How to update BIOS on 4CoreDual-VSTA

[GT]

I have also posted this question on the OCWorkbench website too, so will
update everyone here if I get any help there.

I have just upgraded from Athlon 2400+ on a Soltek board to Core 2 Duo e6400
on an Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA PT880 Ultra board. I want to update the BIOS on
the above board. However, I have no floppy disk drive and my Win98 Boot CD
won't work with this board. Is there any other way I can get to DOS to
update my BIOS?

Perhaps a better question would be, why would my Win98 Boot CD not work with
this board. The boot starts from CD just fine, the screen says loading
Windows 98, then PC hangs. Is this perhaps something to do with the dual
core processor (HAL)??

I have a WindowsXP laptop with CD burner and Nero, so can I make a DOS boot
CD that will work with the e6400 on the ASrock board? Can I use the full CD
space on a boot disk or is it limited to 1.44MB? I might stick my i386 XPSP2
folder on there and a few drivers too if I can use the full CD space.

Cheers,

GT

 

[Grinder]

I have also posted this question on the OCWorkbench website too, so will
update everyone here if I get any help there.

I have just upgraded from Athlon 2400+ on a Soltek board to Core 2 Duo e6400
on an Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA PT880 Ultra board. I want to update the BIOS on
the above board. However, I have no floppy disk drive and my Win98 Boot CD
won't work with this board. Is there any other way I can get to DOS to
update my BIOS?

Perhaps a better question would be, why would my Win98 Boot CD not work with
this board. The boot starts from CD just fine, the screen says loading
Windows 98, then PC hangs. Is this perhaps something to do with the dual
core processor (HAL)??

I have a WindowsXP laptop with CD burner and Nero, so can I make a DOS boot
CD that will work with the e6400 on the ASrock board?

Most likely, yes.

Can I use the full CD
space on a boot disk or is it limited to 1.44MB?
Yes.

I might stick my i386 XPSP2
folder on there and a few drivers too if I can use the full CD space.

You can also probably boot from a USB drive.

 

[Grinder]

I have also posted this question on the OCWorkbench website too, so will
update everyone here if I get any help there.

I have just upgraded from Athlon 2400+ on a Soltek board to Core 2 Duo e6400
on an Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA PT880 Ultra board. I want to update the BIOS on
the above board. However, I have no floppy disk drive and my Win98 Boot CD
won't work with this board. Is there any other way I can get to DOS to
update my BIOS?

Perhaps a better question would be, why would my Win98 Boot CD not work with
this board. The boot starts from CD just fine, the screen says loading
Windows 98, then PC hangs. Is this perhaps something to do with the dual
core processor (HAL)??

I have a WindowsXP laptop with CD burner and Nero, so can I make a DOS boot
CD that will work with the e6400 on the ASrock board? Can I use the full CD
space on a boot disk or is it limited to 1.44MB? I might stick my i386 XPSP2
folder on there and a few drivers too if I can use the full CD space.

I forgot to mention: That mainboard has a floppy connector, so you could
just go to your local hardware dealer and by a floppy drive, or borrow
one from another machine. My guy here is asking $8 for a Sony floppy
drive with cable.

 

[GT]

I forgot to mention: That mainboard has a floppy connector, so you could
just go to your local hardware dealer and by a floppy drive, or borrow one
from another machine. My guy here is asking $8 for a Sony floppy drive
with cable.

Do I actually need to boot to DOS to flash the BIOS? I thought it was
essential to boot into DOS to update a BIOS, but someone just posted a reply
in the OCWorkbench website to say he updates his BIOS in windows! I am not
going to try it unless there is an overwhelming response in here!

 

[Grinder]

Do I actually need to boot to DOS to flash the BIOS? I thought it was
essential to boot into DOS to update a BIOS, but someone just posted a reply
in the OCWorkbench website to say he updates his BIOS in windows! I am not
going to try it unless there is an overwhelming response in here!

I have seen firmware/BIOS updaters that run in Windows. Given the
absolute catastrophe that can occur from a failed BIOS update, though, I
would attempt to mitigate my risk.

If there's room in your chassis for a floppy drive, I think I would
probably just spend the $0-$10 to install one. I hadn't used mine in
years, then recently I needed to prep a machine that would not boot a
CD. I was at least $8 worth of glad that I had it.

 

[Mike Walsh]

I have also posted this question on the OCWorkbench website too, so will
update everyone here if I get any help there.

I have just upgraded from Athlon 2400+ on a Soltek board to Core 2 Duo e6400
on an Asrock 4CoreDual-VSTA PT880 Ultra board. I want to update the BIOS on
the above board. However, I have no floppy disk drive and my Win98 Boot CD
won't work with this board. Is there any other way I can get to DOS to
update my BIOS?

Perhaps a better question would be, why would my Win98 Boot CD not work with
this board. The boot starts from CD just fine, the screen says loading
Windows 98, then PC hangs. Is this perhaps something to do with the dual
core processor (HAL)??

If I recall correctly if it stops with the "loading windows98" screen it is most likely having trouble reading the media. Try pressing F8 to get a prompt for each step when loading files. DOS should run on the PC, but using only 1 processor.

I have a WindowsXP laptop with CD burner and Nero, so can I make a DOS boot
CD that will work with the e6400 on the ASrock board? Can I use the full CD
space on a boot disk or is it limited to 1.44MB? I might stick my i386 XPSP2
folder on there and a few drivers too if I can use the full CD space.

With Nero you can create a boot CD using a disk image. While a floppy is usually used for the image you could also use e.g. a 700 MB hard drive partition. If you are limited to a 1.44 MB image the rest of the CD can be accessed as a normal CD.

 

[GT]

I have just upgraded from Athlon 2400+ on a Soltek board to Core 2 Duo

If I recall correctly if it stops with the "loading windows98" screen it
is most likely having trouble reading the media. Try pressing F8 to get a
prompt for each step when loading files. DOS should run on the PC, but
using only 1 processor.

This is what I thought, but f8, f5 and holding down shift (by-pass config +
autoexec) doesn't work. The PC hangs as soon as "Starting Windows 98" text
appears!

The CD is OK, so is the drive - they both worked last week with my old
m/board.

This is very strange, but the only difference is the m/board+cpu!

 

[Plato]

BIOS upgrade bootdisks below:

 

[wasbit]

This is the Asrock page for your motherboard,
http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?Model=775Dual-VSTA

Click on 'Bios & Drivers Download' on the left to take you to,
http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=775Dual-VSTA&s=

Scroll down to the bios list where you will see two versions of each bios.
The newest bios will contain all older updates.

If you are comfortable with creating a dos boot floppy, click on the 'i'
next to the bios for information, and download the dos version - this is the
safest method.

Otherwise download the Windows version.
Put the bios in a place of your choosing (it doesn't really matter where)
and unzip it (for which you might need a zip programme).
Before use, disconnect from the internet, turn off any programmes running in
the background eg anti virus and anti spyware (right click on the task bar),
select Task manager and use the Applications tab to close open programmes
(also the processes tab to kill any unwanted processes - if neccessary).
Now double click on the bios update and follow the instructions.
The process only takes a minute and as with any form of bios flashing a
power failure will leave you without a bios.
Luckily this board has a removable bios chip which can be sent away for
reflashing.

 

[wasbit]

Ooops wrong pages.
The correct ones are
http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=4CoreDual-VSTA&s=n
&
http://www.asrock.com/mb/download.asp?Model=4CoreDual-VSTA&s=n

Don't try flashing with the wrong bios.