BIOS and harddisk problem

[Ivan Cheung]

Dear all,

I have a harddisk, 60GB. The motherboard is old that it can detect it. But
it works if the jumper is set to 30GB. I think the BIOS is very old. Is
there any method to update the BIOS? Is it safe or will the BIOS be
corrupted and can't be restored?

Thanks in advance.

Ivan

 

[Ivan Cheung]

sorry, read the corrected message below.

 

[CS]

sorry, read the corrected message below.

It's probably best to upgrade your motherboard. There are third party
BIOS sellers who will be happy to sell you a BIOS upgrade for $70 or
$80 US. The problem with those upgrades is that there is no guaranty
they'll work properly.

Best you can do is go to your motherboard makers web site and see if
they have a flash BIOS update you can download for your board.
Another solution is to purchase a controller card with built in BIOS.
They typically sell for around $50 US.

 

[Michael D. Alligood]

First you will need to know who manufactured your BIOS. Normally you can see
this when you first turn on the computer. If your computer is configured
with a boot splash screen, you can pres the ESC key to see this info --
press the Pause/Break key would not be a bad idea since the POST can go by
rather quickly. If you know how to enter your BIOS, you can acheive the same
result. Your next step is to contact the BIOS manufacture (easiest way is
through the internet) and see if an upgrade is available.

It is safe if performed properly. You must make sure that the computer
doesn't lose power during the flashing of the BIOS.

--
Best of luck!

Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCP, CCNA, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW A, CIW CI

 

[Ivan Cheung]

I have checked my BIOS is AMI BIOS. However, the new BIOS version which
supports over 60GB is AWARD. Can I update the BIOS from AMI to AWARD?

 

[Michael D. Alligood]

Just to be safe, I recommend that you visit
http://www.ami.com/support/bios.cfm/ for specific answers.

--
Best of luck!

Michael D. Alligood
MCSA, MCP, CCNA, A+,
Network+, i-Net+, CIW A, CIW CI

 

[CS]

I have checked my BIOS is AMI BIOS. However, the new BIOS version which
supports over 60GB is AWARD. Can I update the BIOS from AMI to AWARD?

How did you check your BIOS? You need to compare your motherboard
model number and run on the maker's web site to make sure which BIOS
is being used. Also - when the machine is booting, press your Pause
key and write down any specific information about the BIOS and the
motherboard.

Both AMI and AWARD are now owned and distributed by Phoenix
technologies so be very careful about which BIOS upgrade you order.
Again, I advise you NOT to upgrade a BIOS for a board that old. Buy
and install a new motherboard if possible.

 

[Plato]

I have a harddisk, 60GB. The motherboard is old that it can detect it. But
it works if the jumper is set to 30GB. I think the BIOS is very old. Is
there any method to update the BIOS? Is it safe or will the BIOS be
corrupted and can't be restored?

Your motherboard maker should have free bios upgrades. But read the docs
first and see if they address the hard drive limit you have. Yes, a bios
flash can go bad and often when they do you lose your floppy drive so
you cant even reflash with the bios backup you made. The safest way is
to get a new controller card. A benefit of this is that you can now put
tons more hard drives in if you want to.

 

[Alex Nichol]

I have a harddisk, 60GB. The motherboard is old that it can detect it. But
it works if the jumper is set to 30GB. I think the BIOS is very old. Is
there any method to update the BIOS? Is it safe or will the BIOS be
corrupted and can't be restored?

It is possible to 'flash' a BIOS to a later version if the maker of the
motherboard provides one . You need to identify the make and model of
motherboard - I suggest getting the free Everest Home edition from
http://www.lavalys.com/index.php?page=product&view=1
which is an excellent general System Info tool, and its
Motherboard - Mother Board page, Properties at the top will tell you .
Eg for mine Asus P4B, together with BIOS date and the chipset (eg I845)

Go to the makers site and look in support - downloads for a replacement
Everest should give a link at the bottom of that page. (in my case it
would be a Beta one, so see if the site makes mention of that)

Then make a basic DOS mode startup floppy. In My Computer, r-click the
floppy drive, Format and check the box 'MSDOS startup disk'. Once done,
open it in My computer and drag in the program and data file you
downloaded. You will probably download a zip file - double click that
first to open, and drag out the files from inside.

Boot the floppy, run the program. First make sure you back up the
present BIOS, then run it to use the downloaded data file. If there is
*any* sign that this was not fully successful, immediately run the
program once more to restore the backup - do *NOT* reboot until that is
successful