"The Bios Patcher"

Discuss software and how to tweak more performance out of your system.
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

Well I am about ready to get down to work on SPZ1 (1.3 Ghz Celeron on an "Upgradeware Slot T" adapter stuck in an FIC KA 6100 slot 1 AT board). It will be running WinXP-PRO, (new license, - all nice and legal.)

Still waiting on instruction on how to run the "Bios Patcher", - don't want to screw up my FIC boards. Could someone who knows how to use this program please give a set of thoroughly detailed instructions on "How to".

I would very much appreciate that.

But any takers, please do so carefully, assuming that those, (I might not be the only one), following your instructions know little or nothing. i.e. please avoid gobbledegook acronyms which are meaningless to some people, and take nothing for granted. i.e. Do not assume "That everyone knows that" with respect of something or other. Safer to lay it ALL out step by step, no matter how simple they might seem.
Last edited by Jim on Fri Feb 22, 2008 9:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
User avatar
Stedman5040
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 271
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:22 pm

Post by Stedman5040 »

Jim,

Why does it matter whether the bios picks up the correct identification of the CPU. So long as everything loads OK and CPUZ shows the correct identification and everything runs OK so what! This is what has happened with running Tualatins on non Tualatin boards with adapters since year dot. If you want to correctly identify Tualatins maybe you could ask Jan Steuenbrink to start a new project.

Stedman
User avatar
Stedman5040
Veteran K6'er
Posts: 271
Joined: Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:22 pm

Post by Stedman5040 »

Jim,

You probably have looked already, but even the Upgradeware site shows compatibility between your board and the upgradeware slot 1 adapter for tualatin support.

Stedman
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

Tony I just checked the Upgradeware site again. Actually it shows the FIC KA_6110 as being compatable; but NOT the KA_6100. Now I found another site where a guy said he was running a 1.3 Ghz Tualatin on an FIC KA_6100; and I have tried it myself and it seems to work ok, nonetheless the Upgradeware site does not include that board as being compatable.

As for proper processor recognition, that is something I WANT. I would get sick of seeing <90 Mhz P2 come up time after time even if there were no other issues, (and there might be). Further as I previously mentioned, a 1/4 PCI bus divider is also something I want. FIC Boards, (at least in Super 7s) give the best memory performance according to Kyle Brant.

The Gigabyte GA_6VA7+ comes with a documented 133 Mhz FSB setting. Presumably it therefore also comes with a 1/4 PCI bus divider. As far as I know the FIC does not. It has an undocumented 133 FSB setting, and therefore probably lacks the 1/4 divider, though I believe, (I could be wrong), they have the same chipset.

I have both types of boards; and I also have a 1.4 Ghz P3S Tualatin with a 133 FSB. Whichever type of board I can get to run best will wind up with the 1.4 P3S and the other will get the 1.3 Celeron.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
User avatar
kalabok
Senior K6'er
Posts: 147
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:40 am
Location: germany

Post by kalabok »

will post some info soon
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

Thankyou VERY much Kalabok !!! I have the following RAR & Zip files; and no idea which I am supposed to use, or how I am supposed to use them :

awd883.zip --- with Awdflash_883.exe (19/06/07 10:59 AM) in it.
BP-4_23.RAR --- with About_BP.TXT; BP-4_23.EXE (23/10/03 1:21 AM) ; O_BP_RUS.TXT; & README.TXT in it.
BP-4_51_beta.RAR --- with bp-4_51.exe (21/01/04 1:45 AM) in it.
BP-6a9.rar --- with BP-6a9.exe (05/08/04 10:35 AM) in it.
cbrom.zip --- with cbrom.exe (12/04/07 5:57 PM) 180224 bytes in it.
CBROM32_182.zip --- with CBROM182.exe (12/04/07 5:57 PM) 180224 bytes in it.
modbin6_2_01_02.zip --- with modbin6.exe (27/04/05 12:00 AM) in it.
WinFlash 1.92.zip --- with WinFlash.exe (11/04/07 10:28 AM); WinFlash.hlp: WinFlash.sys; WinFlash64.sys; & Winhlp.exe in it.
lha.rar --- with lha.exe (10/01/96 12:00 AM) in it.
P23MICRO.zip --- with P23micro.cod (16/08/04 11:46 AM) in it.
REALLcod.zip --- with Real.cod (03/09/03 12:01 AM) in it.

