Flashing My Bios

Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Bootable Floppy (in DOS)

•With a non-formatted disk, type the following:

format a:/s

•If using a formatted disk, type:

sys a:

This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.

B. Download the BIOS file

•Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.

•Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don't have an "unzip" utility, download the WinZip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use ;-) from www.winzip.com or www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, or FIC CD PRO, have a shareware version of WinZip on them.

•You should have extracted two files:

Flash BIOS utility eg: flash765.exe

BIOS eg: 615J900.bin

Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.

C. Upgrade the System BIOS

During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.

Place the bootable floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22

•At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.

For example:

flash625 615j900.bin

•From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select "Y" to "Do you want to save BIOS?" if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: a:\613J900.bin

Alternatively select "N" if you don't want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won't be able to recover from a possible failure.

•Select "Y" to "Are you sure to program?"

•Wait until it displays "Message: Power Off or Reset the system"

Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you've made a backup before)

Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.

For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the "END" key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.

the problem is you cant do this with an XP boot disk (there are 4 disks to boot from), so go to www.bootdisk.com and get a w98 bootdisk. It will be one file,double click on it (have a blank floppy in the drive) and it will make a w98 boot disk, then follow the instructions
see here
http://www.fic.com.tw/techsupport/bios/procedure.htm

also note this
You should be aware that flashing a BIOS is not guaranteed to be successful. If your system is already running well, then even if there is a new version of the BIOS available, it may not be the best option to flash the new one. Your system may experience serious adverse side effects or even lower performance. Remember that a new BIOS usually fixes bugs or incompatibilities but it also can introduce new ones

and see here
http://www.fic.com.tw/techsupport/utilities/winxp_support_talbe.htm
and here
http://www.fic.com.tw/techsupport/drivers/searchbios2.asp?selectedmodelname=AZ11EA

Steven:

thank you for the response. I have attempted to follow those instructions from the fic website but dont know how to boot my computer up in ms-dos mode. I have gone to accessories, command prompt in winxp but when i type in flash802a vdc49 (the latest bios version for my board) it says that is not a recognized command and doesnt work.

Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a "Memory Insufficient" error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting "Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode" from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in WindowsNT
go here
http://www.mirrors.org/archived_software/www.bootdisk.com/original.htm
and get a dos boot disk.
then follow the instructions from
http://www.fic.com.tw/techsupport/bios/procedure.htm
EXACTLY!

I have gone to accessories, command prompt in winxp
this is not booting to a dos disk as the website says to do

Note: if you do not do this exactly as the website says, you can render your motherboard useless. Flashing a BIOS is not for the faint of heart, and can be detrimental to your machine if not done correctly

To boot to DOS from the Diskette, You need to power down your computer and put in the diskette.

Than turn on the computer with the diskette you made in the drive and it will boot up the computer from the diskette instead of your hard drive. It will not boot into Windows, but just DOS.

If it does not boot to DOS and it boots just into Windows, then you will need to go into your BIOS and tell the BIOS to boot first from the Floppy, THEN your hard drive.

Try that and see if it works.

I hope this helps

Startup your pc and keep using the delete key during startup to access your bios, unless you have a menu giving you that option during startup.

Go to Advanced Bios Features and hit enter.
Scroll down to the the last item, Bios Guardian, which is offscreen. Use arrow keys. Hit enter and choose Disable.
Hit F10 to save and exit.
When you reboot it will prompt you if you want to startup without Bios Guardian. Follow instructions and hit yes.
You will be prompted every time you reboot. Follow directions to re-enable when you're done.

Go to http://www.bootdisk.com and download the DrDos 7.x bootdisk for flashing.

Follow the rest of the directions from the site for flashing.

re-reading your comment:
Flash82a.exe is the command to begin the flash utility.
vdc49.bin is the file you use to flash.
If you're getting a checksum error, then most likely you did not disable Bios Guardian.

Unless you're absolutely familiar with what I'm talking about, I STRONGLY suggest you have someone help you doing this.

"I have gone to accessories, command prompt in winxp but when i type in flash802a vdc49 (the latest bios version for my board) it says that is not a recognized command and doesnt work."

You are NOT supposed to do this from inside a command prompt in MS Windows. DO NOT try to attempt this!

Ok. I have followed all of the above to the "t" and it appears that I have sucessfully flashed my bios with the latest file for my board. however, after a day free of lockups, they have come back again. someone suggested earlier that I might have a heat problem so I installed an 80x80 fan in my case (which sounds like a small jet engine) the inside of the case is cool and t-bird is running at around 100F. But lockups still persist.Any further ideas would be appreciated.

also make sure the drivers are all xp compatable

also try this
go to start --> run and type msconfig, go to the startup tab, and uncheck all but systray and explorer, reboot
If you still experience lockups, press ctrl+alt+del, and check the processes to see what is using all the processes

I may be wrong, but I think that only works in Win9x.

I just checked and explorer and systray are not part of the "Startup Environment" shown in msconfig on a Windows XP OS.

I may be wrong, but I think that only works in Win9x
msconfig works just the same in XP

When you open My computer properties, is the chip stated correctly?
Is the Front Side Bus (FSB) set at 133 on the mobo jumper?
Using a utility to check, it will show 266.
Did you download and install the latest chipset drivers as well as the graphics drivers and other hardware?

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_4348^871^2364,00.html

Thanks steve,

it was a bad ram chip.

regards,
rcloyd

rcloyd, glad it's working for you now
Steve