Babasha wrote on 2023-02-10, 14:34:

Update your BIOS 😀

Getting a scary warning just before updating, so I didn't go through with it. I took the download link from ASUS P5A-B and P5A info and help.. It seems to warn about the difference between ALADDIN5-P5A-B-0 and 2-ALADDIN5-P5A-B. It's similar enough that it might be referring to the exact same thing, but it feels risky to continue.

wkjagt wrote on 2023-02-10, 16:53:

Getting a scary warning just before updating, so I didn't go through with it. I took the download link from ASUS P5A-B and P5A i […]
Show full quote

Babasha wrote on 2023-02-10, 14:34:

Update your BIOS 😀

Getting a scary warning just before updating, so I didn't go through with it. I took the download link from ASUS P5A-B and P5A info and help.. It seems to warn about the difference between ALADDIN5-P5A-B-0 and 2-ALADDIN5-P5A-B. It's similar enough that it might be referring to the exact same thing, but it feels risky to continue.

No pain - no gain)))
I am risky in that case 😉

Maybe try version 1010 from here https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-p5a-b#downloads , it would still be an update from your current 1007.

Looks like the beta BIOS POST string went for a 4 digit year code which might be confusing things. Perhaps the year is intruding in to the model string when the flasher is checking if it's safe.

snufkin wrote on 2023-02-10, 17:06:

Maybe try version 1010 from here https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/asus-p5a-b#downloads , it would still be an update from your current 1007.

Looks like the beta BIOS POST string went for a 4 digit year code which might be confusing things. Perhaps the year is intruding in to the model string when the flasher is checking if it's safe.

Same warning, but I trust theretroweb.com, so I updated anyway, and all went well! I now have the latest version. Since the boot pause went away for who knows what reason before updating the BIOS anyway, I don't know if this'll make any difference, but at least it's up to date now. And the pause didn't come back either, so all seems well! I haven't done any extensive testing yet but Borland C++ starts up fine, so for now I am hopeful.

Thanks everyone for helping out!

Glad it is working. Maybe there was something odd with Y2k stuff causing the issue, and after you played with date it cleared itself.