ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE upgrade BIOS to 1016

[pc]

I am totally bewildered by the latest ASUS BIOS download for the ASUS
A8N-SLI DELUXE.

I download the BIOS. Great. What flash tool? It implies I need
awadflash.exe v1.14, but that's not to be found. I have ASUS update
V6.10.02 installed, I'll try that. But first....

It instructs me to update chipset drivers to V6.65 or later. Great. I
download and expand the zip file. It's got 10 files called
MAKEDISK.EXE in it. Jesus.

So, I'm running XP 32 bit. That narrows it down to two files with
PATARAID and SATARAID in the names. What do I nead PATARAID for? Does
the IDE interface support RAID? News to me.

I run the programs and make floppies. The download page says the OS is
DOS. Since the source is called MAKEDISK.exe I assume it will make a
bootable floppy. NOT.

What in the blazes am I spoda do with these things???? Put them on a
DOS bootable disc? That's easy, but at this point I'm not comfortable
going any further because the damn instructions are sooooo cryptic.
What's wrong with these people?

Your inputs would be greatly appreciated.

pc

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@


Following is from the ASUS download site:

Version 1016 2005/12/21update

OS DOS

Description A8N-SLI Deluxe Bios version 1016
Please do read the description before updating BIOS
To avoid crashing file system, please do update the chipset driver to
below version prior to this Bios.
For WinXP 32bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.65 or later
For WinXP 64bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.65 or later
For Win2k/2003 32bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.66 or later
For Win2003 64bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.66 or later
1- Support new CPUs. Please refer to our website at:
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx
2- Update awdflash.exe to v1.14
3- Remove 2.88MB floppy item value

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Here's the contents of the floppy that sataraid makedisc builds:

12/21/2004 05:19 PM 5 disk1
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 300,032 idecoi.dll
05/31/2005 01:11 AM 9,341 nvata.cat
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 92,800 nvatabus.sys
05/14/2005 02:56 PM 32,768 nvcoi.dll
04/22/2005 02:35 AM 5,194 nvide.nvu
05/24/2005 01:15 PM 5,182 nvraid.inf
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 76,288 nvraid.sys
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 19,456 nvraidco.dll
05/14/2005 02:56 PM 176,128 nvuide.exe
05/17/2005 05:43 PM 4,701 txtsetup.oem

 

[imdone2]

I am totally bewildered by the latest ASUS BIOS download for the ASUS
A8N-SLI DELUXE.

I download the BIOS. Great. What flash tool? It implies I need
awadflash.exe v1.14, but that's not to be found. I have ASUS update
V6.10.02 installed, I'll try that. But first....

It instructs me to update chipset drivers to V6.65 or later. Great. I
download and expand the zip file. It's got 10 files called
MAKEDISK.EXE in it. Jesus.

So, I'm running XP 32 bit. That narrows it down to two files with
PATARAID and SATARAID in the names. What do I nead PATARAID for? Does
the IDE interface support RAID? News to me.

I run the programs and make floppies. The download page says the OS is
DOS. Since the source is called MAKEDISK.exe I assume it will make a
bootable floppy. NOT.

What in the blazes am I spoda do with these things???? Put them on a
DOS bootable disc? That's easy, but at this point I'm not comfortable
going any further because the damn instructions are sooooo cryptic.
What's wrong with these people?

Your inputs would be greatly appreciated.

pc

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@


Following is from the ASUS download site:

Version 1016 2005/12/21update

OS DOS

Description A8N-SLI Deluxe Bios version 1016
Please do read the description before updating BIOS
To avoid crashing file system, please do update the chipset driver to
below version prior to this Bios.
For WinXP 32bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.65 or later
For WinXP 64bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.65 or later
For Win2k/2003 32bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.66 or later
For Win2003 64bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.66 or later
1- Support new CPUs. Please refer to our website at:
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx
2- Update awdflash.exe to v1.14
3- Remove 2.88MB floppy item value

