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General BIOS Information

Background

The basic input/output system (BIOS) routines are stored in an on-board flash chip. The BIOS includes the code to start up the system when power is first applied, and the code to handle various interrupt and I/O tasks for the operating system once the system is up and running.

VersaLogic uses a General Software BIOS that has been enhanced for OEM applications. On some VersaLogic CPU boards, there are two copies of the system BIOS, a Master and Runtime copy. On boards using the Master/Runtime BIOS structure, you can set a jumper to activate the Master BIOS, which is always available in protected flash space, and can be used to restore the Runtime BIOS. Later model boards (such as the EBX-11) have only one copy of the BIOS on-board. It also resides in protected flash space, and you must disable Flash Protection in CMOS Setup to enable FBU updates.

Binary images of new BIOS versions are available for download from the board support pages. You can download the VersaLogic Flash BIOS Update (FBU) utility from this page. Both the FBU utility and a binary BIOS image file are required to update a BIOS. You must run FBU on the target system (the system that is getting the updated BIOS). On boards with two copies of the BIOS, after the update is completed, set the appropriate jumper to select the secondary BIOS for use. The jumper location is identified in the product manual.

 

BIOS Upgrade Instructions

  1. Run FBU from a bootable DOS device (such as a floppy drive or hard disk).
  2. Follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. Note: “Flash Protection” or “Write Protect BIOS” must be disabled in CMOS Setup.
  4. Note: FBU is incompatible with DOS extended memory managers such as EMM386 and QEMM. FBU versions 3.11 and later check for the presence of these programs each time they load, but earlier versions do not. To operate FBU safely, bypass all CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT statements by pressing F5 when the operating system starts to load.

 

Update Utility

Caution: FBU version 3.xx is for use with boards using the Firmware Hub (FWH). Boards that do not use FWH, require the use of FBU 2.xx. These boards include: EPM-4, EPM-CPU-3, EPM-CPU-6/7, EPM-CPU-10, VSBC-6 and VSBC-8. Go to the General BIOS Information page for these boards to download FBU 2.xx.

Flash BIOS Update Utility rev 3.19

FBU (Flash BIOS Utility) manages flash chip contents on VersaLogic CPU boards. Use FBU to upgrade or change the system BIOS, secondary video BIOS, splash screen, BIOS extension, or custom CMOS defaults.

 

Splash Screen Utility

Convert Bitmap Utility

This DOS-based utility is used to convert a 16-color BMP image to a .BIN file for use as a splash screen. See the VersaLogic Knowledgebase article VT1400 for instructions on how to create a custom splash screen.