3D Blaster Banshee Readme =========================== BIOS Upgrade Please ignore this section if the BIOS in your card has a newer version number. BIOS version : 1.03.2 The 3D Blaster Banshee BIOS Upgrade utility consists of the following file: * BNF1032d.EXE - BIOS upgrade program Note: You only need to flash this BIOS if your card has system incompatibility issues. BNF1032d.EXE can be run from the MS-DOS prompt using the following syntax: usage: BNF1032d.EXE ============ PROCEDURE ============ 1. Determine if your video BIOS has the latest update by looking at the version number displayed during system bootup. If your version is newer, you do not need to upgrade your BIOS. Otherwise, proceed with the following steps. 2. Boot to native DOS, and run the BIOS upgrade program BNF1032d.EXE. Notes: . Due to the nature of Windows environment, this program has to be run in native DOS mode. If you do not know how to boot up your system in native DOS mode, refer to the section below on "BOOT TO NATIVE DOS MODE". . The programming process takes about 10 seconds (including verification time) to complete. WARNING: Do NOT interrupt this process. Interrupting this process may result in unexpected (and undesirable) consequences. When the VGA BIOS on your 3D Blaster Banshee is upgraded, the program displays a message to inform you that the BIOS is successfully flashed. 3. After the new BIOS is successfully flashed, reboot your system. The system should now boot up with the updated 3D Blaster Banshee BIOS (verified by the new version number displayed during bootup). ================= TROUBLESHOOTING ================= Symptom A: BIOS upgrade program displays error message: "This program cannot be executed in Windows-DOS box" Solution: You need to boot up to native DOS mode before running the program. If you do not know how to boot up your system in native DOS mode, refer to the section below on "BOOT TO NATIVE DOS MODE". Symptom B: BIOS upgrade program displays error message: "3D Blaster Banshee card not present" Solution: You are trying to use this program on a video card that is not Creative 3D Blaster Banshee. If you are certain that you have a Banshee card, your BIOS is probably being flashed with a non-Creative Banshee image. Contact Creative technical support for further assistance. Symptom C: If you do not see any display upon rebooting. Solution: You can try to re-program the BIOS with the use of another PCI VGA card: 1) Bootup with non-Creative Banshee VGA as primary display card. Insert a second (not Banshee) PCI VGA card into the 1st PCI slot and the 3D Blaster Banshee into the 2nd PCI slot. Connect the non-Creative Banshee VGA card output to a monitor, boot up and check if the monitor displays anything. If it doesn't, swap the slot positions of the VGA card and 3D Blaster Banshee until you can bootup with the non-Creative Banshee VGA as primary display card. 2) Re-program Banshee. When the system boots up successfully with the VGA card, you can then program the 3D Blaster Banshee BIOS as described above, beginning from Procedure (C). After the program is executed, you can remove the non-Creative Banshee card and bootup with your 3D Blaster Banshee card. If you still do not see any display, contact Creative technical support for further assistance. ========================= BOOT TO NATIVE DOS MODE ========================= The following are two methods of booting to the native DOS mode. Method 1 - Boot diskette i. Insert an unused floppy diskette into your disk drive A. ii. Type "format a: /s" at the DOS prompt to create a bootable diskette. iii. Leave the diskette in the drive and reboot your system. Your system will boot to the native DOS mode. Method 2 - The key i. Reboot your system, paying attention to the onscreen initializing messages. ii. When you see the text "Starting Windows 95..." or "Starting Windows 98...", press within 5 seconds to display a menu. iii. From the menu, select option 6 (Command prompt only) to boot the system to native DOS mode. ====End of Readme File====