flash bios question

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Hi,

When you get the program to flash a particular bios, is that mobo
independent? I mean, can you use it on any mobo that has the same chip set?
The reason I ask is my Uncle has a laptop circa 1998 with 2 usb ports on the
back but they don't work. It's a generic one he bought through the mail.
There isn't an "enable/disable usb" in the cmos. It has an american
megatrend bios in it. So I was wondering if I could flash the bios to light
up the USB ports for him. It would be nice to know for sure because he
lives thousands of miles away and it would have to be mailed back and forth.

Thanks,

Sammy

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

"~Aart" <bogus@nowhere.net> wrote in message
news:gbSdneW_9e5sjQPdRVn_iw@comcast.com...
> Hi,
>
> When you get the program to flash a particular bios, is that mobo
> independent? I mean, can you use it on any mobo that has the same chip
set?
> The reason I ask is my Uncle has a laptop circa 1998 with 2 usb ports on
the
> back but they don't work. It's a generic one he bought through the mail.
> There isn't an "enable/disable usb" in the cmos. It has an american
> megatrend bios in it. So I was wondering if I could flash the bios to
light
> up the USB ports for him. It would be nice to know for sure because he
> lives thousands of miles away and it would have to be mailed back and
forth.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Sammy
>

Nope. Don't even try it. BIOS programs are licensed to be used by hardware
manufacturers, BUT the catch is that the BIOS is customized for each
individual mainboard. Flash just anything in there, and your laptop is
suddenly a paperweight. If you want to update the BIOS, you will have to
contact whoever manufactured the laptop to get a BIOS update from them.
Even if that's possible, there is no guarantee that that will enable the USB
port.

If your USB ports aren't working, there are two likely explanations.
- The laptop maker was too cheap to include cabling for the ports, or
deliberately used an off-brand mainboard with no USB support
- (somewhat more likely) The drivers for the laptop have not been installed
correctly.

Either way, your Uncle might have better luck adding a PCMCIA format
expansion card to add USB ports. -Dave

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

~Aart wrote:
> Hi,
>
> When you get the program to flash a particular bios, is that mobo
> independent? I mean, can you use it on any mobo that has the same chip set?
> The reason I ask is my Uncle has a laptop circa 1998 with 2 usb ports on the
> back but they don't work. It's a generic one he bought through the mail.
> There isn't an "enable/disable usb" in the cmos. It has an american
> megatrend bios in it. So I was wondering if I could flash the bios to light
> up the USB ports for him. It would be nice to know for sure because he
> lives thousands of miles away and it would have to be mailed back and forth.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Sammy
>
>
Like Dave says, definitely forget a generic flash. What operating system
is Uncle using?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

It came with Win95 on it, but I don't know what version, and don't know if
it's been upgraded. I remember there was a win95C out for a while that
supported USB so I guess that's what on it.

I didn't know there was a card solution to this,
do you mean there are cards out there, like the modem card that plugs into
the pcmcia or whatever port, that has a USB bridge/controler and usb ports
on it? If so, that's definately a safer way to go.

Thanks,
Sammy




"tomcas" <tomcas@NOSPAMmjwebsitedesign.com> wrote in message
news:n4qnc.7240$CC4.1082360@news4.srv.hcvlny.cv.net...
> ~Aart wrote:
> > Hi,
> >
> > When you get the program to flash a particular bios, is that mobo
> > independent? I mean, can you use it on any mobo that has the same chip
set?
> > The reason I ask is my Uncle has a laptop circa 1998 with 2 usb ports on
the
> > back but they don't work. It's a generic one he bought through the
mail.
> > There isn't an "enable/disable usb" in the cmos. It has an american
> > megatrend bios in it. So I was wondering if I could flash the bios to
light
> > up the USB ports for him. It would be nice to know for sure because he
> > lives thousands of miles away and it would have to be mailed back and
forth.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Sammy
> >
> >
> Like Dave says, definitely forget a generic flash. What operating system
> is Uncle using?

 

[jt]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 9 May 2004 14:06:17 -0400, "~Aart" <bogus@nowhere.net> wrote:

>It came with Win95 on it, but I don't know what version, and don't know if
>it's been upgraded. I remember there was a win95C out for a while that
>supported USB so I guess that's what on it.
>
>I didn't know there was a card solution to this,
>do you mean there are cards out there, like the modem card that plugs into
>the pcmcia or whatever port, that has a USB bridge/controler and usb ports
>on it? If so, that's definately a safer way to go.
>
>Thanks,
>Sammy
>

Windows 95 support for USB was very bad, even on the last version. MS
rewrote the whole USB system for 98, and most of the USB peripheral drivers
will only work on Win98 (sometimes SE) or later. If your uncle wants USB,
he needs a newer OS

JT