[. . . ] P4S8X-X
User Guide
Motherboard
E1207
Checklist
First Edition V1 January 2003
Copyright © 2002 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. ASUS PROVIDES THIS MANUAL "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. [. . . ] If you accidentally typed in a wrong BIOS file name, the error message, "WARNING!Press <Enter> to remove the message, then type in the correct file name. Pressing N exits the EZ Flash screen and reboots the system without updating the BIOS. The following prompts appear if you typed Y.
[BIOS Information in File] BIOS Version: P4S8X-X Boot Block WARNING!Press Y to update the main BIOS area.
Flash Memory: SST 49LF004 (Y/N)?_
Update Main BIOS area
DO NOT shutdown or reset the system while updating the BIOS area!When the update process is done, the message, "Press a key to reboot" appears. Press any key to reboot the system with the new BIOS.
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2. 1. 2 Using AFLASH to update the BIOS
Creating a bootable disk
AFLASH. EXE is a Flash Memory Writer utility that updates the BIOS by uploading a new BIOS file to the programmable flash ROM on the motherboard. To determine the BIOS version of your motherboard, check the last four numbers of the code displayed on the upper left-hand corner of your screen during bootup. Type COPY D:\AFLASH\AFLASH. EXE A:\ (assuming D is your CD-ROM drive) to copy AFLASH. EXE to the boot disk you created.
AFLASH works only in DOS mode. It does not work in the DOS prompt within Windows, and does not work with certain memory drivers that may be loaded when you boot from the hard drive. Reboot the computer from the floppy disk.
BIOS setup must specify "Floppy" as the first item in the boot sequence.
4. In DOS mode, type A:\AFLASH <Enter> to run AFLASH.
If the word "unknown" appears after Flash Memory:, the memory chip is either not programmable or is not supported by the ACPI BIOS and therefore, cannot be programmed by the Flash Memory Writer utility.
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Chapter 2: BIOS information
5. Type a filename and the path, for example, A:\XXX-XX. XXX, then press <Enter>.
Updating the BIOS
Update the BIOS only if you have problems with the motherboard and you are sure that the new BIOS revision will solve your problems. Careless updating may result to more problems with the motherboard!
1. Download an updated ASUS BIOS file from the Internet (WWW or FTP) (see ASUS CONTACT INFORMATION on page viii for details) and save to the boot floppy disk you created earlier. At the "A:\" prompt, type AFLASH and then press <Enter>. Type the filename of your new BIOS and the path, for example, A:\XXXXX. XXX, then press <Enter>. To cancel this operation, press <Enter>.
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6. When prompted to confirm the BIOS update, press Y to start the update.
7. The utility starts to program the new BIOS information into the Flash ROM. This minimizes the possibility of boot problems in case of update failures. [. . . ] Select Exit from the menu bar to display the following menu.
Pressing <Esc> does not immediately exit this menu. Select one of the options from this menu or <F10> from the legend bar to exit.
Exit & Save Changes
Once you are finished making your selections, choose this option from the Exit menu to ensure the values you selected are saved to the CMOS RAM. The CMOS RAM is sustained by an onboard backup battery and stays on even when the PC is turned off. Select [Yes] to save changes and exit.
If you attempt to exit the Setup program without saving your changes, the program prompts you with a message asking if you want to save your changes before exiting. [. . . ]