Compal BIOS upgrades - a simple HOWTO

Alright y'all, I didn't see anything on this, and being as I had the 103A BIOS in here and was running into some problems with the fan and such, I figured I should upgrade.

Anyway, Compals and other laptops (maybe this should be in the HOWTO's section?) don't ship with floppy drives, but most BIOS upgrade instructions include booting from DOS. Most DOS boot disk creations need a floppy disk.

Your answer: Get a USB key (preferably one under 256MB, it tends to work better apparently) and the USB FreeDOS Boot drive program from here. Run it, and format your USB drive as bootable. You will still be able to use it as a flash drive, it'll just have some data on it that'll allow you to boot from it. Then copy over your new BIOS files, flash utilities, whatever you want. You could even use it to run old DOS games like Duke Nukem or whatever

 

Download bootable cd image at http://www.bootdisk.com/mexico/flashcd.zip and follow instructions at http://www.bootdisk.com/txtfiles/flashcd.txt

 

Nice link Pitabred. That HP tool is the only one I've seen that works well for me.

I didn't know you could make a usb key dos bootable from linux either.. neat. ^^

 

Come get some! I must post a pic of my tattoo. I'll get the wife to take a good one for me.

On topic: I'm even going to attempt placing a full XPPro slipstreamed with all Hotfixes/service packs/my common software onto a bootable flash drive. It'll also be an unattended install. I wonder how fast I can get Winblows installed from flash? Just something I plan to try, just have to pick up a 2GB or larger thumbdrive.

Also, I have been BIOS flashing with a 512 thumbdrive for quite some time. I use DFI boards in my desktops, and if you know anything about them, you know that BIOS flashing takes lots of practice/prayers.

 

That's what I'm saying. It typically requires a solid DOS environment. Hence, the FreeDOS boot disk. I flashed my BIOS to the 110A from 103 with absolutely no problem using the above method (I wouldn't have posted it otherwise). It's just one of those things that you don't need to boot into DOS very often, but if you do, there's no replacement for a real DOS environment.

How often do you install Windows anyway? I don't find myself reinstalling that often... and I do a significant amount of stuff with my computer. You should try running Ubuntu on that machine... it'll work almost perfectly from my experience.

And I was talking games before Duke3D. I'm talking the ORIGINAL Duke Nukems that were DOS games.

 

I've successfully flashed 2 times with the flash boot cd method.

 

But a bootable USB drive means you can copy over files and work with it without wasting a CD. It's read-write memory rather than read-only, which is what's nice about it. I can just drag the new BIOS to my USB drive and reboot, rather than having to burn a new CD to re-flash. It's also trivial to keep other versions of the BIOS on the drive, so I can flash back if an upgrade breaks something or whatever. And I also have an environment to boot into to play old DOS games

 

I have 10 machines that I "care" for (my 4, wife's, parent's, sister's 2, uncle's 2), so I reinstall a LOT.

I have the original Duke games. I remember playing them in the labs in college (D3D had just come out around then- 1993).

 

Duke3D actually shipped with all 3 on the install disc

 

That's how I have them- along with the demo of Rise of the Triad and something else I can't remember.

 

Since this is bad if done wrong and i'm pretty inexperienced, i was wondering if you guys could put up a tutorial about how to flash the bios. i have the 103A and i am interested in upgrading to reduce the fan cycling (does the latest bios upgrade do the trick?)

I know pitabred started a thread about this, but it wasn't detailed enough for me to know exactly what to do, so if u guys could spell it out exactly, including where and what files i need (bios, flash utility, etc), that would be much appreciated.

also, i would prefer to do it from a CD since my usb flash drive is 1GB and pita's tutorial says they should be under 256mb.

thanks in advance!

 

Yes I would like to know this as well, and where I could download the winflash utility for free, I can never find it.

 

people generally recommend against using winflash

 

What was the issue with what I posted? How about you respond to my post so we don't have multiple topics on it. There are a few options on how to proceed, so you need to figure out if you want to either slipstream a BIOS into a bootable CD, or you want to use a bootable USB drive, or what.

