Gigabyte BIOS Update

[mattey123]

I have a Gigabyte GA-M61VME-S2 motherboard and i've downloaded the latest bios from the gigabyte website.

I have 3 files,

autoexec
flash895.exe
m61vmes2.f9

Do i have to copy these to floppy disk and boot from it?

I've tried running it while vista is loaded but i get error, that this system cannot run in full screen mode.

I've just bought a AMD X2 64 6000+ AM2 processor and it is displayed as model unknown in the bios so updating it, nothing major it's just i'd like the model in the bios.

Any help appreciated!

 

[HalComps]

can i just stress plz be careful when updating the bios, unless ur system actually needs it i wouldnt bother as from past experiences its caused more bother than it was worth.

 

[mattey123]

i've done it once before on my other system it was fine but why do you not recommend it, can it cause the pc to fail to boot?

 

[HalComps]

ive updated a bios b4 and its totally messed up my pc had to get a new 1 as my pc wouldnt boot, but if its fine and all working why temp fate? Im not saying it happens to all updates but doing so can cause problems thats why i wouldnt reconmend doing so. But im sure others could give u more advice on the matter.

 

[Freestone]

A bad flash can render a motherboard useless as it will more than likely be braindead. Can happen for a variety of reasons, but one often overlooked is loss of power during the flash process. If you have an UPS attached, great, otherwise don't flash when there is a chance for power loss or brownouts. Bad media is another cause though most flash programs ensure that the flash file can be fully read be proceeding.

Refer to your motherboard manual, section titled "Flash BIOS Method Introduction" in order to use your downloaded files.

http://america.giga-byte.com/FileList/Manual/motherboard_manual_ga-m61vme-s2_e.pdf

 

[mattey123]

well i updated my bios from f4 version to f9, it ran fine for about two days, now it's completly f*cked up lol, it works fine with my ide hard drive but the sata's sometimes don't boot or if they do then they freeze. I've tried to re-install vista but doesnt fix the issue. Therefore i decided it was time for a new motherboard, i've bought a "ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AiLifestyle Series Motherboard", i use asus a lot at my work for building pc's and they are very good so i thought i'd get one for my pc. Never had this model before though, has anybody else? It looks quite a reasonably decent one, got it for £70 so can't really complain. This motherboard supports my amd 6000+ proccessor and ddr2 ram so it will be a pretty easy installation without having to buy extras.

 

[HalComps]

did you try asking the manufactures for a new chip?

 

[mattey123]

no i never, why would a new chip of fixed the problem? Even if it did fix it i needed a better quality motherboard anyway, lets face it gigabyte are kinda cheap motherboards, not as good as asus.

 

[HalComps]

well yes a new bios chip would of fixed it, but if you wanted a new board anyways dont matter lol

 

[mattey123]

o ryt, never mind

the gigabyte board only had two sata connectors and i have 3 sata devices, 2 hdd and my dvd-rw drive. This new motherboard has 6 sata connectors! also has more ram slots so i can have 4gb of ram now, it supports up to 8gb ram but i heard if you have 32 bit versions of windows then you can put 8gb in but it will only act as 4gb, as 64 bit is meant for higher spec or something, don't know if thats true.

 

[linney]

Vista RAM usage and 32/64 bit differences
thread1583-1379026

Make more memory available
thread779-1297655


megahertz and ram explained

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rls=com.microsoft&q=megahertz+and+ram+explained+-xbox&btnG=Search

Rules of RAM
thread779-950354: Rules of RAM

RAM, Virtual Memory, PageFile and all that stuff.

http://members.shaw.ca/bsanders/WindowsGeneralWeb/RAMVirtualMemoryPageFileEtc.htm

 

[mattey123]

thanks for the links there pal.

 

[mattey123]

this is probably a stupid question but i'm only young and still learning.

Right my new motherboard is a sli motherboard, it doesn't have a vga connector on. Is there a different cable to buy or what? because it looks the same connection it's just pins instead of the blue bit with indentations. If not then am i going to have to buy a seperate graphics card for a pci slot? Sorry if it sounds dumb it's just i've never had a sli motherboard before.

 

[HalComps]

what motherboard is it? and yes you'll have to get the PCI/e graphics as you stated it doesn't have the VGA slot. There is alot of good PCI cards out there at a good price.

 

[mattey123]

ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe AiLifestyle Series Motherboard i've bought.

I'll just borrow a graphics card from work till i get a new one. Can you recommend any cheap but good graphics cards?

 

[HalComps]

uk £

look at some of these, theres a few cheaper ones that are good. but it depends what you want to use it for. gaming then you'd be better off getting the 8800 but its more expencive.

http://www.dabs.com/productlist.aspx?&CategorySelectedId=11137&NavigationKey=11137&PageMode=1

 

[mattey123]

thanks, i'll probably get something like a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE 256MB DDR2 PCI-E DVI, only bought £30, does teh job for what i want.