Asus P5QL: 2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS

Chapter 2

BIOS information

2.1 Managing and updating your BIOS

Save a copy of the original motherboard BIOS le to a oppy disk or a USB ash disk in

case you need to restore the BIOS in the future. Copy the original motherboard BIOS using

the ASUS Update or AFUDOS utilities.

2.1.1 Creating a bootable oppy disk

Create a bootable oppy disk using a different computer.

To create a bootable oppy disk:

1. Insert a formatted, high density 1.44MB oppy disk into the oppy disk drive.

2. Follow the instructions based on your system environment.

DOS environment

a. At the DOS prompt, type format A:/S then press <Enter>.

®

Windows

XP environment

®

a. From the Windows

desktop, click Start > My Computer.

b. Select the 3 1/2 Floppy Drive icon.

c. Click

File from the menu bar, then select Format. A Format 3 1/2 Floppy window

appears.

d. Select

Create an MS-DOS startup disk from the format options eld, then click

Start.

®

Windows

Vista environment

®

a. From the Windows

desktop, click > Computer.

b. Right-click

Floppy Disk Drive then click Format to display the Format 3 1/2

Floppy dialog box.

c. Select the

Create an MS-DOS startup disk check box.

d. Click

Start.

ASUS P5QL 2-1

2.1.2 ASUS Update utility

The ASUS Update is a utility that allows you to manage, save, and update the motherboard

®

BIOS in Windows

environment.

• ASUS Update requires an Internet connection either through a network or an Internet

Service Provider (ISP).

• This utility is available in the Support DVD that comes with the motherboard package.

Installing ASUS Update

To install ASUS Update:

1. Place the Support DVD into the optical drive. The

Drivers menu appears.

2. Click the

Utilities tab, then click Install ASUS Update.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the installation.

®

Quit all Windows

applications before you update the BIOS using this utility.

Updating the BIOS

To update the BIOS:

®

1. From the Windows

desktop, click Start > Programs > ASUS > ASUSUpdate >

ASUSUpdate to launch the ASUS Update utility.

2. From the dropdown list, select either of the updating processes:

Updating from the Internet

a. Select Update BIOS from the Internet, then click Next.

b. Select the ASUS FTP site nearest you to avoid network trafc, or click Auto

Select

then click Next.

c. From the FTP site, select the BIOS version that you want to download then click

Next.

The ASUS Update utility is capable of updating itself through the Internet. Always update

the utility to get all its features.

Updating from a BIOS file

a. Select Update BIOS from a le, then click Next.

b. Locate the BIOS le from the

Open window, then click Open.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the updating process.

2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS information

2.1.3 ASUS EZ Flash 2 utility

The ASUS EZ Flash 2 feature allows you to update the BIOS without using an OS-based

utility.

Download the latest BIOS le from the ASUS website at www.asus.com.

To update the BIOS using EZ Flash 2:

1. Insert the oppy disk or the USB ash disk that contains the latest BIOS le to the

oppy disk drive or a USB port, then launch EZ Flash 2 in either of these two ways:

• Press

<Alt> + <F2> during POST to display the following:

ASUSTek EZ Flash 2 BIOS ROM Utility V3.24

FLASH TYPE: MXIC 25L8005

Current ROM

Update ROM

BOARD: P5QL

BOARD: Unknown

VER: 0304 (H:00 B:00)

VER: Unknown

DATE: 09/01/2008

DATE: Unknown

PATH: A:\

A:

Note

[Enter] Select or Load [Tab] Switch [V] Drive Info

[Up/Down/Home/End] Move [B] Backup [ESC] Exit

• Enter the BIOS setup program. Go to the Tools menu to select EZ Flash 2 and

press <Enter> to enable it.

2. Press

<Tab> to locate the correct BIOS le. Press <Enter>.

When the correct BIOS le is found, EZ Flash 2 performs the BIOS updating process and

automatically reboots the system when done.

• Only a USB ash disk with FAT 32/16 format and single partition supports the ASUS EZ

Flash 2 utility.

• DO NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS to prevent system boot

failure!

ASUS P5QL 2-3