Thanks for the tips, but I'm quite confident on the EEPROM removal option. It has a lot of sense after reading the datasheets, look it by yourself if you feel curious about this. I have the proper tools and experience to do this work and there's nothing to lose (it can be put back again if it's not overheated).
The serial EEPROM IC is 2Kbit (256 bytes), not 2KB. UniFlash doesn't support it because... it's not a Flash . Anyway I doubt this EEPROM could be accessed from outside the card. It's exactly the EEPROM the datasheet talks about, just intended for initialization purposes. If the EEPROM disappears, then the PCI IDs will be read from the Flash BIOS. If you look at the BIOS bin files with an hex editor you'll see the IDs 1095 and 3112 at the end of the file, just before the "55AA" flags. Those are the addresses the SiI3112 reads from when initializing, according to the datasheets.
The INF find+replace option would surely work, but this will be my last resort.
Thanks for the tips, but I'm quite confident on the EEPROM removal option. It has a lot of sense after reading the datasheets, look it by yourself if you feel curious about this. I have the proper tools and experience to do this work and there's nothing to lose (it can be put back again if it's not overheated).
The serial EEPROM IC is 2Kbit (256 bytes), not 2KB. UniFlash doesn't support it because... it's not a Flash . Anyway I doubt this EEPROM could be accessed from outside the card. It's exactly the EEPROM the datasheet talks about, just intended for initialization purposes. If the EEPROM disappears, then the PCI IDs will be read from the Flash BIOS. If you look at the BIOS bin files with an hex editor you'll see the IDs 1095 and 3112 at the end of the file, just before the "55AA" flags. Those are the addresses the SiI3112 reads from when initializing, according to the datasheets.
The INF find+replace option would surely work, but this will be my last resort.
Tomorrow morning I'll do it the hard way
I've never had a very steady hand.
Let us all know how it goes. You're 'right' if, as you say, the binary in the flash contains the header information needed. It's probably how Adaptec manage to keep the card 'theirs'.
I do like a nice little firmware job here and there. Keeps things interesting.
It's soldered. By "U-shape" tool I mean a soldering iron tip like a "Y" letter. The EEPROM IC is a 8-pin surface packaging, so if you heat all pins at the same time, it really comes off in 2 seconds. No need to use risky hot-air tools.
And now the results. Apparently successful. The card shows up as a 1095-3112 and Windows asks for a new driver. I have started with no HDD attached to the controller just to setup the drivers (1.3.67 BASE, not RAID). Everything fine.
HOWEVER, something unexpected has happened when attaching the 320GB drive: it has been correctly detected on boot by the adapter's BIOS, but then (when Windows should start) a long pause of about 15 secons before Windows begins to load. Then it all goes fine.
Who is provoking this pause? Windows or the controller? Maybe the controller is trying to boot from the SATA HDD (which is not bootable)? But that should not take that long.
I've tried both flavors of the 4.2.79 BIOS (RAID and IDE-BASE) with no difference. Now I'm beginning to realize that this BIOS may not have an INT13 gateway and that difficults Windows startup. I've read about solving this issue with the file NTBOOTDD.SYS, as a renamed copy of the SCSI or SATA driver in the root dir of the boot device. Has any sense? I'll try later. At least the Adaptec BIOS stated very clearly when booting: "INT 13 BIOS extension installed!".
I've adopted a drastic remedy to solve the delay issue (hey, about 40 seconds). Since I don't need RAID functionality and I don't need to boot from SATA HDD, I've decided to disable BIOS from the SATA adapter. How? I made a backup of the original Adaptec 1210SA BIOS. Now I've replaced the last 16 bytes of this BIN file to match the ones from the Silicon Image BIOS. Remember that those 16 bytes contain the numbers I want: PCI Vendor ID 1095 and Device ID 3112. Then the SiI3112A initializes with this data, but when the Adaptec BIOS loads it searches for 1095:0240 device, and since it can't find it on the system, it just does nothing. Then Windows loads the driver and accesses the controller normally, because it doesn't rely on the adapter's BIOS.
Now the boot process is even faster than any other clean solution, because no SATA BIOS is initialized on boot and no HDD needs to be detected at that phase. Of course it's not possible to boot from SATA since there's not even the minimum support to INT13 for that adapter.
I know it's not the cleanest way, but it works for what I need. Of course this approach needs the absence of the EEPROM too, otherwise I wouldn't have control over the PCI IDs reported by the SiI3112A.
Any other solutions involving tweaks on the BIOS are welcome. By the way, what does exactly the -BASE parameter in UniFlash?
