questions are:

1. What is the difference between the two AWDFLASH methods above?

2. If two blocks were unchanged, is my BIOS really fully flashed? (btw, my computer boots just fine after the flash. No worries.)

Cheers,
hyperspace
Board Admin
Posts: 1395
Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2002 7:39 am
Location: Lincoln, NE USA
Contact:

Re: Is my BIOS really updated?

Post by hyperspace »

purrkur wrote:My questions are:

1. What is the difference between the two AWDFLASH methods above?

2. If two blocks were unchanged, is my BIOS really fully flashed? (btw, my computer boots just fine after the flash. No worries.)

Cheers,
Here's the breakdown of the options for the Award flash program:

/Py or /Pn - stands for answering "yes" (Y) or "no" (N) to the request concerning the BIOS reflashing. By means of /Pn you can ban FlashROM reprogramming. This option enables you to save the current version of the BIOS or to get its checksum without updating your BIOS. A backup copy will help you to restore the previous version of the BIOS. By default /Py mode is set.

/Sy or /Sn - stands for answering "yes" (Y) or "no" (N) to the request about saving the previous version of the BIOS. By default /Py mode is set again. In this case before reprogramming the FlashROM microchip you'll need to confirm saving by this request:

Do You Want To Save Bios (Y/N)

/Sn is recommended to use for *.bat-files in case of automatic BIOS reflashing in systems without a display.

/CC - to clear CMOS after reflashing. This option comes in handy when there is a risk that the data arrays created by new BIOS version in CMOS may differ from those former ones. If so, then you are likely to have troubles with the mainboard startup. Clearing CMOS will let you avoid searching for Clear CMOS jumper on the board, which is really helpful if it isn't accompanied with a proper manual or is simply hard to access.

/CP - stands for clearing PnP (ESCD) Data matrix after BIOS reflashing. The information about PnP devices is stored in ESCD. The key /CP is an equivalent to Reset Configuration Data in PnP/PCI Configuration CMOS SetUp. It makes sense to use /CP if you skip several versions of BIOS or if you have installed new PnP cards. If you don not update the ESCD, your board may suffer some startup problems.

/CD - stands for clearing DMI Data pool after reprogramming. Literally, DMI is a data base, containing all the information on the system as a whole. Clearing it may be fruitful in the above mentioned situations with /CP and /CC keys, as well as if some of the system components have been changed.


If memory serves me correctly, I always see two blocks that don't get written to. The "middle" two of the lower-right quadrant of blocks.
Quantum WormHole

Image
lost in hypertime...
purrkur
Linux Guru
Posts: 687
Joined: Fri Dec 12, 2003 5:57 pm
Location: Sweden
Contact:

Post by purrkur »

Thanks Hyperspace. I feel at ease now :)
Post Reply