Table of Contents
Advertisement
~
PCI/I-486SP3G
User's Manual
Award Flash Memory Writer Utility
Your mainboard comes with a utility to upgrade the
BIOS.
The
BIOS is stored on a 'flash' memory chip on the mainboard that can
be erased and reprogrammed. This is what the Flash Memory Writer
(FMW) utility
does.
The utility is in the "Flash" directory on the
support floppy disk that comes with the mainboard. You will 'find
three files in the directory:
FLASH.EXE
- the Flash Memory Writer utility
README
- a text file of instructions
AWSGxxxx.BIN
- a BIOS file
(xxxx
=
a 4-digit version number)
Flash Memory Writer records (or 'programs') a new BIOS file onto
the flash memory chip on the
mainboard.
The BIOS file on the support disk may be newer than the BIOS
on the mainboard, so you may want to update your BIOS. Compare
the four numbers after 'AWSG' of the support disk BIOS file to the
last four numbers of the code in the upper left-hand comer of your
screen while the Power-On Self-Test is
going.
If
the number from the
support disk file is bigger, you should reprogram the System BIOS.
If
they are the same, don't bother.
Before you update the BIOS, you must first do the
following:
1.
Set jumper JP21 to the correct "Flash" type. The default BIOS
EPROM is a 12-volt
chip.
The 5-volt default setting protects the
BIOS on a 12-volt chip from being corrupted by signal inter-
ference. To update the BIOS on a 12-volt chip, set JP21to the
+ 12V (12-volt) setting. When you finish updating the BIOS, set
JP21 back to the +SV (5-volt) setting.
•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
•
3 - 32
Software Guide
~
2. Make sure the CPU is running in 'real mode'.
FMW will not run
if
the CPU is operating in protected or vir-
tual mode. This means that you can not run it with Windows
running or any memory manager software. You must disable
any memory manager software first. The easiest way to do this
is
to:
a.
Boot your system from a floppy disk with no CONFIG.SYS
or AUTOEXEC.BAT files, then run Flash Memory Writer from
a backup copy of your support disk
b.
If
you are using MS-DOS 6.0, you can use the feature that
allows you to confirm or abort each line of the CONFIG.SYS
file. You do this by pressing <F8> while the "Starting MS-
DOS ... " line is on the screen.
There are other ways to accomplish the same result. The main
point is to make sure no memory managers are running.
If
you aren't
sure, try running FMW
again.
If
it runs, you've succeeded.
If
it dis-
plays a warning message about the CPU mode, you'll have to try
again.
Once you've satisfied the two requirements mentioned above,
you can run
FMW.
You can copy the contents of the "Flash" directory
to your hard disk drive, or you can run the utility from a backup of
the support floppy disk Make sure the new BIOS file is in the same
directory as the FMW utility.
•
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
3 - 33
Advertisement
Table of Contents
