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Can't update bios

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by nhargrave

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Hi, I just purchased a P2B-L motherboard. It doesn't recognize a Maxtor 80 gig 70x hdd. I tried using MaxBlast EZ Bios, but after it says to reboot, it still doesn't see the hdd. I tried using hdd detection in the bios, but it locks up every time. I tried to flash the bios, but I get a message that it can't find flash_memory and aborts. I downloaded the latest version of the bios from your website, booted to dos and typed flash.exe and it keeps coming up with can't find flash_memory.

8 replies

by popeye_doyle

Try clearing the NVram, i.e pull the battery for 20mins, then reboot, the system should then detect the HDD.

by thechas

Not sure who's motherboard the P2B-L is, or where you downloaded the BIOS update.
It wasn't from Tech Republic though.

If you cannot flash your BIOS, you either have the wrong flash program, wrong BIOS file, or a bad boot disk.
There may be a BIOS setting (such as virus warning) that needs to be set to enable flashing, or a jumper on the motherboard itself.

Many "OEM" motherboards cannot be flashed with the "standard" BIOS.

Even with the latest BIOS, many older motherboards still cannot recognize some newer and large drives.

If the Maxtor is an ATA133 drive, this only compounds your problems.

I have seen jumpers on some drives that can be set to force the drive to function in a compatable mode for older hardware.

My favorite way to deal with the large / new drive issue is to install a PCI ATA100 or 133 IDE controller card.
Not only will the BIOS on the card recognize your large drive properly, it will also speed up the data transfer rate.
I think you will find itto be the best $30 you have spent for a PC upgrade.

Chas

by thechas

Another thought, make sure that you do have a flash ROM BIOS, and not a PROM BIOS.
PROMs can only be programmed once.

Chas

by nhargrave

I was using flash.exe, but I needed aflash.exe. I ran it but discovered I already had the latest bios installed. This is an Asus mobo by the way. I used MaxBlast on the drive, after EZ Drive ran, it doesn't come up with ez bios at bootup.:-<

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