Entry 46768 (Berkeley CSUA MOTD)

Berkeley CSUA MOTD:Entry 46768

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2025/05/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular

5/24

2007/5/27-30 [Computer/HW/Drives] UID:46768 Activity:low

5/27    I just spend a few hours on a silly BIOS problem and I'm posting it
        here so that you guys wouldn't have to go through this again. My
        MB is Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro and the latest BIOS update is version
        F17, which is in 2004. It comes with the MB Sil (Silicon Image)
        3112A SATA controller, which unfortunately, is outdated from 2002
        and does not recognize my Seagate 750G drive-- the boot loader
        from Sil would get stuck trying to read info from the new drive.
        Here's the main problem: Gigabyte's newest BIOS version F17 is
        from 2004, but it is bundled with Sil 3112A's ancient and buggy BIOS
        version 4.2.00. I can't just flash Sil's BIOS-- you either flash
        all the MB's BIOS or nothing. According to discussion boards online,
        Gigabyte seems to not update other vendor's new BIOS through
        neglect. So here's what I had to do.  I had to disassemble the BIOS
        by first taking out Sil's old 4.2.00 on an image, then insert a newer
        version of 4.2.83 back into image, then flash the image to the MB.
        Viola, my old MB can now read my Seagate 750G SATA.  For more
        information, refer here (go to the bottom):
        http://www.short-media.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-20543-p-2.html
        \_ Summary to update SATA BIOS:
           -Download MB's latest BIOS that bundles with other BIOS
            Make a copy. The original file will be modified. Let's suppose
            we call this BIOS MyMBBIOS.bin
           -Download the right SATA BIOS
           -Download the tool to dissect the MB BIOS
            http://www.biosmods.com/download.php (CBROM215)
           -Go to DOS prompt (Start->Run->"cmd"), put every file into
            the same directory for simplicity
           -C:\bios\> cbrom2xx MyMBBIOS.bin /pci release
            Note which BIOS is the old SATA. Release it.
           -Integrate SATA into MyMBBIOS.bin by doing
            C:\bios\> cbrom2xx MyMBBIOS.bin /pci MyNewSataBIOS.bin
           -Confirm integration with:
            C:\bios\> cbrom2xx MyMBBIOS.bin /d
           -Now flash your MB's BIOS using MyMBBIOS.bin
            Hope it works because your MB may get totally messed up
            permanently... or it may work. Good luck.
        \_ Congrats on making this work but was it worth it?  A new
           motherboard is under $100 with all the bells and whistles.