I've adopted a drastic remedy to solve the delay issue (hey, about 40 seconds). Since I don't need RAID functionality and I don't need to boot from SATA HDD, I've decided to disable BIOS from the SATA adapter. How? I made a backup of the original Adaptec 1210SA BIOS. Now I've replaced the last 16 bytes of this BIN file to match the ones from the Silicon Image BIOS. Remember that those 16 bytes contain the numbers I want: PCI Vendor ID 1095 and Device ID 3112. Then the SiI3112A initializes with this data, but when the Adaptec BIOS loads it searches for 1095:0240 device, and since it can't find it on the system, it just does nothing. Then Windows loads the driver and accesses the controller normally, because it doesn't rely on the adapter's BIOS.
Now the boot process is even faster than any other clean solution, because no SATA BIOS is initialized on boot and no HDD needs to be detected at that phase. Of course it's not possible to boot from SATA since there's not even the minimum support to INT13 for that adapter.
I know it's not the cleanest way, but it works for what I need. Of course this approach needs the absence of the EEPROM too, otherwise I wouldn't have control over the PCI IDs reported by the SiI3112A.
Any other solutions involving tweaks on the BIOS are welcome. By the way, what does exactly the -BASE parameter in UniFlash?
-BASE parameter to set ROM base address manually and allow UniFlash to run without PCI bus
Hi, I'm a newbee at posts but really need some help or ideas with this issue
System: Gigabyte GA7N400 Pro2 rev.2 ; AMD XP2500 1GB OCZ 3200 Dual Channel ;
When installing a brand new Hitachi Deskstar 7K160 SATA2 Hard Drive Bios will not recognize it. I've removed the other harddrive, Tried setting sata and raid settings to on, then off, still will not show the harddrive. Tried loading a fresh copy of XP then selecting F6, just get a message no harddive found. Tried flashing Bios with latest update still will not recognize the harddrive. The harddrive is spinning i can hear it. Also when system posts it shows hitachi as primary channel - but thats it.
Can anyone shed some light on this. what do i need to do to make bios see the SATA Drive.
Any opinion is appreciated Thanks
Hi, I'm a newbee at posts but really need some help or ideas with this issue
System: Gigabyte GA7N400 Pro2 rev.2 ; AMD XP2500 1GB OCZ 3200 Dual Channel ;
When installing a brand new Hitachi Deskstar 7K160 SATA2 Hard Drive Bios will not recognize it. I've removed the other harddrive, Tried setting sata and raid settings to on, then off, still will not show the harddrive. Tried loading a fresh copy of XP then selecting F6, just get a message no harddive found. Tried flashing Bios with latest update still will not recognize the harddrive. The harddrive is spinning i can hear it. Also when system posts it shows hitachi as primary channel - but thats it.
Can anyone shed some light on this. what do i need to do to make bios see the SATA Drive.
Any opinion is appreciated Thanks
Make sure drive is jumpered to SATA150 mode if exists.
If drive detects in BIOS, then you need a floppy with Sil3x12 real mode drivers on when hitting F6 in XP setup, press 'S' to browse floppy and select driver IIRC.
Make sure drive is jumpered to SATA150 mode if exists.
If drive detects in BIOS, then you need a floppy with Sil3x12 real mode drivers on when hitting F6 in XP setup, press 'S' to browse floppy and select driver IIRC.
Should be good to go.
The drive is jumpered to a SATA150, however still no show in bios. Checked the power source its good, the Drive is a Hitachi SATA3.0 GB/s. Maybe a SATA3.0 isn't compatable or can't be jumpered to a SATA150 motherboard? Does anyone know anything about this.
Dear all, I've appear to have an issue very similar to many on this forum:
I'm using GA-7N400 PRO2 FK (not seen a silicon image logo or version)
I've tried several of the BIOS flash files from this excellent site , but I've still not been able to detect or see my SATA disk in the BIOS to choose it to boot to.
I've tried both RAID and BASE settings with the SATA controller enabled.
I've ignored and tried the GigaRAID settings too, but to no avail.
Any suggestions why I can't see my SATA disk?
The full run down can be read here:
[ADJUDICATOR EDIT: URL removed]
I'm in need of changing the silicon image bios in my NF7-S bios. im using a driverpacks program to update drivers on WinXP cd's, and the driverpack contain the latest SI drivers. this results in a problem after the file copy portion of loading XP, when it does the first reboot, i get a BSOD.
ive tried changing the drivers in the driverpack, but something still isnt right.
id like to put the 4.2.8.3 bios in, and have tried doing this with cbrom, but havent had any luck getting the new bios integrated.
someone here mind making up a bios or giving really good instructions on how to get this done with cbrom?
