can I upgrade it at all ?? :?

Questions that don't belong in the other forums.
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kropa
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Joined: Thu Jun 27, 2002 12:06 pm

hi, this problem might have been discussed many times (probably 1000 yrs ago) but I need help

I need to upgrade my bios so that it can see 20GB HDD.

detail of my bios are

BIOS Date: 07/15/95
BIOS Type: American Megatrends
BIOS ID: 51-1700-008045-00111111-071595-I430VX
Chipset: Intel Triton 430VX rev 2
Superio: UMC/ITE 8669 rev 0 found at port 108h

I also found some old topic on this forum explaining the whole problem, but I still can't manage with upgrading

I downloaded this:

MB520N 430 VX Baby AT AMI 35-8258-XX 70503a All

from pcpartners web site, made a disquette, reboot PC, it asks for filename which i gave 520N503U.ROM , it seems to read sth from the disquette and then nothing, the whole PC just rests idle

is it the right update and right filename ? (there are 3 different in that update pocket)

what i could do wrong during updating ?

also, is it possible that old bios makes the whole pc (with that 20GB HDD) work very slow ? (it is P120, 48 RAM)

thanx for any help
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ajzchips
El cheapo dude
Posts: 3048
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2002 12:41 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain

If you're sure it's the right BIOS version (I suppose "U" stands for the UMC I/O), try using an older AMIFLASH, like 6.34
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kropa
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older version ? i DLd 6.34, it's from feb 98, and the amiflash i had together with bios upgrade is from may 96. so i guess it is older :) maybe i should try this 6.34 instead of the of from the upgrade pocket ?
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kropa
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what if i try other files from the downloaded pocket ? 's'and 'g' (smc and sth else, instead of 'u' ) ?

lotsa stress with that upgrading man ! :)
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ajzchips
El cheapo dude
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Location: Madrid, Spain

Many recommend 6.34 because it is known to be a very stable version, especially with the older boards.
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kropa
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ok, if i dissapear (forever?) that means my PC doesnt boot anymore :)
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kropa
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ok, upgraded :) v. 6.34 is more stable indeed.
now my bios is Bios-u 70503a
but... it seems not to resolve the main problem - HDD
bios still sees only 8 GB :(

does that mean it's not upgradeable more ? (the upgrade pocket seemed to be the newest)
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ajzchips
El cheapo dude
Posts: 3048
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2002 12:41 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain

Your new BIOS is of mid-1997. AMI didn't provide support for large HDDs > 8GB until early 1998.
So you're stuck with drive-overlay software.
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edwin
The Hardware Archivist
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Contact edwin

or an add-in controller card...
edwin/evasive

Do not assume anything

System error, strike any user to continue...
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ajzchips
El cheapo dude
Posts: 3048
Joined: Sat Mar 23, 2002 12:41 pm
Location: Madrid, Spain

...I tend to recommend low-budget solutions Image
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