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ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

[SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

I'm running KDE Plasma on a Desktop Pc with a Intel Pentium G620 CPU and a Foxconn H67MP-V V 2.0, BIOS version A4B02S01.

I wanted to upgrade my cpu to a Intel Core i7-3770K, but after some researches I figured I needed to update the BIOS to its latest version, BC5F1P04.

Unfortunately the Foxconn support channel is unavailable, so I had to look for the BIOS files somewhere else.
I found an archive containing the flash utility and now the only way possible seems to be proceeding via DOS USB flashing.

Here are the bios files I'm considering using:

https://drivers.plus/it/foxconn-h67mp-v … p04/55232/

And the instructions for the flash:

https://www.biosflash.com/e/bios-update.htm

But before proceeding any further, since I'm not familiar with the operation, I want to make sure I'm using the right files and instructions.

Can anyone help me figure out whether I'm doing it the right way?

Last edited by ordinary.schreiber (2021-11-12 13:17:33)

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

I scanned the BIOS ROM image with afudos (v3.01.00) running in the DOS command prompt:

afudos <BIOSNAME.ROM> /D

And  got the message:

3 - Error: ROM file size does not match existing BIOS size.

Should I worry about this or is it just supposed to be that way? Considering I'm flashing a newer BIOS version

frostschutz

Member

Registered: 2013-11-15

Posts: 1,499

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

the BC5F1P04 you found might be for different revision of that board only, I would not risk it

what's the 'lshw' output for your mainboard?

edit: someone here managed to do it but still a bit unclear https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads … e.2737076/

>>> The final solution was to Flash the latest ME-Bios for the H67MP-V then flash the latest SystemBios for the H67MP-V.

whatever that means

archive.org has a picture of the board but unfortunately, not the bios downloads themselves https://web.archive.org/web/20170310203 … -us0000531

Last edited by frostschutz (2021-11-06 09:43:50)

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

Thank you very much for your feedback.

The problem is that the Foxconn Channel is unavailable, the site seems unreachable...
Any other way to go with?

Here is the output of "lshw":

*-core
       description: Motherboard
       product: H67MP-S/-V/H67MP
       vendor: Foxconn
       physical id: 0
       serial: UL81120065100
       slot: To be filled by O.E.M.
     *-firmware
          description: BIOS
          vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
          physical id: 0
          version: A4BO2S01
          date: 01/04/2012
          size: 64KiB
          capacity: 4MiB
          capabilities: pci upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect socketedrom edd int13floppy1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer acpi usb biosbootspecification

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

Here is an alternative... I'm not sure about the difference between flashing via "ftp" or "afudos".

https://hardforum.com/threads/how-to-up … 5.1661637/

And I'm still wondering what would be the best way out here.

frostschutz

Member

Registered: 2013-11-15

Posts: 1,499

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

OK, so the BC5F1P04 (if I found the correct one - please compare to your files) contains these files (md5sum):

13cfb4af3129a87cc841b9c8c3aaceba  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW.exe
b64b37d37f3ba63587a4acf7497e5a3d  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/ANSI.SYS
573da503081259037cc3b042acd296c0  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/CHOICE.COM
3efea3144abee232fda1719d2c1a4066  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/COMMAND.COM
054e48019f1eb2d713aadc4e60707098  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/EMM386.EXE
fcce5466b3061c6e86aae536ecbd74c3  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/HIMEM.SYS
baecec2beb000ca9e8fb51ba573eecb5  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/IO.SYS
5bd08551c96f27988fb844146b8ee4dc  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/MSCDEX.EXE
734040ec3565b902d87a3ebf89bedd77  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/MSDOS.SYS
7ed28c4b926dae81a4e9ccf1f5378f64  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/OAKCDROM.SYS
7b086d1e86ba3c030ca6b90a444135e6  ./DOS Image/HPUSBFW/RAMDRIVE.SYS
af02f392df7b1617851814391528fc22  ./MEBIOS/AUTOEXEC.BAT
b0035a19496ff40e03b4dab221a1be33  ./MEBIOS/BIOS/BC5F1P04.BIN
a315417671bc83fecbbd0cd9f7f44791  ./MEBIOS/BIOS/flash.bat
5d7044df2e91ea0ea499c85f6c8bf2f9  ./MEBIOS/BIOS/fparts.txt
1753550d2991719ac8e6afae69a028f7  ./MEBIOS/BIOS/fpt.exe
571fad0133d18692d892e88e569185ec  ./MEBIOS/FBSHUT.COM
92e1b2894c19e406643b5be0278a956f  ./MEBIOS/XDDMI.EXE
289f041664134409c1097b5dfcdd04c1  ./SYSBIOS/AFUDOS.exe
b5bd08d5ba5ea0b0d3294e3925e629a2  ./SYSBIOS/BC5F1P04.ROM
1193a33ebc48d66a8d4a0f68fb6c1a4a  ./SYSBIOS/dosflash.bat

