Low level boot disks for EEPROM flashers

[Mike Bilow]

I don't mean to dispute your actual experience, but this makes no sense.
In any recent version of DOS or Windows 9x, you can format a floppy disk
using "FORMAT A: /S" and this should leave you with a bare DOS boot.  You
can delete HIMEM.SYS from the boot floppy if it somehow gets installed.
Unless there is an explicit DEVICE line with a path in CONFIG.SYS that
references another drive, the boot floppy will never try to install a
device drive such as HIMEM.SYS from anywhere other than on the floppy.

To the best of my recollection, the DOS 6 install disk does load
HIMEM.SYS.  In fact, I think it also loads SMARTDRV.EXE, as otherwise the
installation would be painfully slow, on the order of hours.  Floppy
access in DOS is not fast, and SMARTDRV.EXE compensates for this a lot.  
If you need to check whether HIMEM.SYS was installed after booting, use
the MEM program; if it shows XMS, then HIMEM.SYS is present and running.

I have never personally had a flash update fail on any motherboard because
HIMEM.SYS was loaded.  Under Windows 9x, you can interrupt the boot
process by striking F8 during the "Starting Windows..." message.  If you
then select "Command Prompt Only," you are in pretty much a bare DOS boot
although HIMEM.SYS will be loaded.  This is the usual configuration for
flashing a BIOS update.  Note, however, that using the "Shut down to
MS-DOS mode" does NOT result in a bare DOS boot, and is NOT an acceptable
environment for flashing a BIOS update.

I would be interested to know exactly what went wrong for you.

-- Mike


On Sun, 2 Apr 2000, Randall Hofland wrote:

>     Should anyone need this advice and at the risk of sounding like an
> idiot, I will pass on that I was finally able to format a floppy boot
> disk that would allow my Supermicro flasher for the P6DLS boards to
> function without irreversibly corrupting the EEPROM (as it repeatedly
> did in either DOS or NT).
>     I merely began a DOS install (v.6.22) which I then halted using F3,
> and when the A: prompt came up up I entered FORMAT/S which then
> requested a new diskette and then formatted it with the low level system
> files I needed (no HiMem functions).
>     Don't know if this helps anyone now but if you ever need to flash
> your ROMs (I have 9 total to update) it may come in handy to know to use
> this trick.


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