AwardBIOS v6.00PG

The POST screen of AwardBIOS v6.00PG with old type copyright

AwardBIOS v6.00PG (codenamed Medallion), also known as Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG, Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG or occasionally Award Medallion BIOS v6,00PG, is a version of AwardBIOS released by Award Software in April 1998 and later developed by Phoenix Technologies, the former of which merged with the latter around the time of its release. It is the successor for both Award EliteBIOS (v4.5x/4.6x, for retail/consumer systems) and PowerBIOS (for embedded/industrial systems).

POST screen

Screen resolution

Depending on the instance (likely configured by the OEM before compiling), the POST screen of AwardBIOS v6.00PG can be displayed in either VGA (640x480) or EGA (640x350) resolution with 8x16 font for both modes. Although, majority of the instances display it in the former mode.

Unlike its predecessor EliteBIOS, v6.00PG does not have the 720x400 9x16 display mode that is commonly used when silent boot (fullscreen OEM logo) or PhoenixNet is enabled, always displaying the POST screen in either of the modes listed above regardless of such.

Energy Star certification symbol (EPA)

Similarly to EliteBIOS, v6.00PG also supports displaying an EPA in the POST screen, and it is indeed displayed in most instances (unless disabled or modified by the OEM). However, aside from this, some of its later instances also have a toggle in CMOS Setup for disabling/enabling the EPA, which never existed as a stock feature in EliteBIOS.

Very early instances (usually from 1998 or early 1999) used the same EPA from EliteBIOS, with the yellow Energy Star symbol and a green line with "EPA POLLUTION PREVENTER" text below. In around 1999, a new EPA began being used with the said text removed and the green line above it resized and re-colored to yellow to match the symbol's color. However, although rare, some newer instances continued using the older EPA well into the 2000s.

Copyright text

Earlier instances (from before around 2001) are dubbed under the "Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG" (or very rarely, "Award Medallion BIOS v6.00PG") name and mention "Award Software Inc." in their copyright strings. Meanwhile, as a result of the Phoenix - Award merge that happened three years prior, newer instances mention "Phoenix Technologies Ltd." in the copyright strings and can be dubbed under any one of the following names:

• Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG (most common)
• Phoenix-Award BIOS v6.00PG
• Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.00PG (variant with additional workstation features)
• Phoenix - Award WorkstationB v6.00PG (likely a result of redubbing regular v6.00PG as WorkstationBIOS and running out of available characters in the string while doing so)

However, while this is true for official/stock instances, some code forks (specifically the ones developed by ASUS and Gigabyte) are exceptions:

• The ASUS fork (1999-2004) is dubbed under the "Award Medallion BIOS v6.0" name and always mentions "Award Software Inc." in its copyright string - This is possibly because of the fact that it is likely based on a pre-release version of v6.00PG with its development name, as it also contains some other elements and quirks from the older EliteBIOS that are not present with standard instances. This fork was discontinued in circa 2003-2004 and all AwardBIOS ROMs from ASUS compiled since then are based on the standard/stock AwardBIOS code.
• The Gigabyte fork, while probably based on a release version of AwardBIOS, is always dubbed "Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG" and mentions "Award Software Inc." in its copyright string (including in instances released after the Phoenix - Award name change). However, although very rare, some industrial Gigabyte motherboards run stock AwardBIOS ROMs that are dubbed under the "Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG" name, despite it never being used in the fork.

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  New EPA, Award copyright, VGA resolution

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  New EPA, Award copyright (with Medallion text), VGA resolution

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  New EPA, Phoenix copyright, VGA resolution

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  New EGA, Phoenix copyright, EGA resolution

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  Old EPA (EliteBIOS), Award copyright, VGA resolution

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  Old EPA (EliteBIOS), Award copyright, EGA resolution

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  No EPA, Award copyright, VGA resolution

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  No EPA, Phoenix copyright, VGA resolution

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  No EPA, Phoenix copyright, EGA resolution

Setup Utility

Unlike EliteBIOS, 6.00PG was offered with two setup utilities: An updated version of the traditional EliteBIOS setup utility with menus, and a new setup utility with tabs (instead of menus) inspired by the new PhoenixBIOS setup utility.

