I thought that I am the only one that makes long posts
Although verbosity might be a problem, I can't really know how much you know about the subject. For a middle/experienced user, it is verbosity. For a newbie, he needs every single detail possible. I'm not writing "just" for you, but also for others that might be searching for similar posts/questions/situations (and also in hope that you and others report back their results so the topic turns to be useful for everyone).
BIOS flashing could leave a computer unusable, so I
choose to add details.
I can not get the Flash CD cause I don’t have any means of paying for it
Who/what site is requesting money/donation?
Anyway, as I mentioned before, you should always try to use a writable boot method to flash your BIOS, so you can back up your old BIOS before writing the new one, and to save any error logs. Alternatively, you can first save the old BIOS, and then use another method to write the new one or any possible combination (like booting from CD while a UFD is already plugged in).
So, no floppy.
Maybe using a USB Flash Drive (UFD) method?
You don't need to follow the exact procedure posted at
http://www.foxconnsupport.com/faq.aspx?faqid=F000000065 . I mean that if you can make a UFD bootable into FreeDOS using any other method, this would be equivalent and you could run AWDFLASH from the UFD.
You could also use UBCD to boot, but the UFD to run the flash program, so you could save there the old BIOS. The key here is to select the correct boot order, and to plug in the UFD before booting, and to use the USB port on the back of your system which is directly connected to your motherboard (no front USB port, for example). There are some issues to make DOS to correctly recognize UFD.
So, IMHO, it would be even simpler if you boot from the UFD and run the flash program in interactive mode.
But if you boot from UFD using the automatic BIOS program ( INSTEAD of booting to DOS and running AWDFLASH ) of your mobo, in my experience is the most simple way to both backup and update/upgrade the BIOS. Not every mobo has this automatic function, but your model is recent, so I'm guessing it has this possibility included.
My system is:
FlamiingBlade GTI
Foxconn support told me to update the bios.
I'm guessing you meant "FlamingBlade GTI" at
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/M ... -us0000458
Please confirm if that is your exact motherboard.
The reason I ask is that there are several BIOS updates there for that mobo model, but none corresponds to the one you have (8CBF1G26.BIN).
Since you were told to run AWDFLASH as command-line (CLI) instead of TUI (text user interface) or GUI (graphical user interface), and you are not thinking of saving the "old" (still current) BIOS version, I'm just trying to advice: you should be completely confident and absolutely sure that the specific BIN file you got, contains the most adequate BIOS version for your system.
...DOS6.22 bootdisk ISO "with floppy emulation just like Iceblade said" then added the BIOS files. Extracted & Burned it to a mini-DVD. Do you think it will work this way?...
I have no idea. It probably could work, but actually I have no way to tell you if it will. I usually don't need "extra" downloads to write a new BIOS version, besides the BIN file. Whenever I can, I use the automatic BIOS update program build in the BIOS itself. As I mentioned, this is the usual situation for recent motherboards with Award BIOS like yours.
Only when I need (older mobos), I make an UFD bootable from Windows itself (the method depends on the specific Windows version) or, alternatively, I use FreeDOS. Only in this case I also use the flash program and the BIN file.
I should mention that there is one additional possibility. If your mobo is currently working with a stable Windows OS, Foxconn has a Windows-based program that can backup and also update the BIOS. I personally do not recommend this method, but you may want to know that it does exist.
The commands py/sn/cc/cd/cp/wb mean things like program Flash memory etc.., but there is no command to backup the original BIOS.
Let's summarize the situation. Actually there *IS* a command to backup the old BIOS. In addition, you are not using the official latest BIOS version. You are also not comfortable with CLI. You are not sure if the system will boot correctly with your mini DVD, and you are running the flash program with command-line parameters while you don't know exactly what those parameters are for.
In this situation, I wouldn't recommend making the BIOS update.
Let's clarify the above "sum up".
The following switches are available (I'm using/quoting several different sources):
/? -> HELP; will give you at least the available program switches;
/py -> reProgram the flash memory with the contents of bios_file without asking for confirmations (here P means Program, Y means Yes);
/sn -> do not save the old BIOS (Save=No);
/f -> do not check if the BIOS in the bios_file file is intended for this particular motherboard and if this is a BIOS file at all (Force reprogramming);
/r -> Reboot the computer after flashing is complete (Reboot);
/cd -> Clear DMI data;
/cp -> Clear PNP data;
/cc -> Automatically Clears the CMOS (the chip where the BIOS "resides").
/WB -> Updates the BIOS Boot Block. This switch is not really needed since the BIOS Boot Block should get updated with the flashing of the BIOS.
/SY -> Backup original BIOS to disk. If you run the command with the "/?" parameter (without the double quotes), you should see how specifically you should run the command in such a way that it saves the old BIOS. Running the flash program in interactive mode also will let you save a backup before upgrading.
It is possible that your specific AWDFLASH has other parameters for those functions, and most certainly it has some additional parameters as well. The solution: use first the "/?" parameter, and use only the parameters you really need/want, or run the program
without parameters, where the flash program itself just asks you the relevant questions.
My humble recommendation, if you can't run the build-in update program included in your current BIOS, would be to run the program with "/?", and then re-run it with no parameters at all, answering the questions, saving the previous BIOS version in a new different (and easy to recognize) file and then selecting the relevant BIN file. BTW, the BIOS file names should be less than 8 characters long, and should have the BIN extension ( 12345678.bin , 8CBF1old.bin , or something similar according to the current BIOS version).
In any case, using any method, after flashing, and when the program says it is ok to restart (might give you the option to press some keyboard key to do it), you should restart the system and
enter into the BIOS immediately on the first reboot.
Once inside the BIOS, check the new version, clear the data, save and reboot
again into the BIOS, set the settings/options as you want/need, and only *then* reboot into your OS.
In all honesty, I've found using the UBCD is too complicated for me cause I'm not into DOS, I'm a Hardware kinda guy.
If you are not into DOS (or command-line interfaces in general), and you want to run some hardware related program, then indeed the most simple user-friendly and still powerful way to run them is UBCD.
Yet, I still need the UBCD for the Secure Erase on my SSD.
Are you sure? You need to double check that the specific SSD model is compatible with Secure Erase. In theory, HDDErase (the most popular program that runs Secure Erase) should let you run the commands ONLY if your drive is compatible. In practice, there are reports of problems (which may or may not be related to the program itself).
There are other possibilities to erase SSD's. Usually the manufacturers have their own diagnostic/several other tools, and they include a simple erase function (even when the primary goal of the tool is not to erase).
Have you check at the "SSD OCZ Vertex2 90GB" website?
You should know that in general you don't need to erase any HDD/SDD, unless you are doing cloning, imaging or data recovery, or when you want to give/sell it. And even in those cases, for common general users, a "zero-fill" wipe is enough, whichever wipe-like program you use.
Sure!, Secure Erase may be faster for HDD, it is included in the diagnostic tools of each manufacturer, and it wipes out "more" sectors than other methods. But you are not using a simple HDD, but a SSD. So you don't need to worry about speed differences between different programs, and if you are going to keep the drive, then *any* wipe tool is more than enough.
In addition, wiping/writing a SDD (or any flash type storage media) shortens the lifespan of that media.
Finally, to get back to the BIOS update issue. If you want to answer this long
post to clarify the situation, we all can benefit. If anything I wrote is not clear enough or you need further instructions, just let me/us know. In any case, it might be useful for all/others to read your feedback.