X:\Gigabyte\Logo>CBROM.EXE x38dq6.f9j /logo extract x38dq6.bmp
CBROM.EXE V1.98 [08/27/08] (C)Phoenix Technologies 2001-2008
[Logo] ROM is extracted to x38dq6.bmp
X:\Gigabyte\Logo>
Second logo
X:\Gigabyte\Logo>CBROM.EXE x38dq6.f9j /epa extract
CBROM.EXE V1.98 [08/27/08] (C)Phoenix Technologies 2001-2008
Enter an extract file Name :(AwardBmp.bmp)
[EPA] ROM is extracted to AwardBmp.bmp
X:\Gigabyte\Logo>
Third logo
X:\Gigabyte\Logo>CBROM.EXE x38dq6.f9j /logo1 extract dbios.bmp
CBROM.EXE V1.98 [08/27/08] (C)Phoenix Technologies 2001-2008
[LOGO1] ROM is extracted to dbios.bmp
X:\Gigabyte\Logo>
I can read x38dq6.bmp and AwardBmp.bmp in Paint for example. But I can’t read dbios.bmp. The first four bytes 41 57 42 4D translate to AWBM.
So I tried to find a tool that would let me convert it to a normal picture file format, assuming the original is some proprietary file format. I thought I found one in the form of awbm2tiff.exe.
But unfortunately this did not yield a useful result. It did produce a TIFF file however, with the dimensions 136px x 42px that I can open in Paint. I have converted it to PNG and attached below.
I tried using the suggested RECOIL program, which lists EPA (Award BIOS) as a supported file type on its website. But I am still unable to read it. It gives me a decoding error. I haven’t tried reading it with anything else yet.
Does anyone know more about this format? Is this in fact the so called EPA version 2 format? I am attaching the extracted file in case someone else wants to give it a try.
Something to note in the README file for awbmtools package:
Background:
~~~~~~~~~~~
The VIA EPIA motherboard, with recent BIOS versions, has the ability to
display a fullscreen boot logo when booting, instead of the usual POST
screen. The logo itself is embedded in the BIOS image, and although its
'filename' has the extension .BMP, it is *not* a BMP file - it's an odd
but simplistic format referred to herein as AWBM.
There is also this:
How do I customise my Boot Logo?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
First create your logo in a graphics package. For the EPIA you need to
make a 640x480 image with 256 colours. Once you've done that, save it as
a TIFF file, and use:
TIFF2AWBM logo.tiff logo.bmp
to convert to AWBM format. (The original logo in the EPIA BIOS has the
filename VPSD.BMP, though it's most definitely *not* a BMP file...)
Now use CBROM to insert this logo into the BIOS image, by typing:
CBROM EPIA0205.BIN /logo logo.bmp
If this succeeds, you can now flash your machine with the modified BIOS
image.
The awbm2tiff.exe that I used was last modified April 12, 2003. This is an old set of tools. But so is Award Software International Inc. that was founded in 1983 and Phoenix Technologies Ltd., founded in 1979, with whom they merged in 1998. Age doesn’t mean much when it comes to BIOS. So I think these tools are still relevant for some of these classic BIOS systems today. I just haven’t touched anything of the sort in my life, so I’m fumbling in the dark here. (It’s not for the EFI/UEFI systems. Obviously. But neither do these technically qualify as BIOS.)
In case someone else wants to have a look, or needs these tools, here they are.
I wonder, just how many logos are there supposed to be in a BIOS file?..
No. Item-Name Original-Size Compressed-Size Original-File-Name
=========================================================================
3. EPA LOGO 0168Ch(5.64K) 0030Dh(0.76K) AwardBmp.bmp
13. LOGO1 ROM 00B64h(2.85K) 00520h(1.28K) dbios.bmp
14. LOGO BitMap 4B30Ch(300.76K) 07B55h(30.83K) x38dq6.bmp
Are we supposed to export or replace each of these? The splash screen is number 14 in this list, and it features the Gigabyte logo. Number 3 is the “EPA Pollution Preventer” logo. What is number 13 anyway? Is it the blue Award logo? It’s very small. I wonder if it’s corrupted or something? But the BIOS file itself is not corrupted though.
Also, I wonder why it says “ROM” in “LOGO1 ROM” and why it’s indexed with a number? Whereas with number 14, it says “LOGO BitMap”.
