Whats the safest way to flash a motherboard BIOS?

ShadowFold · Mar 3, 2008, 06:12 AM

I downloaded the latest bios for my P35A and I have the FoxLiveUpdate whitch updates it and installs the bios automaticly but is it safe? I know its from the manufacturer them selves so it must but is it the safest way? I heard you can kill the mobo if you flash it and it goes bad or something so I really wanna be safe.

erocker · Mar 3, 2008, 06:21 AM

Using thier utility is probablly the easiest as it doesn't require you going into the BIOS and using a floppy or flash drive.

sam0t · Mar 3, 2008, 06:36 AM

Safest way to flash MB BIOS is doing it in DOS mode in my mind. Either create a bootable floppy or USB stick. I find TR USB flashing method the easiest way to create bootable USB stick, link below:

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...g/vidcard/34/5

ShadowFold · Mar 4, 2008, 02:26 AM

Ok im about to let the foxconn tool flash my bios should I be scared

spud107 · Mar 4, 2008, 02:28 AM

yes

ShadowFold · Mar 4, 2008, 02:29 AM

I dont think I will then I wont be overclocking for awile..

spud107 · Mar 4, 2008, 02:34 AM

its not that bad, iv flashed a few mobos, all went well, one was even forced to take a diff bios,
does the foxconn utility flash in windows? make sure as much stuff is shut off if you do,(av, etc)

ShadowFold · Mar 4, 2008, 02:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spud107

its not that bad, iv flashed a few mobos, all went well, one was even forced to take a diff bios,
does the foxconn utility flash in windows? make sure as much stuff is shut off if you do,(av, etc)

Yea its from windows, im using XP X64 tho so idk if I should or not. I dont have any flash drives or floppy drives either

spud107 · Mar 4, 2008, 02:39 AM

cd drive? theres ways of doing it that way,
edit - if its an award bios post the file,if you want i could take a look thru it with modbin to see if theres anything locked.

ShadowFold · Mar 4, 2008, 02:40 AM

no I dont have a CD drive

j/k is that safer than windows flashing?

spud107 · Mar 4, 2008, 02:45 AM

same as floppy, its just putting dos an the flash utility on disk.

ShadowFold · Mar 4, 2008, 02:47 AM

Is it safe to flash from the May 2007 BIOS(what im on now) to the Feb 2008 ones or do I have to do the individual ones?

spud107 · Mar 4, 2008, 02:48 AM

just get the latest one, no need to go through all the older versions.

Mussels · Mar 4, 2008, 02:49 AM

to make this thread more fun - think of the OTHER kind of flashing.
Its best done in the privacy of your own home, with no cameras or children present.
Trenchcoat optional.

Personally i prefer DOS with a flash drive, its harder but far less likely to go wrong. floppies are just too scary to think of using.

spud107 · Mar 4, 2008, 02:53 AM

hp's usb disk storage format tool is quite handy.
also msi has a tool http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=108079.0

and if you want to make a rescue disk incase of bad flash make an autoexec.bat file on the disk with this command
AWDFLASH.EXE xxxxxx.BIN /CC /CD /CP /F /R /PY /SN
will flash without pressing anything or if its the correct bios

Mar 3, 2008, 06:12 AM	#1
ShadowFold Eligible for custom title Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 12,855 (6.49/day) Thanks: 1,381 Thanked 1,681 Times in 1,498 Posts System Specs	Whats the safest way to flash a motherboard BIOS? I downloaded the latest bios for my P35A and I have the FoxLiveUpdate whitch updates it and installs the bios automaticly but is it safe? I know its from the manufacturer them selves so it must but is it the safest way? I heard you can kill the mobo if you flash it and it goes bad or something so I really wanna be safe.

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System Name:	The ShadowFold Draconis (Ordering soon)
Processor:	AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8ghz
Motherboard:	ASUS M4A87TD EVO AM3 AMD 870
Cooling:	Stock
Memory:	Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3-1333
Video Card:	XFX ATi Radeon HD 5850 1gb
Hard Disk:	Western Digital 640gb
Optical Drive:	LG DVD Burner SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer 21.5" 5ms Full HD 1920x1080P
Case:	Antec Nine-Hundred
Sound Card:	Onboard + Creative "Fatal1ty" Headset
PSU:	Antec Earthwatts 650w
Software:	Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Benchmarks:	-❶-❸-❸-❼-

Mar 3, 2008, 06:21 AM	#2
erocker Senior Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Milwaukee, WI. Posts: 31,961 (12.77/day) Thanks: 2,793 Thanked 12,322 Times in 7,833 Posts System Specs	Using thier utility is probablly the easiest as it doesn't require you going into the BIOS and using a floppy or flash drive.

Mar 3, 2008, 06:36 AM	#3
sam0t Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 97 (0.05/day) Thanks: 3 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts System Specs	Safest way to flash MB BIOS is doing it in DOS mode in my mind. Either create a bootable floppy or USB stick. I find TR USB flashing method the easiest way to create bootable USB stick, link below: http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...g/vidcard/34/5

Mar 4, 2008, 02:26 AM	#4
ShadowFold Eligible for custom title Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 12,855 (6.49/day) Thanks: 1,381 Thanked 1,681 Times in 1,498 Posts System Specs	Ok im about to let the foxconn tool flash my bios should I be scared

Mar 4, 2008, 02:28 AM	#5
spud107 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: scotland Posts: 887 (0.39/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 137 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	yes __________________ http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=8360 check out this music http://lapfox.tumblr.com/ 2nd system - Spare Bits - sempron64 3100@1.8ghz - 1gb ddr - 80gb wd hd - nvidia 6800 ultra 256mb - server2003 msi history - 6368coppermine 6373palomino 6577northwood 6570thoroughbred-b 7094san diego 7125toledo “if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.”

