80GB: 61-0327-001121-00101111-071595-440BX (HP Vectra VE8/26

BIOS update, EIDE card, or overlay software? (FAQ Hard disk recognition)
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Z32
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I have an HP Vectra VE8/266 PC, bios id 61-0327-001121-00101111-071595-440BX, that locks up when I try & auto detect my new 80Gb drive. HP do not have an update that will go above 32Gb.

The AMI checking program says that manufacturer is FIC but their site doesn't seem to have anything either

Are any of the experts here able to help ?

Thanks

Rob...
NickS
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Motherboards.org suggest FIC VB-609, OEM for HP, no BIOS available from FIC. I can't see Vectra VE8 on the HP site, only VEi8.
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Z32
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Thanks for the reply Nick, the PC is a model D6552N which comes up as a Vectra ve 6/xxx series 8 on HP's site, yet the sticker on the side clearly says VE8 go figure.

In their FAQ for this model they say "The BIOS can handle hard disk drives up to 33.8 GB." and "HP does not plan to release an updated BIOS to increase this limit." Hence my question here about modifying my current BIOS.

Rob...
Rainbow
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I've seen a Vectra with the same board but faster CPU (PII 300 or 350MHz - don't know). The board is really FIC VB-609 - it's printed on it. I thought about flashing BIOS from another board there but quickly forgot that - the Flash ROM chip is soldered to the board :(
The case is standard ATX - except for the connector to front-panel switch and LEDs.
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edwin
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so either
add-in controller card with its own bios
or
new motherboard
edwin/evasive

Do not assume anything

System error, strike any user to continue...
Z32
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Thanks for your replies, one further question though.

Using your advise I have found a second hand Jetway 993AN rev: 1.2 that will take my current 266 slot1 processor & allow a later upgrade, but does anyone know if there is a BIOS version for this board that will support at least an 80Gb drive ?

Thanks.

Rob...
ajzchips
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There are late-2000 releases for your board at:
http://www.jetway.com.tw/evisn/download ... ndex-1.htm

Have you tried the latest already?
Z32
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I was actually trying to find out before I bought the board & jetway's site didn't really say much about drive support changes in the updates.

Not to worry though I have now found a Gigabyte GA-6BXC & their site says that their latest Bios supports upto 80Gb.

Thanks to you all for your help.

Rob...
NickS
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...someone could probably patch the Jetway BIOS....
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lazyJones
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Concerning the HP VB-609 Board (an OEM FIC Board, as already mentioned): Is there any way to patch the latest Bios by HP to overcome the 32GB Limit?
The latest Bios is available at the HP Website (or, since I couldn't create a directe link, I mirrored it here: http://www.dcklein.de/users/lzj/DISK1.zip

Since the VB-609 can be found in various models of the Vectra Series it might be useful for other users, too. (By Googling I found out that there were some people out there who wanted to overcome this barrier, too).

I tried to understand how to patch a BIOS but this is way too difficult for me...
NickS
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As this is an AMI BIOS I am not aware of a patch. It may be possible to replace the existing Int 13h module within the BIOS with one from a later BIOS, but I have not tried this.
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lazyJones
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Since I had another old Asus P2B around and the board isn't worth so much today I tried to flash it with the latest BIOS for the FIC VB-601 with Uniflash.

The PC boots up now - unfortunately it fails to recognise the floppy-controller. Plus booting from HDD or CD-ROM doesn't work either. Which also means, that it's useless now and you can't flash back the original BIOS.
But then again, it was an interesting Tuesday morning and screwing a board is something one has to do at least once in one's life... ;-)

just wanted to let you know in case there's someone out there who wonders if flashing with another BIOS works...
NickS
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Is the BIOS chip soldered to the board?
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lazyJones
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no, it's socket. But since I don't have a similar board around I would have to build the c't flasher or go to a computer store and pay for reflashing and I'm not sure if it's worth the time and effort (I mean even after flashing with the original bios it would still only work with HDD<32GB) ...
NickS
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The board does not have to be identical, just be able to take that type of chip (flash voltage and no. of bytes is a good start).
It could just be that it is possible to use amibcp.exe to replace the existing int 13 module with a later one that support hdd > 32GB.
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