GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

[CaneMan]

I received this board yesterday and started to update the BIOS. The board came with F4 BIOS. I started through Q-Flash using a USB Flash drive F5 ,F6 & F7 installed OK, when I came to F8 Q-Flash only showed the A Drive not B drive which was the next F8 update. I had the same problem with my GA-P35C-DSRC board. BIOS up to F3e worked fine with booting through the flash drive until I upgraded to F3. Anybody got any ideas about this problem?

[mv2devnull]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Why did you update to F5, F6, and F7 instead just flashing F8 over the initial F4?

Isn't there "DualBIOS" to recover the initial bios and then try flashing F8 again?

[CaneMan]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Hi mv2devnull.
I read somewhere that you should not jump too many BIOS updates. I am sure there is a recovery method but I would like keep the latest BIOS update if possible.

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Can you load the BIOS at all now? If so, do you have a OS installed already?

If you do, the quickest thing for you to do is create a 1GB FAT32 partition and put your "Problem" BIOS on there and then flash from it in Qflash

As for the issue itself, some things change between BIOS's and you may need to check a few things in the bios before you could use USB to flash again to F8. Legacy USB Storage Detect needs to be enabled, you may need to reformat the flash drive again to FAT32 and you may or may not need to enable the Boot device order again.

One thing I should tell you is as said above you can directly flash from F4 to F8 without issues for sure. Another is (You may or may not already do but I have to tell you) After ANY Flash you need to go into the BIOS and And "Load Optimized Defaults" Then save apply/reboot. Then you can reboot and make any needed changes in the BIOS, or flash the next one. If you do not do this the BIOS update may not fully load, and or may confuse settings. Which could be the issue at hand

Also, be sure (Which again you may or may not already do) that when you are flashing you leave the USB stick plugged in when you reboot to Qflash, you cannot plug it in later after you have already rebooted

[CaneMan]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Hi Lsdmeasap,
Thanks for the reply.
There was no problem loading the BIOS and is loaded up to F8. After F6, the USB drive did not show in Q-Flash, only the A drive, which I used to load F8. Vista Ultimate is installed and running. I use a dual boot HD drive so, if possible I would like to leave it as it is without repartitioning it. The USB drive is formatted FAT32.
The use of Q-Flash was done “By the Book” and the “Load Optimized Defaults” part was also done. BTW, I see there is a new BIOS version out F9f. What does the “f” mean after the F9? Beta?

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Yeah It is Beta if it has a letter, best to not use unless it specifically addresses a issue you are having.

Hmm, USB not visible eh? Be sure you leave it in when rebooting, and legacy USB storage detect may need to be enabled. Also, you may need to reformat it again, or try it as FAT16

[johnwaller]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

I have same/similar problem. I have formated floppy and also tried USB drive(s) to flash new bios, but GA-EP45-DS3R's Q-Flash doesn't see the motherboard_bios_ga-ep45-ds3r_f8 bios file that I downloaded from gigabyte website.

Funny thing is, I could use "Save Main BIOS to Drive" option to save old bios to the floppy, and Q-Flash would be able to see this file, but Q-Flash does not see my new motherboard_bios_ga-ep45-ds3r_f8 bios file.

I can't do much with my computer until I upgrade bios. I have F4 going for F8.

I hope somebody might know what is causing this.

NOTE: motherboard_bios_ga-ep45-ds3r_f8 bios ends with exe and is only 576KB

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

A floppy should not be a issue at all. Are you sure you have floppy set to be a bootable device? It will show up as a disk I think did you look thru all "Disks" shown to you by Qflash?

Ahh, after reading your full question instead of answering piece by piece I know your issue now. So you can ignore the above

BIOS Files do not end in .exe. That is a self extractor made to install the files needed to a floppy for a DOS based flash. You need to extract the file and place the BIOS file only on the floppy. It will end in Board_Name.FX Format

P45_DS3R.F8 <<< Like so

Here they files are incase you do not have winrar, and winzip or windows wont extract to anything other then a floppy (Not sure if it will or not as I use winrar)

Here is F7 (BIOS File Only) >>>
EP45DS3R.F7

Here is F8 (BIOS File Only) >>>
ep45ds3r.f8

Here is F9 (BIOS File Only) >>>
ep45ds3r.f9

You can also if you like (Just incase) make a FAT32 1GB partition on your disk and keep all your BIOS files there incase you ever need them and your floppy or USB fails (I Do this myself)

[johnwaller]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Lsdmeasap, thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I spent many hours trying to figure this out, (my first bios update in several years) and it took me 5 minutes to flash F8 after your posting.

Thank you again.

P.S. Gigabyte website failed to mention crucial step about extracting bios file from exe file that they provide in their bios section. Somehow, I did not find this step through google search either. I found this forum through google :-) Great community!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

HAHA.... hey no Problem. We all have our days, and as you know we all learn something new everyday

Ya, I really think they should make the file a ZIP for those who may not notice and dont know what to do with a self extractor

Ya I guess they assume everyone has winrar installed I guess. I think winzip also will allow you to extract it, but not sure as I use winrar and extracts everything

So.... All is working well?

If you need any help with overclocking or timings make a thread and I can help you

[CaneMan]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

What I don't understand is that the USB drive is shown as one of the drives together with the other Hard Drives, but not under Q-Flash

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

What do you mean? You cannot see your USB Stick in Qflash?

If not try reformatting it as FAT32 or FAT16 and also check if you have Legacy USB Storage Detect Enabled in the Integrated Peripherals page. Please disable this after you are done if you do not plan to use a USB Storage Drive as it often causes issues.

And be sure to leave the USB stick in when you reboot, it must be left in to show up

[mxcrowe]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

LSD,
Do you recommend not using @BIOS to flash up? I have used it for all my flashes so far, seemingly without problem. I've heard others say not to do it this way.
Semi-off-topic: I noticed that the F8 bios is out for the EP45-DS3L. Do you have any word that this update addresses the "Resume from S3 Standby Crashing Problem"?
BTW, great name, great avatar, fantastic forum!!
-MXC

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Yes, DO NOT USE @BIOS!!!

You have gotten lucky, trust me you do not want to be added to the list of users who say "@BIOS Killed my Board"

It does not list that as part of the update so I would assume not, it will be listed for sure once fixed

Thanks about the name n such, Just came to me on one of those days... Ya know.

[mxcrowe]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R BIOS Problems

Roger that...loud and clear...thanks!
I sure hope Gigabyte is getting the message about these BSODs on resume from standby.
-MXC