Gateway FX 6800-01e BIOS Update from Gateway Unsupported

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I wish I had known of this thread previously as I would have been able to offer assistance to everyone having trouble with this BIOS update.

Anyone who has previously downloaded the new BIOS and is having problems with trying to update their system should Download a NEW copy of the BIOS from Gateway and run the Flash utility again.

There should be no problems as Gateway FIXED the problem without telling anyone and without making any notes of it on the support page.

When the New BIOS was first uploaded, a Mistake was made is the flash batch file for flashing the system.

The original file reads as follows: AFUWIN.EXE 842P161G.ROM /p /b /c /L2 /REBOOT

/P - Program main BIOS image
/B - Program Boot Block
/C - Destroy CMOS checksum (Clear nVRAM)
L2: Load optimal from ROM file


A New BIOS with a FIXED Flash.bat file was later uploaded with the Same Time Stamp.

The New file reads as: AFUWIN.EXE 842P161G.ROM /p /b /x /L2 /REBOOT

/P - Program main BIOS image
/B - Program Boot Block
/X - Don't Check ROM ID
L2: Load optimal from ROM file

What happened here was that Acer changed the BIOS Naming convention of the BIOS from the Factory Default 842PxxxG to AMI R01-A04

The ROM ID Error everyone has been getting is because of the name convention change in the BIOS.

If you would like to save the Old BIOS, you can do this using the Flash utility which can be run without the flash.bat file. Instead, it'll open a program window allowing you to select which options (switches) you need to run.

As for the Motherboard, so far, it seems that Acer has No intention of releasing any information on it as they are trying to keep it to themselves.

They have not released any Manuals for the Motherboard. Tech support is just about clueless and what with the company merger, it seems nobody really knows what is what.

Here are the actual flash codes for using the Afuwin.exe utility.

[cpp] +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| AMI Firmware Update Utility v4.36 |
| Copyright (C)2008 American Megatrends Inc. All Rights Reserved. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Usage: AFUWIN <ROM File Name> [Option 1] [Option 2]... |
| or |
| AFUWIN <Input or Output File Name> <Command> |
| or |
| AFUWIN <Command> |
| ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Commands: |
| /O - Save current BIOS into file |
| /C - Refer to Options: /C |
| /U - Display ROM file's ROMID |
| /S - Refer to Options: /S |
| /Ln - Refer to Options: /Ln |
| /M - Refer to Options: /M |
| /MAI - Disaply System ROM and ROM file's MA information |
| /HOLE: - Update specific ROM Hole according to given name. |
| NewRomHole1.BIN /HOLE:RomH1 |
| /HOLEOUT: - Save specific ROM Hole according to given name. |
| NewRomHole1.BIN /HOLEOUT:RomH1 |
| /NCB: - Update specific Non-Critical Block according to given name. |
| NewNcb1.BIN /NCB:Ncb1 |
| /NCBOUT: - Save specific Non-Critical Block according to given name. |
| NewNcb1.BIN /NCBOUT:Ncb1 |
| /D - Verification test of given ROM File without flashing BIOS. |
| /CLNEVNLOG - Refer to Options: /CLNEVNLOG |
| Options: |
| /P - Program main BIOS image |
| /B - Program Boot Block |
| /N - Program NVRAM |
| /C - Destroy CMOS checksum |
| /E - Program Embedded Controller Block |
| /K - Program all non-critical blocks |
| /Kn - Program n'th non-critical block only(n=0-7) |
| /Q - Silent execution |
| /REBOOT - Reboot after programming |
| /X - Don't Check ROM ID |
| /S - Display current system's ROMID |
| /Ln - Load CMOS defaults🙁n=0-3) |
| L0: Load current optimal |
| L1: Load current failsafe |
| L2: Load optimal from ROM file |
| L3: Load failsafe from ROM file |
| /M - Update bootblock MAC address if it exists |
| Example: /M1234ABCD will update MAC to 1234ABCD |
| /R - Preserve ALL SMBIOS structure during NVRAM programming |
| /ECUF - Update EC BIOS when newer version is detected. |
| /SHUTDOWN - Shutdown after programming. |
| /EC - Program Embedded Controller Block. (Flash Type) |
| /CLNEVNLOG - Clear Event Log. |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+[/cpp]
Click to expand...
 
Hi all,
I changed the Bios from Acer M7720 to that from Gateway FX6800 on my M7720 computer with Vista 64 SP2.
It worked, now my compi is shown as FX6800 and the bootmenue is now F10 instead F12. But nothing more has changed. Still I cant boot from my Buffalo USB stick, which boots on nearly any other computer with USB bootability in Bios, I have founded this is 2005, see the large thread on cd 911 forum about USB boot. So, all the Bios AMI R01-A04 (February 2009 Gateway) or
AMI R01-A02 (December 2008 Acer) have very limitated USB bootability and nearly nothing can be set in those Bioses,
nice to hear from you,

Dietmar

EDIT: FAT32 and NTFS does not work, but with FAT16 I succeed to boot from USB Buffalo Stick to XP on the Acer M7720 computer.
AMI R01-A02 nor AMI R01-A04 allows you to boot from FAT32 from removable USB device, so I hope that there will be soon an Bios update on the Acer homepage.
 
