Re: [gentoo-user] {OT} Flashing BIOS with Windows utility

[Mark Knecht <markknecht@gmail.com>]

On Tue, Jan 19, 2010 at 2:55 PM, Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> I need to update the BIOS on my Biostar motherboard, but the utility
>>>>> is said to be "Windows 2000 / XP / VISTA".  I've flashed the BIOS in
>>>>> other systems by booting a FreeDOS CD, but that won't work for a
>>>>> Windows (not DOS) flashing utility, will it?  I tried running the
>>>>> utility via wine with no luck.
>>>>>
>>>>> - Grant
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-pocket,1113.html
>>>
>>> XP on a USB stick....  It sounds like a Windows machine is necessary
>>> to build it, but once it's built it would be really handy.
>>>
>>> - Grant
>>>
>>>
>>
>> I keep one around. It works sometimes, as long as your Windows machine
>> hardware doesn't need anything terribly unique. It's helped me with
>> flashing firmware on RME sound cards. They require Windows also.
>>
>> Just thought I'd mention it. It's a bit of work, but once it's done
>> you don't have to mess with Windows on the disk.
>>
>> Good luck,
>> Mark
>
> Hi Mark,
>
> What's wrong with hardware that needs unique software?  Doesn't the
> USB key work just like XP on an HD?
>
> - Grant
>
>
Sure, but if you set this up on one machine and then try to use it on
another machine that has different hardware then it may or may not
work. My experience is mostly it doesn't.

I've wanted to learn to set up a little library of USB images of which
I'd load the one I wanted into the flash drive when I needed it, but
the flash drives are so cheap these days that it's just easier to have
5 or 6 of them laying around. Then the only problem is remembering
which one works with a specific machine.

- Mark