You can see how confusing it is for me, not speaking the language.
Once again, Thankyou very much Kalabok.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
User avatar
Uranium235
Senior K6'er
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:59 pm

Post by Uranium235 »

Here's a demonstration of how the BIOS patcher is activated....

1.) choose the BIOS file you want to patch. I picked the KA6100 BIOS version 610011E.BIN which is the final one made for the PCB revision 1.2 boards. I don't know what PCB revision your board is, you may need BIOS version 610011D.BIN if you have a REV: 1.1 board.

2.)place the BIOS file, patcher file, reall.cod, lha.exe and cbrom.exe into the same directory. I just place them all right onto the C: partition of my hardrive.
Patcher version BP-4_23 seems to be the recommended version from what I have read. BP-4_51 was a BETA version and may corrupt the BIOS you patched. Apple_rom seems to be picky about the cbrom version and recommends cbrom V2.07.

3.)This is how I execute the patcher within WinXP...simply use the "Run" command... START/ then RUN/ and type C:\BP-4_23.EXE 610011E.BIN /s >report.txt. WinXP seems to be a more stable environment for the patcher to operate.
The /s option disables the virtual "dual BIOS" feature the patcher automatically inserts into every patched BIOS. It is a built-in recovery feature in case your patched BIOS doesn't work as planned and you want to roll back to the previous version. Somehow the patcher overlays the patched BIOS over the original BIOS and they can co-exist together. I feel, from experience that this feature is of little use because if the BIOS didn't patch correctly this rollback feature isn't going to save you in most instances anyway and you'll probably be needing to hotfash your BIOS chip to save it. Apple_rom recommends turning off this dual-BIOS feature when you decide to permanently flash your patched BIOS version anyway.
>report.txt simply installs a text file to your directory after the patch has been completed and describes what the patcher has performed. Here's is the report that was left after I had patched 610011E.BIN:

BIOS Patcher ver. 4.23.
Attention! Advanced qualification is required!

Found 1Mbit BIOS!
Remove "otkat" (backup key)
THIS SHOWS THE DUAL BIOS OPTION IS OFF FROM USING THE /S SWITCH

1. New CPU Support : -> fixed. THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, CORRECT CPU RECOGNITION!!!
2. P3-detect error : not found.
3. New Koeffs Support : -> fixed.
4. 32Gb-problem : -> fixed.
5. Some HDD detect-problem : -> fixed.
6. "MB"/"GB" string search : -> fixed.
7. 65Gb-problem (1-st step) : -> fixed.
8. 65Gb-problem (2-nd step) : -> fixed.
9. Error display Freq>999MHz : -> fixed.
THIS SHOULD FIX THE SPEED RECOGNITION PROBLEM
10.Error display Koefs>9.5x : not found.
11.New Stepping Support : -> fixed.
12.Tualatin L2-init error : -> fixed.
YOU MAY NEED THIS FIX TOO
13.New Freq in Setup open : not found.

14.Set "Y" as default on exit: -> fixed.

UDMA for "big"-HDD on UDMA33_only_MB fix: not found.

CBROM V2.07 (C)Award Software 2000 All Rights Reserved.
[CPUCODE] ROM is releaseCBROM V2.07 (C)Award Software 2000 All Rights Reserved.
Adding modul.tmp 35.4%
CBROM V2.07 (C)Award Software 2000 All Rights Reserved.
Adding start.tmp 87.5%
CBROM V2.07 (C)Award Software 2000 All Rights Reserved.
Adding cpucode.bin 53.6%

if you can`t see all messages - choose 80x50 mode or run with ">report.txt".
(c)2002-2003 apple_rom, www.ROM.by


4.)Flash the patched BIOS to you motherboard. I'd recommend using Uniflash for this.