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Mar 4, 2008, 02:29 AM	#6
ShadowFold Eligible for custom title Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 12,855 (6.49/day) Thanks: 1,381 Thanked 1,681 Times in 1,498 Posts System Specs	I dont think I will then I wont be overclocking for awile..

Mar 4, 2008, 02:34 AM	#7
spud107 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: scotland Posts: 887 (0.39/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 137 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	its not that bad, iv flashed a few mobos, all went well, one was even forced to take a diff bios, does the foxconn utility flash in windows? make sure as much stuff is shut off if you do,(av, etc) __________________ http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=8360 check out this music http://lapfox.tumblr.com/ 2nd system - Spare Bits - sempron64 3100@1.8ghz - 1gb ddr - 80gb wd hd - nvidia 6800 ultra 256mb - server2003 msi history - 6368coppermine 6373palomino 6577northwood 6570thoroughbred-b 7094san diego 7125toledo “if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.”

Mar 4, 2008, 02:39 AM	#9
spud107 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: scotland Posts: 887 (0.39/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 137 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	cd drive? theres ways of doing it that way, edit - if its an award bios post the file,if you want i could take a look thru it with modbin to see if theres anything locked. __________________ http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=8360 check out this music http://lapfox.tumblr.com/ 2nd system - Spare Bits - sempron64 3100@1.8ghz - 1gb ddr - 80gb wd hd - nvidia 6800 ultra 256mb - server2003 msi history - 6368coppermine 6373palomino 6577northwood 6570thoroughbred-b 7094san diego 7125toledo “if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.” Last edited by spud107; Mar 4, 2008 at 02:44 AM.

Mar 4, 2008, 02:40 AM	#10
ShadowFold Eligible for custom title Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 12,855 (6.49/day) Thanks: 1,381 Thanked 1,681 Times in 1,498 Posts System Specs	no I dont have a CD drive j/k is that safer than windows flashing?

Mar 4, 2008, 02:45 AM	#11
spud107 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: scotland Posts: 887 (0.39/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 137 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	same as floppy, its just putting dos an the flash utility on disk. __________________ http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=8360 check out this music http://lapfox.tumblr.com/ 2nd system - Spare Bits - sempron64 3100@1.8ghz - 1gb ddr - 80gb wd hd - nvidia 6800 ultra 256mb - server2003 msi history - 6368coppermine 6373palomino 6577northwood 6570thoroughbred-b 7094san diego 7125toledo “if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.”

Mar 4, 2008, 02:47 AM	#12
ShadowFold Eligible for custom title Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Omaha, NE Posts: 12,855 (6.49/day) Thanks: 1,381 Thanked 1,681 Times in 1,498 Posts System Specs	Is it safe to flash from the May 2007 BIOS(what im on now) to the Feb 2008 ones or do I have to do the individual ones?

Mar 4, 2008, 02:48 AM	#13
spud107 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: scotland Posts: 887 (0.39/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 137 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	just get the latest one, no need to go through all the older versions. __________________ http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=8360 check out this music http://lapfox.tumblr.com/ 2nd system - Spare Bits - sempron64 3100@1.8ghz - 1gb ddr - 80gb wd hd - nvidia 6800 ultra 256mb - server2003 msi history - 6368coppermine 6373palomino 6577northwood 6570thoroughbred-b 7094san diego 7125toledo “if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.”

Mar 4, 2008, 02:49 AM	#14
Mussels Doctor Moderator Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bendigo, Australia (NOT THE USA) Posts: 34,564 (10.96/day) Thanks: 3,700 Thanked 8,698 Times in 6,395 Posts System Specs	to make this thread more fun - think of the OTHER kind of flashing. Its best done in the privacy of your own home, with no cameras or children present. Trenchcoat optional. Personally i prefer DOS with a flash drive, its harder but far less likely to go wrong. floppies are just too scary to think of using. __________________ Edumacational thread about PC Audio My external HDD's.5x samsung 1TB + 2x Seagate 1.5TB = 8 TB external storage 32 Bit OS vs 64 bit OS information How to get hardware accelerated H264 playback (DXVA) Netbook Owners United!

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Mar 4, 2008, 02:53 AM	#15
spud107 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: scotland Posts: 887 (0.39/day) Thanks: 31 Thanked 137 Times in 122 Posts System Specs	hp's usb disk storage format tool is quite handy. also msi has a tool http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=108079.0 and if you want to make a rescue disk incase of bad flash make an autoexec.bat file on the disk with this command AWDFLASH.EXE xxxxxx.BIN /CC /CD /CP /F /R /PY /SN will flash without pressing anything or if its the correct bios __________________ http://www.hwbot.org/user.do?userId=8360 check out this music http://lapfox.tumblr.com/ 2nd system - Spare Bits - sempron64 3100@1.8ghz - 1gb ddr - 80gb wd hd - nvidia 6800 ultra 256mb - server2003 msi history - 6368coppermine 6373palomino 6577northwood 6570thoroughbred-b 7094san diego 7125toledo “if it's stupid but works, it's not stupid.” Last edited by spud107; Mar 4, 2008 at 03:01 AM.

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