The second part, you just download the new BIOS, DELETE the winphlash.exe file, then put the rest of the files on whatever media you want to boot from. You start up the computer, it'll pull up a D: or C:, then you type the name of the .bat file you put on the bootable media. If you forget the name, you can type "dir" to get a listing of all the files that are there, and if you put it in a sub-directory (folder), you can type "cd <foldername>" to go to that folder and then run the .bat file from there.

 

ok here are my questions.
1) which version of the bios are you using to fix the fan cycling issue?
2) can you send me a link to it.
3) is this how to do it?:
a) delete the winphlash.exe from the collective bios files that i download
b) "burn the remaining files as an image" onto a CD?? or do i "create a bootable cd" using Nero? You mentioned putting flash utilities on there... what flash utilities are you talking about? do i need to do that?
c) reboot from CD
d) find .bat file... but how? is there going to be a screen with a .bat file i can select? and how do i "execute" it to get it to run?
e) anything else i'm missing?
f) if i want to switch to another bios version, do i have to first "uninstall" (if so, how) the current bios? or do i just simply reflash using the same method with another bios version.

there was nothing wrong with your tutorial, it was just too trimmed down for an inexperienced person like me to follow.

 

I merged HchorionicGT's thread with Pitabred's for simplicity's sake.

 

FEEL THE POWER RAWR!!!

/end crazy moment (My Excuse is Finals )

 

bump, can someone confirm/add to my understanding of how to flash the bios? also, where do i find the bios files?

 

Detailed instructions on how to flash the BIOS have already been posted here...please do a search.

The drivers and BIOS for all Compal models can be found at http://www.bizcom-us.com/support/TechSupportDriversDownloadPage.htm

 

Technical question: Can the Compals boot from the SD card reader as well as USB drives? Or just the USB keys? I've got a 16 MB SD card sitting around that would be perfect for this application...if it'll work, that is.

 

In the time it took you to post and get this reply you could have tested this yourself and had your answer

 

I could if I had the machine, but it hasn't arrived yet.

 

Then I hope nobody spoils this suprise for you, and they let you find out when you get your new toy

I'm giving you the gift of learning... Happy Holidays

 

I have done the search, read the instructions, and still don't know how, which is why i am asking here. i thought that was what a forum was for. I'm not asking questions to be annoying, i just want to make sure i don't mess up and have to send my computer in to get fixed. For example, how should i burn the bios files onto a cd? Nero says i can burn normal data cds, make a bootable cd, or burn an image onto a disc. Which one? I've been taught to burn memtest86 as an image onto a cd rather than burn it into a bootable cd even though the program was accessed by booting off of the cd. See what i mean? These are the tiny details that are LEFT OUT of tutorials that newbies like me need. I've got a few more too and they can be found in one of my above posts, and they are not directly answered in any of the tutorials i've read, so i would appreciate it if someone could help me out.

thanks in advance

edit-
i downloaded the latest bios from the site donald refered me to.

i extracted all the files: the batch file, the .rom file, the .wph file, the phlash16 and the readmes into a folder. i deleted the phlash16 file (icon looks like a window) because i'm under the impression that this is the winphlash executable that everyone is condemning...or is it? should i have deleted the .wph file instead? i have no clue.

basically, what should i do now?

 

OK, I think the problem here is that you are asking questions that don't have answers because they are irrelevant...

Pitabred already answered this in what should have been a "decent" answer..
(quote from pitabred)
/you just download the new BIOS, DELETE the winphlash.exe file (***NOTE: This is the exact file to delete, if you dont see it, dont delete something else***), then put the rest of the files on whatever media you want to boot from./

Meaning, it doesn't matter what you boot from as long as it boots to something other then your hard drive. A windows 98 CD, any floppy disk that can boot to a command prompt (you can google on how to very easily make this using XP), any ISO image you want to use to boot from (there are too many to list, but all ISO's burn the same). There is no perfect answer, because they are all correct...

To put it simply, these details have nothing to do with a successful flash update. The main issue is that you don't try and flash the bios from INSIDE WINDOWS (eg.. you boot from NOT your hard drive). Once you are at any DOS command prompt, the rest of the steps don't change.
**********************************************************
Download from website listed on thread already.

