Need help updating bios on my ol Shuttle HOT661

[nrd]

Hello all,

I have been trying to install my 80GWD HD in my old pc but it just hangs when autodetection happens. I believe I need to upgrade my bios, but I'm kinda weiry as I don't want to screw it up. here are the specs I got from esupports bios agent:
BIOS Date: 07/03/98
BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v4.51PGM
BIOS ID: 07/03/1998-i440BX-ITE867-2A69KH2BC
OEM Sign-On: (6610S016) Intel i440BX PCIset(TM)
Chipset: Intel 440BX/ZX rev 2
Superio: ITE 8671 rev 1 found at port 279h
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Pentium® II (0.25 µm) 397 MHz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Unknown
BIOS ROM Size: Unknown
Memory Installed: 511 MB
Memory Maximum: Unknown
ACPI Revision: 1.0

I also downloaded Sisofts Sandra, and it's telling me that my MOBO is a shuttle HOT661 - 0. now I've found a few bios versions for hot661 but they start at v1.1 and go to v3.1, now I'm thinking those are referring to dif versions of the mother board right? I have had no luck searching for HOT661 - 0 and I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me which MOBO I have and if there is a bios version I can install that supports larger HD's.

Thanks in advance, if it wasn't for forums I'd be lost, tell your local politician to support net neutrality!

NRD

[NickS]

Hi and welcome, nrd.

The best bet as regards versions is to find something printed on the mobo. Sometimes the writing is quite small. Can you take a look and see whether you can spot anything useful? Meanwhile I'll do some research based on what you've given us.

[cp]

http://global.shuttle.com/Download/Down ... em=HOT-661

get it while it's HOT ;)

and btw. if you're using Linux or Windows XP/2000 you don't need a bios update. just clip your drive to 32GB for the BIOS and the OS will get round it when it's loaded without any overlay. please read the sticky note for more information.

[NickS]

OK, according to the manuals V3.1 has an 8-pin set of jumpers JP39, but V1.1 and V2 have only a 6-pin JP39. Also, the front panel connectors are different, see p6 of each manual - V3.1 has 6 blocks, not 5. (J42 is repeated at the edge of the board as well as being near JP37.)

Manuals etc currently at http://global.shuttle.com/Download/Down ... em=HOT-661

Seems likely yours is V1.1, but check out those differences.

[Denniss]

661S0xx Bios version (OEM signon) identifies it as Rev 1.x/2.x; Rev 3.x uses S1xx Bios

Patched Bios is here, HOT-661 1.x/2.x:
http://wims.rainbow-software.org/index. ... 5&count=20

[nrd]

Hey guys, thanks so much for the support. I read the sticky for users with xp, which is what I'm running, the thing is, I have about 50gigs of my 80 gig HD already full of media that I would rather not loose, and it seems the work around for xp users involves creating a partition only large enough for the os, not too large that it wont be recognized by the bios though right? then the rest of the HD is found once your os is running? I'd rather not try to add a partition as I've lost data doing that with media already on the HD, and I have no where to upload the data to. I've managed to determine that my MOBO is a HOT661 v1.1 or v2.0 by checking the manuals and looking at the JP39 which is only 6 pin and not 8. As well there is only 5 front panel connectors and not 6. So that narrows it down to V1.1 or V2.0. Now I don't see anything in the release notes for the hot661 v1.1/v2.0 updated bios from shuttle about support for larger HD's, can anyone confirm or deny this? And if possible write me a vers of bios that will identify an 80G WD?
Again thanks so much for the help guys, It amazes me how much you do for the community!

Cheers!
NRD

[Denniss]

If you'd followed the link you'd have seen a Bios for your board and revision to support HDD up to 128GB.

This might be of interest although it is in german, couldn't fint a similar page in english.
http://eu.shuttle.com/archive/de/661__c ... nfiguratio

[nrd]

Yea I did follow that link, and I dled the bios and put it on a floppy disc, still not to sure how I go about using it. I guess I just boot from floppy, and then it does its magic? I just wanted to make sure that the bios you directed me to will infact work, based on the info I've provided. Also is there a specific flash program I need to put on the floppy such as Abit Award Flash Utility 8.23 driver download?

[NickS]

If you picked up the patched BIOS from Denniss's link, you need make sure that the diskette is DOS bootable and has no extra drivers/memory managers etc - no EMM or himem - and an Award flasher. You may actually need to look for an older version of awdflash.

[nrd]

OK thanks so much guys for the expert help. I used the bios file that dennis directed me to and used awdflash 6.31, everything worked out great.

take care

[nrd]

err, wait, i tried to install xp on the new 80G drive and got an error, something about no support for a certain service, is this normal dennis? Is there a workaround for it, or a patch of sorts?

[Denniss]

What exactly is the error message ? It's quite normal for a board/Bios that old to have problewms with new OS, especially if it comes to ACPI problems.

[nrd]

The thing is, I had xp running fine on my old smaller HD with the old bios version that I had (6610S016), but it was Fat32 and the new larger drive is NTFS, which is where this new xp install was goin. I do believe that the error was ACPI, but I'll have to try to install again to check for sure. I also found a bunch of drivers from driverguide . com and those bios versions go up to (6610S115) should I maybe try using the bios string with the highest version #? IE the S115 one. Can anyone vouch for the legitimacy of this site at all?

[nrd]

ok, I just realized that I have an AGP slot because i have a gforce4 card, wich is AGP right? Sorry im a bit of a noob but that means that my mobo is a hot661/p, which I'm guessing means that i should have been looking for bios types for that model.

[Denniss]

There is no Hot-661/P, every HOT-661 has an AGP port.

As said earlier, the S1xx Bios versions are for rev 3.x revisions of the HOT-661, they may work on older revs or not.