1. I have a new ECS X58B-A3 motherboard. How do I call up my BIOS information?
Like American Megatrends, Inc. and version number and date.

2. How do I update the BIOS? The BIOS itself does not have an EZ tool, that I could find. The manufacturer site does not seem to provide a Linux utility for installing a BIOS update file.

3. Is there a Linux program that will retrieve all the hardware specifications like motherboard and operating system and GPU? Windows has Speccy, but I don't think they do a Linux version.

Thanks (Yea, I'm a newbie.)

You can use 'lshw' to get lots of info on your system.

As for updating your BIOS, you can make a DOS boot floppy if you have a floppy drive. If not, then you should burn:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/
Put the .ROM file and the DOS flash utility (included in the download AFUDOS.EXE) on a USB stick or other media accessible from freedos. Boot into freedos, put your USB stick in, and run the flash utility with the rom file like it says in the instructions.

Do NOT flash from Windoze. This is dangerous and may brick your system. Technically even flashing from DOS isn't free from risk, so consider whether you really need to update.

Thanks metaschima.

Your lshw lead me to lshw-gui http://ezix.org/project/wiki/HardwareLiSter/GUI

However, I got this. How do I fix this?

PS - the lshw, run from the Terminal, ran the data off of the screen.

You should pipe the output to less, more or most.

dmidecode provides less information that lshw, but is still useful.

According to its manual your mainboard does indeed not have an inbuilt tool to upgrade the BIOS, so you would have to use a DOS bootdisk for that (like described by metaschima), if there would be a BIOS update for your mainboard. It seems that for this board only the initial release version is available.

Now I remember from my Unix days. Pipe through more. The memory ain't all lost. It just needs refreshing. Thanks.

Tobi - http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite/Pro...uID=14&LanID=0 shows one update available.
The new one is dated 10/03/2010.
There is a special note there I'll have to check out about updating the BIOS.

But what about this REPO thing?
I guess I'll be checking this site out...
http://www.wikihow.com/Add-Repositories-in-Linux

The only reason I suggest you update bios is to fix a problem that you have. Do you have any problems that an update addresses directly?

Nope, it doesn't. The site lists exactly two BIOS versions, one released 2010/05/05 for the X58B-A3, marked as Initial Release, and an different BIOS, released 2010/03/10 for the X58B-A2 (read:not your mainboard).

OK Tobi. You know more about this than I do. My apologies. So much for a BIOS update. I guess I'm stuck with what I have.
If I could have afforded a new CPU, I would have gone with a better motherboard.

The more I look into these things, I get the impression KDE vice Cinnamon is a better way to go.
Assuming I'm comparing these correctly, or is KDE on level with LM and I'd have to start over from scratch. What do you advise?

Jefro - I have an issue with the bootup that reports no drives available (where the monitor is black with white letters), however the BIOS lists the drives and Linux sees the drives. I'm thinking it might be a BIOS issue. If the O/S hasn't booted up yet, would you not agree it is the BIOS doing the reporting. Without an updated BIOS available, I guess I'll just have to live with it. Advise always welcome.

A machine like yours should have no problem with either Cinnamon or KDE. Both can be used on Mint, so you don't have to switch distribution to test a different DE. What are the actual problems you have with Cinnamon?

Every where I follow up on a issue like with the Repo, all I see is KDE examples.
When you are following the bouncing ball like me, seeing directions meant for KDE kind of throws you.
I don't know how to transpose KDE instructions into Cinnamon instructions.
I get lucky sometimes, but I'd rather not have to rely on luck.

You guys definitely provide a needed source of support to newbies like me.
If you say stay with Cinnamon. OK, but it will increase the number of posts I'll need to Post.

If you have problems with adapting instructions from one DE to the other you should try to use commandline instructions instead, those are the same for any DE.

Regarding if you should stay with Cinnamon or go for KDE: Only you can decide. Which DE or WM to use is a highly personal choice, I would recommend to try them all and then decide which one to choose.

Linux doesn't use that much of the bios. For the most part, bios is out of the way by the time linux boots.

If you bought a modern system and you try to boot up a modern OS it should boot. No and's if's or but's. Something other I'd think would be wrong. Some download issue, some burn issue, some bios setting, some ram or cpu or board issue, some controller issue, some power issue. (the list goes on) But I'd think it unlikely that the bios is at fault.