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E.B.E.
NBR Procrastinator
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Delft, NL Posts: 8,626 Rep Power: 49
Caution! Users of newer ASUS laptops (N71JQ, for instance) report that, at least when using the EasyFlash method, placing the BIOS file on an NTFS harddrive partition and then updating from there results in a failed flash and a "bricked" computer. So, please DO NOT place the BIOS file on a harddrive partition when using EasyFlash, but use a USB key instead, and for safety make sure it is formatted using FAT and not NTFS. The guide will be updated to reflect this change.
Introduction
This document describes the BIOS update procedure (also known as "flashing" the BIOS) for ASUS notebooks. As usual, writing it was trigerred by many, many people asking the same questions about this procedure over and over again, on this forum. I used to have a text file with the instructions and copy-paste an answer each time, but that takes up unnecessary space on the server :) So I decided to centralize the information in one place, namely here, and then link to this page every time somebody asks how to update their BIOS.
A word of caution
A failed or interrupted BIOS update process almost always means death for the computer. For this reason, never ever interrupt a BIOS update that is already in process. For the same reason, have a good amount of charge in your battery when starting the BIOS update utility (more than 10 minutes worth of it). In that way, you will not depend on the AC supply which might run out just in the critical few seconds. BIOS files are specific to a given type of notebook. Even if the machines are superficially identical (like the ASUS V1Jp and ASUS V1J, for instance), with the same basic components, details in the motherboard and various low-level controllers that you might not even know exist might be different, leading to different necessary BIOS code. For this reason, always use only BIOS updates that have been specifically released for your type of machine, by the manufacturer (ASUS). Never use 3rd party BIOS releases unless you're very technologically savvy about these things, you know (and I don't mean "believe you know") exactly what you're doing, and you absolutely trust the source of the BIOS.
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A. The EasyFlash utility, included in the BIOS for some types of ASUS notebooks. B. The AFLASH utility in DOS. C. The WinFlash utility in Windows. Some of the steps are common between the three procedures, so I list them only once. The order in which I list the procedures is not arbitrary. If you have EasyFlash in your BIOS (some do not include it), you are strongly advised to use it, because it's the safest from the three. This is because EasyFlash does not require any operating system (be it DOS or Windows), nor any additional software where bugs might creep in and ruin the process. If you do not have EasyFlash, you should use the DOS AFLASH update program, because DOS is far more stable than any Windows version. Only if for some reason you can't use neither EasyFlash, nor AFLASH, should you consider using WinFlash. Note:I also cover downgrading the BIOS to an earlier version. This might be necessary sometimes. For instance, the temperature thresholds for the fans has increased in the new BIOS, but you might have liked that the previous BIOS kept your CPU cooler. Worse, new bugs might appear, although that rarely happens. [ ^ TOC ^ ]
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This will be a ZIP file. Unzip it; it will contain a single executable, named something like AFLASH2.EXE. If you have a FAT32 partition, place AFLASH2.EXE on this partition. Copy the BIOS file in the same place. If you do not have a FAT32 partition, copy AFLASH2.EXE to a FAT16-formatted USB key (this is how they are almost always formatted, so if you have one chances are it's directly usable). Copy the BIOS file in the same place. Navigate to http://www.freedos.org/freedos/files/ and download a recent FreeDOS ISO image. Burn it to a CD (preferably rewriteable, such that you can reuse it afterwards). Alternatively, use a FreeDOS-bootable USB key created using my Slax with bootable tools guide. Now you're ready to update. 1. If you saved AFLASH2.EXE and the BIOS file to a USB key, insert this key. 2. Insert the FreeDOS CD, reboot the computer, and press ESC at the ASUS splashscreen. Select from the ensuing popup menu the CD/DVD drive, and wait for FreeDOS to start. 3. Navigate to the place where you saved AFLASH2.EXE and the BIOS. This might be something like C: or D:, for a HDD partition, or B:, C:, D: for the USB key. To navigate to a different drive in DOS you just type the name of the drive, e.g., D:, at the command line. To change directories, use cd e.g., cd BIOS. Remember the location of the BIOS file, and its exact name, e.g., D:\BIOS\V6JAS.304. 