Official GIGABYTE Forum
Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with Intel processors => Topic started by: forumjoe on November 18, 2010, 01:55:35 pm
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I'm in the process of commissioning a new machine and before installing the operating system I'm wanting to update the BIOS of my US3L mobo, from version FE to version FH. For this, I'm intending to use Q-Flash, which is apparently a utility that's embedded in the BIOS and which can be entered during the POST by pressing the End key. Since the re-writing of the BIOS PROM can take a few minutes to complete, I'm wondering what the system fans will be doing during that period. Will they continue to run? Obviously, if they don't run - the CPU cooler fan, in particular - there could be a risk of the CPU rapidly overheating.
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You don't need to worry as all the normal system will continue to run. If you are planning to use a USB pendrive for the update don't forget to enable Legacy USB Storage and Legacy USB Devices in the BIOS first.
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Thanks.
Just been looking at one or two different PDFs on the Q-Flash utility. They don't seem to agree on the procedure. The instructions in my mobo user manual are different again. As a result, I've a couple of queries:
1. I'll be using a floppy disc and preparing it on my old machine. I've downloaded and executed the BIOS exe file. It extracts into three files - a Flash executive, the binary update itself, and autoexec.bat. In order to run the utility directly in the BIOS, do I need to put all three of those files on to the floppy, or just the binary? In other words, in the case of the Q-Flash utility, are autoexec. bat and the executive file already there, in BIOS ROM?
2. Do I need, at some initial stage, to set the floppy drive as the first boot device, or is that completely unnecessary when you press the End key during POST to automatically enter the Q-Flash utility?
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If you are using a floppy make sure that both computers can read it as sometimes they can be a bit finicky.
Put all three files onto the floppy disk and make it is bootable.
Insert the disk into the destination computer and then reboot.
As it is booting press the "End" key to take you into the QFlash utility.
From there disable the Keep DMI Data on the home page and continue.
Navigate to the BIOS file on the floppy disk and continue.
Let it save the original BIOS if given the oportunity and then copy the new BIOS to the computer.
Once complete you can remove the floppy, reboot and press "DEL" to enter the BIOS.
From there load Optimised BIOS Defaults and make any changes you want to.
Save and exit.
Simples.
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Do you really mean "bootable", or do you just mean "readable by the destination computer"? In nothing I've recently read on this has there been a mention of needing to make the floppy a bootable one.
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Yes it doesn't need to be bootable as such. My bad.
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Yeh, thought that was a bit odd, as this embedded utility is supposed to save a lot of preparatory work. Making a bootable floppy would otherwise involve messing about with a Windows 98 startup floppy.
Are you absolutely sure, though, that autoexec.bat and the Flash utility itself are required on the floppy? I appreciate that BIOS-flashing utilities have moved on somewhat over the past decade but when flashing a new BIOS on my current machine (by the traditional method of using a bootable floppy) it's highly advised to delete from the floppy disc, among other files, autoexec.bat. And, as I say, there's no mention in my user manual either of needing to put all three files on to the floppy, in the case of this new BIOS. It simply says "Extract the file and save the new BIOS file (eg. P55UD3L2.fl) to your floppy disk, USB flash drive, or hard drive". It then goes on to say "Restart the system. During the POST, press the End key to enter Q-Flash .....". It seems that, depending on the type of flashing involved, certain files other than the binary file itself being on the disc can sometimes cause the flashing to fail.
Could it be that the only reason why three files are obtained from the extraction, rather than just one, is that Gigabyte haven't as yet bothered to produce a zip file with just the binary in it? In other words, that the downloadable exe is an old legacy format?
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Yes I understand what you mean as what is the point of having autoexec.bat etc on the disk if you are not trying to boot from it. Maybe it is just a throwback that hasn't been resolved yet. The only file you actually use is the BIOS update file when doing the flash. Try removing the other two and see if it still finds it alright.
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This is getting crazy. I tried putting the new file on to the newly-formatted floppy but Windows refused, saying that the file was too big. Well, according to the information on the BIOS that's published on both the Gigabyte UK and global websites, that file should be only 0.9MB in size. Looking now at its properties, it's around 2MB. So, what's going on?
I'll try downloading and extracting the file again.
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You are using a 1.44MB floppy disk not a 720KB ?
I have just checked a BIOS file I have here and it would fit no problem.
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Eh? I've never heard of a 720MB floppy disc. A 720MB CD, maybe, but not a 720MB floppy disc. There's no such thing, surely?
Yes, it's a 1.44MB floppy disc I'm using. Bog standard setup.
I downloaded the comnpressed file a second time and extracted it again. The BIOS file is definitely 2MB. It's nothing like the 0.9MB that Gigabyte reckon it is, on the website. Clearly, the compressed file is even bigger.
See for yourself. Find the P55-US3L product (Board Revn. 2.0), click on Downloads, set the OS to WinXP 32-bit, then choose BIOS. I downloaded from the Europe site. It's a small compressed file, so takes only a few seconds to download.
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Yes I have indeed just checked and the extracted file is 2 MB in size. So that kicks into touch the floppy disk update doesn't it. You will have to use a USB pendrive instead.
Try the smallest one you can find.
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I was just in the middle of typing a message to Technical Support when it dawned on me what the explanation is. The 0.9MB is the compressed size of the downloadable file, not the size of the BIOS file. Errh, doh!
Obviously, that 2MB BIOS file can't go on a floppy disc. I'll have to use my pen-type USB flash drive instead. It'll be the first time I'll have used a flash drive for updating a BIOS. Keeping my fingers crossed.
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It is pretty much the same apart from actually getting the machine to see the drive. Make sure that you make the changes in the BIOS as I mentioned earlier and I would also disable the floppy for now while you are there. You can enable it again afterwards if you want to. When you go into the QFlash don't forget to disable the Keep DMI Data and when you are looking for the file it will probably display it as a hard drive.
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All you need is the BIOS file on the floppy or USB to flash with Qflash, in this case though P55 BIOS wont fit on floppy of course.
So all you need is the .Fxx file on your USB, the USB must be FAT12/16/32 and you must have the above mentioned options enabled in the BIOS, then leave the USB Stick installed and boot to Qflash and then you will see the USB listed as a HDD browse it and you will find the BIOS file.
It will then give you a 4 digit checksum, proceed with the flash after that and you will be done.
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Tah!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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. ;D
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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.
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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.
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Right, OK.