BMPtoEPA - AWARD BIOS Boot Logo Editor

Download

setup.exe BMPtoEPA v3.0 (2.8MB) Windows
epados.zip EPADOS v0.9 (28KB) EPA-Editor for DOS
The software contains no Spyware, Malware or somethingelse

Links

• Howto: BIOS-Boot-Logo
• EPA Logos Collection

User's Guide

Create a BMP-file:

Red characters only with Award BIOS Version 4.51
Green characters only with Award BIOS Version 4.6x and 6.0

Convert BMP to EPA:

• Start BMPtoEPA.EXE, load BMP-file (xxxxxxxx.BMP) and convert to (xxxxxxxx.EPA).
• Copy following files to a bootable diskette (without autoexec.bat and config.sys!):
  
  1. xxxxxxxx.EPA
  2. CBROM.EXE (Award BIOS version >= 4.6x needs CBROM-version >= 1.30)
  3. xxxxxxxx.AWD (BIOS-ROM-Flashfile from your Mainboard manufacturer e.g. XE5X108.AWD for ASUS TX97XE)
  4. FLASH-Program (from your Motherboard manufacturer e.g. Flash.exe, Pflash.exe)
• Start CBROM.EXE (for help use CBROM.EXE /?). Replace EPA logo with CBROM xxxxxxxx.AWD /EPA xxxxxxxx.EPA
• Attention: to flash your Bios could make your PC unusable, and you have to reprogram your Bios-Chip by an external Chip services!
• Boot from Diskette, start FLASH-Program with loading xxxxxxxx.AWD
• Shutdown and restart your computer.

Create a BMP-file with PaintShopPro(PSP):

For Award BIOS version 4.6x and 6.0 you have to change in this example:

1. 4 bit (16 colors) instead of 1 Bit (2 colors).
2. Use only ONE color in a 8x14 pixel field.
3. Use a graphics program (PSP) to change the colors!
4. At the end, convert your image with BMPtoEPA.

This example creates bitmaps for Award-BIOS Version >= 4.51!

• Start PSP and select white as foreground color and black as background color. Later you can change the color white with BMPtoEPAs color palette. Black as background color - because your monitor background - which shows your EPA-logo - is black too.
• Create a grid (8x14 pixel) for easy drawing:
  A good help for pixel settings is the grid function. Open File/Preferences, the submenue General Program Preferences and the option Rulers and Units (see following picture). Set the Horizontal Spacing to 8 Pixel and the Vertical Spacing to 14. Press OK, open View and activate Grid.
  
• Open with File/New a "New Image" and insert the same settings as below:
  
  (Since version 1.30 BMPtoEPA supports a new format! See new format in red characters.)
• Now it´s your turn. Create your own logo. BMPtoEPA can only colorize complete rectangles (8 pixel width, 14 pixel height) with one color, because the boot screen is for text not for graphic. So one rectangle is one character! On this course you have: 136 / 8 = 17 chars (rectangles) in the width and 126 (84) / 14 = 9 (6) chars (rectangles) in the height. The result is a screen area with 17 columnes and 9 (6) rows = 153 (102) characters (rectangles). To fix one pixel exactly on the screen - you can use the X/Y- coordinates in the left bottom of the PSP window.
• Save the new Bitmap and remember - no long filenames!