BIOS upgrades - reflashing the BIOS

On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:53:31 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

Everest Home Edition (for Windows) produces the following report for a
Fujitsu MPF3204AT in a socket 7 box:

Max. PIO Transfer Mode PIO 4
Max. UDMA Transfer Mode UDMA 4 (ATA-66)
Active UDMA Transfer Mode UDMA 2 (ATA-33)

- Franc Zabkar

Thanks, Frank. I'll look into both of them (and I already have an older
freebie version of Everest (1.51)

Hmmm. ...let's see...
OK, found it in Everest, under the "Storage, ATA" tab, I get:

Max. PIO Transfer Mode: PIO 4
Max. UDMA Transfer Mode: UDMA 5 (ATA-100)
Active UDMA Transfer Mode: UDMA 5 (ATA-100)

...which sounds encouraging. I think it's this high because I'm using
the 80 conductor cables, and my WD EIDE drives support it, and, as I recall,
I installed some Intel software update at one point in time (but NOT that
infamous one, which trashed my system on another date (and there was one of
those, shown as a recommended update, on the MS site, but they later removed
it).

So I'm wondering why yours is a bit lower above, and I expect it's due to
some condition mentioned above not being met (or perhaps a really old BIOS)?

My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
ATA-33.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Franc Zabkar wrote:
On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:53:31 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

Everest Home Edition (for Windows) produces the following report for a
Fujitsu MPF3204AT in a socket 7 box:

Max. PIO Transfer Mode PIO 4
Max. UDMA Transfer Mode UDMA 4 (ATA-66)
Active UDMA Transfer Mode UDMA 2 (ATA-33)

- Franc Zabkar

Thanks, Frank. I'll look into both of them (and I already have an
older
freebie version of Everest (1.51)

Hmmm. ...let's see...
OK, found it in Everest, under the "Storage, ATA" tab, I get:

Max. PIO Transfer Mode: PIO 4
Max. UDMA Transfer Mode: UDMA 5 (ATA-100)
Active UDMA Transfer Mode: UDMA 5 (ATA-100)

...which sounds encouraging. I think it's this high because I'm using
the 80 conductor cables, and my WD EIDE drives support it, and, as I
recall,
I installed some Intel software update at one point in time (but NOT that
infamous one, which trashed my system on another date (and there was one
of
those, shown as a recommended update, on the MS site, but they later
removed
it).

So I'm wondering why yours is a bit lower above, and I expect it's due to
some condition mentioned above not being met (or perhaps a really old
BIOS)?

My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
ATA-33.

OK, but just out of curiosity, what is it about that motherboard,
specifically, that limits it - if you happen to know? (I mean technically,
from the hardware and/or software point of view). (You know, like the
example I gave of needing 80 conductor cables (using the 40 interleaving
ground wires) for higher data transfer rates to prevent the crosstalk
problem)

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:02:49 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
ATA-33.

OK, but just out of curiosity, what is it about that motherboard,
specifically, that limits it - if you happen to know? (I mean technically,
from the hardware and/or software point of view). (You know, like the
example I gave of needing 80 conductor cables (using the 40 interleaving
ground wires) for higher data transfer rates to prevent the crosstalk
problem)

AFAIK it's the chipset (SiS 5597/5598) that is the limitation.

The chipset datasheet states that its "Fast PCI IDE Master/Slave
Controller" supports ...

- IDE PIO Timing Mode 0, 1, 2 ,3 and 4
- Multiword DMA Mode 0, 1, 2
- Ultra DMA/33

See http://www.datasheetarchive.com/pdf/3078981.pdf

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

"Bill in Co." wrote in message
...
| Franc Zabkar wrote:
| On Wed, 12 Mar 2008 21:53:31 -0600, "Bill in Co."
| put finger to keyboard and composed:
|
| Franc Zabkar wrote:
|
| Everest Home Edition (for Windows) produces the following report for a
| Fujitsu MPF3204AT in a socket 7 box:
|
| Max. PIO Transfer Mode PIO 4
| Max. UDMA Transfer Mode UDMA 4 (ATA-66)
| Active UDMA Transfer Mode UDMA 2 (ATA-33)
|
| - Franc Zabkar
|
| Thanks, Frank. I'll look into both of them (and I already have an
| older
| freebie version of Everest (1.51)
|
| Hmmm. ...let's see...
| OK, found it in Everest, under the "Storage, ATA" tab, I get:
|
| Max. PIO Transfer Mode: PIO 4
| Max. UDMA Transfer Mode: UDMA 5 (ATA-100)
| Active UDMA Transfer Mode: UDMA 5 (ATA-100)
|
| ...which sounds encouraging. I think it's this high because I'm
using
| the 80 conductor cables, and my WD EIDE drives support it, and, as I
| recall,
| I installed some Intel software update at one point in time (but NOT
that
| infamous one, which trashed my system on another date (and there was
one
| of
| those, shown as a recommended update, on the MS site, but they later
| removed
| it).
|
| So I'm wondering why yours is a bit lower above, and I expect it's due
to
| some condition mentioned above not being met (or perhaps a really old
| BIOS)?
|
| My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
| ATA-33.
|
| OK, but just out of curiosity, what is it about that motherboard,
| specifically, that limits it - if you happen to know? (I mean
technically,
| from the hardware and/or software point of view). (You know, like the
| example I gave of needing 80 conductor cables (using the 40 interleaving
| ground wires) for higher data transfer rates to prevent the crosstalk
| problem)
|
|

