AwardBIOS v6.00PG

The POST screen of AwardBIOS v6.00PG as seen on the Biostar M7VKH motherboard

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, both of which merged around the time of its release. It is the successor to both Award EliteBIOS (v4.5x/v4.6x, for retail/consumer systems) and Award PowerBIOS (for embedded/industrial systems).

POST screen

Various visual elements of its POST screen can commonly differ between instances from different OEMs/ODMs or time periods. Most notable of these are listed below.

Screen resolution

The POST screen can be displayed in either VGA (640x480) or EGA (640x350) resolution, with an 8x16 font for both modes, although most instances use the former mode. This is most likely a configurable option that is offered to OEMs before compiling as a ROM for instances for a specific system.

Unlike EliteBIOS, the 720x400 resolution mode (with 9x16 font) is not used. This mode was commonly used for displaying the POST screen (either for occurred errors or when manually switching by pressing <TAB>) when silent boot or PhoenixNet is enabled.

Energy Star certification symbol (EPA)

Similarly to EliteBIOS, most of its instances also display an EPA in the POST screen, and likewise it can be modified for displaying other graphics instead. Aside from this, some later instances also have a toggle in setup that can enable or disable the EPA. This toggle was never (at least officially) present in EliteBIOS.

Some very early instances (from between 1998 and 2000) used the same EPA from EliteBIOS, which has the yellow Energy Star logo with a green line and the "EPA POLLUTION PREVENTER" text below. In circa 1999, a new EPA was introduced which removed the text and re-colored (and also re-sized) the line to yellow to match the logo's color. However, although uncommon, some newer instances used the old EPA well into the 2000s.

Version and copyright strings

Excluding code forks, both of these strings were changed in later instances as a result of the Award - Phoenix merge in 1998. Although, as Award Software legally continued existing as an entity until then, this change didn't occur until 2001. Multiple string variants for both instances released before and after this change exist. These are displayed in the POST screen on the top left corner (usually right next to the EPA).

Version string

Award Software era (1998 - 2001)

• Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG (also used by newer instances of the Gigabyte fork released after 2001)
• Award Medallion BIOS v6.0 (used by the ASUS fork, although likely also used by standard instances based on early pre-release code)
• Award Medallion BIOS v6.00PG (extremely rare, likely used by instances based on late pre-release code)

Phoenix Technologies era (2001 - 2009)

• Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
• Phoenix-Award BIOS v6.00PG (uncommon, although occasionally seen)

WorkstationBIOS (2001 - 2009)

WorkstationBIOS is a variant of AwardBIOS v6.00PG that was introduced in around 2001, after Award Software was officially dissolved. Although it was advertised as a special version with enhancements for workstation PCs, exact differences between it and the regular version are unknown.

Instances based on WorkstationBIOS used either one of the following version strings:

• Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS v6.00PG
• Phoenix - Award WorkstationB v6.00PG (occasionally seen, likely a result of re-branding the regular version and running out of available characters in the string while doing so)

Copyright string

• Copyright (C) 1984-xxxx, Award Software, Inc. (1998 - 2001, also used by newer instances of the Gigabyte fork)
• Copyright (C) 1984-xxxx, Phoenix Technologies, Ltd. (2001 - 2009)

• 

  New EPA, Award copyright, VGA resolution

• 

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

• 

  New EPA, Phoenix copyright, VGA resolution

• 

  New EGA, Phoenix copyright, EGA resolution

• 

  Old EPA (EliteBIOS), Award copyright, VGA resolution

• 

  Old EPA (EliteBIOS), Award copyright, EGA resolution

• 

  No EPA, Award copyright, VGA resolution

• 

  No EPA, Phoenix copyright, VGA resolution

• 

  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.