Gigabyte Xpress BIOS Rescue. Where is it?

Gemini1706

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Aug 10, 2006
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Cannot find that utility in their website at all.

I am using DS3 v3.3 mobo.

Anyone can supply link?
Or maybe email me the file?

Thanks a lot in advance.
 
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/...rboard&ProductID=2456&ProductName=GA-965P-DS3


Perhaps you are confused by the name I used. It bios recovery utility is one of several utilitys Gigabyte calls Xpress Recovery 2. You may or may not want to install the others. Check you manual for full descriptions of what they all do.

The link above will download an iso file which is a raw cd image, nero can burn it, other cd burning programs should allow you to burn an .iso as well. It contains the utils including the bios recovery utility.
 
Sorry to bump this thread, but I didn't want to create a new one.

I finished setting up the DS3 (rev 3.3, F10 bios) yesterday, and I too am unable to find the "Xpress BIOS Rescue" utility.

The CD that came with the board is bootable and boots to XpressRecovery2, which is a HDD backup tool (it creates an image, like Ghost). Both the manual and the online FAQ describe the process of using XpressRecovery2 to create and restore a HDD image, but make no reference to the BIOS, let alone the Virtual Dual BIOS (part of Xpress BIOS Rescue?).

The CD also contains Xpress Install, which simply installs the chipset drivers under Windows.

I also created a bootable CD with the file from the gigabyte link posted above, hoping that it would have the Xpress BIOS util, but it was the same XpressRecovery2 tool I mentioned earlier.

And the manual has zero info on the Virtual Dual BIOS and the Xpress BIOS util.



Also, browsing the Gigabyte site, there appears to be something called Xpress3 (contains Xpress Install, Xpress Bios Rescue, Xpress Recovery 2):
http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/TechGuide_List.aspx?NewTechID=84

But again, additional info is missing.
 
I beleive you have found an error I made, since I have the DQ6 with dual bios chips I did not actually install this myself as there is no need unlike the DS3.

It appears for no good reason I can think of that
a) my DQ6 manual is incorrect stating that bios recovery is in the Xpress Recovery 2 package.
b) Gigabye did not document (what a shock) or update the DS3 manual properly, I just looked at my downloaded version of the DS3 3.3 manual and it still refers to the Xpress Recovery 2 package as you have already discovered.


c) I had found this information in a FAQ on Giabybtes web site and either they had it wrong as to where the utility was located or I screwed it up.


I am checking now, as I am sure I remember seeing a description of what it was and how it worked, I just have to find it again.

Really glad you pointed this error out, I will do my best to get it sorted as I still feel it will save some people major greif. If I have to I will attempt to get information out of Gigabyte and will at least tell them they need to update the manuals with a nice nasty-gram.


edit :

Gah I see what I did, I found the same link, the package is called Xpress 3 (apparently) and does include the bios recovery utility , but they also talk about Xpress Recovery 2 which was also in the Xpress 2 package. Very confusing and they tripped me up.

Downloading and burning a CD now so I can try it, as I have a DQ6 there is no telling what will happen :eek: so if I am not back in a while you will know that trying to run this on a DQ6 is not a very bright idea, Warp 9 now Mr Scott !!!!

wtf I am beginnging to think the 3 is a screw up and should be the trademark symbol this makes no sense.

2007/03/12 Geeks Column of the Week - The Benefits of the GIGABYTE rev 3.3 Motherboards ...More
2007/03/05 Geeks Column of the Week - Why Upgrade to Windows Vista? ...More
2007/01/29 Geeks Column of the Week - Overclocking a GA-965P-DS3 ...More
2007/01/23 Geeks Column of the Week - BIOS Explained ...More
2006/12/26 Geeks Column of the Week - Building the Ultimate Vista Premium System ...More
2006/12/18 Geeks Column of the Week - Silent Pipe ...More
2006/12/18 Geeks Column of the Week - All Solid Capacitor ...More
2005/12/14 Xpress Recovery2 Introduction - File Download ...More
2005/11/18 GA-8N-SLI Quad Royal VGA Support List ...More
2005/11/01 GA-8I915MD-GV PCI-E x 16 slot Graphics Card Support List ...More
2005/11/01 GA-8I915MK-GV PCI-E x 16 slot Graphics Card Support List ...More
2005/09/15 GIGABYTE Xpress3 Series Software (Xpress Install, Xpress Bios Rescue, Xpress Recovery 2) ...More
2005/08/01 What is G.E.A.R.? ...More

check out the dates Xpress recovery 2 appears newer than the Xpress package but if it does not contain the Bios Recovery Utility, where did it go and where is the package on the site. Getting weirder every minute. :mad:


Ok, best I could do, I hold little hope, apparently its vaporware and I got taken for a ride. We shall see.

