Update OLD Bios

Bowser13 · Dec 30, 2015

Hello and a happy New Year to all.
First timer so hopefully this is posted in the right place.
I have an obsolete machine I'm trying to squeeze a little more life out of and would like to update the BIOS and other drivers. Specifically it's an old Gateway FX6710-01 w an Intel Q9400 processor, USB 2.0 (not 3.0), Window 7 Pro (64bit), 8 gig of ram, w a new-ish Kingston SSD drive as my primary OS HD and the stock 1 TB drive repurposed as my storage drive. I use this computer primarily to surf the web, do basic office work (Excel/Powerpoint/Word), graphic design (photoshop and illustrator), compose music and trade stocks. The only games that I play are Chess and a very 16 bit looking java version Axis & Allies, so I'm obviously NOT a gamer but I've recently put in a Geforce GT 730 w 3 24" monitors and am pleased w the system overall.

My question is: how do I update the BIOS without hosing my machine?

I tried searching for an update on the manufacturer's page (Phoenix) but they seemed to want me to buy a product called BiosAgentPlus, and it had terrible user reviews.
Plus I couldn't find any sort of download section.
I also went to Gateways page to see if they had a vendor safe version and had no luck there finding anything.

BiosAgentPlus gives this info about the bios:

Phoenix
BIOS Date: September 25th, 2008
BIOS ID: 87GP041G
BIOS OEM: 87GP041G
Chipset: Intel 29C0 rev 2
SuperIO: Unknown
Manufacturer: Gateway
Motherboard: FX6710-01

Can someone knowledgeable w this process point a noob in the right direction.
As a follow-up I'd also like to update all drivers, so if there's any easy/safe way to do that after, please advise also. Thanks!

spooky2th · Dec 30, 2015

You probably cannot update the Bios. Gateway, Dell and most other major computer manufacturers lock the BIOS in their computers. They do this to cut down on service calls.

Bowser13 · Dec 30, 2015

Ooppps. Sorry about voting that down, Spooky. I thought it was the reply button to your comment.
Anyway, the reason I wanted to follow-up was that BiosAgentPlus indicated there WAS a more current Bios update available from Phoenix for my computer. And being that I have the original BIOS that came w the computer, I thought this could be correct. Unfortunately BiosAgent didn't give me specifics and I wanted to make sure it was correct before purchasing since it didn't have good ratings. That said, please let me know if you checked and saw that my Bios is the most current version.

giantbucket · Dec 30, 2015

take the side panel off and look at the board, and find some brand or part number. the FX6710 stuff is the PC model number, not the mobo model number.

spooky2th · Dec 30, 2015

There is absolutely no info at the gateway web site which is where you need to get a new bios if there is one. What is the MB model? That FX6710-01 number seems to be the gateway comp model number. Boot into bios and see what options you have?

Bowser13 · Dec 31, 2015

Again, thanks for the help.

According to BiosAgentPlus the BIOS info is:
Phoenix
BIOS Date: September 25th, 2008
BIOS ID: 87GP041G
BIOS OEM: 87GP041G
Chipset: Intel 29C0 rev 2
SuperIO: Unknown
Manufacturer: Gateway
Motherboard: FX6710-01 (which is incorrect)

According to CPU-Z the motherboard info is:
Manufacturer: Gateway
Model: G33M05G1
Chipset: Intel P35/G33/G31
Southbridge: 82801IH (ICH9DH)
PPCIO: ITE IT8718

CPU-Z also shows teh same BIOS info:
Phoenix Technologies LTD
87GP041G
9/25/2008

spooky2th · Dec 31, 2015

I found the gateway web page for the FX6710 computer and there is no Bios update. Latest driver versions from 2011. The manual does not have anything about the Bios which tells me that it is a locked Bios. Don't waste your money with that 3rd party, biosagentplus.

Boot into bios and you'll probably see most everything in the Bios grayed out.

http://us.gateway.com/gw/en/US/content/drivers-downloads

ExtremelyGeeky · Jan 2, 2016

As far as bios updates go in my opinion..... "if it ain't broke don't fix it" if you are having some known issue for which a bios update has been rolled out by the manufacturer to resolve, then alright, if it's disrupting your life enough to need the update in order to keep the system functional, but if you can avoid it I would.
When there's a bios update to fix a serious issue and it HAS to be done I make sure I am running on a battery backup first and foremost, because any loss of power during a flash will brick your board.

hapkiman · Jan 2, 2016

He is right - you are better off just leaving everything alone. Plus I don't think you'd ever find the proper BIOS update for an old Gateway rig.

You should consider getting a new rig. That thing is ancient by computer standards and you would be shocked by the response and speed of a newer system.

