BIOS Savior is made by IOSS, a Taiwan based company. This product was
unknown to me until recently. I found plenty of US suppliers and purchased
one.
BIOS Savior gives you the comfort of a backup
BIOS. You remove your BIOS, plug the savior in, and plug your
BIOS into the top of it then use the included switch to switch between
BIOS'.
There are retailers that will flash a
BIOS to it before sending it or you can backup your BIOS
to it once you get it installed. You can flash to either it or
your original BIOS, always secure that you have a working
version if something goes wrong. The BIOS Savior
is chip type specific, so as long as the motherboard uses the chip type you purchased it for, you are good
to go.
Included in Package:
1.
Chip Puller
2.
Switch
3.
BIOS Savior
4.
Rear Panel Insert
5.
Case Sticker
Note: The package also includes an instruction manual that,
although translated to English, and a little tough to interpret in some places, is very detailed. The
instructions are quite specific and include steps for different
BIOS makers.
To determine the exact version
required:
1.
Verify that your BIOS is in a socket and not soldered to the board.
2.
Remove the sticker on top of your BIOS (if there is one) and get the
numbers off of it.
3.
Visit this page
and determine the proper model number for your BIOS.
I found that it was very easy to install and use.
I recommend a grounding wrist strap before touching any internal parts of your
computer and especially so for individual electronic parts like your
BIOS.
Hardware Install:
Shutdown your computer and unplug the power supply.
Remove your side panel to get at your
BIOS.
Use the chip puller included with the
BIOS Savior to remove your current BIOS.
Ensure you properly line up the BIOS Savior
with the socket on your motherboard.
Insert the BIOS Savior into the BIOS socket on the motherboard.
Insert your good BIOS into the top of the
BIOS Savior and connect the included switch.
Mount the switch to the rear panel insert and install it into the rear panel of your
computer. It mounts just like your video card or sound card.
Setup and Usage:
I won't go into detail on how to flash a
BIOS. Visit your motherboard manufacturers website and follow
their directions.
I have an Award BIOS so the following is specific to it.
1.
Create a boot floppy with the awdflash.exe.
2.
Make sure the BIOS Savior switch is positioned for your original
BIOS.
3.
Boot to the disk created in step 1.
4.
Use awdflash.exe to save the BIOS on your original to disk.
5.
Position the BIOS Savior switch to use the
BIOS Savior
6.
Flash the BIOS Savior to the BIOS you saved from your original in step 4.
7.
Try booting with the switch in both positions to ensure you had a good
flash and nothing went wrong.
Note: I had to flash the BIOS Savior 3 times before it finally took. The
instruction manual tells you that this may be necessary and is a non issue.
Conclusion:
I have flashed 3 extra BIOS' also. I now have a total of 5
BIOS' and am back to the comfort level I had before the bad flash.
I wish I had found this product sooner and will never flash a
BIOS without it again. It has made it to my list of required parts when building a computer and
will stay there.
Two recommendations for building a new computer:
1. Ensure the BIOS
on the motherboard is in a socket and not soldered to the
board.
