Friday, March 2, 2012

BIOS Update Procedure

All Motherboards today, ensure that upgrades are easily obtained by incorporating the system BIOS in a FLASH Memory component. With FLASH BIOS, there is no need to replace an E - PROM component. Once downloaded, the upgrade utility fits on a floppy disc allowing the user to save, verify and update the system BIOS. A hard drive or a network drive can also be used to run the newer upgrade utilities. However, memory managers can not be installed while upgrading.
Most pre-Pentium motherboards do not have a Flash BIOS. The following instructions therefore do not apply to these boards. If your motherboard does not have a Flash BIOS (EEPROM) you will need to use an E - PROM programmer to re-program the BIOS chip. See your dealer for more information about this.
Please read the following instructions in full before starting a Flash BIOS upgrade:
A. Create a Boot-able Floppy (in DOS)
· With a non-formatted disk, type the following:

format a:/s
· If using a formatted disk, type:

sys a:
This procedure will ensure a clean boot when you are flashing the new BIOS.
B. Download the BIOS file
· Download the correct BIOS file by clicking on the file name of the BIOS file you wish to download.
· Save the BIOS file and the Flash Utility file in the boot disk you have created. Unzip the BIOS file and the flash utility file. If you don’t have an “unzip” utility, download the Win-zip for Windows 95 shareware/ evaluation copy for that one time use from _www.winzip.com or _www.pkware.com. Most CD ROMs found in computer magazines, have a shareware version of Win Zip on them.
· You should have extracted two files:

Flash BIOS utility eg: flash7265.exe (for example)
BIOS eg: 6152J900.bin (example)
Use the latest flash utility available unless otherwise specified (either on the BIOS update page or in the archive file). This information is usually provided.
C. Upgrade the System BIOS
During boot up, write down the old BIOS version because you will need to use it for the BIOS backup file name.
Place the boot-able floppy disk containing the BIOS file and the Flash Utility in drive a, and reboot the system in MS-DOS, preferably Version 6.22
· At the A:> prompt, type the corresponding Flash BIOS utility and the BIOS file with its extension.

For example:
flash625 615j900.bin
· From the Flash Memory Writer menu, select “Y” to “Do you want to save BIOS?” if you want to save (back up) your current BIOS (strongly recommended), then type the name of your current BIOS and its extension after FILE NAME TO SAVE: eg: a:\613J900.bin

Alternatively select “N” if you don’t want to save your current BIOS. Beware, though, that you won’t be able to recover from a possible failure.
· Select “Y” to “Are you sure to program?”
· Wait until it displays “Message: Power Off or Reset the system”

Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system. If you write to BIOS but cannot complete the procedure, do not switch off, because the computer will not be able to boo, and you will not be given another chance to flash. In this case leave your system on until you resolve the problem (flashing BIOS with old file is a possible solution, provided you’ve made a backup before)
Make sure the new BIOS version has been loaded properly by taking note of the BIOS identifier as the system is rebooting.
For AMI BIOS
Once the BIOS has been successfully loaded, remove the floppy disk and reboot the system holding the “END” key prior to power on until you enter CMOS setup. If you do not do this the first time booting up after upgrading the BIOS, the system will hang.
BIOS Update Tips
note:
1.Make sure never to turn off or reset your computer during the flash process. This will corrupt the BIOS data. We also recommend that you make a copy of your current BIOS on the boot-able floppy so you can re-flash it if you need to. (This option is not available when flashing an AMI BIOS).
2. If you have problems installing your new BIOS please check the following:

Have you done a clean boot?
In other words, did you follow the above procedure for making a boot-able floppy? This ensures that when booting from “A” there are no device drivers on the diskette. Failing to do a clean boot is the most common cause for getting a “Memory Insufficient” error message when attempting to flash a BIOS.
If you have not used a boot-able floppy, insure a clean boot either by
a) pressing F5 during boot-up
b) by removing all device drivers on the CONFIG.SYS including the HIMEM.SYS. Do this by using the EDIT command.

Have you booted up under DOS?
Booting in Windows is another common cause for getting a “Memory Insufficient” error message when attempting to flash a BIOS. Make sure to boot up to DOS with a minimum set of drivers. Important: Booting in DOS does not mean selecting “Restart computer in MS-DOS Mode” from Windows98/95 shutdown menu or going to Prompt mode in Windows-NT, but rather following the above procedure (format a: /s and rebooting from a:\).
Have you entered the full file name of the flash utility and the BIOS plus its extension?
Do not forget that often you will need to add a drive letter (a:\) before flashing the BIOS. Example: when asked for file name of new BIOS file which is on your floppy disk, in case you’re working from c:\ your will need to type a:\615j900.bin, rather than 615j900.bin only.

How to Back-Up the Registry

Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you can then follow the steps how-to restore the registry to its previous state.


How to Export Registry Keys

Click Start, and then click Run.

In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.

On the File menu, click Export.

In the Save in box, select the boxs at the bottom the bottom according to weather you want to export all or only selected branches of the registry.

Next select a location in which to save the backup .reg file. In the File name box, type a file name, and then click Save.


How to Restore the Registry

To restore registry keys that you exported, double-click the .reg file that you saved.

How to hack Windows XP Admin Passwords the easy way

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This hack will only work if the person that owns the machine
has no intelligence. This is how it works:
When you or anyone installs Windows XP for the first time your
asked to put in your username and up to five others.
Now, unknownst to a lot of other people this is the only place in
Windows XP that you can password the default Administrator Diagnostic
Account. This means that to by pass most administrators accounts
on Windows XP all you have to do is boot to safe mode by pressing F8
during boot up and choosing it. Log into the Administrator Account
and create your own or change the password on the current Account.
This only works if the user on setup specified a password for the
Administrator Account.

This has worked for me on both Windows XP Home and Pro.
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Now this one seems to be machine dependant, it works randomly(don't know why)

If you log into a limited account on your target machine and open up a dos prompt
then enter this set of commands Exactly:
(this appeared on www.astalavista.com a few days ago but i found that it wouldn't work
on the welcome screen of a normal booted machine)
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cd\ *drops to root
cd\windows\system32 *directs to the system32 dir
mkdir temphack *creates the folder temphack
copy logon.scr temphack\logon.scr *backsup logon.scr
copy cmd.exe temphack\cmd.exe *backsup cmd.exe
del logon.scr *deletes original logon.scr
rename cmd.exe logon.scr *renames cmd.exe to logon.scr
exit *quits dos
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Now what you have just done is told the computer to backup the command program
and the screen saver file, then edits the settings so when the machine boots the
screen saver you will get an unprotected dos prompt with out logging into XP.
Once this happens if you enter this command minus the quotes
"net user password"
If the Administrator Account is called Frank and you want the password blah enter this
"net user Frank blah"
and this changes the password on franks machine to blah and your in.

Have fun
p.s: dont forget to copy the contents of temphack back into the system32 dir to cover tracks
Any updates, Errors, Suggestions or just general comments mail them to either