I'm in need of changing the silicon image bios in my NF7-S bios. im using a driverpacks program to update drivers on WinXP cd's, and the driverpack contain the latest SI drivers. this results in a problem after the file copy portion of loading XP, when it does the first reboot, i get a BSOD.
ive tried changing the drivers in the driverpack, but something still isnt right.
id like to put the 4.2.8.3 bios in, and have tried doing this with cbrom, but havent had any luck getting the new bios integrated.
someone here mind making up a bios or giving really good instructions on how to get this done with cbrom?
Thanks
I think the guide is overdue. The next post will contain a guide.
Prepare a suitable directory on your machine where you can download the files you need to work with. I suggest C:\BIOS as it is easy to navigate to from a command prompt.
Download your chosen BIOS revision for your board and extract only the binary image to the working folder (C:\BIOS). If you are having trouble locating your BIOS, or are wondering about the flash procedure this article has useful background and some good links.
Next you will need the appropriate SATA BIOS binary - download from this page and select the appropriate controller.
For most of you reading this thread, this will be the Sil3112A - extract the binary from the download to the working directory - for motherboard BIOS integration you need ONLY the 42xx.bin file, DO NOT USE the r or b prefixed binaries as they are for the standalone controller cards.
Finally, download the CBROM tool to the working directory from this page, some threads suggest that CBROM215 is buggy, but personally I have not encountered a problem. CBROM207 has failed to return to the command prompt several times when I have used it, so I prefer to use CBROM215.
Switch to a command prompt window (type cmd in the Run box).
Switch to your working directory by typing the path, e.g. cd c:\bios
Before beginning, check the present files by obtaining a directory listing, type dir
You should have the following files;
cbrom2xx.exe (modding utility) 42xx.bin (SATA BIOS binary) an7_19.bin (mobo BIOS binary, this example is for my ABit AN7, release 19)
Next type cbrom2xx an7_19.bin /pci release (remembering of course to substitute your chosen BIOS binary name and the version number of CBROM you are using).
You will see something like this;
in the above example, the options are A or B, obviously the 4250.bin is the old SATA BIOS binary, so b is the option, then we are returned to the command prompt.
Integrate the SATA BIOS by typing cbrom2xx an7_19.bin /pci 42xx.bin (remembering of course to substitute your chosen BIOS binary name, SATA BIOS binary name and the version number of CBROM you are using).
Finally, confirm integration with cbrom2xx an7_19.bin /d (remembering of course to substitute your chosen BIOS binary name and the version number of CBROM you are using).
You will see something like this;
As you can see, the 4283.bin is integrated successfully into PCI option ROM (B)
The filename of the BIOS binary is not changed, and it is this file that you should flash using the appropriate flash utility, see this article signposted earlier for more info.
N.B. Remember to use the correct driver as indicated on the Silicon Image download site for the SATA BIOS version.
Hi,
I am running into issues with Gigabyte GA-8TRS350MT using SATA hard disk. The F8 bios having SATA 3112 bios version of 4.2.43..
I tried modifying the F8 bios and added 4.2.83 from Silicon Image..However when I flash this bios, the hard not getting detected during POST as well as not getting any option to enter into Silicon Image Utility (Ctrl+s or F4)..
My card has a am29lv0108-90ed AMD flash ROM on it not an ST
This causes the problem with the flashing... I've e-mailed the developers of uniflash to see if they know of any of the supported AMD FlashROMS having the same flashing instruction set.
Read the chip wrong.. it's an AM29LV010B-90ed which is supported by uniflash (AM29LV010B) Hex -force code 016e
But, it shouldn't have to be forced since it is supported and should be automatically recognized. Maybe there was some kind of write protection put in place.
Either way the adaptec drivers/bios are screwy with windows and my card won't work unless I have two harddrives connected otherwise windows freezes during boot after loading mup.sys
It seems that my nforce 2 chipset and uniflash just didn't want to work well together.
I plugged the 1210sa into an old pII 500mhz machine with an asus motherboard and everything went fine. Chips automatically recognized and supported (unlike the NF7 board I was using earlier).
Hi folks.
