AST Ast Ascentia J series pn#501789-401 BIOS Driver

AST Ast Ascentia J series pn#501789-401 Driver. AST RESEARCH, INC. TECHNICAL BULLETIN # 1822 5/26/98

TITLE Unified BIOS for Ascentia J laptop computers. JCOMBO.EXE

ISSUE

There is a possibility for confusion as to which BIOS is needed

for Ascentia J computers. Currently there are six models of

Ascentia J computers and three different versions of BIOSs needed

for different units. This unified Flash BIOS Diskette will

eliminate confusion as to which BIOS is needed on which unit.

BACKGROUND

Prior to the posting of this Unified Flash Disk there were three

separate diskettes needed to Flash the BIOS on Ascentia J units.

1.14 / 905577-038

2.14 / 905597-033

3.14 / 905599-032

ACTION

Download the file JCOMBO.EXE, execute the README.BAT file and

follow the onscreen instructions to create the Unified BIOS Flash

disk. Please review the *NOTES* section before performing the

following steps to ensure a successful BIOS flash update:

1. Make sure that the "Boot Device:" field in System Setup is set

to "Floppy First". System Setup is started by pressing the

F2 key while the system boots.

2. Reboot the system with the Ascentia J Series Unified BIOS

Flash Update diskette in the floppy drive. Select option 2

"Perform FLASH update." You will be asked to confirm that you

want to update the system BIOS. When prompted to do so, press

the ENTER key.

3. After the flash update completes, you will be prompted to

press any key to restart the system. Be sure to remove the

BIOS flash update diskette before restarting the system so

that the system boots from the hard drive rather than the

floppy.

4. A BIOS checksum error will normally occur the first time the

system is booted after upgrading the BIOS. A message similar

to the one below will be displayed:

Press <F1> to resume, <F2> to Setup

Press F2 to enter Setup. A warning message about the CMOS

checksum being invalid will be displayed. Press the ENTER

key to continue.

5. After updating the system BIOS all System Setup options will

be set to their default values. This means that any setup

changes that you have made using a previous BIOS will have to

be redone with the updated BIOS. In addition, the hard disk

drive type will have to be redetected.

The hard drive type can be redetected by pressing the arrow

keys to highlight the "Hard Disk" field and then pressing the

ENTER key. This will highlight the "Autotype Fixed Disk:"

field. Press the ENTER key to automatically detect the drive

type and then press the ESC key to return to the Main setup

screen.

6. Be sure to select "Save Changes & Exit" when exiting System

Setup so that the changes you have made will be saved.

NOTES

Flashing the BIOS will result in setting all CMOS values to

"Default". It is recommended that you record your current

settings before continuing with the flash update. You will find

an area in the back of your User's Manual created for this purpose.

It is also strongly recommended that you backup the data on your

hard drive before performing a BIOS flash.