Flashing Bios of Tyan Thunder n6650EX (S4992) Motherboard

Can anyone expalin me that how beneficial is flashing a bios of motherboard. Is it relly applicable and how does it effects the performance of motherboard.
has anyone tried the Flashing Bios of Tyan Thunder n6650EX (S4992) Motherboard. can anyone explain me the procedures?
Please help me regarding this.

your views will be appreciated

About Bios and it's Flashing:

It's the acronym for Basic Input/Output System. It's one of the most crucial components on a motherboard. It determines and tells your computer what it can do without accessing any other files or programs from your storage; it acts like simple software. Basically the BIOS contains all the information that's needed for your computer to POST (=Power on Self Test). This includes how to control your keyboard, communicate with your processor, send/receive video signals to/from your monitor, and recognize your components (hard drives, optical drives, USB devices, serial ports and so on). If this makes sense then you understand that without the BIOS a computer would not boot at all (no POST); neither will it boot with a defective/corrupted BIOS.

When manufacturers release a new motherboard, of course, the BIOS on the board is already flashed. Since technology advances in quantum leaps it's very important to realize that in a matter of weeks or months new products are going to be released. So computers should support them, right? That's the bottom line here. Flashing your BIOS to the latest release is crucial because it enhances your system's capabilities, helps it to detect newer devices and components (bigger hard drivers, newer processors, and so forth), and improves stability (very often in the latest BIOS flashes manufacturers apply a series of bug fixes). There is always a "change-log" included with every newer BIOS release that should be your number 1 must-read piece of information; it helps you decide whether or not it's worth it to flash that specific version.

Every manufacturer recommends that you use their BIOS flashing utility. Also, don't forget to read the information that's included and related to flashing in your motherboard's manual. Yes, dig that manual out (or if you can't find it then download it from the manufacturer's website; it's usually available) and read it!

Four of the most common flashers are: AWDFLASH, AMIFLASH, UNIFLASH and AFUDOS (only for ASUS boards). Out of these the UNIFLASH (get it here) is the universal flasher that can usually flash every BIOS; it has awesome compatibility capabilities. Keep in mind that BIOS flashing can be (and is) dangerous, because in the case of a bad flash the data ends up corrupted and your computer won't POST anymore. So I'm recommending wholeheartedly that you use the BIOS flasher that's explained in the manual and provided by the manufacturer of your board. Read the manual, do your research and when you're ready, then and only then proceed to follow the instructions.

After you get your flasher you need the latest BIOS flash file. First find out your motherboard manufacturer's name and your board's exact name and specifications. Visit your manufacturer's website and download the latest non-beta version (betas can be risky and I don't suggest you experiment if you can't fix it if a bad flash happens; we'll discuss that a bit later). These files usually have ".ROM" or ".BIN" extensions. Later on I'm going to call the "latest BIOS file" "newbios.bin."

Preventive Measures before Flashing your Motherboard Bios:

Do NOT reboot and/or shut down your system while flashing; the reason for that should be self-explanatory. It's also recommended that you set your BIOS options to "default": reboot, go into BIOS and select the option "Load Fail-safe defaults" or something similar. Now all you need to do is to make backup bootable system disk(s), which can save you in case of a bad flash.

A boot-block is a small part of the BIOS that helps in case of a bad flash. Let me explain how and why. When flashing the BIOS usually (if you don't use additional commands) the boot-block remains intact, meaning that the "original" boot-block remains safe. The boot-block only contains the data that lets it know how to boot and flash the BIOS from a floppy disk or CD.

Suppose the data on the BIOS is screwed up; no POST will happen, nothing will appear on your monitor but your FDD and optical drives are going to blink like hell. This means that you have a bad flash. Either the wrong version of BIOS was flashed onto the ROM or there was a power outage and the flashing stopped right in the middle of the process. You can save your computer by inserting a bootable MS-DOS floppy disk (or CD) that is going to have following files on it: your flasher, a new BIOS flash file and "autoexec.bat." Autoexec.bat is executed as soon as your system boots up in MS-DOS. You need to include a command to run the flashing utility.

There is another way to flash AMI BIOS without the need for a bootable floppy disk. Rename your new BIOS flash file to "AMIBOOT.ROM" then copy it to a floppy disk (that will contain only this file). Insert it into your FDD and reboot. Hold down "CTRL"+ "HOME" to launch the flashing process.