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Here's the contents of the floppy that sataraid makedisc builds:

12/21/2004 05:19 PM 5 disk1
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 300,032 idecoi.dll
05/31/2005 01:11 AM 9,341 nvata.cat
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 92,800 nvatabus.sys
05/14/2005 02:56 PM 32,768 nvcoi.dll
04/22/2005 02:35 AM 5,194 nvide.nvu
05/24/2005 01:15 PM 5,182 nvraid.inf
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 76,288 nvraid.sys
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 19,456 nvraidco.dll
05/14/2005 02:56 PM 176,128 nvuide.exe
05/17/2005 05:43 PM 4,701 txtsetup.oem

Try: ftp://ftp.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/AWDFLASH114.zip

 

[milleron]

I am totally bewildered by the latest ASUS BIOS download for the ASUS
A8N-SLI DELUXE.

I download the BIOS. Great. What flash tool? It implies I need
awadflash.exe v1.14, but that's not to be found. I have ASUS update
V6.10.02 installed, I'll try that. But first....

It instructs me to update chipset drivers to V6.65 or later. Great. I
download and expand the zip file. It's got 10 files called
MAKEDISK.EXE in it. Jesus.

So, I'm running XP 32 bit. That narrows it down to two files with
PATARAID and SATARAID in the names. What do I nead PATARAID for? Does
the IDE interface support RAID? News to me.

I run the programs and make floppies. The download page says the OS is
DOS. Since the source is called MAKEDISK.exe I assume it will make a
bootable floppy. NOT.

What in the blazes am I spoda do with these things???? Put them on a
DOS bootable disc? That's easy, but at this point I'm not comfortable
going any further because the damn instructions are sooooo cryptic.
What's wrong with these people?

Your inputs would be greatly appreciated.

pc

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@


Following is from the ASUS download site:

Version 1016 2005/12/21update

OS DOS

Description A8N-SLI Deluxe Bios version 1016
Please do read the description before updating BIOS
To avoid crashing file system, please do update the chipset driver to
below version prior to this Bios.
For WinXP 32bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.65 or later
For WinXP 64bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.65 or later
For Win2k/2003 32bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.66 or later
For Win2003 64bit system, please download and update chipset drivers
V6.66 or later
1- Support new CPUs. Please refer to our website at:
http://support.asus.com/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx
2- Update awdflash.exe to v1.14
3- Remove 2.88MB floppy item value

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Here's the contents of the floppy that sataraid makedisc builds:

12/21/2004 05:19 PM 5 disk1
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 300,032 idecoi.dll
05/31/2005 01:11 AM 9,341 nvata.cat
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 92,800 nvatabus.sys
05/14/2005 02:56 PM 32,768 nvcoi.dll
04/22/2005 02:35 AM 5,194 nvide.nvu
05/24/2005 01:15 PM 5,182 nvraid.inf
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 76,288 nvraid.sys
05/17/2005 05:45 PM 19,456 nvraidco.dll
05/14/2005 02:56 PM 176,128 nvuide.exe
05/17/2005 05:43 PM 4,701 txtsetup.oem

The nVidia platform driver you should have downloaded from nVidia
comes with a setup program that you run from within Windows XP. These
are basically Windows drivers and programs that canNOT be run from a
boot floppy, and there's certainly no reason I can think of to
transfer them to floppies.
If you start your download here
http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_nf4_winxp32_amd_6.70.html , you
should get the EXE file that you can run without unzipping. Assuming
that you want the English-language version, the current file is
"nForce4_amd_6.70_winxp2k_english.exe."

You mentioned that you were looking for "awadflash.exe." I think
hat's a typo, and that may have been why you couldn't find it. The
actual file you search for is "awdflash.exe." That said, with this
motherboard, you don't need an external flash utility because there's
one built into the BIOS -- EZ Flash -- that works perfectly. During
POST, just enter ALT+F2 to launch it. You then just need to insert a
floppy with the downloaded BIOS file and follow the prompts. This
floppy needn't be bootable and you need nothing on it other than the
BIOS file. In other words, awdflash.exe is an acceptable way to flash
your BIOS, but it's not necessary, and I would recommend using EZ
Flash, instead.

