I need HELP. Tring to flash AST BIOS. I am a ROOKIE.

Recommended by Wim's BIOS...

Just got a desktop with Pentium MMX 266Mhz . Has A.S.T. BIOS and it only recongizes my 30 GIG HD as 16MG. The BIOS Version is 1.05. BIOS #905606. SYSTEM SERIAL #228100815816. Please help.. I have never flashed a BIOS yet and don't know where to start. Where can I get the updated BIOS that I need.

Thank You,

Bubba

bubbag@alltel.net

[edwin]

Please post the 5xxxxx-xxx part number from the back of your case and we'll see if there's a new bios available...

The only 5xxxxxx-xxxnumber I could find on the back of the case was 503519-401. I hope this is the number yall are looking for. Thank you a million! Bubba

http://www.ari-service.com/support/summ ... &x=26&y=13

Which download do I need to get. I glanced at that link above but didn't see an upgrade file. I am a rookie so please direct me to the right file.
Thank You,'
Bubba

I do appreciate the help yall are giving me.... Thanks a million.

[edwin]

The .exe (v1.06) file on this page:
http://www.ari-service.com/bulletin/sb/0402sb.htm


If you download that and execute it, it will probably make a bootable diskette from which you should boot the mchine to upgrade the bios.

What issue are you hoping to fix with the new bios?

I need to upgrade the AST BIOS 1.05 because it sees my 30 gig hd as only 16Mg. I went into the CMOS setup and set the hard drive to auto but it still only sees the 30 gig hd as 16 mg. Will the 1.06 upgrade fix that problem?

Thank You,

Bubba

bubbag@alltel.net

See if you can get the drive parms.... heads, cylinders, sectors per track and then see if there is a user setting in the bios for the Primary drive. Drive type 46 is used in many cases. But, even if you have this and the bios doesn't support LBA or Init 13 routines you may not be able to see more than 16 meg. In that case look at a EIDE addin card with onboard bios. As always look at www.pricewatch.com to get a feel for what the cards are going for.

Any ideas on a program called "Easy BIOS" or something like that. I heard that it is supposed to make a large hard drive work no matter how cmos sees it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks for all the info!

bubba

[edwin]

EZ-Drive or EZ-bios or MaxBlast is software from the harddisk manufacturer to work around the limits in your bios. It may or may not work for you. It will slow down the machine, I hope they have improved stability since I last used one of those (several years ago). Check the website of your harddisk manufacturer, it should be there for free download.

Thanks for your oppinion on the EZ BIOS Edwin....... Don't guess I'll go that route. Might get an expansion card with the onboard bios as stated above.

Thank you everyone!