This took me a while to figure out, so I wrote directions to hopefully make it easier for other people.
- First, you need to get the proper firmware for the EEE PC you are going to flash. Go to http://www.asus.com/ and find the latest firmware for your model.
- Extract the *.ROM file from the *.zip file, and place it on your Desktop.
- Rename the *.ROM file to [MODEL].ROM. (For example, the EEE PC 1000 would be named “1000.ROM”, 1000H would be “1000H.ROM”) Due to how the boot block was written, the name is case sensitive apparently.
- Insert your flash device, unmount it (if it gets automatically mouted,) and open it with fdisk. Set it up like the following:
#fdisk /dev/sdd Command (m for help): p Disk /dev/sdd: 129 MB, 129499136 bytes 17 heads, 32 sectors/track, 464 cylinders Units = cylinders of 544 * 512 = 278528 bytes Disk identifier: 0xc3072e18 Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System /dev/sdd1 1 465 126448 6 FAT16
- Now that you have the drive properly partitioned, we need to format it.
#mkfs.msdos -F 16 /dev/sdd1
- After the format completes (and your device activity comes to a halt), unplug the flash drive, plug it back in, and if necessary, unmount the device if it automatically mounts.
- Mount it with the following command:
#mount /dev/sdd1 /mnt/temp/ -o rw,flush,uid=1000,utf8,shortname=win95
- Now, copy the renamed *.ROM file to the flash device. After you copy it, refresh the listings to make sure everything is in uppercase. If not, rename it, and try again.
- If everything is good, then we can unmount the device.
#umount /dev/sdd1
- Now we can start the flashing process. With the flash device still plugged into the system, restart the system. As soon as you see the BIOS screen, hold down Alt, and hit F2. This should load up the BIOS updater from the boot block.
- Now just wait for it to find your flash device, and the *.ROM file on it. If it halts at “Reading file 1000.ROM”, or similar, you did something wrong. Otherwise, it should look similiar to this:
Boot Block Compatible Version Ver.026 Please do NOT insert any disc into CD-ROM or Floppy drive if you want to recovery with an USB device. EZ-Flash starting BIOS update..... DO KEEP the power supply on and NOT touch the system while performing BIOS update. Checking for USB Device... USB Device found. Reading file "1000.ROM". Completed. Start Erasing...\ Start Programming.../ Start Erasing EC Firmware... Start Programming EC Firmware... The BIOS update is finished. Please press power button to shut down the system.
- After the BIOS update is completed, your BIOS settings will revert back to factory defaults. It will prompt you when you restart that the settings were lost, and everything was reverted. It will ask you to hit F1 to enter Setup. Do that.
- Change everything back to how it was. One thing I should note: It disables the Wireless, Camera, and Bluetooth for some reason. Enable these again in the BIOS if you want them.