BIOS Updates forum

I have a Biostar M6TBA V1.4 MOBO with Award BIOS v4.51PG
It locks with the 80GB Maxtor HD. I downloaded a patch from http://wims.rainbow-software.org which has a different date prefix. I've also DL the AWDFlash.exe and tested the utility only to make a backup of the current BIOS. What is the risk of updating with the patch? and how difficult will it be to undo if it doesn't work? I have not updated BIOS before and want to avoid any problems. Thanks for any suggestions or comments.

BIOS ID
Current:
04/31/1999-i440BX-SMC60X-2A69KB0CC-00
Patch:
02/23/1999-i440BX-SMC60X-2A69KB0CC-00

Bill

Any BIOS update carries a degree of risk, as the chip can develop a problem over time which prevents it from updating properly. You will not know if this is the case until you try. In addition, there is the risk of the flash process being interrupted leaving you with a partly flashed (corrupted) BIOS. This is why we advise people not to update if they have no current problems.

If a problem occurs with the update, there are means of recovering on a system which has the traditional BIOS ROM rather than an integrated "firmware hub" device. These are discussed in the FAQ on the main Wim's BIOS website. These may include "bootblock" recovery, "hot-flash" or even buying a pre-programmed chip (if your old one has "stuck bits", you will need a new one anyway.

If you are totally reliant on this PC and nervous about updating, the best alternative may be to spend some money on a PCI IDE controller with its own BIOS (e.g. a Promise or Maxtor), which will help to get the best out of your new drive as they generally support UDMA100/133 these days and the motherboard chipset is unlikely to. That is, if you have the spare PCI slot.

Thanks Nicks. I purchased a Maxtor ATA 133 PCI Card and installed the drive through the adapter card. This solved the 32GB limitation. Had more work to get the old drive copied to the new drive. The factory software wouldn't recognize the old drive. Obtained a copy of Drive2Drive software from www.fssdev.com for copying a drive. This worked.