Help Updating Award Flash Bios on ASUS P3V4X Motherboard in Windows 2000 Pro

[wizjr2005 0]

Hello All!

 

I hope someone can help me. I have just purchased an old Asus P3V4X Motherboard on Ebay for my older machine and would like to update the Bios. I am having trouble getting into DOS so that I can run AWDFLASH. I have tried making a boot disk but it just starts windows normally and I cannot figure this out. I want to update the bios to the newest version so that I can put in a P3 1000mhz and then install Window XP Pro. This will give my old machine at least some of the capability of My new P4 System. Please help if you can.

 

Thanks,

 

wizjr2005

[Wilhelmus 1]

Have you changed the boot order in BIOS? Make sure that floppy drive is before than hard disk. Recommended order is floppy, cdrom and hdd.

 

[packman 0]

wizjr2005,

 

I might be able to help you, as I used to use a P3V4X some years ago. I've still got the machine. It still works. It's one I built myself.

 

Are you sure you need to update its BIOS? The version to which I updated was v6.0, Revn 1005. With Win2K, I didn't need to go further than that.

 

I made quite a lot of notes on my P3V4X machine and successfully used Win2K on it for a number of years. In particular, I made a record of all the settings in the BIOS.

 

I would not advise you to re-flash the BIOS unless you've got the little handbook on the P3V4X. In fact, I'd go further than that and say that you must be especially careful with ANY motherboard and BIOS as to which jumpers and BIOS settings to disable while you're doing it, as otherwise you can easily damage clock chips and other components on the board and not realise it.

 

So, to answer your question, there are things you need to set in the existing BIOS, plus jumpers you need to temporarily change on the motherboard, before running the AWDFLASH.

 

Incidentally, there was always controversy over Asus's ever-evolving 4-in-1 chipset drivers, but I and others always found that the version 4.32 worked (available as 4in1432.zip). Check with Asus that the v4.32 is equally suitable for WinXP.

 

If and when you've done the BIOS, install in the following order:

 

Windows

Any service pack for Windows

WinZip

4in1 chipset drivers (AGP/IDE)

DirectX

Graphics driver

Monitor driver

service pack for Internet Explorer

 

Perhaps, in the case of WinXP, it'd be advisable to install WinXP SP1 only (not SP2).

 

I've fully typed-up descriptions for all this, for the P3V4X, but I'm not sure if I made specific notes on re-flashing its BIOS. I'll have a look and report back here later.

[packman 0]

Can't find the notes I made on up[censored] the P3V4X BIOS, only those on my current PC. It's always the way, isn't it? However, I do have all the normal P3V4X BIOS settings to hand and I've looked through the P3V4X's handbook for what it says about the BIOS.

 

It seems there are no jumper changes required for up[censored] the BIOS but, in the existing BIOS, do check that the following are correctly set before you proceed with the update:

 

User password - disabled

Supervisor password - disabled

BIOS update - ENABLED (disable later)

Ensure all the processor caches are enabled

 

In the existing BIOS, you might also want to temporarily disable Boot Virus Detection, and also ensure that BootUp Floppy Seek is temporarily enabled, though I'm not sure whether those are absolutely necessary.

 

Set the boot order so that the floppy disk is first (change back later).

 

The floppy on which you put AWDFLASH and the binary file will need to be made bootable. Use a new floppy. Then make it bootable by typing:

 

format A:/s from a DOS/Command Prompt

 

When the floppy has been formatted, ensure that the only files on it are:

 

msdos.sys

io.sys

command.com.

 

If necessary, go back and, in Windows, temporarily uncheck "Hide protected operating system files", so that you can see ALL the files on the floppy. If any of the following are found, delete them from the floppy:

 

drvspace.bin

dblspace.bin

autoexec.bat

config.sys

 

Also, ensure that drvspace.bin and dblspace.bin are not on the hard drive, as sometimes they can get erroneously written to the floppy during the up[censored]. If on the HD, temporarily rename them.

 

Ensure the floppy is left in write-enabled mode, as a backup file will need to get written on to it during the up[censored].

 

Follow the handbook instructions for copying the binary file across and then doing the update.

 

Note that the old AFLASH.EXE is not designed to work with Command Prompt in Windows and also will not work when "certain memory drivers get loaded from the hard disk" (a reference, I think, to drvspace and dblspace). Instead, I seem to recall that AWDFLASH.EXE works in its own DOS-like window.

 

When the update has completed, allow the system to boot into Windows, then shut down the PC completely and reboot from cold. Then configure the new BIOS.

 

 

 

[packman 0]

Now, here's a serious afterthought. In the front of the handbook I've found a note I'd made which says that this motherboard supports Pentium IIIs only up to 866MHz. This speed CPU appears to be the maximum to use with a 133MHz FSB, therefore. I used to run mine with a 600MHz Pentium III (4.5 x 133MHz FSB = 600MHz). The CPU speed must be one of the listed allowed multiply-factors.

 

I can make no comments on this motherboard regarding overclocking.

 

Note that the maximum IDE transfer rate on this motherboard is 66Mbits/sec (ATA66), so you'd need to set the hard drive accordingly, which will probably require you to run an ATA speed-change utility for that drive.

[Highlander-the1 0]

Might be too late but check this article. {Near bottom of page}

[Highlander-the1 0]

Might be too late but check this article. {Near bottom of page}

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/mainboards/display/asus-p3v4x.html

[Carter232 0]

Here is a link to the ASUS P3V4x manual. It doesn't show the settings for a 1ghz processor but as I understand it you set the fsb to 133 and multiplier to 7.5 to get your 1ghz. You might be able to ust the jumperfree mode. You will need to update your bios to v1006.

http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/slot1/pro133a/p3v4x/p3v4x-102.pdf