With experience you can customize BIOS Patcher to do certain things but it's not perfect. Apple_rom is supposed to be developing a newer and better patcher called "BIOS Commander" but I haven't seen it anywhere yet.
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

Thankyou very much U235 !! Couple of questions I'd like to toss at you though.

1) Where does BP6a9.exe, (05/08/04); and therefore the newest one, fit in the scheme of things?
2) What is P23micro.cod, (16/08/04): and therefore the newest cod file that I have, (Real.cod dates from 03/09/03), used for?
3) I also have two differently named versions of CBROM, neither of which is 2.07. Rather they are cbrom.exe & CBROM182.exe; both of which are (12/04/07 5:57 PM), which suggests to me they are for two different purposes. Do you know if either of them is associated with the "NEW" version you mentioned? If they are inferior to version 2.07, where does one get version 2.07?
4) Where does modbin6.exe fit in the scheme of things?
5) Is there a newer version of lha.exe than the (10/01/96) version that I have? If so where do you find that?

Thanks again for any help any one can give on this.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
User avatar
kalabok
Senior K6'er
Posts: 147
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:40 am
Location: germany

Post by kalabok »

ok, jim,

i will try to answer on some of your questions. first thx to uranium, he actually said the most you need to know.

1) as i understand the forum @ rom.by, the biospatcher program is being updated periodictly and there is no way to predict which version is the best for you. therefore i would advise to get a new bios chip in a case of patch failure. the newest one is bp6a15 (http://patcher.rom.by/bp6a15.zip) but that one is still tested.

2) the p23micro.cod is a file with all the microcodes for Pentium 2/3 processors. its made for the processor recognition - you better use real.cod

3)cant tell you about this - the only version i found on that site is the original cbrom.exe

4)modbin6.exe is a program for modifying ami bioses, it has nothing to do with the bios patcher. here you can add/remove bios modules if you want.


5) the lha.exe from 10.1.96 is the only one i found on that site.


i tried to contact the founder of rom.by and father of the bios patcher - mister apple_rom, his name is roman. he friendly replied on my first mail but im still waiting for his second. i am sure he is the one who can answer all the questions deeply. talking about me, jim - i never did it, i only can read some russian. and - sorry for all the time without news from me, i am in the last weeks of my master thesis.
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

@ Kalabok : Thanks for the info. I am still kind of confused about this program. Navigating that site is very difficult for me as it seems to be pretty well all in Russian of some sort. I went back there today and found that the link to the "CBROM182.exe" is still there; but not working, which may mean it has been withdrawn owing to problems. I have not found version 2.07 of CBROM.exe, just the version 1.82, and another one that has no version number. Further both the 4,51 Beta, and the 6a9 BP exe files, that I downloaded from there before, will not extract from their RAR files.
Also curious as to why you recommend Real.cod over P23micro.cod since it is a P3 Tualatin Celeron, that I am trying to get recognized.

Finally hope you do well with your thesis. Surprized you find time for anything given those circumstances.

@ U235 : Could you possibly tell me how to find the 2.07 version of CBROM at that site? or failing that, e-mail me a copy? Additionally though I have Uniflash, I have never used it. If there are any tricks to that please advise.

