Hiya Suggestable, Just picked up one myself - would this work ok on mine if i want to run 32 bit Win7?? (have never heard of SLIC - goodness knows how!! - till now!) Thanks Paul
Hi, AFAIK, it should work with any version of Vista or 7. I have also seen information suggesting it supports OEM activation on XP/2003/WHS using Acer oembios files... Thanks for the question. --suggestable
Quick question for all BIOS-mod gurus out there: This BIOS does not reveal options for "memory hole remapping". I'm currently using 2x2GB sticks of DDR2-6400 in my Revo, yet Win7 Ultimate x64 shows that I have 4GB installed with only 3GB usable. I read posts online suggesting that I should look at the "memory hole remapping" option in the BIOS, but I can't find it... Any suggestions? Also... some overclocking options would be very handy. I'll gladly test out any BIOSes you make as I can hot-flash back using my GA-EX58-UD5 workstation if needs be. Thanks in advance! --suggestable
Call me stupid but... inst a chipset limitation? What about the video card memory stealing memory from the system (up to 845mb in some cases) + the chipset uses another 128mb or so? Never see one of those beauties but, i've seen systems acting like that, specially on nvidia based chipsets
Not AFAIK... I have the UMA framebuffer set to 256MB, which is plenty for a system of this type. It's not like I really *need* the other 768MB, but it sure would be nice to have Windows showing it as usable... Oh well. I'm using the RAM from my old Inspiron 1520 (suffered some sort of SATA controller failure, so is useless to me). I then traded the 1GB stick that came inside it for a Dell WiFi-Link 5100 AGN (Intel-based 802.11 abgn mini-PCIe card) to replace the cruddy Atheros AR5007 802.11bg card that came with the Revo... All in all this device has cost me £150-ish after discounts, so I'm pretty damn happy with it so far! Has anyone considered putting an SSD inside one of these? Or swapping the drive for a 7200RPM one? The 160GB 5400RPM drive is just a tad slow for me... (still scores 5.3 in the Win7 WEI, though, so it can't be too bad. Not quite as good as the 6.5-scoring RAID-10 I have in my workstation, but this is a LOT cheaper!) --suggestable
@ Suggestable Nice you reported your trick with w7 activation. So, came with some other infos : 1) be carefull, bios dumps comes with acer DMI data, as UUID and more, that must be cleared before uploading. Bios update doesn't need that data (already cleared from acer), but does update EEPROM/NVRAM if default to all module in the dos/win bios update utility. Give a try with google for some more info on AFUDOS dump&upgrade commands (and EEPROM NVRAM dos factory tools that set DMI data for whoses that could have already flashed their bios with some dumped ones ...). 2) OC for A230 was possible in first early bios that came to newspaper workers. In the only 8C8A1D02.ROM (aka D02) released from march,10 2009. Up to 2.0Ghz with cpu BSEL data and async timing within the RAM. Pretty piece of code that disappeared in 8C8A1P01 first delivery user bios. See that bios parameter in : picasaweb.google.fr<slash>PCi.David.l<slash>0904AspireRevoParis#5327091887621694626 ==type in the 2 slashes and put " h t t p" before, 'cause i'm not allowed to put link till no 2 posts ! PM me if you need more. Cheers
I have spent the evening reading up on the topic, including viewing the excellent windows 7 repository, however, i still have some questions prior to installing W7 on my Revo 1) I have downloaded the files from the first post, many thanks for those, and note that they include: Revo R3610 SLIC 2.1.ROM Revo R3610 ORIGINAL.ROM ACER_2.1.XRM-MS and also Ucoresys.sys, Ucorevxd.vxd, Ucorew64.sys - What are these for please? There are no keys, do I need to use any keys? 2) I have had a bad experience flashing an Acer from within windows, basically bricked the bios, and so want to do it from DOS but I am not sure on the exact process because there is a lot of talk about switches etc. Could someone please post the exact commands to use from DOS, I plan to put all the files onto a USB drive and use AFUDOS, is this the best method? 3) has anyone done the flash and install and can they confirm it works. 4) I have a legitimate retail copy of Windows 7 on DVD, can I install from this or do I need to do anything first i.e. create an oem version?
