Actually, flashing an Asus can be simpler than that. I have a P4P800E
deluxe, and it can use the EZ flash method. All you need is a formatted
floppy (NOT bootable, no OS is needed on it). All that needs to be on it is
the .ROM file. What is important though for this method, is to make sure it
is inserted when powering on, and to press <ALT-F2> during POST. The
EZ-flash in the BIOS knows enough to read the floppy and reprogram the BIOS
by itself. The name of the .ROM file on the floppy needs to be exactly
correct however. (usually the model name.ROM, for example, mine would be
P4P800-E.ROM)
I am pretty sure the P4S800DE also supports this.
As the the problem of not being able to see the SATA drive, it could be that
he has it setup to treat the SATA as a RAID drive rather than an IDE drive.
There is a setting in the BIOS called "Configure SATA as RAID", if set to
No, then it should not be necessary to load special drivers. I have no
problem on my Asus as long as the SATA mode is not set as RAID.
Russ Poffenberger
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: PCBUILD - Personal Computer Hardware discussion List
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Tom Mayer
Sent: Friday, November 18, 2005 11:14 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] PC Build
I have an ASUS motherboard and the floppy flash BIOS does work. First, is
the floppy disk formatted as a bootable disk and in good condition? In
addition to the BIOS update file, the flash update program needs to be on
the floppy. Sorry for the length, but following are the directions I
received:
Managing and Updating Your BIOS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
1.1 Upon First Use of the Computer System
It is recommended that you save a copy of the original motherboard BIOS
along with a Flash Memory Writer utility (AFLASH.EXE) to a bootable floppy
disk in case you need to reinstall the BIOS later. AFLASH.EXE is a Flash
Memory Writer utility that updates the BIOS by uploading a new BIOS file to
the programmable flash ROM on the motherboard. This file works only in DOS
mode. To determine the BIOS version of your motherboard, check the last four
numbers of the code displayed on the upper left-hand corner of your screen
during bootup. Larger numbers represent a newer BIOS file.
1. Type FORMAT A:/S at the DOS prompt to create a bootable system floppy
disk.
DO NOT copy AUTOEXEC.BAT & CONFIG.SYS to the disk.
2. Type COPY D:\AFLASH\AFLASH.EXE A:\ (assuming D is your CD-ROM drive) to
copy
AFLASH.EXE to the just created boot disk. NOTE: AFLASH works only in
DOS mode. It will not work with DOS prompt in Windows and will
not work with certain memory drivers that may be loaded when you
boot from your hard
drive. It is recommended that you reboot using a floppy.
3. Reboot your computer from the floppy disk.
NOTE: BIOS setup must specify floppy as the first item in the boot
sequence.
4. In DOS mode, type A:\AFLASH <Enter> to run AFLASH.
5. Select 1. Save Current BIOS to File from the Main menu and press <Enter>.
The Save Current BIOS To File screen appears.
6. Type a filename and the path, for example, A:\XXX-XX.XXX and then press
<Enter>.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------
1.2 Updating BIOS Procedures
1. Download an updated ASUS BIOS file from the Internet (WWW or FTP)
(see ASUS CONTACT INFORMATION on User Ma for details) and save to the
disk you created earlier.
2. Boot from the disk you created earlier.
3. At the A:\ prompt, type AFLASH and then press <Enter>.
4. At the Main Menu, type 2 and then press <Enter>.
The Update BIOS Including Boot Block and ESCD screen appears.
5. Type the filename of your new BIOS and the path, for example,
A:\XXX-XX.XXX, and then press <Enter>.
NOTE: To cancel this operation, press <Enter>.
6. When prompted to confirm the BIOS update, press Y to start the update.
7. The utility starts to program the new BIOS information into the flash
ROM. The boot block will be
updated automatically only when necessary. This will minimize the chance
that a failed update will
prevent your system from booting up. When the programming is finished,
Flashed Successfully will
be displayed.
NOTE: When you see the message "Boot Block is different" you may still
press <Y> to update the BIOS.
Yet if the update fails, your system will run a greater risk of
boot failure depending on
whether the boot block is damaged or not.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions to continue.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Antonio" <[log in to unmask]>
Hi everybody:
I have an Asus P4S800D-E deluxe motherboard. I try installing window Xp
media center 2005 on it but it told it could not find a hard drive; I have a
SATA 74 GB Western digital HD, I check the cables but they seem fine. When
the system boots it could see the HD but doesn't detect the serial devices,
it says PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SERIALS DEVICES NOT FOUND, BUT ON THE BOOT
SETUP IT SEES THE HD, I went to ASUS found a patch for the BIOS to fix the
SATA HD problem, the manual tell me to download to a floppy and change the
file name to P4S800DE.ROM to update the bios using the Asus EZ flash
update, so I boot the pc press the keys the manual say Alt + f2, I insert
the floppy in it; it find the floppy drive but it don't find the file, I try
do it again, I reset the system, but I get the same thing, so I erase the
file fro m the floppy and download it again, and make sure the file it has
the correct name before I saved it,but I still get the same problem, there
other two ways to flash the bios but, one of them requires to be in windows
and the other require a floppy; (thank if your'll still reading this, hope
you get it),so I don't know what else to try, I don't want to use an IDE
hard Drive, because I will have to buy it, and the serial drive the I bought
is expensive,and don't have the money for a new board, so my only option is
to flash the bios, the pc sees the floppy drive so I don't think that the
problem; any suggestions? anything I haven't think about, please help me.
Sincerely Thank you
Antonio Figueroa
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