Long help request

[NoSpin]

Well, first off let me thank you for reading this post.
What I am hoping to do in the near future is to format my hard drive on my old system. I have come to the conclusion that upgrading my bios is a good idea to do first. Now my system isn’t too ancient (less than 4 yrs old) but have no real clue as to what I should be doing. I really don’t want to fry any chips or anything so I figured I would come here and ask all you “guru’s” for some advice.
I know I need to figure out what MoBo and what version bios I now have, isn’t there an option under Win95 OS to get this info?
I suppose I could pull the case and look around for some sort of ID# if need be.
So, after you tell me how to do that, then I will most likely come here to windrivers.com and search for the new bios. After I download it, how will I go about changing it over to the new?
How would I make a back up/restore it if I mess up?
Also, IS this a good idea to update BEFORE reformatting?
Thanks in advance for the help guys/gals.

[AlienDyne]

I wouldn't update the BIOS unless, I was 100% sure that it's the proper one.

If you want to do it though, you need to find out which motherboard you have.
A very helpful diagnostic utility is SiSoft Sandra. You can download an evaluation version from here: http://www.softseek.com/Utilities/Be...390_index.html

When you know which motherboard you have, go to its website and download the latest BIOS available and the flashing utility. If there's a help file available, download it too and read it very carefully before doing anything else.

But if you want my opinion, don't update the BIOS. Just reformat. I don't think you'll see much difference after all.

Good luck!

[SB]

Yep, wiping a drive and reinstalling an OS is TOTALLY separate from flashing a bios. Just reinstall first, but if you must flash then follow Alien's advice.

[Mr_Miyagi]

only if there is hardware problems (and you are 100% sure it is) then dont do the bios flash.......

An o/s clean install will cure 99% of all known problems.

JUST MAKE SURE you have ALL the required drivers BEFORE you start and a visit to SYSTEM (in control panel) would be advised. Make a good note of all the hardware you have. (Sisoft is okay for this, but does rely partly on everything being in place and working...)

cheers!

[NoSpin]

Thanks alot folks for the help. Maybe I will take the plunge in the next couple days to format. I have never done it before, so am a little cautious.
Just can't put it off any longer I guess.

[goodespeler]

I flashed my bios, but I was positive what kind of board and system I was running. One way to find what kind of board you have is to look at it. Sometimes the mobo will say it on there. Also try looking at the boot up at the very begginning. Mine flashes the brand and model on the screen along with the bios version. Good Luck.

[NoSpin]

Well folks, I jsut got some bad news. I don't know how to format.
I htought it was fairly easy , since i have a firend who has done it before, but he is never home. My cousin says he will have his friend come do it for me, but I know I will not learn anything that way. Any thoughts (no flames on my ignorance please )

[WebHead]

If you don't know how to format, then I would highly recommend that you don't "Flash" the BIOS. You'll be very sorry. But I can tell you at least what's involved in doing what you want to do:
Flash the bios:
1) Create bootable floppy with an executable flash utility on it and the latest BIOS files and then run it.
2) Turn off the PC, then on, then reset all the BIOS settings to default, then finally set custom settings in the BIOS.
Format C:
1) Create a bootable disk that contains the following *.exe's: fdisk, format, and scandisk (preferrably installing DOS would be great to do.) Disk 1 of the DOS disk set could work for this.
2) Have CDRom DOS drivers available for YOUR CDRom drive (you'll need them unless you have Windows 98 or whatever on a floppy,...LOL).
3) Run FDISK, remove partitions, create new partions, exit and reboot.
4) Boot back to the floppy and format all the partitions.
5) Put the Windows CD in the drive and reboot to the BIOS.
6) Set the BIOS to boot from CD and ctrl+alt+del to restart again.
7) Then install Windows.

Anyway, there are many ways to do all this, and this is just a non-detailed version of a quick and sloppy way to do it (my fingers hurt just from typing this small amount of info.) So as you can see it's a big job and not for a novice user. So find a friend who knows what he's doing or whatever and have someone show you what's up.

[NoSpin]

OK, Formatting seems to be just about what I figured, but one thing about the partions....should I check the setitngs before wiping so I can put the same specs in?
(BTW, I have taken the advice and decided to leave the BIOS alone
)