Name : Bill Parrish
Country : USA
Product Info
* Product Class : Motherboard
* Model Name : GA-965P-DS3(rev. 3.3)
* M/B Rev : 3.3
* BIOS Ver : latest
Serial No. : all Purchase Dealer : NA
System Configuration
VGA Brand : Model :
CPU Brand : Model : Speed :
Operation System : SP :
Memory Brand : Type :
Memory Size : Speed :
Power Supply : W



*Question
I provide a guide for the DS3 and DQ6 with more than 32,000 views:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1030795318

I found this information on your web site during an investigation and attempt to help people with the "cold boot issue" and "failure to reboot/clear CMOS has no affect" problems:

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/TechGuide_List.aspx?NewTechID=84

Xpress Bios Rescue – Auto recovers damaged BIOS to its original state! BIOS Image is stored in your HDD hidden area automatically when system boots up. Bios image is Indestructible by any software or viruses.
Assure BIOS is functional at all times
No CD / Floppy Disk support needed
Fully automated process, no command line needed
No worry for storing wrong BIOS data
Reduce RMA rates
No additional cost with similar protection as DualBIOSTM
Xpress Bios Rescue is available with all GIGABYTE motherboards which produced after around May 2004)

QUESTION:
Where exactly is this utility ? It is not on the disk (that I can find) that came with the motherboard and the utility download contains only an .iso image of Express Revovery 2.

Please provide a link to the Bios Recovery utilty mentioned as part of the Xpress package.

Thank you and regards
William Parrish BSEET.
 
Thanks, Bill, for doing this. I have been searching the web for information on the Xpress Bios Recovery tool. I'm very new to the whole OC thing, so I'm going through your guide step-by-step. I noticed, though, that sometimes the computer is unhappy about booting. I want to take the memory to its limits, but at the times when the comp feels a bit unhappy about booting up, I say a bit of a prayer to the OC gods that the comp will at least boot to
BIOS. Or that if I have to reset the CMOS, that everything will go well.

I really want to have this utility for peace of mind. I suppose, though, that peace of mind is not compatible with the overclocking mindset. :D

--ceolstan
 
Oh no, there is no reason you cant overclock it and trust it too. Its one of the reasons I go to such much time and effort on the memory so that in the end there will be no guessing and you can choose how close to the edge you want to push it.


One thing I am carefull to do is that if it does go into a prolonged attempt to boot, shutdown and reboot cycle is that after about 4 tries and I decide I need to clear the cmos. I am very carefull to catch it right when it powers down and flip the power switch on the back. I never try to turn it off while its attempting to come up. I have no idea if this is really doing anything but I just am trying to make sure I am not killing the power while the machine is trying to figure out "good" settings and might be writing to the bios.
 
As to be expected, less than stellar response from Gigabyte Tech Suport.

I tried again:

The link you gave me is not for the product/software I was inquiring about.

http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/TechGuide_List.aspx?NewTechID=91

The above refers to the Xpress Recovery 2 utiliy which is a hard drive data backup utility, I am looking for the BIOS recovery utiliy :

Xpress Bios Rescue – Auto recovers damaged BIOS to its original state! BIOS Image is stored in your HDD hidden area automatically when system boots up. Bios image is Indestructible by any software or viruses.
Assure BIOS is functional at all times
No CD / Floppy Disk support needed
Fully automated process, no command line needed
No worry for storing wrong BIOS data
Reduce RMA rates
No additional cost with similar protection as DualBIOSTM
Xpress Bios Rescue is available with all GIGABYTE motherboards which produced after around May 2004)


Perhaps there is something I do not understand ? Is Xpress Bios Rescue not a standalone utiliy ? The information in my manual and on the site make no mention of BIOS Rescue being a part of Xpress Recovery 2.

