# Update Bios on A8V Deluxe[RESOLVED]



## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

Hi everyone,

My first time here, nice forum.

I called Tech Support some months ago to have them walk me through updating the Bios cuz I was going to do a fresh install of my new OEM XP Pro. I also updated all the drivers to the system as well.

I was guided to this ISO image with a date of October 2006 at Alienware web site. All I remember is this guy had me put the ISO on a CD and the Bios was supposed to update from there. This was done with in Windows. I specifically asked him what about all my Security software running, should I turn them off and he said "well it doesn't matter". So I closed everything down in the tray and shut the internet off before the update was started anyway.

I just discovered by running Everest that I still have the same bios as I did in the begining, Bios date: 06/17/2004. I feel so stupid because I have never noticed this before.

Before the supposedly bios update I had tried the newer Nvidia driver 91.47 and it reacted horribly on my system and I was told this Bios update would fix that. 

After thinking I updated the Bios I installed the new OEM XP Pro SP2 and all the updated drivers I had gathered. Mind you I installed that newer Nvidia driver and everything is well since.

Could the Bios be showing the wrong info or the Bios update didn't work as I thought?

I have been googling some info about updating bios and it said in many articles you cannot do this from within windows, how true is this?

If I do need to update this I don't have a clue as how to do it. I have no more support with them. I do have a copy of the ISO image for the bios from Oct 2006, in fact this update is not at the Asus site cuz I checked, everything they have was older. I got this from Alienware site.

Thanks for your help in advance.


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## MaverickUK (Sep 9, 2005)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

Hi and welcome,

I don't actually know of any Windows based programs that will manually flash a BIOS, it's almost always done by the usual process of disc/floppy. To check the actual date of your BIOS version, then go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Information - i doubt that Everest is reporting the wrong value though.

Nick.


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## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*



MaverickUK said:


> Hi and welcome,
> 
> I don't actually know of any Windows based programs that will manually flash a BIOS, it's almost always done by the usual process of disc/floppy. To check the actual date of your BIOS version, then go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Information - i doubt that Everest is reporting the wrong value though.
> 
> Nick.


It's the same date. I figured as much that this guy didn't know what he was doing.

I was gonna update my Nvidia driver but now that I find this I'm very hesitant. What do you suggest? Here I thought everything was updated, that makes me mad. Alienware has this system so screwed up it wasn't funny. 

Thank you,


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## MaverickUK (Sep 9, 2005)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

Hey,

Do you have a floppy drive so you can update the BIOS? If you do, you can use the usual procedure and update the BIOS. Thing is though, this is literally the first time i've heard of needing a BIOS update in order for a newer version of a display driver to actually work. Can you please explain what happened when you downloaded this driver?

Regards,
Nick.


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## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*



MaverickUK said:


> Hey,
> 
> Do you have a floppy drive so you can update the BIOS? If you do, you can use the usual procedure and update the BIOS. Thing is though, this is literally the first time i've heard of needing a BIOS update in order for a newer version of a display driver to actually work. Can you please explain what happened when you downloaded this driver?
> 
> ...


Yes, I do have a floppy drive.

Since I have two Promise ports and two Via Ports a fellow made up a draft sequence for me to install windows because I didn't know how with this set up back on Oct 31, 2006. He told me before we do anything that my Bios was dated from 2004 and I should update it because it had a fix in there for newer Nvidia drivers (I did read the change log).

Back in Aug 2006 I tried the newest driver Nvidia had out (I think it was 91.47) and it reacted very bad. All I can tell you is the whole system was unstable ever since I installed it and it started BSOD so I uninstalled it and went back to what I was using at that time (I don't remember what it was).

I have not tried the current Nvidia driver yet, I was afraid it would react like it did before.

Should you leave the Bios a lone if your not having any problems?

Throughout googling earlier I came across more than one article about folks saying "don't forget to clear the cmos when flashing", what are they talking about?


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## MaverickUK (Sep 9, 2005)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

Not sure what they meant by resetting the CMOS, but generally if you are not having any problems and your current BIOS version caters for all your needs (i.e. it supports all the specifications of your system), then there's no particular reason to update your BIOS. 

I still need to update my BIOS as the new processor i have uses E6 Stepping and the current BIOS doesn't support it - this is the only reason i'm upgrading my BIOS for the first time since 2005.

Regards,
Nick.


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## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

I guess I should leave it a lone until needed. What is generally done with a ISO image for a bios? Is that supposed to be done in DOS? Just curious.

Is there a Bios utility out there so you can back it up in case it gets corrupt?

Thanks,


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

Some motherboard manufactures have utilities that let you flash in windows, stay away from those the fail at a higher rate, the best way to flash is in pure dos.

If you are having no problems then a bios flash is unnecessary as well as a video card driver upgrade.

I normally don't guide inexperienced people on flashing bios because I can't control what they do, things like getting the correct file and dos utility to do the flash, to many things can go wrong that are out of my control. With that said I would not use the iso image because there is no way of knowing what it is.

If you indeed need to upgrade your bios the advice I give you is to go to the computer or motherboard manufactures website and follow there instructions on how to flash/upgrade in dos using a floppy.

After the flash you should clear the cmos(data stored in bios) by removing the motherboard battery with the computer unplugged for 5 minutes. Your motherboard manual will explain this


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## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

My bios version was 1005.027 and when I started reading all the fixes (at asus) from 1005.027 to the latest stable version 1017 that's when it hit me that I haven't been able to play some games like HitMan, Far Cry.

I d/l the MOBO manual and that helped a lot for me to understand the three different ways you could do this. I wasn't about to touch Asus Live Update or EZ Flash. I used AFUDOS, first I backed up my original with Asus Live Update and made a floppy with the original bios file and Afudos, then I d/l the 1017 and made another floppy, printed out the instructions from the manual and it worked like a charm.

I did set the bios to defaults first. You mentioned clearing the cmos afterwards, I was researching that as well because I wasn't sure. I figured I would try flashing it first with out clearing the cmos and when I rebooted I would check the bios version info with Asus Live Update to see if it worked or not and if the flash didn't work then I would attempt to clear the cmos, but it did work.

These forums are so helpful.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

Good Job, it is not that difficult if you follow instructions and most manuals are very clear.

Its still a good idea to clear the cmos and is simple enough to do, this makes sure any remnants of old data stored in cmos are gone


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## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*



Doby said:


> Good Job, it is not that difficult if you follow instructions and most manuals are very clear.
> 
> Its still a good idea to clear the cmos and is simple enough to do, this makes sure any remnants of old data stored in cmos are gone


It was scary I won't lie but I don't/ won't pay anyone to do things on my computer, I would rather learn to do it myself so I'm not dependent on anyone.

I read, re-read, re-read the instructions until I was sure I understood them.

I flashed the bios about 5:00AM this morning. Should I still clear the cmos or is it too late? It's 11:05PM here now.

I have the instructions printed out where I have to take the cap off of pins 1-2 and put the cap on pins 3-4 for 5-10 seconds it said and put the cap back to pins 1-2 and put the battery back in.


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## Doby (Jan 17, 2006)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*

It is not really to late but heck if everthings working as you expect leave well enough alone, in other words "don't fix what ain't broke"


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## Rilla927 (May 1, 2007)

*Re: Update Bios on A8V Deluxe*



Doby said:


> It is not really to late but heck if everthings working as you expect leave well enough alone, in other words "don't fix what ain't broke"


He,he! Sounds good to me.

I made a notation of the size of previous bios which was 512K and checked the size of the new bios and it was 512K also. I just wanted to make sure there was no size difference.

Thanks for your help, I sure appreciate it:grin:


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