This thread is the closest thing I've seen to people having a similar problem to mine. A friend got a 2 port PCIe SATA card on ebay, based on the SI3132 chipset, with a Winbond W27E010P-70 chip. Unfortunately, Silicon Image's utility does not want to flash on this chip, it gave me the large menu of chips to choose from, as in all of these:
AMD’s Am29F010B/Am29LV010B (1 Megabit) and Am29F040B (4 Megabit)
AMD’s Am29LV400B (4 Megabit) variable sectors
Atmel’s AT49BV512 (64KB), AT29LV010A (1 Megabit), and AT49LV040 (4 Megabit)<O:p></O:p>
SST’s 39SF010 (1 Megabit), 39VF010 (1 Megabit), 39VF020 (2 Megabit), 39SF020 (2 Megabit), and 39VF040 (4 Megabit).
SANYO’s LE28C1001D (1 Megabit)
WinBound’s 29EE011 (1 Megabit) and 29EE512 (64KB)
STMicroelectronics M29F010B/ M29W010B (1 Megabit)
STMicroelectronics M29W040B (4 Megabit)
STMicroelectronics M29W400B (4 Megabit) variable sectors
MXIC MX29LV040 (4 Megabit)
PMC Pm39LV010(1Megabit) and PMC Pm39LV040 (4Megabit)
And I've tried pretty much every single 1 Megabit one, and both Winbonds. Nothing works on my chip. So the question is, do any of you know how I can flash that Winbond chip? The silly SATA card has a RAID bios on it which was not stated on ebay, so he can't use an optical drive or a harddrive without setting it up a logical array. Anyone? I've googled high and low for things like "winbond flash utility" and gotten nowhere.
A PCI card bios flashing tool is a bit of a speciality thing.
If the chip is not on the uniflash supported list, it's not supported. Unless you know for a fact two chips use the same instruction set/algorithm for flashing
Try the flashing program from the manufacturer of the card and see if they have a non-raid bios. You could get the serial/parallel programmer from winbond and flash the chip through that with anything you like.
Nope it's not on uniflash, I checked after I saw references to the program here. But I sorta figured it's not there not because its not supported, but rather because the program seems to not be in development anymore.
Unfortunately there is no flashing program from the manufacturer, but I don't need a non-raid bios from them either, the SI3132 non raid bios I already have from SI's website. Just no utility to apply it
What's this serial/parallel programmer from winbond? I spend a while turning their website upside down and inside out earlier and did not find anything there in the form of downloads.
I know you have the sil3112 non raid bios, but if you got a flashing program from the manufacturer for their bioses, you're not going use to your SI bios with it....
Check their development tools section or call customer service and see where you can get a programmer. Or just google it.
0
LeonardoWake up and smell the glaciersEagle River, AlaskaIcrontian
Dear all, I've appear to have an issue very similar to many on this forum:
I'm using G....The full run down can be read here: [EDITED]
[ADJUDICATOR EDIT: URL removed]
If you need help, as a first time poster and new registrant, you should post your problem here. A cut and paste is no problem. When a first-time poster immediately puts a link (even a broken link) to another site, it is usually interpreted as spamming - free advertising without permission.
I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and not banning you. We'd be happy to help you, but please show your sincerity by posting the details here. Icrontic is not a click-through operation. We are a tight, friendly community open to all with respect for others and sense of community. You are welcome to participate.
I'm having a problem with a SATA drive connected to a SATA PCI card on a Dell Dimension 4550. Sometimes the drive isn't recognised on boot and I have to physically switch which of the two ports on the PCI card the drive is connected to. This fixes the boot most of the time but sometimes it will take me half an hour to get a successful boot. I've tried the card in various PCI slots but none consistently work. I'm hoping that updating the BIOS on the card will help but I'd like some advice before I try flashing it.
My motherboard BIOS is Phoenix ROM BIOS Plus version 1.10 A08 and the PCI card is using SiI 3112A SATA Raid Controller BIOS version 4.1.50. The motherboard BIOS is old but I think that it is the most up-to-date official BIOS.
Should updating the BIOS on my PCI card fix the problem? If so, what version should I update to?
BIG THANK YOU for the instructions on building an updated bios for the 7n400P2 Rev 2 motherboard.
Some history for folk that want a laugh:
Several years ago I bought a new inexpensive large drive (~100gig) and thought "great plenty of storage for my old computer". Of course when installing it I discovered that the mobo didn't support such a 'huge' drive. Great, so after >$400 to get a new mobo, new ram, new graphics card, new case, new powersupply I had a machine that could handle my $100 new hard drive
Fast forward to yesterday... With so much video editing and AVI data collecting up on my machine it was time to buy a new drive. Down to the local Fry's and after $110 arrive home with my new 750gig SATA driver. Plug it in and of course I discover that my 7n400p2 Rev FJ bios doesn't support such a large drive. Feelings of deja vu... BUT at least this time through the power of google and the internet I discovered this thread and the instructions by Winactive on how to 'build' a new bios with the latest sii3512 drivers. New bios built, copied to a floppy (borrowed ancient floppy from work) and qflash'ed the new bios onto my mobo. Yippee - the 750gig drive is now seen and the bios boots windows up. Partition/format and I now have it working WITHOUT having to buy a new machine.
