American Megatrends Apollo, User Manual

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Chapter 7 Programming Flash ROM 75
7 Programming the Flash ROM
All versions of the Apollo Pentium PCI motherboard use Flash EPROM to store the system BIOS. The
advantage of Flash EPROM is that the EPROM chip does not have to be replaced to update the BIOS. The
end user can actually reprogram the BIOS, using a ROM file supplied by American Megatrends..
Programming the Flash EPROM
Step Action
1 Turn power off and wait at least 10 seconds. Make sure that the
computer has a working speaker.
2 Insert the floppy disk with the S728P.ROM file in drive A:.
3 Before DOS boots, press and hold down the <Home> key to
reprogram the Flash EPROM-based AMIBIOS. The bootblock
code immediately reads the A: drive, looking for the new BIOS
information.
4 When the flash ROM has successfully been programmed, the
computer will reboot.
Boot Block BIOS Actions When you reprogram from system boot, the boot block BIOS code:
Reads S728P.ROM from the root directory of the floppy disk in drive A:.
Erases the Flash EPROM.
Programs the Flash EPROM with the data read from the floppy disk in drive A:.
Generates a CPU reset, rebooting the computer.
The bootblock part of the Flash EPROM is not programmed. Should you inadvertently open the disk drive
door or turn power off to the computer while programming the Flash EPROM, the bootblock will be
unaffected. Simply turn power back on and begin the Flash ROM programming process again.
Cont’d