Arima HDAMA and HDAMB Motherboard BIOS Fixes

Discussion in 'BIOS Mods' started by tqhoang, Jul 7, 2010.

  1. tqhoang

    tqhoang MDL BIOS Modder

    Apr 29, 2008
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    @JHTURNER77
    BIOS updates are not incremental, no need to flash anything other than the stock v2.18B BIOS.

    You probably won't see you hard drives in the BIOS if they're hooked up through your VIA PCI card. They are usually enumerated when the main BIOS boots the PCI card's ROM.

    Boot ability of optical drives is entirely dependent of the card you have. If you have an optical drive on the onboard IDE ports then you should fine.
     
  2. JHTURNER77

    JHTURNER77 MDL Novice

    Feb 4, 2011
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    OK thanks, I'll keep a spare IDE CDrom drive in case I have to boot from a CD drive for fresh OS installation.
    I am very glad to have a dual cpu board that I feel can work timelessly, the cpus are working at 40C which is just fine.
    Thanks again
    jht
     
  3. RCmoder

    RCmoder MDL Novice

    Jan 2, 2012
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    tqhoang,


    I posted back in Jan. for BIOS mod to make ACPI compliant for Windows 7 64bit as a desktop on page 59


    MB Rev. D
    CPU 248 x86 Family 15 Stepping 8 Authentic AMD ~ 2204 Mhz
    Chipset: AMD-8111 / AMD-8131
    Dual AMD Opteron 2.2Ghz 64-bit ready


    Nothing but dialup here so I had to travel 60-miles to download your ARIMA_MODS


    My mom had passed away during this time so I wasn’t able to deal with the BIOS mod needless to say but I’m still confused as what exactly to burn to the CD I believe you want me to burn/flash the BIOS below?


    HG218L55.BAT = Flashes BIOS v2.18B + Silicon Image 3114 SATA-Link v5.5.0.0


    But I’m confused as to which file exactly to burn when I open ARIMA_MODS and go into ARIMA_HDAMA_revG next bootableCD next HDAMAG_CD_218 there is an Image and IMA file do I burn both of those to the CD or do I need to select BIOS further down the list open and burn to CD?


    Signed


    Ignorant and Confused :aglerks:
     
  4. tqhoang

    tqhoang MDL BIOS Modder

    Apr 29, 2008
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    @RCmoder - Sorry to hear about your mother...unfortunately it's a burden that we all must endure some day...hope you have gotten past your grieving stage.

    If you needed a smaller download, I could have just made you one. All you need to burn is the HDAMAG_CD_218.ISO. Use ImgBurn to burn the ISO file as an image. You might be confused that the CD will appear blank under Windows, but the "HDAMAG_CD_218.IMA" floppy image will be burnt into the bootable area of the CD. I only included the IMA file inside the zip archive for anyone wishing to modify it...sorry if that confused you.

    Good luck!
     
  5. RCmoder

    RCmoder MDL Novice

    Jan 2, 2012
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    Okay, I think I’m almost un-confused


    Entering your mods and going into Bootable CD then HDAMAG_CD_218 you’re telling me to burn-CD the HDAMAG_CD_218 that says IMAGE under Type Image File and to leave the IMA file alone unless I want to burn a floppy?


    And this BIOS mod will configure my MB to comply with ACPI Windows 7-Pro 64bit OS?


    Just making sure I do it correctly so I don’t jack up my MB I assume if something went wrong its possible to reinstall the working BOIS that I have on floppy without requiring a new chip?


    Thank you for your help with the BIOS mods and condolences concerning my mother the sad thing is she wont get to see my greatest achievement… :voodoo:
     
  6. visibleunderwater

    visibleunderwater MDL Novice

    Nov 19, 2012
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    Mirror of mirror gone too...

    the mirror of the mirror is now gone too...and I've still had no luck finding XP compatible SATA drivers for this thing...it's the rev g...
     
  7. RCmoder

    RCmoder MDL Novice

    Jan 2, 2012
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    I have a mini disk with XP 32/64bit silicone/sata/raid drivers on it. My MB doesn’t support sata but you can see where they were supposed to go, at one time I had WCD 500GB HD slaved to an IDE HD it just worked out that way because I had a lot of difficulty getting windows to recognize the sata drive.