If this feature did not make it to market or for techncial reasons could not be supported, fine, I can just remove the reference to it in my guide (you might consider updating your web site) but if it does exist I feel it would resolve a lot of issues that result in some very angry customers and i would like to help you resolve those issues.

Does Xpress Bios Rescue utility exist ?
 
I think the BIOS recovery is automatically done on its own.

When my RAM stick died I had a message (mobo must have been confused with one working stick and one dead stick) saying that it was trying to recover the BIOS from the hard drive, and when it finished, rebooted, and did the same thing until I removed the dead stick of RAM.

I never installed any recovery tool of any kind, yet I just seemed to have this feature built in to my motherboard.
 
Mine also would say 'Recovering BIOS from, Harddisk...' or something like that, but it never does anything at all.
It never find a BIOS in HD.

This is during bad OC.
 
WoW just wow!

Board been out since last summer and you guys are the first to mention or see that msg and post about it afaik.

Well is does sound like it is built into the bios to try to recover from the HD but without the utility to make the copy to the hard drive in the first place.

I am going to keep after them,

Now if I could just get every DS3 and S3 owner in the world to submit a paste of my query but with their board and SN so Gigabyte would know they were unique at midnight Friday night (ignoring time zone), Wouldnt it be fun to see the tech peoples faces Monday morning :D
 
Bill, I followed your advice. ;)

original tech query said:
Where is the download for the Xpress3 Series software? You have the description of the software here: http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Support/Motherboard/TechGuide_List.aspx?NewTechID=84

Your website says that this software has the Bios Rescue utility bundled with it. However, there is no download link for this software.

Does Xpress3 really exist? If so, then where do I find a download site?

Thank you.
Here is the response from Gigabyte Tech Support
Gigabyte Tech Support said:
there are no utility for this, if the motherboard has single bios once it's updated it'll automatically writes an hidden partition of the bios to your hdd. If there are bios corruption on the main bios it'll search the hdd for the stored bios automatically.
Now if only this were described better on the website.

It also begs the question of what happens when someone's bios flash is corrupted.

--ceolstan
 
Mine also would say 'Recovering BIOS from, Harddisk...' or something like that, but it never does anything at all.
It never find a BIOS in HD.

This is during bad OC.

Mine would actually find the BIOS image... maybe back when I did "Xpress Install" when I first built my system it actually installed a BIOS image on the hdd?

Edit: Nvm didn't see above the Gigabyte Tech support person said that it's automatically done.
 
Frankly I am having a hard time beleiving what Gigabyte tech support said. ( I am sure they said it, no argument there and thank you very much for helping the cause. :cool: )

I could see if you used Xpresss Recovery and created the hidden partition (and Blade52's info supports that) that during a bio flash or a data backup it would add the bios information into the hidden partition. But for the bios to just make a hidden partition on your drive (suspose there was not any free room, most of us partiation the entire disk so you would have to do some neat tricks like reduce the size slightly of the partitions making sure no data was there etc etc. ) takes a decent amount of code.

I smell a rat. It makes more sense that it is part of express recovery 2 but there are too many loose ends.

Besides I am bored , gonna look for some disk software that will "see" hidden partiations,
My raid is my primary boot disk and is not surpported so I cannot play with it. Oh well.

LOL the support guy must have wandered into work.

the Xpress Bios rescue is automatically stored into your hdd once it's been flashed.
No utiity to activate it which is automatic.

Still dont buy it, but I cant install it to investigate.
 
Okay, I'll admit to the Nth degree of newbdom, but I also like to read instructions, and I want to know what cool stuff can be done to protect me from doing stupid things to my board.

I found the BIOS Explained article on the Gigabyte website. The DQ models have QuadBios. DS models have DualBios. I came across the following information:
Gigabyte said:
GIGABYTE motherboards featuring Dual BIOS have 2 separate physical BIOS chips. To make it easy, I'll call the first one your "Primary" BIOS and the other your "Spare". If your "Primary" BIOS fails at any time, the "Spare" will automatically take over on your next system boot with little or no down time. Any sort of event that causes the "Primary" BIOS chip to fail, whether it is a virus attacking your system, or a user incorrectly flashing the BIOS, the "Spare" kicks in and gets your system up and running automatically.
Now, I'm not convinced that the documentation that Gigabyte thinks explains all this really does, but it's interesting to note that Gigabyte thinks it does. :D

--ceolstan
 
I think you found where they are confusing themselves. Marketing double speak vs engineering reality strikes again.