Hi jpr233, Thank you for your info. I tried the URL you gave and it gave some error message (in French) that I couldn't make head nor tail of... Overclocking is not really of interest to me. I simply want to enable "memory hole remapping" to get back my missing 768MB of RAM... Thanks! --suggestable
Hi bigtree, 1) Keys can be found (with instructions for use) in the "Windows 7 OEM key collection" thread. I included AFUWIN because that is what I used (safely) from within Windows 7 itself. Installing from a USB stick then adding the key and cert was the easiest process I could think of, so that is what I did. 2) I used AFUWIN and told it to flash all blocks. You may wish to omit the DMI block to avoid your system taking my one's MAC address as the poster above pointed out. 3) I have received a few PMs and messages from personal friends who all confirm this method works successfully. 4) You need to either install using a USB DVD drive or convert the disc onto a USB stick using the Microsoft Store tool available online. You'll need to rip the disc to an ISO for the tool to work, though... Otherwise, look on the Microsoft website... maybe they've uploaded a "trial" ISO copy like they did with Vista/2008 by now? I used an ISO I torrented as it was the easiest way available to me at the time. Be aware that retail-bought discs will have the ei.cfg file present. Delete this to allow version selection or change it to contain the version you wish to install. Easy. Good luck! Please post back with success or failure. I'd love to hear either way. --suggestable
Hi, Suggestable Sorry, for the link error, a space was put by error, showing "0904As" space "pire .." in the link. So good link is <h t t p>://picasaweb.google.fr/PCi.David.l/0904AspireRevoParis#5327091887621694626 and show the advanded menu that was avaible in D02 bios, corresponding to ami module that should be forwarded to other bioses... with propers skills. For the last Gb memory hole, i will try back that D02 to see if any lost option had exist, and report soon. Update : No memory hole remapping option in D02 bios. Only iGPU up to 512Mb. So for 4Gb, must get a try in 64b OS version. Cheers
Hello Suggestable, Thanks for the response and instructions, i haven't upgraded yet, i plan to connect the Revo this evening and go from there. The bad experience i had was with a L5100, i ended up having to change the bios chip in the end to get the pc working again, a bit nervous about upgrading via windows but i'll do some research into AFDOS (or the linux version) and let you know how it goes. Thanks again
Very interesting post would you be able to share this 8C8A1D02.ROM bios ? i cant send pm before i have made two forum posts first
Hi, I have a Revo R3610 too I'm a noob with BIOS hacks so I will ask the experts. I have one major feature request if you could help out / tell me if you can enable it. I'm looking for a power option in the BIOS to allow waking from hibernate via a usb device such as a keyboard or mouse. So when I press a key, the Revo will turn on. (or if I say have my MCE reciever plugged in and press on my remote the power button, it will turn on) (It is a pain having to reach the back of the LCD to turn it on!) I heard some motherboards have this option in the BIOS to wake from a usb device even when off. I'm hoping the Revo has the same option too? Please let me know if there is anyhing like that. Thanks
@jpr233 and Suggestable I have the older R3600, which has the same problem when upgrading to 4GB RAM. i.e. Revo lists 4GB but only 3GB useable, no matter what VRAM is set to in BIOS. I was told by Acer tech, that it was a Chipset limit. As for the weak WiFi signal. I added an external ariel to the edge of the case, between the fan outlet and power button (where one of the tin plates is/was) It still isn't great, when compaired to my laptop. But has strenghtened the signal and increased the range. Maybe the better Dell WiFi card would have better results.
Hi liykh001, Short answer: Not possible. Use STR (S3) sleep instead of STD (hibernate). Works brilliantly for me. The Revo wakes up from mouse, keyboard and MCE remote. Long answer: You might be able to create a remote power button, which you hide on the side of your chair or somewhere else... Just run two wires from the motherboard's power switch to a push-to-make switch. Should do the trick. Good luck! --suggestable
Hi ZaForD, I have had absolutely no issues with WiFi signal strength o my Revo machines. I believe the supplied Atheros card is just rubbish... £15 for a Dell card on eBay solves the problem once and for all. It also adds 5GHz 802.11a/n and 2.4GHz 802.11n connectivity, allowing for speeds of up to 270Mbps. In practise, across a 2.4GHz link, I see speeds of between 130 and 270Mbps, depending on the amount of traffic going through (the router opens up the second channel dynamically). AFAIK, the only differences between the motherboards for the R3600 and R3610 are that the R3610 has a dual-core Atom 330 and also has a S/PDIF optical port on the front panel. The BIOS from one may well work on the other... YMMV, naturally. At least the BIOS chip is socketed! Thank you for your input on the RAM situation. I may swap out one of the 2GB sticks for a 1GB one so I get 3GB total on both Revos instead of the 4/2 situation I currently have... With only 3GB usable anyway, it makes more sense. (and that's with 64-bit Win7 installed). The Atom-based 945GC boards I've seen could only handle 2GB total, so I guess that 3GB is an improvement we can't really complain about. Is there any chance this BIOS could be posted on the "All 2.1 SLICs" thread? I would love to see others using this BIOS and benefiting from it. I'm sure others have considered it already, but would flashing the Windows BIOS onto a Linux-supplied Revo work or would there be some sort of protection in place to prevent this? As I understand it, Acer makes other models of the R3610 that ship with Win7 preloaded. I assume they used a SLIC 2.1 table in the BIOS to accommodate this. Thanks, --suggestable
^^Thanks for the reply. Bit disappointing that it cant be enabled, looking at the insides, the usb port and power button is connected all together on a little board, so it should technically be possible, but I guess not implemented I will stick with S3 then even though S4 would be more environmentally friendly.