You will notice that the floppy LED (or the light on the optical device) is going to report that it's reading. Your system will boot up in MS-DOS and then the flashing process will start. Don't expect anything to appear on your screen; you need to wait until you figure out yourself that the LED isn't blinking anymore and it completed its task; you can wait up to a few minutes maximum to be sure that the process is finished.

Eject the CD or get the floppy disk out and reboot your system. If everything goes all right it is going to POST correctly and work as usual; what a relief. You have just saved your system from a bad flash.

Well, there are a few ways to flash a new and correct version of BIOS onto the chip. The most popular technique is "hot-swapping." You are going to need another ROM chip that is flashed with the correct BIOS, meaning that it's taken out of a working motherboard which is exactly like yours.

You borrow that chip for a half an hour (from a friend, neighbor, etc), install it in your motherboard and boot up; your system will POST if the data on the new chip is correct. As soon as you've booted up into MS-DOS, you take out the BIOS ROM chip on-the-fly and replace it with your chip (which has corrupt data on it). Then you proceed to flash.

As a side note, please be very cautious and aware that fiddling with components without turning the PC off is very dangerous; you can do more harm than good. Then again, this technique is tried and tested; it works but it's recommended only as a last resort when everything else fails. Basically you're taking out a chip that is powered on, so there is a slight chance of screwing up the entire motherboard's circuitry along with the chip.

How to Flash the BIOS of Tyan Thunder n6650EX (S4992) Motherboard:

Basic Definitions:

Boot Disk - Refers to either a Windows 95 or Windows 98 boot disk. Any other type of boot disk might load memory resident programs which will interfere with the flash process. Make sure you hit the F5 key when the boot disk starts running to insure no other programs are loaded in the back ground without your knowledge.

Utility - Refers to the flash program that is required to get the BIOS file programmed into the motherboards' BIOS chip. For more details regarding what BIOS utility, please go: http://www.tyan.com/tech/flash_utilities.aspx

File to program - Refers to the actual bios file that is downloaded from the website. You must always run a winzip program on the downloaded file to insure that it is in the appropriate .rom or .bin format before flashing the BIOS.

Hard boot - This refers to turning off the system's power and turning it back on.

Original Flash Method:

Two separate diskettes are needed. The first diskette is the Windows 95/98 Boot Disk. The second diskette should contain the flash utility and the file to program (unzipped) with no other files on the diskette. Procedure:

Hard boot the system using the boot disk.Make sure that you hit the F5 key when the book disk first starts running to make sure no other programs are loaded in the background without your knowledge.You will come to an A: prompt. Remove the first diskette.Insert the second diskette containing the flash utility and the file to program. Type "dir" to check the disk contents.Type in the name of the flash utility followed by a space, followed by the file to program and any special triggers that would be required after the file program name. As a general rule all Award based bios flashes use the /py /sn /f /cc /r at the end of the flash utility to work correctly. AMI as a general rule uses /a /b /c at the end of their flash utility to work correctly. Not all flash utilities or versions require triggers on the end of the flash line. If there are special triggers to add on the end of the flash utility it would be stated in any FAQ's that would be on the website. EXAMPLE: flashv73 1854v107.bin /py /sn /f /cc /r (enter key) or phlash16 2460v104.rom (enter key)
Clear the CMOS jumper. Reboot system and the flashed version of the BIOS should now be seen during the POST screen details.

Basic Bios Flashing Method Applicable for Nearly all Motherboard:

• Download the zipped files from the Tyan website.Unzip the package to the 4 component files (batch file, .txt file, flash utility and bios file) and place them on a second diskette.Hard boot the system using the boot disk.Make sure that you hit the F5 key when the boot disk first starts running to make sure no other programs are loaded in the background without your knowledge.Simply type in flash and the rest will be handled by the files included in the downloaded zip file.
  
• Clear the CMOS. Reboot system and the flashed version of the BIOS should now be present on your monitor.

Check this one:

Another Method for Flashing your Motherboard's Bios:

USB Flash Key Method:

BIOS must be able to boot to USB bootable devices. Not all core bios versions have USB as a bootable option. Double check your documentation if you are unsure if this option is supported.

Make the USB Flash key bootableInsure that you have the command.com, IO.sys and MSDOS.sys files on the USB key so that it will be bootable.Place the unzipped batch files (batch file, flash utility, bios file and .txt file) on the USB key.Make sure that the USB Flash Key is at the top of the boot order in your bios so that when the motherboard is turned on it will immediately boot to the USB Flash Key and boot cleanly to an A: prompt.Simply type in flash at the A: prompt and the rest will be handled by the batch file itself.
Clear the C