DS3 S3 have only one actual bios chip on the board. However with their "damn if we can find it documented" bios recovery, they count bios recovery as a "backup bios" and 1 + 1 = 2 which marketing turned into "dual bios". Dodgy at best.

My DQ6 has 2 bios chips on board (I can boot from either one, copy back and forth, if one fails the other will boot, really really cool, and it works, not sure it was worth $120 extra bucks but /shrug ) Now looking directly at the blurb on the box (really nice box probally $10 worth of box :p ) 2 "real bios chips" plus bios rescue ability for each of the chips 2 + 1 + 1 = 4 and I have "quad bios" righhhhhttttt. Of course they don't mention if your primary disk is a raid, it doesn't work.

So they did have boards with "dual bios" 2 actual chips and they talk about that in some older documentation. Then this utility comes along and marketing doubles everything, single bios becomes dual, dual become quad. and apparently everyone is confused (well at least me to some extent) and if you don't look at the latest docs ONLY, it makes no sense.


I have just about convinced myself based on blade52x's input that a user needs to install Xpresss recovery 2 to create the hidden partition, you may or may not need to do any actual data backup. But then if the hidden partition exists a flash will backup a copy of the bios in there (I hope) automatically. But I am not sure and I cannot test. And who wants to corrupt there bios to check it out anyway, potential dead board ! One giveaway is that after installing Xrecovery 2 a new F key options appears in the main bios screen that was not there before. So Xpresss Recovery 2 does something to the actual bios installed in the machine, probally implementing what is known as "boot block loader" but instead of looking for a floppy or USB (which would be better and more useful if things go south) it looks in the hidden partition for a bios image to load.

As I type this I am more and more sure Xpresss recovery 2 includes the bios save, the new F key that appears in the bios and the mention of the "hidden partition" in both Xrecovery and the BIOS recovery blurb have me 99% convinced.
 
I installed the Xpress Recovery 2 utility, and I see the F key in the initil screen, but when I press it (F7 I think?) it says need to install Xpress Rec 2, and when I do it again, it says 'CAN NOT WRITE TO DISK, not enough space or soemthing??)

I am using signle hard disk SATA (but not on the Gygabyte SATA controler, just on the Intel controller), so maybe it does not see the harddisk if it is not on their SATA controller??

I am confused...
Or maybe they mean not enough disk space ON MY CD??? loool
b/c I boot from the CD to install the utility...

Looks all not working for me!!!!
 
I managed to join the ranks of the True Tweakers over the weekend when I made my mobo very unhappy, such that it refused to POST. At any rate, I realized that this meant I'd have to clear the CMOS.

After putting the restart button so that it connected with the Clear CMOS jumper, I pushed the button for about 10 seconds, then rebooted. I received the message that the motherboard was restoring the bios from the harddrive. Is this what normally happens? Or did I make my system unhappier than normal such that the BIOS was "rescued"?

--ceolstan

Oh, and I suppose I had better 1) hook the restart button back to the restart jumpers in the case or 2) leave a note on the computer to tell my husband that under no circumstances should he press the restart button on my computer! :p
 
LOL aye on the reset switch, never thought about that, everyone here knows its instant death to use my machine. (Of course that meant I had to build them their own.)


Several posts to the thread have been lost. The latest is that I am pretty certain that the xpress bios recovery is part of the Xpress recovery 2. It is not a stand alone utility as I thought (and the blurb on Gigabytes webs site would lead one to think). Your experience is further proof. I am now of the opinion that if you install the express recovery software and create the hidden partition, the bios rescue software will work as it then finds the partition it needs to do its thing. I do not think you even have to actually use the xpress recovery, as long as the partition exists. Trouble is I cant test as my raid is my boot disk. Bleh.

But your post it proof its there and it works.

preciate the post as now I think I can update the guide with information that is more correct.
 
I should say I didn't install the Xpress Recovery 2 utility. The experience as I mentioned above just happened. This would suggest that the BIOS recovery is, indeed, automatic.

Weird.

--ceolstan
 
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