How to Flash The BIOS

Again, if you have not done this before, please check out our Video BIOS Flashing Guide for the full step-by-step instructions.

Please remember to rename your BIOS image to the 8.3 format because DOS does not support long file names. If you attempt the flash process without renaming the BIOS image, the flash process will fail.

Here is a step-by-step guide of just how to do that with FlashROM v2.27. Please consult the FlashROM documentation if you are using a different version. The instructions may vary.

Step 1 :	Insert the floppy disk and boot the system. Once DOS has loaded up, your screen should display the command prompt A:\>.
Step 2 :	Before you flash the new video BIOS, I highly recommend that you backup your old video BIOS, just in case. Type in: 'flashrom -s 0 backup.bin' to back it up as the file backup.bin in the floppy drive. The -s option sets FlashROM to save the current BIOS on your card. The '0' (zero, not 'o') represents the first graphics card in your system. If everything goes smoothly, then proceed to the next step.
Step 3 :	To flash your video flash BIOS with the BIOS image in your floppy drive, just type in: 'flashrom -f -p 0 xxx.bin' The -f option forces FlashROM to program the BIOS irrespective of whatever the ASIC ID or other identifiers say., while t The -p option sets FlashROM to program the BIOS into your card's Flash ROM. Replace xxx.bin with the name of the BIOS image. After flashing, you should see a message indicating a successful flash. That's it!
Step 4 :	Remove the floppy disk and reboot the system.

If everything goes well, your computer should boot up and load the operating system as normal.

When A Flash Goes Wrong

If you see any error messages, do NOT reboot your system! If you reboot, you may see garbage or even nothing on screen! Because, without a working BIOS, your card will not work properly.

Although it is not common if you take precautions, this can happen if the BIOS image you downloaded is corrupted or if the floppy disk is faulty.

What you should do now is flash your old video BIOS back into the Flash ROM. That should restore your graphics card back to normal.

However, if the worst happens and the card fails due to a corrupted BIOS, you will need to use a PCI graphics card to boot up and reflash the dead BIOS.

Just plug in both the PCI and 'faulty' AGP graphics cards into the system. Attach the monitor cable to the PCI graphics card. Then, repeat steps 1 and 3 to reflash the 'faulty' graphics card. You can do so either with the original BIOS image or a new BIOS image.