Extract zip to something that can boot (google for "bootable usb" or "XP bootdisk" or "bootable ISO") to a command prompt.

Boot to your new disk while your laptop is NOT running on battery power, but has the battery installed.

run the GL30~~~.bat file once booted to your disk.

restart when prompted...
**********************************************************

If that doesn't tell you all you need to know, I seriously and honestly recommend you take it into a shop (take the bios file with you) and ask them to do it, most wont charge you for 3 minutes of their time if you are nice abou t it.

 

pyro, i appreciate your response, but i don't understand why my questions are irrelevant. My whole point of asking is that I DO understand the GENERAL idea that you should NOT try to boot from windows, but that I DON'T know how to do this from outside of windows without the little details. The situation is analogous to the scenario in which a general internal medicine doctor is asked to perform a heart transplant. Sure he might know how the heart generally works and the physiology behind everything, but he's not going to know exactly what to do since he never went through the training to become a cardiac surgeon.

To me it seems like my questions are addressing my misunderstandings of certain points in the tutorial.

pyro said:
The second part, you just download the new BIOS, DELETE the winphlash.exe file, then put the rest of the files on whatever media you want to boot from. You start up the computer, it'll pull up a D: or C:, then you type the name of the .bat file you put on the bootable media. If you forget the name, you can type "dir" to get a listing of all the files that are there, and if you put it in a sub-directory (folder), you can type "cd <foldername>" to go to that folder and then run the .bat file from there.

so to me, that sounds like "take all the files that i just downloaded (since i don't have a winphlash.exe file, i don't need to delete it) and burn them onto a CD then boot from it.

Yet, you are now saying: Extract zip to something that can boot (google for "bootable usb" or "XP bootdisk" or "bootable ISO") to a command prompt.

Which tells me that i need to burn those files PLUS a bootable ISO onto a CD.

BUT, my nero burning software has an option to "make a bootable CD" so does that mean i don't need to do what you just told me?

i can't go through with your steps if i don't know the details.

so all i'm trying to do is confirm what my understanding of these steps is with you guys who are all very experienced with doing this. you have to understand that i was born 20 years ago, and i've never even used MS-DOS or anything prior to the windows 95. I'm really sorry for causing so much frustration, but all i'm trying to do is get a couple straightforward responses to my questions so that i can learn how to flash the bios from a cd.

 

Alright, now there is some direction in what you want to know, which is all I was trying to make a point about... Without more specific questions, it sounds like you just need the same info over and over again...

In the real world of tech-y-nees, you should expect you will get answers over your head, and then you use questions to drive to the details you need. Because geek-y-nees fluent people will think you are talking them down if you lay out out in the basics. (This is meant to be humorous)

As for being born twenty years ago, I will be 24 next june, and I started in 88 when my grandmother (who worked at Seagate (then control data)) brought home a 12mhz PC-clone with RGB color I spent all that time till Windows 98 SE/ME using dos or linux, so saying you are 20 doesn't mean much

Ok, an ISO is simply a single file format standard that represents the contents of a single disk, bootable or not (because an ISO doesn't care what your data is, its the format that is standard, not the data). So telling you to use a bootable ISO simply means get some sort of bootable CD for your machine, like a win98 installation cd-rom. Or google for one, there are tons out there.. The point is that you can boot with it, and when you are done you will have a command prompt (example: A:\^blinky cursor^) If you use a CD to boot, you either need to put the contents from that zip you downloaded onto it, or somewhere on your hard drive or USB that you can access from the bootable CD... (Note that not all bootable stuff can load USB or CD-rom drivers, and that not many read NTFS)

You can also use any disk you already created for memtest86 if it gives you a command prompt (burn the files you downloaded to a CD-rom and continue to read this)

This brings us to NOT using a CD for simplicity sake (not as easy to add files to an ISO, where you can just drag and drop files to a USB drive)... so google yourself a way to make a bootable USB drive if you want to do it this way. Winflash is what I use, but there are tons of others.

