P55 board: updating the BIOS with Q-Flash

[forumjoe]

Tah!

[forumjoe]

DM and Lsdmeasap,

I've now flashed the new BIOS. I'd just like to say a big thank-you to you both for your assistance.

Yup, I put the BIOS file on to a small-capacity USB memory stick. And I acted on your advice about those particular USB BIOS settings and 'Keep DMI Data' when it came up.

One thing that others might need to watch out for is that the downloaded compressed BIOS file, and other downloadable files, will have a security lock on them, under Windows XP. So, before using them, it's best to right-click on the downloaded file, select Properties, and then unblock the security lock. This may not actually affect anything outside of Windows but, all the same, it seems a sensible thing to do, especially if you're about to flash a new BIOS.

I was a bit thrown when Q-Flash found the USB drive but appeared to say '0 File(s) Found', but it was simply a matter of pressing Enter a further time, to drop one further step down the menu. The checksum it reported was CD00.

A couple of queries have since arisen: In the BIOS, have you any idea what "Onboard LAN Boot ROM" is all about? I've set it to Disabled. And what happens (other than the obvious) if you set "Delay for HDD" to a certain period? Does the machine spend that time checking and counting the RAM, and showing that on the screen? I've disabled the logo screen, BTW. On my old machine, there was no such delay setting in its BIOS but the machine would start the boot-up by first counting and checking the RAM. After it finished that, the bootup into the OS would take place. You could cut short the time it spent doing the memory check by pressing the Esc key. Does this Gigabyte BIOS work in the same way? Although we all like to have the system boot up as quickly as possible, I've hitherto found it useful sometimes to allow the memory checking to take place, as it gives you a proper opportunity to read all of the data on the screen.

[Dark Mantis]

In the BIOS, have you any idea what "Onboard LAN Boot ROM" is all about? I've set it to Disabled.

You have done the right thing by leaving it disabled. It is for when you are runing a LAN and want to set it up to boot from the LAN.

Delay for HDD

It is useful in some situations where the hard drive might be a little slow to initialise and the system will boot to fast to pick it up so it litterally delays the boot so the drive is ready.

...there was no such delay setting in its BIOS but the machine would start the boot-up by first counting and checking the RAM.

The Fast Boot option in the BIOS does exactly the same thing as you are talking about and just does a single count of the memory etc rather than a full test of everything.

[forumjoe]

Hmm, I'd set Quick Boot to Disabled but it certainly wasn't hanging around, counting the memory. And so it  wasn't giving me time to read everything on that first screenful of information. Next time, I'll have to try enabling Quick Boot and seeing what the difference is. I suspect that Quick Boot will completely skip showing the first screenful.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes the modern CPUs process the information so fast that it really doesn't hang around for long at the best of times however you can always press PAUSE at any time to stop the process if you want to study a particular part of the boot process.

[forumjoe]

DM and others,

I'd just like to confirm a couple of things I've tested out on the BIOS for my P55-US3L.

As I hoped might be the case, the HDD Delay setting in the BIOS does give you an opportunity to see some basic data in the POST. Of course, aside from that, we'd all like our machines to boot up as fast as possible but, just from a personal standpoint, an extra 5 secs (say) of delay inserted is useful and won't hurt.

I also tried moving my SATA optical drives one connection down in the array of Intel SATA connections on the motherboard. But, as you predicted, DM, the BIOS still listed the HDD and the first optical drive as being on Channel 0 Master and Slave respectively. A bit odd, that; it's completely counter-intuitive. There seems to be no direct logical association of the physical connections with those that the BIOS finds and displays.

So as not to stress my PSU, I've been keen to make the new machine consume the least power when it's idling. So, I've now also enabled C3/C6/C7 State Support. I'm hoping, though, that by doing so I'll not encounter the 'mis-reported CPU core temperature' problem, which someone else has discussed in these forums and which could well afflict more than just one or two P55 series boards.