2025/05/24 [General] UID:1000 Activity:popular

5/24

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www.short-media.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-20543-p-2.htmlSpecifically, the one for Gigabyte 7N400 Pro2 Rev2, with BIOS version FK. I updated my BIOS using this modded version of FK from here and I have good news and bad news. I'm not sure how to attack, but this is the BIOS I'm talking about (FD version). Fi leType=BIOS&FileID=10906 It is possible, although your settings were fine before, that now a single component is not liking the 205mhz part of your overclock. But i have problems overclocking them by increasing the FSB by 5mhz. I think this is because other things link into this FSB. To explain what i am talking about an example - increasing the FSB to 203 FSB linked to AGP and PCI Therefore instread of 200:66:33 It is now 203:68:34 These arent always linked, it depends on the motherboard. What I worked out was that this raise could make an AGP or PCI card flip out. It may also be linked to the memory speed, and that can cause problems. But I cant run it at 170mhz without something causing a system hang. Additionally I never found much performance boost from the 5mhz increase (while it didnt hang). it is the major boost from 166mhz to 200mhz that increases the L1 cache, L2 cache and memory speed. vFK modded with the latest SI3512 controller BIOS v4347). pid=29& cid=15&ctid=2&osid=0&) I have installed a Maxtor SATA-2 6V250F0 hdd with jumper set for 15Gbs, I suffer the slow copy and eventual hang under Win XP making the system unusable with the single sata drive installed as BASE and two x IDE drives also as Base on the GigaRaid connectors. Would I be able to do it myself without any special software? Thanks, Peter Borg Number One 06-22-2006, 02:55 PM Hi pskirk, The Gigabyte GA 7n400pro2 rev2x BIOS file (ver. pskirk 06-22-2006, 03:23 PM The Gigabyte GA 7n400pro2 rev2x BIOS file (ver. Hi Borg, Thanks, I will give that a try and post results here. I asked if it has an updated SiL bios included and what other issues it addresses. If the problem cant be solved we will forward to the BIOS department to check is there any other BIOS version. That is reassuring :shakehead Borg Number One 06-22-2006, 04:00 PM Hi. If customers have special hardware and BIOS related questions, then nearly all mainboard manufacturer and their technical support teams + do not know anything abrubtly + can not / want not help suddenly + act the fool / play possum It is a really curious phenomenon. It is just sad, how slowly and stupid some mainboard technical support teams are. But i have problems overclocking them by increasing the FSB by 5mhz. I think this is because other things link into this FSB. To explain what i am talking about an example - increasing the FSB to 203 FSB linked to AGP and PCI Therefore instread of 200:66:33 It is now 203:68:34 These arent always linked, it depends on the motherboard. My motherboard supports independent FSB and AGP/PCI clock. I've been using the AGP/PCI at 66/33 for over 2 years since I've had the overclock at 205. There is something with the BIOS FD that my cpu/mobo combo likes. And it IS stable since I've been using it for over 2 years now without chaning videocard/soundcard or memory. You'd think something would go wrong in these 2 years if it wasn't. Anyway, I'm just happy that the borg one posted the FD bios version with the newest SATA bios since my overclock still works fine and my HDD problems are gone. My motherboard died (under warranty) and I had to reload the SATA drivers. My motherboard died (under warranty) and I had to reload the SATA drivers. The "a" doesn't matter, you are using the correct driver. Currently the system is up and running in WinXP, with 2 IDE drives. While reading through this thread, I found the modded bios for my board(F7) with the SIL3112 update. I flashed that to my bios, but it didn't seem to completely fix the problem. I certainly helped a bit, as the board recognizes the drive *more* often. But doesn't seem to work all the time, and it hangs when trying to load windows. The goal here, is to get the SATA up and do a fresh install of XP on it, and transfer programs over from the IDE. GodSpeed 10-20-2006, 10:36 PM EQuito, Spinner, or Anyone Else who can Help I have a Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2(Rev 1x) F11 Bios. Has anyone ever intergraded ITE Tech IT8212 bios updates is there a link or download for it. website (IT8212) <For PCI Card> these are updated up to these versions now. com PS: I would like to thank anyone for the help of an updated bios mod Semental 10-27-2006, 05:18 PM The best solution... Buy new motherboard :cheers: winactive 10-30-2006, 03:14 PM The best solution... Buy new motherboard :cheers: Why buy new if you can tinker with the old one? Please post back with your findings GodSpeed :thumbup: GodSpeed 10-31-2006, 02:15 AM Why buy new if you can tinker with the old one? Please post back with your findings GodSpeed :thumbup: I'm going to try the update bios now.... Chungalin 11-30-2006, 09:47 PM Hello I've just got an Adaptec 1210SA Serial ATA RAID PCI card, with a Silicon Image Sil3112A chipset. I've read some comments of people reflashing their adapters with Silicon Image official BIOS and then using official drivers. A month ago I was using an Asus A7N8X motherboard with exactly the same Sil3112A chipset integrated on board, but its BIOS was completely different and its boot initialization was faster. I guess it was an official Silicon Image BIOS since I could use official drivers. But it fails with this message: Use PCI BIOS to scan No controller found Current PCI Vendor ID is 1095 and Device ID is 0240 (instead of usual 3112). Flash memory IC is a ST M29W010B (same as M29F010B but "low power"). With this add-in card have you tried the UPDFLASH command line switches? bin -BOARD3112 -u Chungalin 01-25-2007, 06:45 PM Thanks for the answer. However, this new version throws exactly the same error message. I think it doesn't like the different PCI Device ID of my Adaptec card (0240h). OK, using -PCIROM option with the proper Bus-Device-Function numbers and it has worked fine. The boot initialization messages from Adaptec have disappeared. However, the re-flash hasn't changed the PCI Device ID, which is still 0240h instead of the needed 3112h in order to use Silicon Image drivers, so once under Windows nothing has changed. I've looked at the BIOS file and it contains the values 1095h and 3112h at the beginning, but seems this doesn't affect the IDs reported by the card on boot initialization and PnP enumeration. I've looked at the card (phisically) and I'm afraid this will depend on the contents of a 2K EEPROM IC 24WC02J. The card just has the main SiI3112A IC, the Flash IC and that EEPROM, so it MUST be that. Chungalin 01-25-2007, 10:58 PM Oddly enough I've been unable to find the SiI3112A datasheet at SI website, but I've read the ones for SiI3132 and SiI3512. I think this is the answer: "The SiI3132 supports an external Flash and/or EEPROM device for BIOS extensions and user-defined PCI configuration header data." When SiI3112A initializes, it reads the PCI Configuration (Vendor ID, Device ID and Subsystem ID) from the highest Flash memory addresses. But it also supports an EEPROM for the same purpose, and then the document says: "If both Flash and EEPROM are installed, the PCI Configuration Space registers will be loaded with the EEPROMs data." Then my solution will be to somehow disable the EEPROM IC. Or maybe the cleanest solution is just desolder it from the PCB. winactive 01-25-2007, 11:23 PM Oddly enough I've been unable to find the SiI3112A datasheet at SI website, but I've read the ones for SiI3132 and SiI3512. I think this is the answer: "The SiI3132 supports an external Flash and/or EEPROM device for BIOS extensions and user-defined PCI configuration header data." When SiI3112A initializes, it reads the PCI Configuration (Vendor ID, Device ID and Subsystem ID) from the highest Flash memory addresses. But it also supports an EEPROM for the same purpose, and then the document says: "If both Flash and EEPROM are installed, the PCI Configuration Space registers will be loaded with the EEPROMs data." Then my solution will be to somehow disable the EEPROM IC. Or maybe the cleanest solution is just desolder it from the PCB. It sou...

