Damn it! the new versions of Dell executable BIOS do not support /readromfile command... i tried again using D620_A01.exe, and it worked, later will upload the HDR and ROM file as you required. hope it work...
Yes, i boot into PCDOS 7.1 and tried... i am not in front of my XPS 430 now, will upload the HDR and ROM file later
it's weird... i use D620_A01 to read the rom file, and it contains the current BIOS information, with size 1024KB...but i also read with D630_A01, it got a 2048KB rom file, and also contains the current BIOS information i am wondering, if i use D620_A01 to read the rom file on XPS 430, will it be useful?
great, I will have a look at it.. hopefully it reads the correct file size, not like winplash, maybe, I'll find a smaller, old dell bios file and you can try that one as well, then we can be sure that it reads the correct file size.. If not we may have to go the flashrom route.. the xps 410 and xps 700 have 500kb bioses, lets try those and see if they produce a 900 kb or 1 mb bios file, then we will know it is reading uncorrupted... Ps, I will be going to sleep soon, gotta work early in the morning but I will get back to this asap
Same as winplash does, I was afraid of that. How about we go the flashrom route with the live cd, that one will read the right size for sure... I am still interested in finding out the correct file size, I still suspect that if it were the exact same size, it would be the same bios chip and would be compatable but until we can determine that for sure it won't be an option.. btw, you don't have access to a xps 430 with the Axx bios as well, do you? If you did, the flashrom program will give you exact details on the bios chip, you would be able to see if it were in fact the same chip if we compared them and we could force the upgrade then...
well, it could be... you see the Dell file may do the same as winplash and just force the bios backup file to be the same size as the bios version the update was designed for, ie, if you use winphlash and try to back up your current file.. it won't until you present it with a version of the bios (presumably a new version), whatever the size is of the "new" bios version, the backup will be the identical size... If you try to use a 2 Mb bios as the "dummy new file" then your backup rom will be 2 Mb, whether the actual bios is smaller or not.. I hope you understand that... so, what I am saying is, I am not certain if the Dell file behaves in the same fashion or not, I am skeptical because I know the A01 bios file is only 900 kb, if the motherboard were identical then X01 would be 900 kb, not 1 Mb.. Of course there is the possibility the boards are in fact different. I just want to be certain... As for flashrom, it is built into that live cd if you boot to the live cd and run the command flashrom /? from terminal, it should show the help file. just mount your ntfs drive or anything else for that fact... say a usb stick... and read the bios file to that ps, terminal is the linux equivalent of the command prompt (its been a while, maybe I should double check that, I will)
ok i get into flashrom... will have a try when i get back to my XPS 430 but does flashrom v0.9.0 support Intel X48?
not positive, I sincerely doubt that it will flash your chip, It is open source and I really do believe it will read your bios, and the important part... identify the chip... I was the ONLY program I found that would read my Inspiron 6400 bios without corruption, at least until I found how to read it with the Dell flasher... update, it lists compatability by i/o controller, X48 uses ICH9 and yes that is supported..
kenny433, you never really answered my question, do you have access to a xps430 that has the A00 or A01 bios?
i am confused... of course i don't 'have access to a xps430 that has the A00 or A01 bios', cos my XPS 430 does have a X01 BIOS. why do you ask that???