Traditional Setup

Early Traditional Setup

Note: This is not the official name of this setup utility.

The Traditional Setup on 6.00PG is based on the older setup utility introduced with EliteBIOS. It has the menus as before, although with a single line title (compared to the three-line title in the EliteBIOS setup) and the ability to change and view available values for each option (by pressing enter). It also now uses cyan text (hex code #00AAAA) for disabled setup options. The (Shift)F2 shortcut for changing the color set has also been removed and now only the common blue set is offered, although some Fatal1ty series motherboards from ABIT use a fully red traditional setup for 6.00PG. However this is likely a modification done by ABIT and it is unlikely Phoenix ever offered different color sets for the setup.

Early instances of Traditional Setup (and the Gigabyte code fork) used the older Award Software copyright ("CMOS Setup Utility - Copyright (C) 1984-xxxx Award Software") for the title. In 2001, the copyright was removed and the title was changed to "Phoenix - AwardBIOS CMOS Setup Utility".

New/Phoenix Setup

Early New Setup from 1998

Note: This is not the official name of this setup utility.

The New Setup is based on the PhoenixBIOS 4.0x/4.0 Release 6.x setup utility. Most instances of the ASUS "Medallion" code fork also use this setup utility.

Like Traditional Setup, New Setup lacks the (Shift)F2 color set change shortcut. However unlike Traditional Setup, it was sometimes offered with different color options to manufacturers. Although the color set still can't be changed by the end user.

Code forks

ASUS "Medallion v6.0" (1999 - 2004)

In circa 1999, ASUS started releasing their motherboards with a new version of AwardBIOS called "Medallion BIOS v6.0". Unlike their previous EliteBIOS instances, this version often has new setup (based on PhoenixBIOS 4.0x/4.0 Rel 6.x setup). OEM computers (e.g. HP, Sony VAIO etc.) and some laptops with ASUS motherboards made during this era often also used this BIOS.

This version is most likely based on an internal pre-release version (beta) of AwardBIOS v6.00PG as it shares many similarities with both v6.00PG and the old EliteBIOS. Main differences between this fork and regular v6.00PG include:

• The POST screen is displayed in EGA (640x350) resolution, which is common on EliteBIOS, instead of VGA (640x480, like on most regular instances of v6.00PG).
• The older EliteBIOS EPA is used in POST, instead of the new EPA introduced in circa 1999.
• The POST screen messages resemble the ones used in EliteBIOS more than the new ones used in v6.00PG. Examples include:
  • The CPU detection section does not start with a Main Processor : text and instead only shows the detected processor, like on EliteBIOS and unlike on v6.00PG (which has the beginning text).
  • The Plug and Play BIOS Extension plugin shows detected PnP devices (if installed) like on EliteBIOS, unlike the new plugin on v6.00PG which only shows the copyright for the plugin instead.

• The setup utility is a special version of New Setup, displayed with 9x16 font and (often) with "AwardBIOS Setup Utility" text on top with no copyright copyright, unlike retail New Setup which is displayed with 8x16 and has a copyright text on top. The names of some of the options are also different from the defaults in v6.00PG New Setup. It is suspected the setup utility is based on an early pre-release instance of New Setup (just like the main BIOS itself) with more similarities with the PhoenixBIOS 4.0 Release 6.x setup compared to its final release.

The first motherboard model with this fork is most likely the ASUS P3B-F (released circa July 1999), while the last model may be the ASUS P4BP-MX (released circa February 2004). In circa 2003-2004, ASUS switched to AMIBIOS 8 (for most Intel, VIA, SiS etc. chipsets) and Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG (for most NVIDIA nForce chipsets) instead.