Thank You for the confirmation that the m7720 uses the same motherboard as the FX6800.

I was fairly certain that they were the same, but without first hand comparison of the motherboards or confirmation from someone else, I could not be 100% certain.

At least now we have we can be certain. :)
 
Here is a reference I found at Intel. It seems to indicate that it will speed up the processors even when more than one is running....only just more so with 1 processor.

There is a simplistic short video about the technology as well.

http://www.intel.com/technology/turboboost/

 
I did finally get this bios upgrade to work correctly. I followed a couple of suggestions from this post.

First I followed this process as instructed by Renegade_Warrior :

Downloaded the Bios upgrade and made sure all the files were in the same directory.

Right clicked on AFUWIN and selected run as administator as instructed by rdk2009

Make sure your system is disconnected, the Anti-Virus is disabled, then
select Start > Run and browse to the folder where the files are and select AFUWIN.EXE Then hit - Open

You will see a Dialog Window pop up with three tabs, Select the Setup tab.

Under Block Options, you'll want to select the following.

- Program All Blocks
- Boot Block

Under CMOS Options Select - Load ROM File's Optimal

Under Miscellaneous Select

- Do Not Check ROM ID
- Restart After Programming

Next Click Open and select the ROM file - 842P161G.ROM

Click the Flash button and let it do it's job.

DO NOT Touch anything until it finishes.

On restart I had to manually go into boot options and reselect my primary boot drive. Before I did that I booted to a blank screen so this information was somehow erased. After that the computer restarted normally but the system hade to automatically reinstall the I/O drivers. This happened automatically with no effort on my part. The bios showed the correct update and a CPU speed of 2.79 up from 2.67. I never did get a checksum error as many have stated. But did have to reset my primary bootdrive info.

Thanks to all!

 
I just bought the Gateway FX 6800-01e yesterday. I wiped out the existing OS and installed vista ultimate 64bit version. I installed network driver and then video driver. I was very pleased to see the Windows Experience Index Score marked 5.9 in all areas. However, the temperature masured by SpeedFan utility on Temp1 is over 100C (212F) . Are you guys aware of this or I am the only one who has this issue? This high temperature will surely make the system unstable. :sweat:

Thank you in advance,
 
The FX6800 case is not very well ventilated. 🙁

I removed the rear fan - cut out the (fan) vent holes and mounted a server quality fan in place of the old fan, then added a circular chrome fan grill to the back. The fan is about twice as thick as thick stock fan.

Also added another fan to the front of the case and a couple of other fans.

The door to the Hot swap bay I keep open for more airflow.

For a while now, I have seriously been considering switching to water cooling for my system. But I don't know if I want to do it with this system or with the next system which I will be building next year.

BTW...

The system runs even better with Windows 7 :)
 
I followed your instruction along with Renegate Warriors, the bios was upgraded like a charm.

Next task would be solving the cooling problem. My CPU gets hot like 100C.

Thanks,



 
The FX6800 case is not very well ventilated. 🙁

I removed the rear fan - cut out the (fan) vent holes and mounted a server quality fan in place of the old fan, then added a circular chrome fan grill to the back. The fan is about twice as thick as thick stock fan.

Also added another fan to the front of the case and a couple of other fans.

The door to the Hot swap bay I keep open for more airflow.

For a while now, I have seriously been considering switching to water cooling for my system. But I don't know if I want to do it with this system or with the next system which I will be building next year.

BTW...

The system runs even better with Windows 7 :)
Click to expand...


i have upgraded the bios succesfully thanks renegade for the step by step instruction. but the effect is not the same as yours., you said your computer now has more omph after the bios update mine is not responsive and start up's are slow.
i wanted to reformat but i did not came with the vista disk. i have burned a recovery disk though. and while wanting to reformat i'm also thinking if i just upgrade to windows 7 but how will it be possible when i dont have the vista disc. please advice what will i do. thanks
 
Just make sure you do not get Windows 7 from a Torrent as you stand a good chance of getting a load of pre-installed malware with it.

If you get a TechNet Plus license, you can get Windows 7 RTM (no expiration) along with other software and access to TechNet resources.

Code TMSAM10 still works. Used it last week and got $86.00 off (not counting tax)

I plan to use TechNet to update my skills while my daughter is in school this year.
 
Just make sure you do not get Windows 7 from a Torrent as you stand a good chance of getting a load of pre-installed malware with it.