Even though you have an SSD it is only running at SATA II speeds. Your board does not have SATA III.

giantbucket · Jan 2, 2016

an SSD on a SATA-II interface is still a fast SSD, with fast random read/writes and very low latency. the SATA-II versus SATA-III only really affects peak sequential read/write, which you'll really use.... once a year?

hapkiman · Jan 3, 2016

Actually I have a Kingston SATA II SSD on an old AMD Phenom II x6 1055T rig on an ASUS M4A88T-V EVO mobo running at 3Gb/s instead of SATA III's 6 Gb/s speeds and there is a noticeable difference between it and my wife's rig (which uses a SATA III 840 EVO on a Z77 Intel board running at 6 Gb/s). There is a diff both in initial start up times, and regular loading of apps and programs. Sure the Kingston SSD is still faster than a regular HDD, but its old tech now, and you can tell a difference. I just booted it up and checked after reading your post. It is indeed noticeable.

giantbucket · Jan 3, 2016

so, there's a speed difference between a Kingston SSD and a Samsung 840 EVO? really......? is anyone surprised here by that?

ExtremelyGeeky · Jan 3, 2016

giantbucket :

lol. I almost spit coffee all over my keyboard...

hapkiman · Jan 3, 2016

Yes I get it. Of course the 840 EVO is faster, I wasn't trying to give you a news update. But the Kingston is not a bad SSD. I'm talking about this one: Kingston HyperX 3K 120 GB SATA III - Pull it up and read the reviews. Almost all positive.

And what you said does not take away from my point. Which is correct.

And I wasn't comparing it to the rig in my sig. I was talking about a Z77 board with a i5 3570k proc.

spooky2th · Jan 3, 2016

The Kingston HyperX is a fast SSD. Have had one on my second comp for well over 3 years now. Too bad it is not available from Kingston any longer. I was looking into getting another. Last year, there was an article at Toms's, about a test of SSD's to see how long they would last. The HyperX and the SamsungPro out lasted every other manufacturer and model, including the samsung evo.

Kingston HyperX 3K

Max. sequential read: 555MB/s
Max. sequential write: 510MB/s

http://www.storagereview.com/kingston_hyperx_3k_ssd_review

Bowser13 · Jan 6, 2016

First off, I just wanted to say WOW and that you guys REALLY know your stuff. I appreciate you taking the time to help and all the information on BIOS and SSD drives you guys have given me. Regarding the BIOS, I adhere to the "if it ain't broken, don't fix it philosophy" but that BiosAgentPlus update program indicated that it was outdated and should be updated as did a Driver Updater program that I was using. But based on the advice here, it seems it's best not to tamper w since an update may not exist or be possible to find.

That said, one of the main reasons I wanted to update the system and BIOS is that the TRIM command in the SSD drive I have apparently isn't working correctly. By this I mean that it appears to be working if I run an admin command prompt in Windows 7 and Fsutil behavior query DisableDeleteNotify = 0. Trim also shows as supported w CrystalDiskInfo

But when I run Hard Disk sentinel, it indicates the following for the SSD drive:
"The trim feature of the SSD is supported but disabled. It is recommended to upgrade the OS, the disk controller or its driver to improve performance" I googled this and got to the following page:

http://www.hdsentinel.com/faq.php#trim

It explains the issue towards the bottom.

I used another program called TrimCheck to get a "second opinion" test and it also indicated the same thing "TRIM appears to be NOT WORKING (or has not kicked in yet)

So in an attempt to make sure the trim was "Active" I began my quest to update this system.
Assuming I leave well enough alone w the BIOS and that this isn't causing this issue, and that I don't update this system to Windows 10 (since I like Windows 7) what steps should I take to resolve this and ensure that Trim is ACTIVE and the SSD and system is working at it's best.

Please let me know.
Thanks.

spooky2th · Jan 7, 2016

I would find out what type of sata the ssd is plugged into and follow the instruction on the driver update.

leadsledv8 · Jun 7, 2016

Hey I just updated my FX4710 with the same MB as the model you have listed. I had the same bios with Q9400. I just installed a Q9650 and it wouldn't identify the cores but it identified the speed and bus speed. I had heard of an update for this before and searched it out and found it online from another post on another site. I took my chances and now i am running Bios 87GP091G and it has properly indentified the Q9650. I had to make a boot usb drive with the dos awdflash but it went smoothly. I even saved old bios just in case. I have the file if you want it. It didnt change anything else. Just processor and the fx boot screen image.

BIOS ID: 87GP041G
BIOS OEM: 87GP041G

Manufacturer: Gateway
Model: G33M05G1

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