this might be a silly question but it is a serious one.when i built my comp i used an asus mb. and i need to update my bios but the unfortunate problem is that asus's flash utility only has dos support.I did download the update but it's a .zip file and i'm not sure what app.(if there is one) I need to use to install it.or where I might be able to find it.if there's an app.to let me use dos. files that would be awsome (a longshot on thisone huh?).

linux handles zip files just fine

man unzip

as far as the bios update goes, it's been a while since i had to do that, but, the last time i did, it all ran from the floppy at boot. so in a sense it did not matter what os i was using. in fact i didn't even have an os loaded at the time, just a blank unformatted hardrive that was being recognized as 500 mb in bios. the update or flash was to recognize the other 7.5 gigs. worked like a charm. hope that helps.
good luck.

You will need a DOS bootable floppy to update the BIOS. Unzip the files and copy them to the floppy disk. The flash update executable is probably in the zip file. If you do not have a DOS boot floppy then you can download and create one from www.bootdisk.com.

There is dosemu that can run DOS apps or wine for windows apps. However, you can not use them for updating the motherboard BIOS.

If you don't have a dos bootdisk, go to bootdisk.com. You should find one there to suit you. But if it's a new ASUS board, try putting the bios file you downloaded on a standard formatted floppy (not a bootdisk), reboot the machine and just after the memory test, press ALT F2 and the built-in flash utility pops up. All you have to do is load the bios file from the floppy.

*****WARNING*****
Now that i've got your attention, just remember that a bad flash will render your motherboard useless. Only flash the bios if the new one will fix a problem or enable a feature you REALLY need.

Happy flashing

Baldrick

hijacking to my target mobo which will be giga-byte due to one of their mobos being dual bios

Yes its a concern the update is an exe file at this site. Not Happy. Have sent an email but not expecting a revolution.

But can I run the file under wine as some exe files are compressed files?

I know some exe files may also be compressed and want to create windows boot disks but it seems most of us on linux have the same issue.

Yes I am aware of the warnings on updating bios.

end of rant

I have just used knoppix 3.6 and WINE to run a gigabyte exe file.
i inserted floppy b4 running wine clicked to make normal config wine file
then in a terminal normal user

wine filename.exe

a box came up and I browsed to A drive (the wine way)
it created 3 files on floppy of size 684 Kb with nothing in the msdos formatted mbr so it looks like
gigabyte does not need a boot disk

looks good but not tested as I have yet to buy the mobo

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