THANKS to all that contributed to this thread and especially Winactive for documenting the procedure.
And just as a follow up, I got a response from Gigabyte regarding the problem above:
hello,
7N400pro2 was old chipset onboard SATA controller support SATA 150gb/s type drive up to 250G only , if the current drive is SATAII 300gb/s with 750G that can not be supported on this board .
Yep, funny that it all works now with the new SII bios installed. Got to love Google's ability to find REAL answers otherwise I'd have to believe the tech support folk...
And wow - never knew the drives ran at 150 or 300 g/sec. I must have got a slow drive that only runs at 1.5 or 3 g/sec
Secondly.... Excellent and most useful thread!!! I have learnt a fair bit about BIOS etc in the past 5 hours of trolling through here (and other, less helpful threads).
I am yet another with the 'ol GA7N400 Pro2 (Rev 1 - I'm pretty sure). However my problem seems to be the actual flashing of the BIOS. I do not have a floppy drive attached to this PC anymore so I am forced to use @BIOS (due to not knowing of another flashing utility for GB mobo's. Anyway....
I carefully followed WinActive's awesome instructions posted above and sucessfully modded the latest F11 BIOS driver with the latest Sil 4284 driver using SBROM 215 (although when 'intergrating' the sil .bin file it only says 52.3%(approx) complete - I don't think this is the problem though).
When I go to use @BIOS to flash my new awesome BIOS it tells me "BIOS Partnumber (AWARD) is not correct !!". I tried an un-modified copy of the .f11 BIOS directly downloaded from GB website but still the same error. I then used @BIOS to backup my existing BIOS and then tried to flash that exact same file and I still get the same error.
In short, I think my new BIOS file is good but the flashing Util is bad. I also tried using it to download the latest BIOS from the net (using each of the 5 servers it gives me) but it tells me it couldn't find any updates.
The only other thing I can add is that I believe my current BIOS version is the very first one (ie: when I boot it says "GA-7N400 Pro2 F1"). I also noticed that when typing in the cmd "CBROM215 currentbiosbackup.bin /pci release it only gives me 2 options:
A) 4200
B) rtk_pxe.211
I'm now officially at my wits end, respectfully asking a new set of (more experienced) eyes to assist me in my dispair. Thanks for any thoughts / suggestions!!!
EDIT:
The PC is running Windows Home Server (basically Windows Server 2003) but I can't see why that should impact on any BIOS flash utility...
For anyone interested I managed to get my BIOS flashed successfully with latest sil bios by following WinActive's points above to almagamate the 2 BIOS's. Then used a different flash utility (ie: not @BIOS) I can't remember which one now but it worked!!
Comments
The serial EEPROM IC is 2Kbit (256 bytes), not 2KB. UniFlash doesn't support it because... it's not a Flash
The INF find+replace option would surely work, but this will be my last resort.
Tomorrow morning I'll do it the hard way
Let us all know how it goes. You're 'right' if, as you say, the binary in the flash contains the header information needed. It's probably how Adaptec manage to keep the card 'theirs'.
I do like a nice little firmware job here and there. Keeps things interesting.
I can't try the card until this afternoon. I'll edit this post with the results.
You never said it was socketed!!!
And now the results. Apparently successful. The card shows up as a 1095-3112 and Windows asks for a new driver. I have started with no HDD attached to the controller just to setup the drivers (1.3.67 BASE, not RAID). Everything fine.
HOWEVER, something unexpected has happened when attaching the 320GB drive: it has been correctly detected on boot by the adapter's BIOS, but then (when Windows should start) a long pause of about 15 secons before Windows begins to load. Then it all goes fine.
Who is provoking this pause? Windows or the controller? Maybe the controller is trying to boot from the SATA HDD (which is not bootable)? But that should not take that long.
I've tried both flavors of the 4.2.79 BIOS (RAID and IDE-BASE) with no difference. Now I'm beginning to realize that this BIOS may not have an INT13 gateway and that difficults Windows startup. I've read about solving this issue with the file NTBOOTDD.SYS, as a renamed copy of the SCSI or SATA driver in the root dir of the boot device. Has any sense? I'll try later. At least the Adaptec BIOS stated very clearly when booting: "INT 13 BIOS extension installed!".
