BIOS UPDATE - THE LAST OPTION - FEASIBILITY..!!!

sincereheart · 23-11-2005, 09:36 PM

BIOS UPDATE - THE LAST OPTION - FEASIBILITY..!!!

Dear forum members

I have been trying to use seagate 80 GB hard disk PATA on the external casing of frontech/intex and techcom (other brands not available in kolkata) with no luck.

All my attempts and trial and error process have been almost useless. I have tried everything from making jumper as master etc etc.

I am not able to format and store data on such external hard disk (hard disk kept in 3.5" external hard disk casing) although its getting rightly recognized as USB mass storage device.

Now someone has suggested me to do a BIOS update. Now i am reading on what is BIOS etc etc but unable to conclude anything meaningful.

One thing though i have understood is that incorrect update of BIOS may lead to system instability and fatal errors.

So please help in following:

1. should i update BIOS...???

2. if yes how do i update (i have intel motherboard D865GBF)..??

3. Do u people update BIOS ever and if yes why....????

4. What are benfits of updating BIOS...???

5. Is there anything i am missing or any better idea...???

thanks as always in advance for ur help/suggestions and ideas and views...

CHEERS....!!!!!!!!

Sunando

sunandoghosh (at) rediffmail (dot) com

digitizen · 23-11-2005, 11:03 PM

Well Well Let me answer your queries one by one .

I dont think that your external hard disk not being detected by your system has anything to do with your BIOS. because you Motherboard is not that old.
Now ill answer your queries one by one :

1. updating your BIOS is not necessary when your current BIOS firmware is troublefree. It depends on your decision .
2.http://developer.intel.com/design/mo...bf/bf_bios.htm . you can get the latest BIOS updates for your motherboard here .
3. well it depends i updated my BIOS last week.
4. By updating your BIOS you are getting the latest firmware . it willstart supporting any new hardwares . and resolve Known glitches .
5. BIOS flashing is a very serious matter , becarefull while flashing your BIOS . Dont powerdown your system while updating your BIOS or else it might need a service from an INTEL engineer .

Anyways All the best .

Baroon · 24-11-2005, 12:11 AM

I must admit here that I have flashed by Motherboard's BIOS fives times snice I have purchased ( which is around February 2005 ). It's purely safe if you have an Original Intel Board as there is no issue regarding whether you have the right BIOS update or not. Intel provide with two types of BIOS update : one is just like any setup program and can be run from within windows and the other one has to be flashed with a BIOS flashing utility from DOS environment.

The core issue here is that while flashing your BIOS, you must make sure there is no powercut, i.e, the system must not shutdown in any case, or otherwise you know what's the problem.

One safe way to flash your BIOS ( which I follow ) is as -
Make sure your UPS is fully charged ( if you don't know whether It is or not, then leave it for one night. This would make sure that it is almost fully charged in the morning.). Now just before flashing from windows or DOS environment, switch off your UPS main power supply. Thus the UPS would start to run on battery. Continue with flashing the BIOS. It normally takes less than 2 minutes to flash BIOS.

Caution :- your UPS must be in good condition and is able to give at least 10 minutes BACKUP on full charge. If not, then don't attempt it. You should have read the instructions before flashing your Motherboard's BIOS.

Now about your main problem, I must tell you that I have another system with Intel 810e chipset based Motherboard and it has no problem in detecting Segate 80 GB Barracuda hard disk. Moreover the BIOS dates back to 2000.

I must say that you should consult some good technician in your area to resolve this issue as your system is not quite old and should have supported hard disk over 80 GB (irrespective of Company and harddisk speed).

sincereheart · 25-11-2005, 02:48 PM

hi thanks for those descriptive and comprehensive replies...

i am not updating the BIOS....

rather going in for help locally....

thanks everyone for their replies and advices....