Asus Bios Updating confusion

I see a few people have similar problems understanding the Asus mobo BIOS updates...I am going to post what I see on boot-up and if you could tell me which needs updating and then help me figure it out from there, I'd appreciate it.

Phoenix AwardBIOS v6.00 PG
Asus A8NSLI Premium ACPI BIOS Rev. 1009
Sil 3114 SATA Raid BIOS 5.1.39

I'm assuming that I only need to update the ASUS A8n SLI Premium BIOS for now, and I think I found the correct version...but now I need to find something called Asus update to open the .bin file. Am I understanding that all correctly?

 

I believe if you go to the ASUS website and enter your motherboard model it should show you which BIOS updates are available and compatible with your motherboard. But, the last time I updated my ASUS motherboard, if I recall correctly, the website was a bit confusing. So make sure you enter your motherboard model exactly and correctly.

You should look for a tool on the ASUS website that will allow you to back up your current BIOS before you attempt to flash a newer version of your BIOS. Not a bad idea to make a couple of copies of your current BIOS also, especially if you're saving it to older floppies. Save one copy to a floppy and one to a flash drive for example, just in case something goes awry in the updating process.

And make certain you know how to reset the BIOS/CMOS chip on the motherboard. Usually there's a jumper for that. If you aren't certain you know how to do that and where the jumpers are on your motherboard you should also download or print out that info (including a diagram of your motherboard layout showing the reset jumper location) for your particular model of motherboard from the ASUS website.

You should be able to download the ASUS update tool (or, if you can find your motherboard drivers CD you can probably install it from that. But that may be a waste of time anyway, since I think I had to install a newer ASUS update tool from the website before I could proceed).

Anyway, the point is if you use the tools on the ASUS website to backup your old BIOS and then identify, download and install a compatible BIOS for your motherboard you won't have to worry about "which" BIOS you're updating -- the ASUS update tool will take care of that (though I think the BIOS you named in your post is the correct one).

I know this all may sound like a bit of a hassle, especially if you haven't done it before, but when it comes up updating your BIOS a little extra care and preparation may save you big headaches in case you run into a glitch.

Hope this is some help. Good luck!

 

I'll take a stab at the three BIOS's you listed in your first post. The Phoenix BIOS is, I imagine, the base generic BIOS ASUS licensed for your motherboard. The ASUS BIOS listed is likely a customized version of the Phoenix BIOS listed above it in your post with some tweaking and additions to support special features of the motherboard. And the RAID stuff is yet more features added to the BIOS to support and work with the RAID controller on your motherboard.

But again, if you use the tools on the ASUS website to identify a compatible BIOS update for you motherboard you should be all set. But read closely any notes or additional information about the BIOS update you choose or that's provided about your motherboard. For example, instructions saying that if you update to BIOS version xx.xx you should also update (just an example) your RAID drivers to version zz.zz or something similar.

One final thought, if the most recent compatible BIOS update is less than a month old (or even less than two months old) I'd suggest you download the next oldest BIOS unless you know the newer versions have features that a version a bit older doesn't have that you just really have to have. BIOS code can have bugs and problems just like OS code or program patch code and you don't want to be one of the first to discover a problem in a relatively new BIOS update.

 

Ok, to update it the easy way:

http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/flash/AsusUpdt_V70602.zip

Install this in Windows.

Latest BIOS:

http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socket939/A8N-SLI%20Premium/1303.zip

The Asus updater also allows you to back up the old one. You can flash the BIOS from within Windows with it. Dont worry about the other info. The raid bios gets updated with the BIOS updates from ASUS. Phoenix is who makes the BIOS, Asus customizes it.