    There are a few text documents on the disk as well the whole disk is 170MB so I can’t upload it unless I drive 60-miles to wifi hot spot but I could zip just the XP files on the off chance they might work for you.

    Ouch!


    Broadcom UNDI PXE-2.1 build 082 v6.2.0


    PEX-E61: Media test failure, check cable


    After flashing BIOS it stops on flashing cursor after PXE-MOF: Exiting Broadcom PXE ROM.






    Can you explain what’s next please?
     
  8. visibleunderwater

    visibleunderwater MDL Novice

    Nov 19, 2012
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    Sata?

    I d/led the drivers off Silicon's site but they don't work. In this forum they mention that I need some very specific drivers for this board, but the links (and the mirror of the mirror links) are all DOA. I haven't figured out how to add in the ROM for my 275 proc yet...I barely got the HDAMAG_CD_218.IMA to work, the .ISO seems to be empty.

    For your specific issue...good question! I've repeatedly had the same problem. I eventually went into the bios and disabled all onboard devices, and turned off everything on the boot menu except for the CD. That might work. This board is very frustrating.
     
  9. tqhoang

    tqhoang MDL BIOS Modder

    Apr 29, 2008
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    Not sure what you mean by "barely". The IMA file is a bootable floppy image (can edit with WinImage). The IMA file is embedded into the CD ISO's bootable area and not the regular file system, so that's why it appears empty under Windows.

    If you want regular non-RAID SATA (aka SATA-Link), then you need to flash the BIOS with the SATALink in the description.
     
  10. tqhoang

    tqhoang MDL BIOS Modder

    Apr 29, 2008
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    The BIOS got reset to defaults. It's probably trying to boot off the non-existent SATA. Go into your BIOS and setup to boot off your IDE disk(s) or CD/DVD drive.
     
  11. RCmoder

    RCmoder MDL Novice

    Jan 2, 2012
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    Okay it booted into XP after setting DOS to OTHER had a little issue with the USB dialup modem but after several attempts I got it reinstalled in a different USB port. Saw a few changes at start up like the Arima Rioworks splash screen was missing no big deal might be something I changed


    Ran windows 7 upgrade adviser and only found one issue with the onboard 8MB ATI RAGE graphic drivers but my old 256MB Nvidia card is compatible! It says my graphics adapter supports Windows Aero Interface so I assume that is the Nvidia card?


    Boardcom Ethernet isn’t compatible but we got no high speed Internet here anyway


    I will have to shop around and get a COA for the 64bit OS I used the 32bit certificate on my laptop and I plan to keep it until I can get a newer one


    So I guess I am good to go for Windows 7 64bit as soon as I get the COA


    I want to thank you again for helping me get this MB into ACPI compliance for Win. 7 64bit OS its been one tough MB and I think it will be around for a long time to come…


    So little time and so much upgrade-ability thank you, thank you, thank you!


    :worthy:Tqhoang The BIOS Guru


    Dang Win. 8 64bit system builder full version for $99.00


    I know most of you guys use your Rioworks as servers but has anyone tried windows 8 on their Rioworks? Or is 7 as far as we can go?
     
  12. visibleunderwater

    visibleunderwater MDL Novice

    Nov 19, 2012
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    thank the gods for this forum...without it I would be totally screwed!

    I have another question...how would I add the bios file HDAMAG_218B_SATALINK5500_DSDT_OPTERON275.ROM to the boot CD image? If I right-click it from the desktop into Nero it goes straight into burning options. If I open it from Nero, only README.TXT shows up, and the disk doesn't work...even when I make it bootable, using the HDAMAG_CD_218.IMA as the boot image. I added the ROM into the IMA, and I've been trying to figure out how to convert the IMA into an ISO to make it bootable. I burned just the ROM, pflash16, and a modded .bat to another CD and booted with the ISO cd and swapped them, but it showed nothing at all in A:, and there are no other drives. Oddly enough when I swapped them back it showed all the original files again...I'll have to check to make sure the CD with the ROM is in the same file system as the bootable CD, that might be why it's not reading it...I remember someone in this huge forum mentioning making a bootable CD with the 275 bios on it, but that link is DOA too.

    Is there a way to remake the ISO to update it with the new IMA? I've tried in nero to put the IMA as the floppy image, but it never boots. I'm not sure if I have all the settings there right, like the kind of emulation, load segment, data mode, etc...I can get the ISO's mode from looking at it in ImgBurn, but I think the other settings might be throwing me off.

