Updating BIOS to use bigger HDs?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=28&threadid=320440

I have an older computer that uses a Soyo SY-V6BE+ motherboard, and it
would recognize my new WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB HD. So I check my AWARD
BIOS (1999)manufacturer, and it turns out that I need to update my
BIOS to recognize a bigger HD. When I inquired whether or not it would
cost anything, I was told I would be charge $69.95 to update the BIOS.
That's more than I bought the computer for!

So the question is, besides asking AWARD, is there a site that will
tell me how big of a HD I can use to be recognized by my current BIOS?

--

I have a Soyo Pentium II motherboard, and Soyo refused to release a
BIOS upgrade for hard drives larger than 33GB, claiming that the BIOS
chip was too small to hold all the needed extra code. But there are
some assembly language programmers at www.wimsbios.com and
www.biosmods.com who know how to patch Award versopm 4.51xxx BIOSes to
let them work with drives as large as 137GB. One of them, Rainbow,
patched three of my BIOSes, and they all work great with 80-120GB
drives, and you can find hundreds of patched BIOSes at
http://wims.rainbow-software.org/ , including one for your SY-6VBE+ .
Another site with some patched BIOSes is www.jan-hill.com

Patching for 48-bit LBA support is apparently much, much more
difficult.


==
"Dumb is just not knowing. Ditsy is having the courage to ask." -- Jessica Simpson

 

[Phisherman]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Get a Promise hard drive controller, should be less than $30. It has
its own BIOS, and faster than your MoBo HD controller.

On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 18:30:35 -0700, Ablang
<HilaryDuff07072004@ablang-duff.com> wrote:

>http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=28&threadid=320440
>
>I have an older computer that uses a Soyo SY-V6BE+ motherboard, and it
>would recognize my new WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB HD. So I check my AWARD
>BIOS (1999)manufacturer, and it turns out that I need to update my
>BIOS to recognize a bigger HD. When I inquired whether or not it would
>cost anything, I was told I would be charge $69.95 to update the BIOS.
>That's more than I bought the computer for!
>
>So the question is, besides asking AWARD, is there a site that will
>tell me how big of a HD I can use to be recognized by my current BIOS?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt,alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"Ablang" <HilaryDuff07072004@ablang-duff.com> wrote in message
news:jp8pe0h0o0ti372k76lnh85sbbaj823kvd@4ax.com...
> http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/messageview.php?catid=28&threadid=320440
>
> I have an older computer that uses a Soyo SY-V6BE+ motherboard, and it
> would recognize my new WD 80GB 7200rpm 8MB HD. So I check my AWARD
> BIOS (1999)manufacturer, and it turns out that I need to update my
> BIOS to recognize a bigger HD. When I inquired whether or not it would
> cost anything, I was told I would be charge $69.95 to update the BIOS.
> That's more than I bought the computer for!
>

WHO the hell told you it'd be $70? That's insane. Flash it yourself. Go to
soyo's webpage and download the bios and flash util.