Now the boot process is even faster than any other clean solution, because no SATA BIOS is initialized on boot and no HDD needs to be detected at that phase. Of course it's not possible to boot from SATA since there's not even the minimum support to INT13 for that adapter.
I know it's not the cleanest way, but it works for what I need. Of course this approach needs the absence of the EEPROM too, otherwise I wouldn't have control over the PCI IDs reported by the SiI3112A.
Any other solutions involving tweaks on the BIOS are welcome. By the way, what does exactly the -BASE parameter in UniFlash?
-BASE parameter to set ROM base address manually and allow UniFlash to run without PCI bus
System: Gigabyte GA7N400 Pro2 rev.2 ; AMD XP2500 1GB OCZ 3200 Dual Channel ;
When installing a brand new Hitachi Deskstar 7K160 SATA2 Hard Drive Bios will not recognize it. I've removed the other harddrive, Tried setting sata and raid settings to on, then off, still will not show the harddrive. Tried loading a fresh copy of XP then selecting F6, just get a message no harddive found. Tried flashing Bios with latest update still will not recognize the harddrive. The harddrive is spinning i can hear it. Also when system posts it shows hitachi as primary channel - but thats it.
Can anyone shed some light on this. what do i need to do to make bios see the SATA Drive.
Any opinion is appreciated Thanks
Make sure drive is jumpered to SATA150 mode if exists.
If drive detects in BIOS, then you need a floppy with Sil3x12 real mode drivers on when hitting F6 in XP setup, press 'S' to browse floppy and select driver IIRC.
Should be good to go.
The drive is jumpered to a SATA150, however still no show in bios. Checked the power source its good, the Drive is a Hitachi SATA3.0 GB/s. Maybe a SATA3.0 isn't compatable or can't be jumpered to a SATA150 motherboard? Does anyone know anything about this.
I'm using GA-7N400 PRO2 FK (not seen a silicon image logo or version)
I've tried several of the BIOS flash files from this excellent site , but I've still not been able to detect or see my SATA disk in the BIOS to choose it to boot to.
I've tried both RAID and BASE settings with the SATA controller enabled.
I've ignored and tried the GigaRAID settings too, but to no avail.
Any suggestions why I can't see my SATA disk?
The full run down can be read here:
[ADJUDICATOR EDIT: URL removed]
ive tried changing the drivers in the driverpack, but something still isnt right.
id like to put the 4.2.8.3 bios in, and have tried doing this with cbrom, but havent had any luck getting the new bios integrated.
someone here mind making up a bios or giving really good instructions on how to get this done with cbrom?
Thanks
I think the guide is overdue.
Prepare a suitable directory on your machine where you can download the files you need to work with. I suggest C:\BIOS as it is easy to navigate to from a command prompt.
Download your chosen BIOS revision for your board and extract only the binary image to the working folder (C:\BIOS). If you are having trouble locating your BIOS, or are wondering about the flash procedure this article has useful background and some good links.
Next you will need the appropriate SATA BIOS binary - download from this page and select the appropriate controller.
For most of you reading this thread, this will be the Sil3112A - extract the binary from the download to the working directory - for motherboard BIOS integration you need ONLY the 42xx.bin file, DO NOT USE the r or b prefixed binaries as they are for the standalone controller cards.
Finally, download the CBROM tool to the working directory from this page, some threads suggest that CBROM215 is buggy, but personally I have not encountered a problem. CBROM207 has failed to return to the command prompt several times when I have used it, so I prefer to use CBROM215.
Switch to a command prompt window (type cmd in the Run box).
Switch to your working directory by typing the path, e.g. cd c:\bios
Before beginning, check the present files by obtaining a directory listing, type dir
You should have the following files;
cbrom2xx.exe (modding utility)
42xx.bin (SATA BIOS binary)
an7_19.bin (mobo BIOS binary, this example is for my ABit AN7, release 19)
Next type cbrom2xx an7_19.bin /pci release (remembering of course to substitute your chosen BIOS binary name and the version number of CBROM you are using).
You will see something like this;
in the above example, the options are A or B, obviously the 4250.bin is the old SATA BIOS binary, so b is the option, then we are returned to the command prompt.
Integrate the SATA BIOS by typing cbrom2xx an7_19.bin /pci 42xx.bin (remembering of course to substitute your chosen BIOS binary name, SATA BIOS binary name and the version number of CBROM you are using).
Finally, confirm integration with cbrom2xx an7_19.bin /d (remembering of course to substitute your chosen BIOS binary name and the version number of CBROM you are using).
You will see something like this;
As you can see, the 4283.bin is integrated successfully into PCI option ROM (B)
The filename of the BIOS binary is not changed, and it is this file that you should flash using the appropriate flash utility, see this article signposted earlier for more info.