With an accurate meter, I've also measured all the PSU on-load voltages, with the machine at idle (all CPU cores enabled and running at Standard speed). They're all right in the middle of the tolerances given in the appropriate ATX specification, thank goodness.

[Dark Mantis]

Thanks for the update and it's good to know that your board seems to be behaving properly. Hopefully we are seeing the last days of the old BIOS now and the new standard will make life a little more straightforward and sensible.

[forumjoe]

Re the BIOS, which is now up to v.FH for this board, I'd still like to see a Battery Voltage added, in the PC Health section. It seems to me that that's a fairly serious omission. How else are you supposed to keep an eye on the battery voltage? Take the PC covers off and get a meter out?!! Ridiculous!

There are also one or two annoying inconsistencies. For example, in the MIT, my core voltage is given as 1.200v, whereas further on in the BIOS it's given as 1.220v. I can only presuppose that the first of those is meant to be a summary voltage.

One still worrying thought is whether there's any merit in that reported negative core temperature. I sincerely hope that Gigabyte tech support have taken that issue on board and will shortly let us all know, one way or another, if it's a definite problem and whether they've devised a fix for it.

[Dark Mantis]

One still worrying thought is whether there's any merit in that reported negative core temperature. I sincerely hope that Gigabyte tech support have taken that issue on board and will shortly let us all know, one way or another, if it's a definite problem and whether they've devised a fix for it.

You have taken out a ticket with GGTS regarding this problem haven't you. If not you can do so here as they need to be made aware of it.

GGTS   http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/Default.aspx

[forumjoe]

No, it was somebody else in these forums that had reported it to Gigabyte's Technical Service. I might take the opportunity, however, to suggest to Gigabyte that, if at all possible, they add the Battery Voltage to those that are monitored by the BIOS.

It would appear that you have to become a 'Passport' member, in order to contact the Gigabyte Technical Service. I'm not already a Passport member and I have to say that nowhere in the FAQ section concerning Passport is there anything that states that if you register you'll be able to submit a technical issue for consideration. I think this is another example of where Gigabyte haven't given quite enough information to the punter. They've provided lots of info there about membership giving you access to newsletters, etc but, on the Technical Service, there's zilch. I'm personally not interested in getting newsletters or whatever; I just want to have a one-off short, sensible 'conversation' with the technical people at Gigabyte.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

It would appear that you have to become a 'Passport' member, in order to contact the Gigabyte Technical Service

That would seem to be the case from the page shown wouldn't it but in fact all you need to do is enter your email address and click on the language of choice to enter the site. Just simply badly worded and designed.

I just want to have a one-off short, sensible 'conversation' with the technical people

I am not sure that I can guarrantee that but we wil keep our fingers crossed for you.

[forumjoe]

DM,

Earlier in this topic, you advised that I configure the BIOS to enable legacy USB devices, USB controllers, etc. I of course did that. With my keyboard (PS2) and mouse (USB) attached, the flashing of the new BIOS went swimmingly well.

But with regard to legacy USB operation, how should I play things when I install the operating system? In that situation, will I need to have "Legacy USB devices" still enabled in the BIOS?

My understanding is that Windows XP SP2/3 itself loads appropriate drivers for the keyboard and mouse, so would having "Legacy USB Devices" enabled in the BIOS when the OS is installed cause a problem?

On my old (non-Gigabyte) machine, both keyboard and mouse are PS2, so in that instance there's no value in enabling any legacy USB devices in the BIOS. But the OS obviously still installs, and I guess that by the time that the GUI of the OS first appears on the screen, the OS has installed a mouse driver (if only a temporary one) so that the installation of the OS can then be completed by clicking with the mouse.

[Dark Mantis]

Yes by enabling the Legacy USB options it just gives you control over these devices whilst in DOS mode before entering the OS. It really won't make any difference once you get to Windows whether you have them enabled or not.

[forumjoe]

Right, OK.