Even easier is if you have a floppy drive, but I'm assuming you don't. Basically this just means use XP to create a boot disk (google if you need help), and then put the files from the zip you downloaded onto a 2nd floppy disk. Boot from the 1st disk, then change disks.

Reguardless of how you do it, once you boot to a command prompt, run the .bat file. Tada! Hopefully it is successful *Rare Risks*

Reboot when prompted.

Hopefully that helped, otherwise, short, concise questions to steps you are having issues with is prefered.

 

lol I think saying my age does say something since I didn't have relatives in the computer industry when i was 6 years old to hand me down a 12mhz PC-clone with RGB color for me to learn MS-DOS on.

Anyways, thanks for the input. I think the issue now is just the fact that I'm wondering if i can burn the bios files onto a cd using Nero's "make a bootable cd" option to bypass the creation of a bootable cd using one of the methods already mentioned or not. i've basically asked this question in my last two posts. And for the record, my first quote on pitabred's post listed the exact questions i was asking in a,b,c,d format, as concisely as i could.

 

Ask a lazy question, get a lazy answer (Include thread names and post numbers so we dont have to dig)

Honestly, It has been a while since I've used nero's bootable CD maker (I think the increment is years), but I do believe you tell the wizard what .img to use to make the disk bootable, then you can add whatever files you want like normal. So the answer, assuming I am correct is yes.

 

Forgive me for assuming that you read my initial questions before jumping to help out; my original questions are on page 2 of this thread, reply # 15. Does that qualify as "un-lazy" mr. "just google it"?

 

I think it's probably easier to use HP's USB Format tool and load it with the DOS files. Better than wasting a CD

 

1. Latest

2. Sounds like you already have it.

3. I think your nero wizard will work (if my last post was correct) for creating your boot disk. The utility referenced is phflash16.exe (It is the only .exe file in the zip you downloaded, but it doesn't matter, just copy the ENTIRE contents from the zip you downloaded to your boot device)

4. dir is a command prompt built-in command that lists the contents of the directory, used like so: A:\dir<press enter> : A list will be displayed with all the files. If you want practice in the dos environment click Start > Run > and type CMD <press enter> how type DIR and see what happens. You can also type things like CD 'sub directory' <press enter> to enter a folder you can see. you can also use CD \ <press enter> to go to the root (c:\). To make something execute in a DOS environment just type the filename. (Don't Practice this one, just for the sake of simplicity, trust that I'm right)
There should be a something.bat file (only one). Maybe to make this easier, look at the files in the zip before you make the CD and write down/remember the name of the .bat file. (Should be like GL30-111.bat) When you are sitting at the command prompt after rebooting, type the somename.bat <press enter> and it should just work. If it doesn't write down or remember what error's or problems you had, and come back and let us know.

5. "Flashing" is a term that describes taking software code and setting a piece of hardware to mimic the codes functionality by programming the logic gates. This hardware is called firmware usually (BIOS). There is no "uninstall" for this, only erase, and doing that makes your system not boot Think of your BIOS as something more like a write-able CD.

Hope that helps.

 

I answered the first question from you on this thread that I saw =P ( And I didn't start reading from the beginning because I wasn't purposefully looking for all the questions that needed answering, I normally just hop to the latest page and see if I can help.)

I'm not a moderator here, I just like sharing information while waiting for my servers to do things here at Intel... or in between fixing code.... or when I get home... or while programming at home.. or while alt-tabbed from a game... or while sitting in one of the classes after work... <-- needs a life

 

That's exactly what i needed. Thank you SO much pyro

 

Something amusing you can think about for grins and giggles... I actually dont use google... I feel stupid saying it... so I dont go there... I do however respect the project since it is based in the programming language of my choice, python, and the creator of python is one of the lead guys at google.

So then, you are forced to wonder, "Oh whast thou use-eth if not for Google!?!" I use dogpile.com... a much more respectable name...