4. Type AFLASH2 (or whatever the name of the utility is) at the command line. The utility will start, and will display the model, version, and date of the current BIOS in the computer. There will also be two options, Save current BIOS to file, and Update BIOS to flash memory (these were the names on my version, in your case they may be slightly different). Choose the second option, Update BIOS to flash memory (by typing 2, in my case). 5. You will be asked to type in the location of the BIOS file; you should have written this down at step 3 above. Type it down, e.g., D:\BIOS\V6JAS.304. Press Enter. 6. The model, version, and date of the new BIOS file will be displayed. Before continuing, check that the model number is correct, and that the version is the one you intended to write. Also, if the BIOS is older than what you currently have, you will be asked for confirmation that you really wish to write the older version. Confirm in order to downgrade the BIOS. (In fact, I was asked to confirm downgrading even though the BIOS file was actually newer -- maybe a bug, or maybe they didn't implement a separate confirmation message. Oh well.) If all checks out OK, confirm writing the BIOS. 7. The utility will Erase, Flash, and Verify the BIOS. Wait patiently, it will be less than a minute. If all goes well, a message will be displayed announcing a successful operation, and you will be asked to press a key to reboot. [ ^ TOC ^ ]
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will then detect that it has been changed and load the defaults for all the options. Press F2 at the ASUS splashscreen to enter the BIOS and configure the options the way you like them. Typical configuration includes disabling the POST sound (Advanced tab, select Play POST sound and disable), disabling boot from LAN, and configuring the order of the boot devices (I have first HDD, then removable, and finally CD/DVD). When you completed setting up the options, press F10 to exit BIOS and boot up the computer. You're done. [ ^ TOC ^ ]
E.B.E.
__________________ Notebooks: ASUS F6Ve --- W7Sg --- V6J --- M6BNe Read before posting in ASUS: The Info Booth Guides: WinXP Install, Optimize Vista, Tips & Tricks, BIOS Update Reviews: ASUS F6Ve, ASUS W7S/g, Compaq C710ED, ASUS A8He
Last edited by E.B.E. : 09-16-2010 at 06:42 AM. Reason: Edited caution
09-30-2007, 08:47 AM
E.B.E.
NBR Procrastinator
Originally Posted by E.B.E. A failed or interrupted BIOS update process almost always means death for the computer. For this reason, never ever interrupt a BIOS update that is already in process. For the same reason, have a good amount of charge in your battery when starting the BIOS update utility (more than 10 minutes worth of it). In that way, you will not depend on the AC supply which might run out just in the critical few seconds.
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Delft, NL Posts: 8,626 Rep Power: 49
I did not want to put this in the main guide, because it's untested by me, very much machine-specific, and not at all guaranteed to work (so it might offer a feeling of false security that might make unknowledgeable users more bold than they should be ) Some new BIOSes have a crash recovery feature, that might help restoring the machine to a functional state even after a failed BIOS update:
Quote:
Also, most BIOSes have a "boot block" which is a portion of the ROM that runs first and is not updateable. This code will verify that the rest of the BIOS is intact (via checksum, hash, etc.) before transferring control to it. If the boot block detects that the main BIOS is corrupted, then it will typically initiate a recovery process, by booting to a removable device (floppy, CD or USB memory) so that the user can try flashing again. Source: wikipedia The way in which the boot proceeds afterwards is configured by the manufacturer, and probably specific to the machine. E.g., the BIOS binary might need to have a specific name and location on the removable device. The best way to proceed if your BIOS has been corrupted is to call your manufacturer's tech support, and ask details about the crash recovery feature and how you could use it (starting with whether it's available at all). Further reading: Further information and a recovery procedure for the ASUS C90S: Bad Flash Recovery Solution for the C90S A bad BIOS flash followed by successful recovery for the ASUS V1Jp, with great help from Ken from GenTechPC. A successful recovery for ASUS F3JP (this may be helpful, although the user does not remember very clearly the steps required). __________________ Notebooks: ASUS F6Ve --- W7Sg --- V6J --- M6BNe Read before posting in ASUS: The Info Booth Guides: WinXP Install, Optimize Vista, Tips & Tricks, BIOS Update Reviews: ASUS F6Ve, ASUS W7S/g, Compaq C710ED, ASUS A8He
Last edited by E.B.E. : 03-01-2009 at 10:42 AM. Reason: Added V1Jp link
09-30-2007, 10:01 AM
The Forerunner
Notebook Virtuoso
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10-01-2007, 08:48 AM
coriolis
Notebook Nobel Laureate
Added to sticky, thanks! __________________ Alienware M11x - SU7300 / GT335m / 8gb DDR3 / 60gb Vertex II
Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 14,121 Rep Power: 74
10-01-2007, 08:51 AM
E.B.E.
