A8N-SLI Deluxe BIOS update

[AiponGkooja]

I've tried the tool that came with the ASUS CD and the one on the website and both of them pop up with errors when I run them. Sometimes it says "Setup program detected no ASUS motherboard" and sometimes it says "Unable to create NT driver service for BS_DEF.DLL" "NT service registry error! Please reboot NT and run again"

I have no idea what any of that means, and I don't know how to fix it. I currently have the BIOS that came with my board (1001 or 1002, don't remember which)


Btw, I DID try to find out how on their website, but my motherboard isn't even one of the options here

 

[AiponGkooja]

Also, I tried their forums...omg is that place a joke.

 

[Willoughbyva]

What OS are you using? Also double check the motherboad. It will have the model and revision on the board.

 

[AiponGkooja]

OS: Win XP Pro SP2
Motherboard: A8N-SLI Deluxe Rev 1.02

Still haven't found a way to update, although I am getting a floppy drive today.

 

[Minotar]

The Asus bios update utility does indeed work, but it is just very very fussy. It took me like 10 tries to get it to work. There was an option I had to uncheck to get to work, also try one of the other servers. Three will be listed in the update utility... I think the Taiwan server is the one that worked for me. It is a real pain in the but, so just keep trying.

 

[AiponGkooja]

Those weren't errors with the update utility, they were errors with INSTALLING the update utility. So how do I get that to work?

 

[Minotar]

What are your full system specs? Also, did you build your PC yourself or buy one from a PC vendor? It is starting to sound like you have OS corruption somewhere to me...

 

[AiponGkooja]

homebuilt:
A8N-SLI Deluxe rev 1.02 (BIOS: old) (nForce4 6.66)
AMD Athlon 54 3500+ Newcastle (stock 2.2 ghz)
2x1gb OCZ Platinum Series 2-3-2-5 (stock)
300gb maxtor 16mb buffer
BFG 7800gtx OC (DOWNCLOCKED TO 430/1230!!!! GRRRRR)
Windows XP Pro SP2
535W Enermax Whisper II

 

[Minotar]

Not sure what your problem is, but I can speculate a little... I know that the Nforce 6.66 chipset drivers should only be installed AFTER your bios has been updated... I wonder if that is causing you a problem? Have you checked for spyware and viruses? Have you been able to isntall other apps?

 

[AiponGkooja]

A8N-SLI Deluxe Bios version 1013
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

That says prior, which means before...

 

[Minotar]

Well, I am just trying to help you Interesting enough, when I updated to the 6.66 drivers, the installation told me to make sure my bios is up to date before installing. The method I used to install them, I posted previously on these boards. It is below:

"First, use the Nforce 6.66 drivers not the 6.53. Second, when you install the chipset drivers, DO NOT install the audio drivers! Those audio drivers do not work with PC's having an Nforce 4 chipset. If you installed them, you may have all sorts of problems. I recommend these steps to insure a smooth Nforce 4 chipset driver install:

1). Uninstall all Nvidia drivers (graphics and chipset)
2). Scan for spyware/viruses, clean your registry and defrag your HD
3). Update your bios
4). Install DX 9.0c
5). Install Nforce 4 drivers... DO NOT INSTALL sound drivers and I recommend against the firewall too
6). Install graphics card drivers

This should give you a smooth install..."

This is the method I used, and it worked flawlessly. You never did answer my question about spyware?

 

[AiponGkooja]

Yeah, sorry, I check for viruses and spyware periodically. I also update those and windows periodically. Once I find someone that can tell me which tools I need to update the BIOS I will try those steps.

About the "Install DX 9.0c" though, it's already installed, and can't be uninstalled, so I can just skip that one, right?

 

[Minotar]

Although it may seem as those you did everything right and there is no way something could have gone awry, Windows XP still acts on the contrary, sometimes. The reason I say install DX 9.0c is not because you may not have it installed already, it is because sometimes peices of Direct X get "messed up" when programs that interface with it get installed/uninstalled/corrupted. I have seen it many times. By reinstalling it over itself, you will repair "most" problems of this nature.

Now, I know it is a lot of work, but I recommend you at least try the things I am recommending. Who knows, something may have gotten damaged in your registry. It happens all the time.

As far as updating your bios. The only other way I know to do it is manually using a floppy disk. This is a real pain in the arse and Asus' website has instructions on how to do it. Good luck with everything!

 

[AiponGkooja]

With the floppy method, don't you still need the flash tool? If not then I can definitely try that way. Also, could I burn it to a cd instead?

If I do need it, which flash tool would I get from here with the A8N-SLI Deluxe mobo?

That's kind of what I've been asking this whole time, but nobody seems to answer/know, even though a lot of people have this mobo with an updated bios. *points accusingly*

Edit: I even browsed their ftp (here) and they just DON'T seem to have my motherboard listed...

Edit: Also, I might as well ask this: What's the right way to uninstall the nforce4 drivers? I know where the video drivers are in "add/remove programs", but the other ones under the nVidia driver section are "Ethernet driver components" and "nForce PCI System Management Driver"

 

[Minotar]

Page 4-7 of your motherboard manual details how to flash your bios with a floppy disc. If you lost your manual, you can download the pdf version from Asus' website. You need to download your correct bios version and save it to a "bootable" floppy (go to Microsoft's website to see how to make one of those). Here is the place to get your bios: http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
Your board is the A8N-SLI deluxe, right? As for the Nvidia driver uninstall, my add/remove programs menu just has "Nvidia Drivers" listed. When you select that, select all the Nvidia drivers from the menu and uninstall them. I hope that I have finally helped you with your problem Let me know how you make out.

 

[AiponGkooja]

Finally got the BIOS updated. Used alt+F2 on the start up screen with the Bios .bin file on a cd. Never knew about that method and nobody told me about it!!!! GRRRAAWWWRRR So yeah, that's all good and happy now. Thanks for all your help

Now I just have to see if it fixed the problems with my 7800gtx artifacts.

Thanks again,
Aip