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    bios flashing. how?

    Discussion in 'Other Manufacturers' started by l33t_c0w, Aug 2, 2006.

  1. l33t_c0w

    l33t_c0w Notebook Deity

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    I downloaded the 105B bios from http://www.bizcom-us.com/support/TechSupportDriversDownloadPage.htm#EL80 and unzipped it. saw an assortment of files and a "setup" program. usually "setup" means "install something" so i ran it, and then it flashed my bios for me. :mad:

    Sooo... now my wireless card has developed a unique and rebellious personality. It seems that different bioses require different boot blocks. I assume my 105B bios needs a new one, but I'm not completely clear on how to get it on there.

    The only reference to how I'm supposed to go about flashing the bios seems to be 2/3 down the changelog text file that came with the bios. It's not very clear. I've got a couple programs, a few bios files, and some references to additional programs that I may or may not need. This feels like a puzzle in one of those DOS-era adventure games, where you'd solve them by trying every possible combination of actions in a sequence, and 2/3 of the possibilities lead to instadeath rooms.

    I find the lack of documentation frustrating... Would anyone who's been down this road already tell me what I'm supposed to be doing? And, any idea what "DMI -> SLP Block" means? (Obviously I use DMI.exe to do something to something... meh.)
     
    l33t_c0w, Aug 2, 2006
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  2. IRF

    IRF Notebook Enthusiast

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    IRF, Aug 2, 2006
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  3. l33t_c0w

    l33t_c0w Notebook Deity

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    The wireless thing seems to just have been some kind of weird deal with intel software's profile management. My home profile didn't show up, but when I tried to create a new one with the same name, it claimed to be passworded, and when I tried to recreate it under a different name, it gave me an error. All was solved by uninstalling and reinstalling the software (and wiping the profiles in the process).

    I did notice that thread earlier, but as I understand things (hopefully my understanding isn't flawed too badly) there is the bios, then there's the boot block code, and the latter is what is described in that thead, and is also "the dangerous one" that isn't always necessary to change when you update the bios.

    Also... I don't have a floppy drive :D
     
    l33t_c0w, Aug 2, 2006
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  4. Donald@Paladin44

    Donald@Paladin44 Retired

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    We strongly caution against flashing a BIOS that has not been released by your OEM or dealer. You may find them at the Bizcom site, but that does not mean they are certified for use yet. That site is intended for OEMs use, not end user use.

    Therefore use the BIOS updates you find there at your own risk.

    Now, having said that "official" stuff, if you do flash them and they do help, or hinder, it is good to report your results here.
     
    Donald@Paladin44, Aug 2, 2006
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  5. azriyeti

    azriyeti Notebook Geek

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    since USB floppies are useable, that means you can probably just make a bootable USB flash drive if you have one of those, and emulate it as a floppy disk.
     
    azriyeti, Aug 2, 2006
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  6. eXCeSS

    eXCeSS Notebook Enthusiast

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    anyone know if there are any official bios flashes
    im having an odd problem with midi playback in vmware and it seems likes its an issue with the hardware clock so im hoping for a new bios version sometime soon

    thanks
     
    eXCeSS, Aug 9, 2006
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  7. Donald@Paladin44

    Donald@Paladin44 Retired

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    If you get your BIOS update from us, you will also get the flashing utility and instructions.

    Our 24/7 Customer Service team is ready to help with this proceedure if you bought your laptop from PowerNotebooks.com
     
    Donald@Paladin44, Aug 9, 2006
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