N.B. Remember to use the correct driver as indicated on the Silicon Image download site for the SATA BIOS version.
I am running into issues with Gigabyte GA-8TRS350MT using SATA hard disk. The F8 bios having SATA 3112 bios version of 4.2.43..
I tried modifying the F8 bios and added 4.2.83 from Silicon Image..However when I flash this bios, the hard not getting detected during POST as well as not getting any option to enter into Silicon Image Utility (Ctrl+s or F4)..
Can anyone know the answer for this..?
Can anyone help me flashing my Adaptec 1210SA Sata Raid card so that I can use the SIL drivers? Seems Adaptec will no release Windows Vista drivers.
Thanks in advance,
Tiago Vilhena
P.S. Please help!
uniflash claims the chip on my 1210sa is unknown and sits there activating the piezo on the motherboard until I restart.....
I've desoldered the eeprom and it still is unknown and of course that disables the normal bios.
Any suggestions? I am booting off this card. Can't understand why uniflash worked for others, it's sure not working for me.
Used command line -pcirom 1 10 0 -e 4284.bin it goes to the menus and asks me to select the card which I do (cannot read organisation or chip type)
This causes the problem with the flashing... I've e-mailed the developers of uniflash to see if they know of any of the supported AMD FlashROMS having the same flashing instruction set.
But, it shouldn't have to be forced since it is supported and should be automatically recognized. Maybe there was some kind of write protection put in place.
Either way the adaptec drivers/bios are screwy with windows and my card won't work unless I have two harddrives connected otherwise windows freezes during boot after loading mup.sys
I plugged the 1210sa into an old pII 500mhz machine with an asus motherboard and everything went fine. Chips automatically recognized and supported (unlike the NF7 board I was using earlier).
This thread is the closest thing I've seen to people having a similar problem to mine. A friend got a 2 port PCIe SATA card on ebay, based on the SI3132 chipset, with a Winbond W27E010P-70 chip. Unfortunately, Silicon Image's utility does not want to flash on this chip, it gave me the large menu of chips to choose from, as in all of these:
AMD’s Am29F010B/Am29LV010B (1 Megabit) and Am29F040B (4 Megabit)
AMD’s Am29LV400B (4 Megabit) variable sectors
Atmel’s AT49BV512 (64KB), AT29LV010A (1 Megabit), and AT49LV040 (4 Megabit)<O:p></O:p>
SST’s 39SF010 (1 Megabit), 39VF010 (1 Megabit), 39VF020 (2 Megabit), 39SF020 (2 Megabit), and 39VF040 (4 Megabit).
SANYO’s LE28C1001D (1 Megabit)
WinBound’s 29EE011 (1 Megabit) and 29EE512 (64KB)
STMicroelectronics M29F010B/ M29W010B (1 Megabit)
STMicroelectronics M29W040B (4 Megabit)
STMicroelectronics M29W400B (4 Megabit) variable sectors
MXIC MX29LV040 (4 Megabit)
PMC Pm39LV010(1Megabit) and PMC Pm39LV040 (4Megabit)
And I've tried pretty much every single 1 Megabit one, and both Winbonds. Nothing works on my chip. So the question is, do any of you know how I can flash that Winbond chip? The silly SATA card has a RAID bios on it which was not stated on ebay, so he can't use an optical drive or a harddrive without setting it up a logical array. Anyone? I've googled high and low for things like "winbond flash utility" and gotten nowhere.
Thanks for reading.
If the chip is not on the uniflash supported list, it's not supported. Unless you know for a fact two chips use the same instruction set/algorithm for flashing
Try the flashing program from the manufacturer of the card and see if they have a non-raid bios. You could get the serial/parallel programmer from winbond and flash the chip through that with anything you like.
Unfortunately there is no flashing program from the manufacturer, but I don't need a non-raid bios from them either, the SI3132 non raid bios I already have from SI's website. Just no utility to apply it
What's this serial/parallel programmer from winbond? I spend a while turning their website upside down and inside out earlier and did not find anything there in the form of downloads.
Check their development tools section or call customer service and see where you can get a programmer. Or just google it.
If you need help, as a first time poster and new registrant, you should post your problem here. A cut and paste is no problem. When a first-time poster immediately puts a link (even a broken link) to another site, it is usually interpreted as spamming - free advertising without permission.
I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and not banning you. We'd be happy to help you, but please show your sincerity by posting the details here. Icrontic is not a click-through operation. We are a tight, friendly community open to all with respect for others and sense of community. You are welcome to participate.