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www.biosmods.com/download.phpbin /py /sn /cc /cd /cp /cks /R But remember to always check out the flash-procedure from your motherboard-manufacturer. awdflash: 822 | 816 | 812 | 810 | 808 | 803 | 802 | 800 | 789 | 772 | 764 | 753 | 752 Biosview - can be used to view/test a biosfile, NOT the current bios in your computer. Can be used to take screenshots of your bios, if you want to share some settings with other people. It worked for Abit KT7 and KA7, but not Abit KG7, Iwill and Epox. I use this util to change the integrated raid-bios and the epa-logos. It can also be used to exchange fullscreen-logos and the acpitable. Always remember to check your biosfile before and after a mod to make sure that it is in fact intact. I use cbrom version 207 for my mods, and the options I have tested are: "/d", "/pci", "/epa" and "/acpitbl". cbrom: 215 | 207 cbrom6: 606 Modbin/Modbin6 - is used to modify the Award Modular bios. It can be used to modify the setup screen of your bios, giving you the opportunity to unhide options which the motherboard manufacturer has hidden. Abit KT7 w/kt7zt Boot Disk BIOS flashing usually requires a boot disk and it can be hard to make if you are running WinNT/2K/XP. The FDD executables create a bootable disk for you with no hassles. If you need a bootable CD, you can download 3 variants depending on what your burner software supports. wcpuid: 30f | 30d | 30b WPCREDIT - gives you access to the PCI Configration Register and lets you edit those settings. Download the plugs/pcr files for your chipset to identify the register addresses. KT133 WPCRSET - let you do the same changes as wpcredit during the boot sequence, so that you don't need to do it manually every time. Make sure the new setting is correct by using wpcredit first. com/ Highpoint Technologies HPT370/370A/372 RAID - device drivers, BIOSes and utils for both the pci and onboard controller. To update the bios, you must embed the hpt bios into the motherboard bios using cbrom and then flash the motherboard bios. HPT371 RAID - device drivers, BIOSes and utils for both the pci and onboard controller. To update the bios, you must embed the hpt bios into the motherboard bios using cbrom and then flash the motherboard bios. Version Win9xME WinNT Win2K WinXP BIOS GUI * = current final release, ! HPT374 RAID - device drivers, BIOSes and utils for both the pci and onboard controller. To update the bios, you must embed the hpt bios into the motherboard bios using cbrom and then flash the motherboard bios. Version Win9xME WinNT Win2K WinXP BIOS GUI * = current final release, ! com/ VCool VCool - gives you an easy frontend to the following features: enable hlt-command, display current cpu-temp in system tray, throttle your cpu and more. net/ VIA 4-in-1 drivers - are required for most motherboards with via chipsets. They provide enhanced VIA chipset support under MS Windows. Check the release notes in the files to see what's changed.