Easiest way to update BIOS?

I was about to install VISTA in my old laptop when it says this

===============================================
Tou must make the following changes before installing Windows

This computer is not compliant with the Advanced Configuration and
Power Interface (ACPI) standard. Windows must be installed onto a
computer that supports ACPI. Contact your computer manufacturer
for a BIOS update or install Windows on an ACPI-compliant computer.

The compatibility report will be saved to the current Windows desktop
===============================================

ummm so yeah~
the last time i tried to update BIOS it was a nightmare
so i wanna seek advice from experts who've done like tons of BIOS update before on how to do it?

 

What type of notebook do you have..i.e. model etc....who did you buy it from etc...a bit more info please.

 

oh yes my apology
its actually this laptop

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI...m=120148606953&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=002

 

Ahh.. a Clevo D900T

not sure about the motherboard revision though
(if I can take a look at the power brick, I would know)

bios updates here:
http://www.eurocom.com/support/drivers/bios/main_bios.html

Note: you need caution to do the BIOS updates... that why you need to know the motherboard revision before proceeding.

 

ahhh gophn
i want YOUR opinion!

do you think that is a good buy?
that ebay link i just gave you

also, another q
is my Sager faster or that one?
i mean....

my SAGER says 2.4Ghz AMD athlon x 2
the AW says 3.6Ghz

 

oh yes sry
ummm,
back to the topic~

Ive taken a picture of the power brick
here's the pic


will this help?
there's also a small sticker at the side that state
SYS-BJEKJE

 

I also took a picture of this


does this help gophn?

im assuming that i need to update
using this BIOS right?
http://www.eurocom.com/support/drivers/bios/D900t_bios.htm

 

NOT A GOOD BUY.

This is a single core Pentium 4 system.

The D900K that you have is a dual core. It will beat this notebook in every way. And not to mention that this notebook has an old motherboard revision... which will limit it for any upgrades.

The AMD X2 is extremely better than the single core Pentium4.... DO NOT mistake the numbers because they are meaningless in this new era of multi-cores.

 

oh man
well, i needed 2 laptops i thought
and i was planning to use 1 for gaming and 1 for working

a few questions then

1st)
so i guess ill just use the D900K purely for gaming
and the D900T for work?

sorry, can you tell me more about limiting it for any upgrades?
i mean, what else can you upgrade? the graphic card perhaps?
say that i wanna get the Georce 7950GTX, can i just apply it to my Sager and perhaps give my Sager's Geforce 7800GTX to the alienware and then just sell my Alienware's Geforce 6800?

2nd)
oh yes one other thing~
in terms of performance, how BIG is the difference between the D900T and the D900K? i mean, i think i spent like 3950US$ on this D900K and only about 950+US$ on this D900T.

3rd)
back to the motherboard question,
did i get the link right?
cause i dont wanna screw it up
that D900T comes with Windows XP home, i just thought that vista would be better then that~

 

That Alienware (re-branded D900T) is using one of the first motherboard revisions.... meaning that the upgrades are extremely limited:
- CPU: you can upgrade, but it wont matter since its still single core
- Videocard: you are stuck with the Geforce 6800 (due to the limitations of the motherboard)

Well if you got it for around $950... thats a good deal.

D900T is not confirmed to have full compatibility with Vista... due to it being discontinued before Vista was released. You can try to install it, but not all of the drivers are available in one place... you will have to go hunting for Vista compatible drivers.

The D900K didnt have all of these issues, and is still considered one of the best notebooks in the world.

 

well,
because i was just looking at this
http://www.eurocom.com/support/drivers/bios/D900t_bios.htm

it says to support the nvidia 7800gtx card
so perhaps its possible that i can just exchange the graphic card?

 

I need help installing this thing

I downloaded this
http://www.eurocom.com/support/drivers/bios/D900t_bios.htm
and from there i downloaded the D9R12.zip

after that i unzip it and it gave me 3 files
- Autoexec
- D9R12.wph
- phlash16

after that i just double click the autoexec

and then it just stated
=====================================
Phoenix Phlas16 Error
Cannot glash if memory managers (e.b. EM386) present
PRESS ANY KEY TO EXIT
=====================================

if i double click the plash,
then it states
==============================
File Open Failed on F:\BIOS.wph
PRESS ANY KEY TO EXIT
==============================

how do i install this thing
help

 

STOP.

I do not recommend you to update your BIOS, since the motherboard revision only allows you to update to only:
1.00.04

If you try and update the BIOS to a version past 1.00.04, you will break the notebook.

You CANNOT upgrade the videocard on that notebook to 7800GTX [even if it fits] because you have the older motherboard revision. PERIOD.

If you try and install a higher videocard than 6800 on that notebook, it will cause problems.

 

You are stuck with the 6800 card and the Pentium 4.

Thats it.

No need for a BIOS update.

 

oh!!!!
oh no
but i wanna install vista

so that means i cant install vista at all?
or i know, where can i get this 1.00.04 update?

 

Here is the BIOS (I just uploaded it):

Clevo D900T 1.00.04 BIOS

 

lolx,
gophn
this is weird~

i updated the bios and now the opening screen, instead of ALIENWARE,
it states SAGER down there XD

is there any way to change it?
i actually want the OP screen to be CLEVO if possible

 

it does not matter really.

You can change the splash option in the BIOS.

 

dang~
there's still a problem updating to windows vista

it still says

===============================================
Tou must make the following changes before installing Windows

This computer is not compliant with the Advanced Configuration and
Power Interface (ACPI) standard. Windows must be installed onto a
computer that supports ACPI. Contact your computer manufacturer
for a BIOS update or install Windows on an ACPI-compliant computer.

The compatibility report will be saved to the current Windows desktop
===============================================

but i really wanna install windows vista
is there any other way?

 

you can try to install XP then upgrade to Vista.

 

thats what i did~
i have windows XP home currently installed right now (service pack 2)

or maybe i should try installing windows XP pro first?
and then install vista?

 

it would not matter, the D900T is not Vista ready.

I will give you an update if I can find a way to do it.

 

Actually, there seems to be a way.

But you have to create a RAID array, rather than using ATA Mode.

In any case, I would stick with XP for that system... its the best performance for that system.

 

hmmmmm
dang it~

well, its not that i dont want to stick with windows XP for that system
its just that my vista will go to waste if i dont use it
and that i've already used up the cd-key for the windows XP
so i cant use it for that system

 

sell the CD-Key and license

a good number of people would be interested.

 

If the CD key is retail you can use it on any 1 system. I.e. any 1 system at a time, can't be on 2 separate systems at once.

If it's OEM then nope, can't move it.

 

hmmm,
so there's no other way but to use RAID gophn?

ummm,
wahts the disadvantage and advantage of using it?

so does that mean that i need to like
assemble the 2nd HDD right now?

 

no you do not need to put in the 2nd HDD yet..

but I am not entirely sure on the correct procedure to install Vista on the D900T.... I just have heard it being done (but the Vista drivers for the components are hard to find).

I have my theories on how to do it, but it will not be recommended for me to tell you all of them... its too lengthy and complicated to explain.

Generally, I would just try to do the same install of XP Pro with RAID mode (1 HDD) instead this time. Then try to upgrade to Vista.