2.1Managing and updating your BIOS

The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup.

1.AwardBIOS Flash Utility (Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a bootable floppy disk.)

2.ASUS CrashFree BIOS (Updates the BIOS using a floppy disk during POST.)

3.ASUS Update (Updates the BIOS in Windows® environment.)

Refer to the corresponding sections for each utility.

• The original BIOS file for this motherboard is in the support CD.

Copy the original BIOS to a bootable floppy disk in case you need to restore the BIOS in the future.

2.1.1Creating a bootable floppy disk

1. Do either one of the following to create a bootable floppy disk.

DOS environment

Insert a 1.44 MB floppy disk into the drive. At the DOS prompt, type:

format a: /s , then press the <Enter> key

Windows® XP environment

a.Insert a new 1.44 MB floppy disk in the floppy disk drive.

b.From the Windows desktop, click Start > My Computer.

c.In the My Computer window, click the 3 1/2 Floppy icon.

d.From the Menu bar, click File > Format.

e.Select “Create an MS-DOS Startup Disk” in the Format Options field, then click Start.

2.Copy the original (or the latest) motherboard BIOS to the bootable floppy disk.

2.1.2 Using the AwardBIOS Flash Utility

You may update the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) using the built-in Award BIOS Flash utility or using a bootable floppy disk with the executable Award BIOS Flash utility (AWDFLASH.EXE). Follow these instructions to update the BIOS using this utility.

1.Download the latest BIOS file from the website provided by the system builder. Rename the file to *.BIN, then save it to the bootable floppy disk you created earlier.

2.Insert the disk that contains the new BIOS file to the floppy drive.

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Chapter 2: BIOS information