NBR Procrastinator
Pls note that the sticky links to the second post, maybe that's not so good. Perhaps it should be linked straight to the thread top, i.e., BIOS update guide for ASUS notebooks Edit: Thanks, the link was changed __________________ Notebooks: ASUS F6Ve --- W7Sg --- V6J --- M6BNe Read before posting in ASUS: The Info Booth Guides: WinXP Install, Optimize Vista, Tips & Tricks, BIOS Update Reviews: ASUS F6Ve, ASUS W7S/g, Compaq C710ED, ASUS A8He
Last edited by E.B.E. : 10-02-2007 at 02:43 AM.
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Delft, NL Posts: 8,626 Rep Power: 49
12-01-2007, 03:37 AM
E.B.E.
NBR Procrastinator
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Delft, NL Posts: 8,626 Rep Power: 49
Make sure your computer is at AC power before update the BIOS and do it at your own risk. 1: Download the ISO and burn into the CD. 2: Restart the computer with CD in the drive and press "ESC" once when you see the Asus logo. 3: Select boot from CD drive and press enter. 4: Computer will boot to A:\ prompt 5: Type UPDATE and press enter 6: BIOS flash will start and DON"T turn off or press any key or buttons on the laptop. 7: It'll go back to A: prompt when BIOS flash is finished. 8: restart the computer and press F2 to enter BIOS. 9: press F10 to save and exit BIOS. The C90S and other barebones doesn't have Easy Flash in the BIOS, that's where the BIOS is store before flash after using WinFlash. That's because files can not be seen under DOS enviroment is HD is formatted with NTFS, that's why most ensemble notebooks has EASY Flash to store the BIOS in order to read it after reboot. With C90S you will need to make a bootable CD with the flash program called AFU flash and the program can be found on the C90S drivers CD D:\Softwares\AFU Flash. It might be difficult for some people to find a Win98 boot disk so each BIOS version I always make a bootable CD for them. (Reproduced with permission) __________________
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Notebooks: ASUS F6Ve --- W7Sg --- V6J --- M6BNe Read before posting in ASUS: The Info Booth Guides: WinXP Install, Optimize Vista, Tips & Tricks, BIOS Update Reviews: ASUS F6Ve, ASUS W7S/g, Compaq C710ED, ASUS A8He
09-03-2010, 03:13 AM
E.B.E.
NBR Procrastinator
Caution! Users of newer ASUS laptops (N71JQ, for instance) report that placing the BIOS file on a harddrive partition and then updating from there results in a failed flash and a "bricked" computer. Please DO NOT place the BIOS file on a harddrive partition, but use a USB key instead. The guide will be shortly updated to reflect this change. Note that I have thoroughly tested all the procedures described below with my ASUS V6J. This must be a new bug ASUS introduced in their later models... __________________ Notebooks: ASUS F6Ve --- W7Sg --- V6J --- M6BNe Read before posting in ASUS: The Info Booth Guides: WinXP Install, Optimize Vista, Tips & Tricks, BIOS Update Reviews: ASUS F6Ve, ASUS W7S/g, Compaq C710ED, ASUS A8He
Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Delft, NL Posts: 8,626 Rep Power: 49
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