aaron158 wrote on 2021-07-14, 21:00:

i got an asus TUSL2-C board it came with Version 1011. […]
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i got an asus TUSL2-C board it came with Version 1011.

i went to the asus site and there is 2 updates

Version 1012 and
Version 1014.001 Beta Version

i tired downloading the beta one first and when i run asus flash it tells me that this is not an asus bios or it don't match the board or something like that.

so i tired the 1012 and that one updated fine

one thing i noticed is the file are dif files types 1012 is 1012tc.awd but the beta is STN.BIN

anyone know whats going on here is it just saying that because its a beta bios or is asus just hosting the wrong file for this bios update.

Ok first you must understand that just because a BIOS is newer does not mean it fixes what you need it to fix, sometimes newer BIOS can actually cause lack of support for older CPU or other issues.
General rule: do not use any Beta bios unless it fixes your exact problem.
From Asus: -----
Version 1014.001 Beta Version
2002/09/23 188.32 KBytes
TUSL2-C Beta BIOS 1014.001
fixed: Kingston 256MB SDRAM modules are used.

Version 1012
2002/06/14 187.47 KBytes
fixed: Keep CPU fan turned on in Standby(S1) state if Intel Tualatin CPU is used.
Fix CPU speed quick selection setup menu shows wrong options for Intel Tualatin CPU with locked freqency multiple > 13
Change VGA BIOS for I815E and I815EG based projects.
Support IDE 48-bit LBA addressing mode."
-----
So version 1012 is actually the better bios IMHO (is not "beta", fixes a few things and adds 48bit LBA). The only thing 1014 beta adds is support for one type of Kingston DIMMS from the description

Have seen many Beta BIOS with a different naming structure than the non-Beta, that is because it is "an update that may improve a motherboard's performance or resolve a severe problem but has not yet undergone thorough testing. These downloads are intended only for advanced computer users."

Hope that helps..

one issue i'm having is if u cut power to the psu once all the power drains out the bios is losing its settings even with a brandnew cr2032. i though maybe the clr bios jumper was set. but the manual says jumper is next to the battery to the right of the south bridge chip i can see a label there but no jumper pins are soldered in place. as long as power is plugged in it seems to keep the settings but as soon as u cut power it don't

aaron158 wrote on 2021-07-15, 07:09:

one issue i'm having is if u cut power to the psu once all the power drains out the bios is losing its settings even with a brandnew cr2032. i though maybe the clr bios jumper was set. but the manual says jumper is next to the battery to the right of the south bridge chip i can see a label there put no jumper pins are soldered in place. as long as power is plugged in it seems to keep the settings but as soon as u cut power it don't

Have you tested the new battery with a multimeter (duds do happen) ?
Are the contacts on the battery holder clean and free of corrosion ?

The board doesn't have a jumper for this - only two solder points which you short together to clear the CMOS

EDIT - See plenty of people online using the beta BIOS with this board. What version of the DOS AFLASH app are you using (assuming you're not using the Windows Live Update method). There is a v1.32 (attached v2.21) which added support for number of flash chip models

ASUS Plug and Play BIOS Flash Utility v1.32.
1. Add support for EON EN29F040.
2. Add support for SST 39SF040.
3. Add support for ST FWH M50FW040.
4. Add support for SST FWH 49LF004A.

darry wrote on 2021-07-15, 07:11:

aaron158 wrote on 2021-07-15, 07:09:

one issue i'm having is if u cut power to the psu once all the power drains out the bios is losing its settings even with a brandnew cr2032. i though maybe the clr bios jumper was set. but the manual says jumper is next to the battery to the right of the south bridge chip i can see a label there put no jumper pins are soldered in place. as long as power is plugged in it seems to keep the settings but as soon as u cut power it don't

Have you tested the new battery with a multimeter (duds do happen) ?
Are the contacts on the battery holder clean and free of corrosion ?

i tired cleaning it with dexoit didn't help turns out i bent the little spring upwards a little now it seems like its working guess the old spring wasn't pushing up on the button enough to make contact.