    I can't find a store around here that even sells floppy disks and I don't have any...I live in Tulsa, OK and we have maybe three places that MIGHT carry them...my life would be so much simpler (and my wallet much lighter) if we had a Frys!

    And by the "barely"...I meant about all the time I've spent trying to get this server running...had to go buy a new CDROM, dig out an old IDE drive, and now windows blue screens when it should be bringing up the Desktop...so fast I can't see any of the STOP code...it was working before I updated the BIOS, so I might have to reinstall for the forth time hahaha. Your work and technical expertise are certainly not in question, this seven year old PC bought off Ebay is lol.
     
  13. RCmoder

    RCmoder MDL Novice

    Jan 2, 2012
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    I clicked on Nero make a data CD, click Add, right click open the zip, right click open Arima Mods, and form there you open and click on your BIOS w/left mouse and Nero opens another window with that BIOS and you burn it to CD you will only see the read me text on the disk…


    Set you PC BIOS to load via the CD player shut down restart with the BOIS CD in the player and you’ll be prompted to select the BIOS mod that is on the CD it helps to have more then one PC so you can read instructions on a working PC while you play BOIS mods on the other…


    Fyi I be in Wapanucka OK. :)
     
  14. visibleunderwater

    visibleunderwater MDL Novice

    Nov 19, 2012
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    hehe...we have nothing else to do here but work on ancient equipment lol.

    I've got that HDAMAG_CD_218.ISO to burn and work great...but I need to replace the boot floppy image in it with my updated HDAMAG_CD_218.IMA that I added the 275 ROM into. I've tried making a bootable CD with just the IMA, but it doesn't boot. I even mounted the ISO in dameon tools, and there's just a readme file in it...I also tried to make a bootable CD with the new IMA and put some drivers on the CD root, but it wouldn't boot.

    I think the BIOS upgrade crashed out the XP install, so I'm gonna try a new XP slipstream with the raid and other drivers I now have...the last one I made had the drivers of Silicon's site which don't work. I'm very determined to get this to work lol
     
  15. tqhoang

    tqhoang MDL BIOS Modder

    Apr 29, 2008
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    All you need to make a new bootable CD is use ImgBurn and under the advanced options select the IMA file as the bootable floppy image.
     
  16. visibleunderwater

    visibleunderwater MDL Novice

    Nov 19, 2012
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    What should the Load Segment (currently 07C0) and the Sectors to Load (currently 4) be set at? I have the Emulation type set as "None (custom)...I've been reading through the ImgBurn documentation, but nothing hits me as the problem. Changing the Emulation doesn't seem to modify any other setting

    When I hit Burn, it tells me Size: 0, Sectors: 0, but has an image size of 3,014,656 bytes...in WinImage it says 16 files and 2,858,324 bytes...

    when I try to use my new CD, the light on the drive flashes a few times, and all I get is a black screen with a blinking cursor...

    I also tried using ImgBurn to make an ISO, then use nero to burn that...same result. Both disks are blank in Explorer too...not even the readme is there anymore.

    I am at a loss as to what I'm not doing right. If I just use the original ISO, it works. If I modify the IMA by adding the 275 ROM it doesn't, no matter if I use ImgBurn or Nero...SO FRUSTRATING. I think I've gone through over 20 CD's trying to get this to work!
     
  17. visibleunderwater

    visibleunderwater MDL Novice

    Nov 19, 2012
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    Well, I figured out how to get the HDAMAG_218B_SATALINK5500_DSDT_OPTERON275.ROM on the boot CD, ran it and reflashed it...and now my Boot in bios is missing the CDROM, the onboard nics, and everything EXCEPT the "hard drive", but evn under the Hard Drive it's not showing the IDE drive anymore...it still shows both in the Main tab in BIOS, but it's just no longer an option to boot from! I'm not sure what to do now, as I can't boot to the CD to roll back the BIOS!

    Have I just fried/corrupted the BIOS beyond the point of no return?
     
  18. tqhoang

    tqhoang MDL BIOS Modder

    Apr 29, 2008
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    What was your previous BIOS version prior to the custom one for the Opteron275?
    Also what was the command you used to flash the BIOS?