If you get a TechNet Plus license, you can get Windows 7 RTM (no expiration) along with other software and access to TechNet resources.

Code TMSAM10 still works. Used it last week and got $86.00 off (not counting tax)

I plan to use TechNet to update my skills while my daughter is in school this year.
Click to expand...

I installed Vista Ultimate 64bit version, and it works very nice. Seeing 5.9 Windows Index Base Score in all areas is quite nice.

I've downloaded Windows 7 yesterday after reading your experience with Windows 7, but I am a bit hesitated in installing it.

It didn't offer upgrade from Vista, so basically I need to wipe out Vista and to install Windows 7. This makes me a bit nervous. :sweat:

What is your suggestion? Is it worth to go that direction from Vista Ultimate?

Thank you,
 
Do a Clean install.

Just make sure you back up your system first so you can restore it in case.

-

The way I did it was a Dual-Boot setup and I found that Windows 7 is much more stable than Vista ever was. Now 'm getting ready to wipe out my original Vista Partition and I'm gonna install the Windows 7 RTM on it.


- theddy

If I recall correctly, the functionality of the speedboost is dependent on the temp of your processor. So basically, if you're not getting any more of a boost, then you might need more cooling/ventilation.

Either that or not knowing how well you may be with systems, maybe you might have something running in the background dragging the system down?
 
I wish I saw this post before trying the Bios Update on my new Gateway 6800FX-e01.

I think I made a mistake of checking all the Bios update and somehow my new BiOS no longer shows the Serial Number.

Is it the NVRAM that I messed up by checking it? Did it write over teh original Serial Number info?

The computer runs fine but no serial number anymore whereas the original 842P091G BIOS from the factory did show it.

The serial no longer shows up in the BIOS after I updated the BIOS.

Anyone know how to get this back to showing a serial number?

Any tips for a newbie?

Thanks so much!
 
I wasn't aware of it. Where do you see the Serial Number? Is this number found in the BIOS setting where you go by entering F2?
I will check mine, let you know what happened.
 
Yes It is under F2 and then Product Information. Look for System Serial Number. Is it blank on yours after teh BIOS update flash? Let me know. I thought I zapped it when I did the update by checking NVRAM but I could be wrong and it could be just that way for everyone???
 
Just checked my BIOS after having seen this morning's reply and the serial number IS present in my BIOS and I am running the most current BIOS which Gateway (Acer) has released publicly.

I'm not sure how one would go about programming the serial number into the BIOS

But I did try searching Google for awhile before replying back here. Either there is a seperate program used for this or a hidden switch we aren't aware of with the BIOS update program.

The same serial number should also be on the motherboard itself and on the case of your system.

- But as it is, I would not rely on Gateway (Acer) for anything as they are terrible with providing any updates at all and their support isn't worth the effort either.

This is my first and last Gateway (Acer) system.
 
I originally thought there would be a software program that woud need to access the system serial number but after asking around and checking the software I use, none of them would need to access the serial for the system so I guess this wouldn't pose a real problem even if it's missing. The only number one of my software vendors, who's tight on licensing, would need is the unique MAC address.

So I guess Renegade_Warrior checked all the right boxes during the BIOS update. I think the first time I flashed it I did it right but then decided to do it again thinking I missed a few boxes and then I think I checked program NVRAM. That's my guess. I am a bit disappointed that Gateway had no instructions with their BIOS update. It's like leaving a nuke button unlocked without special precautions. They need to understand that a lot of users aren't that sophisticated and should take steps to prevent us from doing something wrong.

I was guessing maybe the switch would be taking out the CMOS battery and putting it back in to reset it? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe it won't work and would jsut erase BIOS info like time and date? I figure I better not mess with it for now.

MY Asset Tag and System Serial field are blank from the BIOS Product Information and from techs I talk to there is no easy way to recover it and they feel, no real need to. For now I feel a bit better but I would hate it if one day something needed to access it for some reason.

Yeah since I bought mine as a Reconditioned computer, Gateway would provide no support or answers and refered me to a conpamny that resells reconditioned FX 6800's. They at least tried to give me an answer and their answer was there was no easy way or need to recover the system serial.
 
Is my CPU burning? As you see in the screenshot, SpeedFan shows the CPU temperature is above 116 Celsius and the processor fan runs at 1377 rpm. With this temperature, I can boil the water. Is this normal? What is your machine's temperature? I added an extra 80inch fan, and it helped a bit but not much. I am worried. 🙁


 




Where did you find the network driver at, i'm ib the same situation with no drivers due to changeing to 32 bit Vista
 
Should I be concerned that Speedfan's Temp1 shows Temp1: 100C on my Gateway FX6800-01e? It's a bit scary since I don't know if there's going to be a meltdown. Is that the CPU or?
 
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