BIOS Upgrade

[jdunderhill]

Hi

I have a PIII 800mhz and already have 120GB drive running well in it

I am interested in buying a second 200GB drive but don't know if my BIOS has the 137GB limit?

I didn't want to use drive overlay software and wondered if anyone could point me in the right direction:

(I have already searched manufacturer for BIOS update but they no longer support my motherboard)

My system specs are:

BIOS Type: Award
BIOS Date: 07/06/00
BIOS ID String: 07/06/2000-693A-596B-867-2A6LGG0NC
OEM Signon: GA-6VXE7+ F4
Chipset: VIA 82C691 REV 68

I have an older system and cant really afford to upgrade

I would be grateful if anyone knows if I can download an update for the BIOS

Regards

Jamie

 

[Frank4d]

Link Here:

http://www.giga-byte.com/Motherboard/Support/BIOS/BIOS_GA-6VXE7+.htm

 

[tf1]

The latest BIOS for that motherboard is date March 2001: I would doubt that it would be updated to support large drives.


Regards: tf1

 

[jdunderhill]

Thanks for the replies, I actually have that version already I believe, i flashed the BIOS 2/3 years ago

I did stumble on BIOS Agent, a freebie program that analyses your system and then transmits data and then a company claims they can update my BIOS for $24

Since I live in the UK and am hard up for xmas, just wondered if there are any other alternatives?

Once again thanks for the replies and ultimately I perhaps could save for a better board

Regards

Jamie

 

[cdogg]

More than likely, your system only supports 24-bit LBA. If so, then you will be limited to 137GB. In most cases, a BIOS upgrade cannot help this on older motherboards, since it is mainly a hardware limitation. The 137GB barrier is not like old barriers such as the 8GB and 32GB ones that were well known.

To get around it, your best option is to grab yourself a PCI IDE expansion card. You can add either 1 or 2 additional IDE channels which support 48-bit LBA. This site will explain the difference:

http://www.48bitlba.com

Not only will it get around your problem, but since you're still using ATA/66, it should give you a considerable amount of boost to ATA/100. Just be sure to pay the extra $5-10 for a decent brand like Highpoint or Promise. It will save you a lot of headaches down the road.

http://www.pricewatch.com

has some good prices listed.


~cdogg
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