It revolves around the ATA/ATAPI standards that have been created and chips
which have this support HARD CODED into the actual adapter chip. The BIOS is
then created to support the chips supplied upon the mother board. If the
chip has no support for a newer standard {way of addressing/translation}
then nothing can be done to circumvent that limitation at the hard coded
level as the on-chip translation can not occur without that built-in
support. Flash upgrades for the BIOS or device may include code changes
which CAN be supported [chip-wise], but may not have been available or were
improperly coded when originally released.

Referencing:

http://www.t13.org/ - the master site
http://www.t13.org/Standards/Default...DocumentType=3
http://ata-atapi.com/
http://hddguru.com/content/en/docume...7-ATA-ATAPI-7/
http://hddguru.com/content/en/docume...7-ATA-ATAPI-5/
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/ide/stdATA4-c.html
http://www.storagereview.com/guide20...e/stdATA4.html

The only way to consistently over-ride the limitations is to add an adapter
which provides the newer standards/translation, and a device which also
supports the target standard or newer.
Certain issues related to OS support can be addressed via modification to
drivers or additional software which provides that support, however, without
an adapter/chip set, which also supports the newer standard, these provide
nothing of real value.

--

MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
_________

One thing I should perhaps address related to flashing a motherboard BIOS,
is to remove/disconnect as many devices as possible, in addition to default
setting the BIOS/CMOS, to negate potential issue which may be involved when
the first reboot after the flash is done.
A previously recommended activity, was to only leave the floppy drive
connected and a 8bit or 16bit video card attached, though with the advent of
PCI video, that was changed as most had none of those cards, and VESA
standards were [by then] supported in the PCI/AGP video and BIOS.
For newer computers, without floppies and/or with in BIOS flash, these
issues have once again become at issue when motherboards are flashed. It
appears when flashing these boards, ANY error becomes difficult or nearly
impossible to recover from.

--

MEB
http://peoplescounsel.orgfree.com
_________

Franc Zabkar wrote:
On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:02:49 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
ATA-33.

OK, but just out of curiosity, what is it about that motherboard,
specifically, that limits it - if you happen to know? (I mean
technically,
from the hardware and/or software point of view). (You know, like the
example I gave of needing 80 conductor cables (using the 40 interleaving
ground wires) for higher data transfer rates to prevent the crosstalk
problem)

AFAIK it's the chipset (SiS 5597/5598) that is the limitation.

The chipset datasheet states that its "Fast PCI IDE Master/Slave
Controller" supports ...

- IDE PIO Timing Mode 0, 1, 2 ,3 and 4
- Multiword DMA Mode 0, 1, 2
- Ultra DMA/33

See http://www.datasheetarchive.com/pdf/3078981.pdf

Wonder if there is aome updated driver available for that chipset?

Seems I did something like that for some Intel chips on my MB, at one time,
but I can't remember now. (Like maybe I initially didn't have Ultra DMA
available, and I had to update some drivers to get it (it's been too long to
recall).

On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:51:55 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:
On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:02:49 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
ATA-33.

OK, but just out of curiosity, what is it about that motherboard,
specifically, that limits it - if you happen to know? (I mean
technically,
from the hardware and/or software point of view). (You know, like the
example I gave of needing 80 conductor cables (using the 40 interleaving
ground wires) for higher data transfer rates to prevent the crosstalk
problem)

AFAIK it's the chipset (SiS 5597/5598) that is the limitation.

The chipset datasheet states that its "Fast PCI IDE Master/Slave
Controller" supports ...