Asus is pretty explicit with the advice to upgrade the chipset driver
to a version of 6.65 or later BEFORE flashing the latest BIOS versions
in order to avoid file-system corruption.


Ron

 

[Paul]

I am totally bewildered by the latest ASUS BIOS download for the ASUS
A8N-SLI DELUXE.

I download the BIOS. Great. What flash tool? It implies I need
awadflash.exe v1.14, but that's not to be found. I have ASUS update
V6.10.02 installed, I'll try that. But first....

Have a look here. The FTP directories use the same path structure as
the Support/Download page, and that can give you a few hints as to where
to look for stuff. You might also explore your motherboard CD, as there
can be some interesting files on there that may not be obvious if you use
the interface that appears when you load the CD into the drive. It is better
to access these tools from a Download page, as there can be warnings
associated with downloadable tools, and just getting them from an
FTP link means you won't see those warnings.

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/

It instructs me to update chipset drivers to V6.65 or later. Great. I
download and expand the zip file. It's got 10 files called
MAKEDISK.EXE in it. Jesus.

Makedisk is used to make a floppy disk, for the F6 "install driver" stage
of a Windows install. If you are updating the drivers on an existing
install, the 30MB full installer might be a better choice. The 30MB
installer likely has an InstallShield to do the job for you. (In these
days of bloated universal installers, you'd be amazed how much of these
downloads simply isn't necessary. I was on a dialup modem over the
holidays and basically I couldn't repair squat on the computer I was
on, due to the "bloat" issue. Some of these installers have support for
like 20 languages, and an installer 1/20th the size, for a specific
language, would be a pleasant alternative.)

You could likely copy one of the folders from the 30MB download, onto
a floppy disk, and not use the Makedisk. That is if you needed to do
an F6 during Windows install or repair install.

I had a quick look and you're right. I cannot find docs to help you
understand what to do with a Makedisk executable. And going around
double clicking files until something happens is not exactly a clever
way to use computers - they should have included a quick note to go
with the download.

So, I'm running XP 32 bit. That narrows it down to two files with
PATARAID and SATARAID in the names. What do I nead PATARAID for? Does
the IDE interface support RAID? News to me.

Nvidia is getting better at listing and explaining features on their
chipsets. Down at the bottom of this page, it mentions that their
RAID functions can span PATA + SATA disks. I've never read any
experiences in this group, mixing the two, so don't know whether
it works well or not.

http://www.nvidia.com/page/pg_20041015917263.html

I run the programs and make floppies. The download page says the OS is
DOS. Since the source is called MAKEDISK.exe I assume it will make a
bootable floppy. NOT.

What in the blazes am I spoda do with these things???? Put them on a
DOS bootable disc? That's easy, but at this point I'm not comfortable
going any further because the damn instructions are sooooo cryptic.
What's wrong with these people?

The floppy you made, would be best if installing the OS for the first
time, or if you were doing a repair install to a disk moved from another
computer to this new motherboard.

I really recommend using the full (30MB) installer, just in case it
gives you an "Add/Remove" option for the list of installed software
on your computer. If you ever needed to back out, having InstallShield
clean up the mess is better than getting in there with a screwdriver
and trying to fix it by hand.

Generally speaking, if a folder has a .INF file in it, double clicking
on that may install whatever is in the directory. (At least I've had
that experience on one of my older Windows machines.) But some installer
directories have multiple .INF files, and figuring out what they do
is a painful way to do things. I think you can also go to Device Manager
and request to update a driver for a device in there, then point
Windows to the folder containing the .INF file. Using a proper installer
is a lot better than either of those options.

Your inputs would be greatly appreciated.

pc

<<snipped the file list>>

HTH,
Paul