Pine Trail Tweaks: Updating the BIOS using Mac OS X

Following this introduction, this article explains how to prepare a flash device (such as a flash drive or an SD card) to update the BIOS on an Asus netbook and apply the update.

Now that we have downloaded the BIOS update file, we need to prepare the flash device to format.

1. Insert the flash device into your Mac.

2. Open up the Terminal (In the Utilities folder within the Applications folder on the Mac.).

3. Type "diskutil list" into the Terminal

4. You will see a listing of all the storage devices attached to your Mac. Usually it's easy to identify a flash drive or card by looking at the storage capacity. I used an 8 GB SD card, so it was obvious when I got the following output (It is /dev/disk1). You will get something similar:

/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *320.1 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS Macintosh HD            319.7 GB   disk0s2
/dev/disk1
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:     FDisk_partition_scheme BIOS                   *8.2 GB     disk1
   1:                 DOS_FAT_32 UNTITLED                8.2 GB     disk1s1

The "/dev/disk*" identifiers normally represent physical storage devices attached to your computer. The numbered lines that follow represent the partitions present within those devices. If you're not sure which one your flash device is, just eject it and retype the command and see which one disappears. That's your device! Don't forget to put it back in. It should show up if you run the command again.

5. Type "diskutil umountDisk /dev/disk*", replacing the last character with whatever your own device number is. This will unmount the device. Alternatively, you can unmount it using Disk Utility and clicking on the device and the unmount button.

6. Now we are ready to format the flash device. For some odd reason, the Asus netbook will only accept a BIOS update from a device formatted in the outmoded FAT16 format. Though Disk Utility will gladly format in FAT32, it will not allow us to format in FAT16. No worries. We need not leave the terminal to solve our predicament. Instead we will use a program appropriately named "newfs_msdos". Be very careful in this step, because it will erase all the data on your flash device.

Type "newfs_msdos -F 16 /dev/disk*", substituting for your device number as before. This will format the device in FAT16.

7. Type "disktool -m disk1", again replacing the disk number as appropriate. This will mount the newly reformatted device. Alternatively you can use Disk Utility to mount it, or physically disconnect and reconnect the device to have it remounted.

8. Now take the unzipped BIOS file and rename it "1005P.ROM". Copy it to the newly reformatted device. We are ready to perform the update.

9. Eject the flash device from your Mac and place it into the Asus netbook, turn it on and hold down Alt-F2. This will initiate the BIOS update program.

10. The netbook should find the file and automatically update the BIOS. Be careful not to interrupt the process, otherwise you may get that nice Mesopotamian brick. Simply follow the onscreen instructions at this point. After that you're done!

It should ask you if you want to edit settings or load defaults and continue, either way you should see the new version number in the main BIOS screen. Congratulation, you have updated the BIOS!

I would not have been able to complete this process so promptly nor write this how-to without these sources:

• Formatting FAT16 under Mac OSX
• EEE 1001P BIOS Upgrade

Pine Trail Tweaks: Updating the BIOS

The BIOS. It's a staple of PCs. Almost every PC has one, though that is changing these days with EFI, and Macs used Open Firmware back in the day. Regardless, its function remains the same- recognizing and handling the various essential components of a computer (the CPU, disc drives, video card and so on)- and helping to boot the Operating System. The BIOS used to be unalterable, destined to stayed the way it shipped. Only later did the BIOS earn the ability of update. Where before either it worked or it didn't, now manufacturers have the ability to issue BIOS updates which correct errors or allow new features or compatibility. This was the case with my Asus 1001P. It is known to have issues with screen brightness, among other things, which the newest BIOS update supposedly mended.

The BIOS was usually updated via a floppy disk. Obviously for a netbook without such an antiquity this is not an option. Therefore, Asus provides an updater program that can be run from within Windows instead. Except that I don't run obsolete operating systems either. Asus does provide a Linux utility for updating the BIOS. Nevertheless, updating the BIOS is a potentially precarious process, as a failed update can magically transmute your machine from a modern twenty-first century technological marvel to a primitive Mesopotamian brick (well not really, but it *can* render your machine inoperable).

There is another way that takes the operating system and all the variables that come with it, out of the immediate equation, and this is how I opted to proceed. We still need to use an OS prior to the actual updating process however, and unfortunately, it can be a little tricky if you're not using the pervasive Windoze OS, so I've documented how to do this entirely under Linux as well as partly under Mac OS X in case the system on your netbook is mangled and you happen to have a Mac around.

The first step no matter what the OS, is to actually download the BIOS update. These are small files, measured in the kilobytes. Go to support.Asus.com and follow the prompts to get to the BIOS file. This link should take you directly to the 1001P support page. As far as I can tell it makes no difference what OS you choose on the site. It will present you with the latest BIOS updates regardless. As of this writing, the latest is "BIOS 1202". Download and unzip the file.

The best way to go about updating the BIOS is by using either a flash drive or an SD card. Most netbooks can boot from either. In the following two articles we will go through the process of preparing such a flash device and ultimately updating the BIOS on an Asus netbook. The first one will explain how to prepare the flash device using Mac OS X and the last one will explain the process using only Linux.