- IDE PIO Timing Mode 0, 1, 2 ,3 and 4
- Multiword DMA Mode 0, 1, 2
- Ultra DMA/33

See http://www.datasheetarchive.com/pdf/3078981.pdf

Wonder if there is aome updated driver available for that chipset?

Seems I did something like that for some Intel chips on my MB, at one time,
but I can't remember now. (Like maybe I initially didn't have Ultra DMA
available, and I had to update some drivers to get it (it's been too long to
recall).

It's not a driver limitation. It's an electronic limitation of the
chipset.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Franc Zabkar wrote:
On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:51:55 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:
On Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:02:49 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

Franc Zabkar wrote:

My drive supports ATA-66 but my old socket 7 motherboard is limited to
ATA-33.

OK, but just out of curiosity, what is it about that motherboard,
specifically, that limits it - if you happen to know? (I mean
technically,
from the hardware and/or software point of view). (You know, like
the
example I gave of needing 80 conductor cables (using the 40
interleaving
ground wires) for higher data transfer rates to prevent the crosstalk
problem)

AFAIK it's the chipset (SiS 5597/5598) that is the limitation.

The chipset datasheet states that its "Fast PCI IDE Master/Slave
Controller" supports ...

- IDE PIO Timing Mode 0, 1, 2 ,3 and 4
- Multiword DMA Mode 0, 1, 2
- Ultra DMA/33

See http://www.datasheetarchive.com/pdf/3078981.pdf

Wonder if there is aome updated driver available for that chipset?

Seems I did something like that for some Intel chips on my MB, at one
time,
but I can't remember now. (Like maybe I initially didn't have Ultra
DMA
available, and I had to update some drivers to get it (it's been too long
to
recall).

It's not a driver limitation. It's an electronic limitation of the
chipset.

OK. At least in my case, I had thought I had updated some Intel driver(s)
that enabled some additional features or capabilities of some chipset I had
on my Motherboard.

But maybe that is impossible, and I'm misrembering it. So let me ask this
question then, since I don't fully understand it. Isn't it possible that
some chipsets CAN have new software drivers that can enable additional
features, provided the manufacturer of the chipset allowed for such
upgrading?

But your chipset may be older than mine, too. (I have a Dell 4100, circa
2000, as I recall)

On Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:28:06 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

I had thought I had updated some Intel driver(s)
that enabled some additional features or capabilities of some chipset I had
on my Motherboard.

But maybe that is impossible, and I'm misrembering it. So let me ask this
question then, since I don't fully understand it. Isn't it possible that
some chipsets CAN have new software drivers that can enable additional
features, provided the manufacturer of the chipset allowed for such
upgrading?

Yes it's possible, and it's also possible to enable additional chipset
features via the BIOS. In fact I've tweaked various chipset registers
from within Windows using WPCREDIT and WPCRSET. IIRC this gave me a
10% performance increase in my RAM benchmarks.

See ...

Chipset BIOS tweaking the M571:
http://www.m571.com/m571/tweek.htm

But your chipset may be older than mine, too. (I have a Dell 4100, circa
2000, as I recall)

Mine dates back to around 1998.

This URL seems to itemise your chipset components:
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Gent..._Inspiron_4100

If you feel like tweaking or just viewing your chipset registers, then
I suggest you find the datasheets for Intel's 82830 and 82801 north
and southbridges and then experiment with WPCREDIT.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

Franc Zabkar wrote:
On Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:28:06 -0600, "Bill in Co."
put finger to keyboard and composed:

I had thought I had updated some Intel driver(s)
that enabled some additional features or capabilities of some chipset I
had
on my Motherboard.

But maybe that is impossible, and I'm misrembering it. So let me ask
this
question then, since I don't fully understand it. Isn't it possible
that
some chipsets CAN have new software drivers that can enable additional
features, provided the manufacturer of the chipset allowed for such
upgrading?

Yes it's possible, and it's also possible to enable additional chipset
features via the BIOS. In fact I've tweaked various chipset registers
from within Windows using WPCREDIT and WPCRSET. IIRC this gave me a
10% performance increase in my RAM benchmarks.

See ...

Chipset BIOS tweaking the M571:
http://www.m571.com/m571/tweek.htm

But your chipset may be older than mine, too. (I have a Dell 4100, circa
2000, as I recall)

Mine dates back to around 1998.

This URL seems to itemise your chipset components:
http://gentoo-wiki.com/HARDWARE_Gent..._Inspiron_4100

If you feel like tweaking or just viewing your chipset registers, then
I suggest you find the datasheets for Intel's 82830 and 82801 north
and southbridges and then experiment with WPCREDIT.

- Franc Zabkar

OK, thanks for the info, Frank.