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 IOSS BIOS Savior  Page read 6187 times
 
IOSS BIOS Savior

Supplied By: HighSpeed PC
Written By: Rich
Price: $24.99
Written: 9/10/2003
 
 

 

 

Probably one of the most important parts of the computer is the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System). The BIOS is the heart of your motherboard and without it your computer could not even post. I like to keep my BIOS up to date but if you flash your BIOS all the time the smallest mistake can leave your rig worthless. The BIOS savior is the best way I have seen to stop the mistakes in their tracks by adding redundancy to your BIOS. If for any reason your BIOS doesn't flash correctly, like the power going out in the middle of flashing it, all you have to do is flip a switch and you can boot off of your backup BIOS so you can repair the failed one.

 
Product Info

 

PLCC BIOS

 

DIP BIOS

The BIOS savior comes in 4 different models making almost all motherboards compatible with it. Make sure you get the right one for your motherboard. The guys at HighSpeedPC.com should be able to recommend the correct unit for your motherboard.

 

The above photos are of the box the product comes in. They did a good job of making the box quite informative. There is a sticker on the bottom left of the box's front that suggests that this product should be professionally installed, we are all professionals here right.

 

Inside the box you will find an instruction book, switch and back panel plate, sticker, BIOS removal tool, and the BIOS savior module. The BIOS removal tool is very high quality and something that my tool box needed for some time now.

 
Installation

Installation is quite simple. Remove your old BIOS with the provided tool and install your BIOS into the BIOS savior, when you do this make sure you line your BIOS up correctly, you could damage your BIOS or the BIOS savior if you do not install this correctly.  Now install your old BIOS in to the BIOS savor. Next you will have to install the switch.  Remove one of your blank expansion slot covers and replace it with the switch plate and connect the wire to the BIOS savior. If you have no open expansion slots to install the switch you can probably just use a jumper on the wire coming off the BIOS savior itself. The final step is to flash your BIOS. Turn your system on with the switch turned to the old BIOS, boot your system up with a system disk making sure NOT to install any CD-Rom drivers or anything. Make sure it's as pure DOS as you can get, as soon as you stop seeing the floppy and hard drive lights, flip the switch turning the BIOS savior's backup BIOS on. Now that your ready to flash your BIOS refer to your motherboard manufacturer for specific instructions.

 
Conclusion

This little accessory is a great addition to the investment you already have in your computer and can save you from a disaster that could leave your motherboard completely useless. Mistakes during BIOS flashing can definitely be costly but I have also seen viruses that attack your BIOS. Some manufacturers are starting to make there motherboards with dual BIOS' but if yours didn't this would be a great addition to your system. I did have some problems that I wanted to share. I was hoping to use this device to have two different BIOS configurations I wanted, one for my overclock and one stock but for some reason the two BIOS' share the same settings so having different BIOS settings is not an option. I did however flash different BIOS versions on each BIOS and that seemed to work out ok, but I would just do that for testing a new BIOS or maybe a beta BIOS after testing is done I recommend you flash both BIOS' to the same version.

 
Pro's
  • Easy to install
  • Low cost insurance
  • Available for a wide range of motherboards
  • Comes with a tool to help remove old BIOS
Con's
  • Not able to have different settings in each BIOS
 
 
 

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