I'm having a problem with a SATA drive connected to a SATA PCI card on a Dell Dimension 4550. Sometimes the drive isn't recognised on boot and I have to physically switch which of the two ports on the PCI card the drive is connected to. This fixes the boot most of the time but sometimes it will take me half an hour to get a successful boot. I've tried the card in various PCI slots but none consistently work. I'm hoping that updating the BIOS on the card will help but I'd like some advice before I try flashing it.
My motherboard BIOS is Phoenix ROM BIOS Plus version 1.10 A08 and the PCI card is using SiI 3112A SATA Raid Controller BIOS version 4.1.50. The motherboard BIOS is old but I think that it is the most up-to-date official BIOS.
Should updating the BIOS on my PCI card fix the problem? If so, what version should I update to?
Thanks
BIG THANK YOU for the instructions on building an updated bios for the 7n400P2 Rev 2 motherboard.
Some history for folk that want a laugh:
Several years ago I bought a new inexpensive large drive (~100gig) and thought "great plenty of storage for my old computer". Of course when installing it I discovered that the mobo didn't support such a 'huge' drive. Great, so after >$400 to get a new mobo, new ram, new graphics card, new case, new powersupply I had a machine that could handle my $100 new hard drive
Fast forward to yesterday... With so much video editing and AVI data collecting up on my machine it was time to buy a new drive. Down to the local Fry's and after $110 arrive home with my new 750gig SATA driver. Plug it in and of course I discover that my 7n400p2 Rev FJ bios doesn't support such a large drive. Feelings of deja vu... BUT at least this time through the power of google and the internet I discovered this thread and the instructions by Winactive on how to 'build' a new bios with the latest sii3512 drivers. New bios built, copied to a floppy (borrowed ancient floppy from work) and qflash'ed the new bios onto my mobo. Yippee - the 750gig drive is now seen and the bios boots windows up. Partition/format and I now have it working WITHOUT having to buy a new machine.
THANKS to all that contributed to this thread and especially Winactive for documenting the procedure.
cheers,
george.
hello,
7N400pro2 was old chipset onboard SATA controller support SATA 150gb/s type drive up to 250G only , if the current drive is SATAII 300gb/s with 750G that can not be supported on this board .
Yep, funny that it all works now with the new SII bios installed. Got to love Google's ability to find REAL answers otherwise I'd have to believe the tech support folk...
And wow - never knew the drives ran at 150 or 300 g/sec. I must have got a slow drive that only runs at 1.5 or 3 g/sec
cheers,
george.
Firstly...... AAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Secondly.... Excellent and most useful thread!!! I have learnt a fair bit about BIOS etc in the past 5 hours of trolling through here (and other, less helpful threads).
I am yet another with the 'ol GA7N400 Pro2 (Rev 1 - I'm pretty sure). However my problem seems to be the actual flashing of the BIOS. I do not have a floppy drive attached to this PC anymore so I am forced to use @BIOS (due to not knowing of another flashing utility for GB mobo's. Anyway....
I carefully followed WinActive's awesome instructions posted above and sucessfully modded the latest F11 BIOS driver with the latest Sil 4284 driver using SBROM 215 (although when 'intergrating' the sil .bin file it only says 52.3%(approx) complete - I don't think this is the problem though).
When I go to use @BIOS to flash my new awesome BIOS it tells me "BIOS Partnumber (AWARD) is not correct !!". I tried an un-modified copy of the .f11 BIOS directly downloaded from GB website but still the same error. I then used @BIOS to backup my existing BIOS and then tried to flash that exact same file and I still get the same error.
In short, I think my new BIOS file is good but the flashing Util is bad. I also tried using it to download the latest BIOS from the net (using each of the 5 servers it gives me) but it tells me it couldn't find any updates.
The only other thing I can add is that I believe my current BIOS version is the very first one (ie: when I boot it says "GA-7N400 Pro2 F1"). I also noticed that when typing in the cmd "CBROM215 currentbiosbackup.bin /pci release it only gives me 2 options:
A) 4200
B) rtk_pxe.211
I'm now officially at my wits end, respectfully asking a new set of (more experienced) eyes to assist me in my dispair. Thanks for any thoughts / suggestions!!!
EDIT:
The PC is running Windows Home Server (basically Windows Server 2003) but I can't see why that should impact on any BIOS flash utility...
For anyone interested I managed to get my BIOS flashed successfully with latest sil bios by following WinActive's points above to almagamate the 2 BIOS's. Then used a different flash utility (ie: not @BIOS) I can't remember which one now but it worked!!