Thanks all.
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
User avatar
kalabok
Senior K6'er
Posts: 147
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:40 am
Location: germany

Post by kalabok »

ok, jim,

found the cbrom182 file, it is stated to be the newest there (12.02.2008). it is made for adding and deleting award bios modules. you can find this version here: http://bios.rom.by/ROMutils/Award/cbrom/CBROM32_182.zip

and, of course, you need the p2/p3 microcode file. sorry for that
i will try to help you in case you need a detailed translation.

ps: i red your work jim. there are alot of things to discuss ...
Jim
K6'er Elite
Posts: 1745
Joined: Wed Jan 21, 2004 7:10 pm
Location: Toronto

Post by Jim »

@ Kalabok : I tried the link you posted just now, and the file I got was the same one that I already have. "CBROM32_182.zip" containing "CBROM182.exe (04/12/07 5:57:36), so I don't know where you are getting (12/02/2008) from. Thanks for the help thus far, get your thesis done and presented, don't want to be responsible for any problems in that department. After that hopefully there will be time enough for this and dissucssion of "My work".
Superpuppy 3
K6-3+ 450 ACZ (6x100)
DFI K6BV3+/66 Rev B2 (2 Meg) w/ 2x28mm Chipset Fans
2x256 Meg PC 133 Hynix SDRAM
1x 20G Maxtor (7200)
2x 80G Maxtor (7200) Ducted w/ 2x486 Fans Mount
52/24/52/16 LG CDR/RW/DVD
8/4/3/12/24/16/32 LG Super Multi
ATI 9000 aiw Radeon AGP
SB Audigy 1 MP3 Sound
CMD 649 IDE Controller
NEC USB 2 Card
DonPedro
K6'er Elite
Posts: 578
Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:11 pm

Post by DonPedro »

jim,

I don't know whether it is of any help to you but I found something that at least is related to the use of the cbrom-tool. I found that because I was looking for an update of that part of the bios of my muti-functional add-on card that is responsible for the sata-hd ports. obviously this tool is able to extract und insert parts of a bios. I have not used cbrom for whatever task yet and can not say anything about it at all.

I guess you as a canadian know to read french ...
Attachments
cbrom usage bios patchen.png
cbrom usage bios patchen.png (8.08 KiB) Viewed 26530 times
User avatar
Uranium235
Senior K6'er
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2005 9:59 pm

Post by Uranium235 »

Jim, here is what I know:

>BIOS Patcher is a work in progress. Some versions are specifically targeted to work with and/or are more compatible with older or newer hardware, chipsets, motherboards, etc. I believe the version 6.00 revisions are designed to have limited capability for patching AMI BIOS's and work for newer hardware. BP-4_23 or the 4.23 version was targeted to work for older hardware such as socket 370 & socket 7. The newer patcher versions provide no more capabilities for your board beyond what 4.23 can do. Generally...for us guys who like old hardware...version 4.23 is all we need.

>I couldn't find CBROM v2.07 either so I will need to E-mail it to you. Just PM your E-mail address and I send it to you.

>Modbin6 is for modifying an Award 6.00 BIOS and plain Modbin works on Award 4.51 BIOS. AMIBCP modifys the AMI BIOS's. Modbin is great for unlocking hidden BIOS settings that the motherboard makers hide sometimes, but only if any hidden settings can be found....

>I can also send you the LHA.EXE file version that was originally packaged with BIOS patcher 4.23.

>good advice from Stephan regarding having a spare BIOS chip in case something goes wrong. Also real.cod is all you need to work with patcher 4.23 and contains the correct CPU microcodes for your Tully. I believe p23micro.cod was simply recompiled to work with the newer patcher versions.

>I use a free program called "ExtractNow" to open .rar files. Just copy and paste the .rar file into ExtractNow to open.
User avatar
kalabok
Senior K6'er
Posts: 147
Joined: Mon Nov 06, 2006 11:40 am
Location: germany

Post by kalabok »

well,

the 18.02.2008 was the date of the post in the rom.by forum, where the cbrom182.exe was stated to be the newest and "best" one. sometimes knowledged members post some small descriptions on the files needed for bios patching.
and, of course, modbin is for award bioses, not for ami ones, as i stated earlier. it has more options to play with bios files than cbrom but bios patcher needs the last one (as far as i understood it)
Post Reply