A8N-SLI DLX BIOS INSTALL ORDER

[vinayb]

Hi,
Im using an ASUS A8N-SLI DLX. Ive never flashed bioses before. I wanted to know if u can install bios version 1004 on a 1002 or do you have to install 1003 and then 1004? Also, how do I check which bios my board has?

 

[imported_slippy]

If you are on windows, use the asus update utility that it talks about in the manual, that should give you the information you need to know. It is not recommended to use this utility to install the beta bioses because the program can only upgrade upward, and since the betas are always like this 1005.3 or 1005.5, if you update with those asus utility will refuse to put on the 1005 final when it is finally released. Asus messed that one up for certain.

And the bios is "flashed", meaning it completely replaces the previous bios, so you should have no problem jumping from 1002 to 1004.

 

[housecat]

i'd stay away from the beta releases anyway.

i use final versions only for my own rig. but i put 1003final (newest when i got my board) after I got it up and running.

if you do decide to run the 1005beta, to go to 1004final or 1005final when its out, all you need to do is put it on a blank floppy (assuming you still put those in your systems like i do), and hit alt-F2 on bootup and it flashes it.

 

[mofrack]

Originally posted by: slippy
If you are on windows, use the asus update utility that it talks about in the manual, that should give you the information you need to know. It is not recommended to use this utility to install the beta bioses because the program can only upgrade upward, and since the betas are always like this 1005.3 or 1005.5, if you update with those asus utility will refuse to put on the 1005 final when it is finally released. Asus messed that one up for certain.

And the bios is "flashed", meaning it completely replaces the previous bios, so you should have no problem jumping from 1002 to 1004.

I dont know WHY people keep saying this about the WinFlash util from Asus. YOU CAN FLASH TO ANY VERSION FROM ANY VERSION, there is an option (a check box) to let you flash to previous BIOS versions. Just dont be OCed when using Winflash to flash your BIOS, and you should be fine.

 

[SenorBiggles]

Originally posted by: slippy
If you are on windows, use the asus update utility that it talks about in the manual, that should give you the information you need to know. It is not recommended to use this utility to install the beta bioses because the program can only upgrade upward, and since the betas are always like this 1005.3 or 1005.5, if you update with those asus utility will refuse to put on the 1005 final when it is finally released. Asus messed that one up for certain.

And the bios is "flashed", meaning it completely replaces the previous bios, so you should have no problem jumping from 1002 to 1004.

what the hell are you talking about? I flashed the 1004 final over a 1004 beta I was running without a single problem using the asus update utility.

 

[macewank]

the autodownloader might not see the bios if it checks, but you can use asusupdate to flash whatever you want to..

 

[housecat]

Yeah BTW that guy was right, you can switch an option in the autoupdater to allow for flashing to "older" bioses

 

[imported_slippy]

Only 5 or 6 people complained about it on this board. Of course I didn't have that problem, since I flashed from a floppy... but why would you risk your system to a beta bios anyways, it's pretty stupid considering it could cause problems which might lead to the corruption of your hard disks. Unless you really enjoy reformatting your disk and reloading your OS multiple times. Some people might prefer a stable system.

But, about that issue before, I was just repeating what more than a few people mentioned here in an effort to help, and regardless, I wouldn't recommend using a beta anyways, unless you dont have data important enough on your system that you can risk being a beta tester, and you like to spend time formatting and loading things.

 

[mofrack]

Originally posted by: slippy
Only 5 or 6 people complained about it on this board. Of course I didn't have that problem, since I flashed from a floppy... but why would you risk your system to a beta bios anyways, it's pretty stupid considering it could cause problems which might lead to the corruption of your hard disks. Unless you really enjoy reformatting your disk and reloading your OS multiple times. Some people might prefer a stable system.

But, about that issue before, I was just repeating what more than a few people mentioned here in an effort to help, and regardless, I wouldn't recommend using a beta anyways, unless you dont have data important enough on your system that you can risk being a beta tester, and you like to spend time formatting and loading things.

I do have to agree that running a beta BIOS release is always a crapshoot...

However, anyone who is considering flashing a beta BIOS to their board should have enough sense not to, if they have any data that they're worried about.

I can remember several times over the past few years when a beta BIOS has fixed problems present in earlier final releases. Case in point: on the 1.04 revision A7N8X Deluxe, SATA RAID 0 corruption on the Sil3112 controller was first resolved via a beta of BIOS 1005, before the final 1005 was released for it.

Also, I do believe that AsusUpdate v6.03.01 or higher is required to flash older or beta BIOSes. Using an earlier version may cause some of the problems you stated before, I dunno...

 

[vinayb]

thankx a lot guys... btw I would rather throw my comp from the top floor rather than even think of installin a beta bios on it... great help

 

[housecat]

Originally posted by: vinayb
thankx a lot guys... btw I would rather throw my comp from the top floor rather than even think of installin a beta bios on it... great help

lol word.

but i doubt asus's beta bios are TRULEY beta... like some unfinished horrible crapshot.. i didnt have any bad luck with any of them.. i just prefer to not use them on MY system.

but its prob not going to wreak havoc. just no guarantee it wont either.