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2021-07-15, 08:07:

The board doesn't have a jumper for this - only two solder points which you short together to clear the CMOS […]
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The board doesn't have a jumper for this - only two solder points which you short together to clear the CMOS

EDIT - See plenty of people online using the beta BIOS with this board. What version of the DOS AFLASH app are you using (assuming you're not using the Windows Live Update method). There is a v1.32 (attached v2.21) which added support for number of flash chip models

ASUS Plug and Play BIOS Flash Utility v1.32.
1. Add support for EON EN29F040.
2. Add support for SST 39SF040.
3. Add support for ST FWH M50FW040.
4. Add support for SST FWH 49LF004A.

aflash.exe

Version 2.21 is the one asus had listed for the board so that's what i was using

Where does the beta file STN.BIN come from - the zip file I downloaded from Asus is called 1014tc001.zip, which contains a BIOS flash file called 1014tc.001. Is this the beta file you tried to flash? Maybe you could try again with this one (attached) and get an accurate record or picture of any AFLASH error screen.

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2021-07-15, 21:23:

Where does the beta file STN.BIN come from - the zip file I downloaded from Asus is called 1014tc001.zip, which contains a BIOS flash file called 1014tc.001. Is this the beta file you tried to flash? Maybe you could try again with this one (attached) and get an accurate record or picture of any AFLASH error screen.

1014tc001.zip

ok now i see were things went wrong. winrar let me go within the .001 file so i was taking the file with in a file. so i tired .001 and that worked no problem thanks.

so bios is all updated now the next problem is i can't get windows 98 running without it crapping the bed after a few reboots.

i'm installing it on a 120gb ssd so no LBA issues i believe. using a silicon image SIL3112A pci to sata card. issue 1 with that was it came with a Raid bios that windows 98 really hated couldn't even finish formatting it was lock up if i formatted with another system windows setup would lock up as soon as scan disk started.

the bios it had was from 2008 i found this post Silicon Image Sil3112 PCI SATA Controller - looking for old BIOS witch provided a much older bios for the card from 2003 that was not raid. with this bios i was able to fdisk and format the drive albeit only 48 gb but win98 installed perfectly fine but after 2-3 reboots it craps the bed and wont start any more windows corrupted it self. so i reinstalled again this time i booted in to dos and installed the Rudolph R. Loew sata patch but still didn't fix it.

now i saw some people say windows 98 formater don't format ssds properly so i download super fdisk that phills computer lab did a video on formatted with that was able to get the full 120gb reinstalled 98 did the sata patch and still windows crapped the bed after a few reboots.

is there something i'm missing. would i be better using a sata to ide adater or do i just got to go full old skool and get an ide HD

I have ide to sata adapters and one case the setup borked every time or the converter sucked because of the moon position but it actually worked twice in a row for boots and then did not.

a day later and the system just works.

maybe the capacitors needs to be changed in motherboard and psu, IDK

Could it be that the answer is some where else than the hd compatibility?

sacri wrote on 2021-07-20, 21:30:

I have ide to sata adapters and one case the setup borked every time or the converter sucked because of the moon position but it […]
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I have ide to sata adapters and one case the setup borked every time or the converter sucked because of the moon position but it actually worked twice in a row for boots and then did not.

a day later and the system just works.

maybe the capacitors needs to be changed in motherboard and psu, IDK

Could it be that the answer is some where else than the hd compatibility?

psu is a brand new evga 500 watt psu. motherboard caps look ok none of them have busted tops or any juicy stuff around them.

i made a post on the software section about everything i've tired Windows 98 Sata SSD

2 sata to ide and with those u can't access the drive for some reason. sata card that can access it and i can even get windows 98 installed but as soon as u do a shut down windows takes a crap and it wont be up anymore.