 

pyro,

i did everything we talked about with no success. The bios files were all on the CD, i checked. The cd did boot and i did get to a dos command prompt "A:\>", but when i typed in GL30-111.BAT, the response was something like "invalid filename", and when i tried to search for it in other directories, i couldnt find the file. I also tried to switch to D, C, and B by typing this "A:\>cd D(or B or C):\" but nothing happened.

what should i do now?

 

Did you put the folder on the CD or just the files? You may need to brows to the subfolder...at the A: prompt type "dir" and tell us what comes up.

 

i only put the files on the cd, no folder. from what i remember, when i typed "dir" it only showed 8 entries which were something like: drdos <dir>, oak <dir>, nr <dir>, wwbu exe, something txt, autodos7 bat, command com, and something else

 

You change drives by just typing the drive letter for instance

X:\Folder\ <-- Default location with blinking cursor.
X:\Folder\c:<press enter>
C:\ <-- Blinking cursor

CD is change directory, not drive.

When you boot it should say something like "your cd drive letter is: x"
you can then type x: <enter>
then
dir<enter>
***output to screen***
file1
file2
file3
etc...
your file.bat should be in here. if not, maybe its in a folder? if you see anything listed after typing DIR as name <DIR> its a subdirectory, so you would type cd nameOFfolder<enter>

 

Yeah, you've got to change the drive letter to the one it tells you is for the CD-ROM, by default most bootable images decompress the utilities to a ram drive and start you there..

 

ok, i found the D drive and all the files were there. When i typed in the GL30_111.BAT, which corresponded to the BAT file shown on screen, i immediately went to a screen with a red box that said "pheonix flash failed with phlash16. press any key to exit." I almost got a heartattack here, but luckily my computer still rebooted up. anyways, here are the contents of my cd. am i doing something wrong?

edit -the 2 files without complete names are the GL30 files - one ending in .rom and the other in .wph

 

Ok, when you are at the DOS prompt, you most likely will have a different drive letter for your CD-ROM *not D, like I said in the previous post, it should display a message after you boot saying its drive letter X*

I think you just need to change to that drive first, then you shouldn't have a problem

When in doubt, just type a drive letter (such as A , then type DIR
if you dont see the .bat file or get an error, type b:, then DIR, and so on till you find the right drive.

 

Are you paying attention to case? You keep typing .BAT in your posts.

Is it .BAT or .bat? Your screen shot doesn't show the case of the file extension.

 

Does that matter? I don't recall either dos to batch file programming being case sensitive..

 

DOS/Windows isn't case sensitive when it comes to file system names.

 

what i'm saying is i'm pretty sure i did find the right drive. my cd drive is in fact letter drive D, and when i went from drive A to drive D in DOS, all the files on the CD showed up. I typed in the name of the bios bat file, and it seemed like it was going to run, but then it went to a blue screened background with options such as "back up bios", but almost instantly, a red error message box appeared that said the pheonix flash plash16 failed. I feel like i did everything correctly and that it should have worked, so i don't know what to do now.

 

Open the batch file with notepad
check that it says something like:
phlash16 GL-111.ROM /x /mode=3 /pf=cmos

Make sure the file I underlined (or whatever file it names) is on the CD.

 

this is what it shows:

phlash16 GL30-111.WPH /x /mode=3 /pf=cmos

and the .wph file is definately there on the CD

 

Is the GL30-111.ROM file there?

if it is, restart on your CD, change to the CD drive, and type in:
phlash16 gl30-111.rom /x /mode=3 /pf=cmos<press enter>

Should work for you. (this is how my batch file is setup, and normally .ROM files are associated with firmware, I'm not sure what a .wph is, other then maybe for the windows version of the flash tool)

I just downloaded HGL3XBIOS111A.zip from the site, and the .ROM file is there, so you should have it.

 

When you boot your computer from the USB drive, it should be on the correct drive letter. Type "dir" when it boots up to make sure you can see the files, and that they are ALL IN THE SAME FOLDER. From what I've seen, .wph is just another BIOS image, just like .rom, .bin, whatever. They're pretty much all just binary images of the BIOS.

paladin44: DOS isn't case sensitive It wouldn't matter if he typed it in RaNdOm CaSe, it'd still run.