Hack 5 Display a Boot-Time Graphic 
Many computers will display a graphic at boot
time. Make it one of your own.
Intel and most of the PC OEMs want to
remind you who made the system, so they have built in a boot-time
graphic as seen in Figure 1-6. Boot-time graphics
are an alternative to the technical bits and bytes that have
traditionally appeared on PC boot screens. Displaying the graphic
takes extra time in order to load up the graphic image stored in the
BIOS memory chip and configure the video to display graphics. As
techies are interested in faster performance, product logos are not
of much interest.
If your system BIOS is stored in FLASH
RAM (instead of a conventional old-style EPROM), it may be possible
to load your own graphic into the BIOS chip. To perform this hack you
need a BIOS that supports boot-time graphics and the appropriate
software programs to make the changes and write them into your BIOS
FLASH ROM chip. Most implementations of
Award BIOS Versions 4.5 and up support boot-time graphics display.
You will need a couple of software programs, as follows:
A graphics program to either create a new graphics file or convert an
existing one to a 64048016-color uncompressed BMP graphic
file for display at bootup (I didn't say it would or
had to be an impressive graphic, just a graphic file) The appropriate
AWDFLASH.EXE program for your system board (from the
manufacturer's web site) A program to add the graphics file to your BIOS—either the
CBROM program
from http://www.stormpages.com/crazyape/cbrom.html
or AwardMod
through http://sourceforge.net/projects/awardmod/.
With these tools available, proceed through the following steps to
use CBROM to modify your BIOS file:
Make or obtain a bootable
DOS or Windows 95-Me startup
diskette. On a blank diskette, copy the AWDFLASH.EXE
program (approximately 28 KB), the CBROM program (78 KB) and your
graphics file (approximately 16 KB), with enough room for two copies
of your BIOS (256 KB each). Boot up with the diskette from Step 1. When you finally get a DOS
prompt, change diskettes so the diskette of Step 2 is in the diskette
drive. Run the AWDFLASH program and follow the instructions to make a copy
of your BIOS file on the diskette. Exit the AWDFLASH program back to
the DOS prompt. Make a copy of the BIOS file you just saved so
you'll have two copies—one to tinker with and
one as a backup file. Run the CBROM program to merge the graphic file into the BIOS file,
substituting the appropriate filenames in a single command line as
follows: cbrom yourbios.awd /logo yourlogo.bmp [Enter]
Run the AWDFLASH program and follow the instructions to load your new
BIOS file into the BIOS FLASH ROM. Remove the diskette from the drive and restart the system to enjoy
your new boot-up look.
If you choose to use the AwardMod program, which runs in Windows,
follow Steps 1-5 above, skip the rest, and then follow these steps:
Restart your system to Windows and run the AwardMod program, shown in
Figure 1-7.
 Select the BIOS filename and directory (on the diskette), and then
click the Load button to begin working with the BIOS file. At the bottom of the listing you'll see an open file
folder icon. Click this icon and browse to find and open your logo
BMP file. The filename will appear in the listing. Click the Store button to merge the logo into a new BIOS file and
save it, then exit the program. Make sure the new BIOS file is on the
diskette. Replace the diskette with a bootable diskette, and then reboot the
system to DOS. Switch to the diskette with the FLASH program and new BIOS file. Run the AWDFLASH program and follow the instructions to load your new
BIOS file into the BIOS FLASH ROM. Remove the diskette from the drive and restart the system to enjoy
your new boot-up look.
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The logo-replacement process involves rewriting a major portion of
the data stored in the FLASH ROM containing your BIOS.
Replacing the original startup graphic with your own certainly adds a
bit of class to your system and identifies you as the
"creator" of your PC, but it is not
without risks.
Make sure you use a stable AC process power source with an
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) and that nothing disturbs the
system during the FLASH process or your BIOS will be destroyed [Hack #10] .
Be sure to make a backup of your BIOS using the appropriate FLASH ROM
tools provided by your system board maker before hacking into logo
land. You'll need the backup file to load the
original BIOS back into the system if you make a mistake.
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