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update BIOS

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by eugenezl

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I would like to update BIOS of my old NEC 350MHz
computer which has PhoenixBIOS4.0 Release 6.0.
I tried to find on NEC.com but I didn't find the model of my computer. I know last release for such BIOS is Release 6.1.
Is it passable to update BIOSfor that computer? How to do it?

5 replies

by thechas

Usually when you update the BIOS, you are just updating the specific code for your motherboard. Very seldom do you get the latest version of the 'core' BIOS code.

There are 3rd party sources for upgraded BIOSes. 1 such source is www.unicore.com
Expect to PAY around $70 for the new code!
I would seriously consider putting the money towards a newer PC rather than spending it on BIOS code with a limited improvement in performance.

Depending on what you hope to get from an updated BIOS, you have other less expensive options to improve performance.

Hard Drive size and speed limitations:
Install a PCI IDE controller card. For around $30, you get ATA100 or ATA133 support, plus support for the largest current drives.

Add RAM, thisis your most cost effective performance improvement.
CAUTION: Windows 9X and Me have a bug for large amounts of RAM, don't install more than 511MB of RAM.

CPU support: This is limited by the chipset in the motherboard.
New BIOS code won't allowyou to get beyond the speed limits supported by the chipset.

Chas

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