If I understood the comment in the other forum correctly ("""The final solution was to Flash the latest ME-Bios for the H67MP-V then flash the latest SystemBios for the H67MP-V."""), you'd have to do the mebios before the sysbios.

cd C:\mebios
autoexec.bat
cd C:\sysbios
dosflash.bat

also if you take a look at the .bat file, the program options are different from the ones you tried

also it sounds like there is a jumper on the mainboard that has to be set for any of this to work

a german thread that mentions these: http://www.hifi-forum.de/viewthread-249-785.html

so maybe something like this can work for you? try it at your own risk...

----

unfortunately tons of sites link to a "how to flash bios" manual on the foxconnchannel site but I can't find this anywhere and web.archive.org does not seem to have it either

and the pdf manual of the mainboard only mentions the MFG jumper but no bios update instructions either

hope you can figure it out somehow - sorry for the confusion ^^;

Last edited by frostschutz (2021-11-06 11:48:13)

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

Oh my... actually I do have all those exact files!

You weren't confusing at all, in fact you were incredibly helpful.

Only, I'm not sure what I should do now exactly... should I copy all the BC5F1P04 folder into the DOS-USB or just a part of it?
And once I boot in DOS, what commands should I type?

I'm very sorry to bother you but I'd be incredibly grateful if I finally managed to flash correctly these files.

frostschutz

Member

Registered: 2013-11-15

Posts: 1,499

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

It's purely guesswork. The manual has this page: https://i.imgur.com/4E0iPFH.png

So it may be you have to set the jumper to 2-3 before you can use the sysbios. And the jumper 1-2 might work with the mebios.

I guess there is only one way to find out and that is to risk executing the bat file provided by the manufacturer. And if it goes wrong you might end with a bricked board. :-(

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

I see, thank you very much anyway. You have been really helpful.

I'll take some time to consider proceeding.

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

I was also missing the instructions to change the jumper position.

Here is what I found on some manuals:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/70892 … l?page=218

And according to what you linked above, it seems the jumpers should be moved from pins 1-2 to pins 2-3 to enable Force Update.

Here is what the manual of my board suggests:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/63656 … =25#manual

I'll let you know when I decide to try.
Meanwhile, I might enjoy a little longer my working board till I still can. Lol

Last edited by ordinary.schreiber (2021-11-06 21:41:51)

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

I've come to the conclusion that in the order, what should work is:

- From Mainboard

Move MFG Jumpers cap from poition 1-2 to 2-3, in order to disable Intel Management Engine function

- From DOS-prompt

fpt -f <BIOSNAME.BIN> -y

Or (and I'm still confused about the difference between these two options)

cd C:\mebios
autoexec.bat
cd C:\sysbios
dosflash.bat

- Power off the machine

- From Mainboard

Move MFG Jumpers cap from poition 2-3 to 1-2, in order to enable Intel Management Engine function

Move CLR_CMOS Jumpers cap from position 2-3 to 1-2, in order to reset CMOS. Then put it back to normal

- Power on the machine

Last edited by ordinary.schreiber (2021-11-12 14:46:34)

frostschutz

Member

Registered: 2013-11-15

Posts: 1,499

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

Yes, it's quite confusing. It's unfortunate the exact flashing instructions are not reachable.

The commands roughly executed by the *.bat files, if I interpret things correctly, are:

# mebios/autoexec.bat :: echo Start to backup Mothor Board's UUID...
XDDMI.exe /RF /SU UUID.txt

# sysbios/dosflash.bat ::
AFUDOS BC5F1P04.ROM /P /B /N /R1 /R2

# mebios/flash.bat ::
fpt -f BC5F1P04.BIN

# restart system
fbshut /2

## after reboot

# recover UUID
XDDMI.exe /WF /SU 16 UUID.txt

I have no idea what backup UUID / recover UUID is about. Also no idea if it should flash both sysbios and mebios in one run - the autoexec.bat seems like it would be capable of doing so, but only if the files are present(*), and whether you're supposed to put down both files is probably stated in the instructions that we don't have.

