40GB: Biostar M5ATC

jwncc · Thu Mar 20, 2003 7:25 am

Code is 2A5KIB09C-00. 40GB MAXTOR HARD DRIVE JUST FREEZES ON AUTO DETECT. The drive is brand new. I'll try to update the bios I guess.

Thu Mar 20, 2003 10:29 am

It helps to provide the whole code and the BIOS message..but it loks like BioStar M5ATA http://www.biostar.com.tw/support/bios/index.php3.

jwncc · Thu Mar 20, 2003 1:58 pm

I could've swore I typed Biostar M5ATC in. Sorry!

jwncc · Thu Mar 20, 2003 2:01 pm

How do I tell the rom file extension or file name I need. *.bin *.pro *.grd?????????

Thu Mar 20, 2003 4:00 pm

For M5ATC, download th's patched bios from http://wims.rainbow-software.org/. In there is a .bin file and a descriptive text file. Use the Award flasher and the .bin as described on the Biostar site. Good luck!

Thu Mar 20, 2003 7:00 pm

M5ATC file from here works well. I have it running on mine.

Back in another POST here though, I had asked another user (ISTA) to run a test for me on her unit to confirm something I saw on mine. She never responded to doing that.

jwncc - could you do this for me? Go to BIOS Utilities & Flash Programs and look up the topic "Checksum error defaults loaded", read the thread, and run the CTPCI.EXE program on your board?

Thanks!!

jwncc · Thu Mar 20, 2003 7:10 pm

I don't see anything like that in my bios settings. Check sum error. If I did how do I run that mobo program?

Fri Mar 21, 2003 3:19 pm

I'm sorry...that is where my posting is on this forum, not in your BIOS.

Wim's Forum Section: Utilities & Flash Programs
Wim's Forum Topic: Checksum error defaults loaded

If you can't find CTPCI online, I can e-mail it to you. Thanks.

Did you get to try the BIOS from here yet?

jwncc · Fri Mar 21, 2003 8:44 pm

Nope, It did not work. Some other guy in another forum gave me te wrong update. Now I can't get past the post. What can I do now?

Sat Mar 22, 2003 12:45 am

If you can still boot from your floppy, re-flash your old BIOS, or the one from here. It does work.

If you got the wrong update, didn't you get a flash warning??

jwncc · Sat Mar 22, 2003 4:08 am

I did get a flash warning but I thought that was a normal precautionary memo.
And no I can't boot to my floppy now. I can go into the bios thats about it.
Goes to the POST and thats it.

jwncc · Sat Mar 22, 2003 4:10 am

Can I boot to the virtual drive or does it exsist now.

Sat Mar 22, 2003 3:38 pm

Depends what the warning was that you saw...

First, be sure you have an M5ATC...that ID is stamped onto the top of the motherboard. Earlier in the thread, there seemed to be some confusion on that...

Since you can get to the BIOS screens and almost get thru POST, you should be able to see the BIOS ID string at the bottom of the screen when you attempt to boot...does it match the original string you had, with the exception of the date? How about the ID at the top as well?

Does the new BIOS seem to find your HD correctly? If not, disconnect it...see if the board will POST then...if that succeeds, then flash in the correct patched BIOS from here, which can detect the 40GB HD correctly.

Since the board has ISA slots, if you can get an old ISA controller card, install it and connect your floppy to that. You should then be able to boot from there and re-flash the BIOS to the correct one.

If not, then you'll have to attempt a hot-flash of your BIOS chip. See the "Collected Wisdom" section here on how to do that.

*EXPERTS* - Doesn't this BIOS have a bootblock, and shouldn't jwncc be able to recover from that?

Sat Mar 22, 2003 11:00 pm

1. If he flashed including bootblock, it may be for the wrong SuperI/O chip or at the wrong address.
2. If he didn't flash the bootblock, sometimes the bootblock and chipset still didn't tie up properly

I have had to use an ISA Multi/IO card to recover a motherboard before.

Sun Mar 23, 2003 12:10 am

looks like he has to

1. determine exactly which board it is and what I/O chip is on it
2. perform a hotflash with the right bios file.