If in doubt you should read through those *.bat files yourself and make your own deductions. I'm guessing blindly here, sorry.

(*) regarding files presence, it seems like the files in MEBIOS should be copied to the root of the stick (so autoexec.bat will execute automatically) but the bios roms themselves (MEBIOS/BIOS and SYSBIOS/) should both be in BIOS/ subdir. So the zip file does not even have the correct directory structure to make things work as intended. If in doubt I guess you can dump all files flat in both root dir and bios/ subdir so they exist in both locations.

Last edited by frostschutz (2021-11-08 17:39:08)

Maniaxx

Member

Registered: 2014-05-14

Posts: 757

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

You could create a full backup of the BIOS first with flashrom. If sections of the BIOS are 'locked' (no read-access) you could try setting the ME jumper or the pinmod on the soundchip. Alternatively (and the better attempt), use an external SPI flasher (e.g. RaspberryPi).

---

sys2064

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

Thank you both for your suggestions!

So if I read this right..

(*) regarding files presence, it seems like the files in MEBIOS should be copied to the root of the stick (so autoexec.bat will execute automatically) but the bios roms themselves (MEBIOS/BIOS and SYSBIOS/) should both be in BIOS/ subdir. So the zip file does not even have the correct directory structure to make things work as intended. If in doubt I guess you can dump all files flat in both root dir and bios/ subdir so they exist in both locations.

a correct files' allocation in the stick would be something like:

af02f392df7b1617851814391528fc22  ./AUTOEXEC.BAT
b0035a19496ff40e03b4dab221a1be33  ./BIOS/BC5F1P04.BIN
a315417671bc83fecbbd0cd9f7f44791  ./BIOS/flash.bat
5d7044df2e91ea0ea499c85f6c8bf2f9  ./BIOS/fparts.txt
1753550d2991719ac8e6afae69a028f7  ./BIOS/fpt.exe
571fad0133d18692d892e88e569185ec  ./BIOS/FBSHUT.COM
92e1b2894c19e406643b5be0278a956f  ./BIOS/XDDMI.EXE
289f041664134409c1097b5dfcdd04c1  ./BIOS/AFUDOS.exe
b5bd08d5ba5ea0b0d3294e3925e629a2  ./BIOS/BC5F1P04.ROM
1193a33ebc48d66a8d4a0f68fb6c1a4a  ./BIOS/dosflash.bat

or something else?

Also, how exactly should I run these commands?

# mebios/autoexec.bat :: echo Start to backup Mothor Board's UUID...
XDDMI.exe /RF /SU UUID.txt

# sysbios/dosflash.bat ::
AFUDOS BC5F1P04.ROM /P /B /N /R1 /R2

# mebios/flash.bat ::
fpt -f BC5F1P04.BIN

# restart system
fbshut /2

## after reboot

# recover UUID
XDDMI.exe /WF /SU 16 UUID.txt

For example, should I run the first two commands as:

XDDMI.exe /RF /SU UUID.txt

AFUDOS BC5F1P04.ROM /P /B /N /R1 /R2

or simply:

autoexec.bat

dosflash.bat

Again, thank you so much for all the support you are giving me. You have been incredibly helful and I really hope I'll be able to flash correctly this BIOS... I just want to make sure I understand the instructions.

Last edited by ordinary.schreiber (2021-11-08 21:07:07)

ordinary.schreiber

Member

Registered: 2021-10-15

Posts: 145

Re: [SOLVED] DOS Flashing BIOS Update

I finally made it work!

This turned out to be the solution:

I've come to the conclusion that in the order, what should work is:

- From Mainboard

Move MFG Jumpers cap from poition 1-2 to 2-3, in order to disable Intel Management Engine function

- From DOS-prompt

fpt -f <BIOSNAME.BIN> -y

- Power off the machine

- From Mainboard

Move MFG Jumpers cap from poition 2-3 to 1-2, in order to enable Intel Management Engine function

Move CLR_CMOS Jumpers cap from position 2-3 to 1-2, in order to reset CMOS. Then put it back to normal

- Power on the machine

Last edited by ordinary.schreiber (2022-01-11 17:16:47)