Alright, here goes: a little history. Installed Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 (the Eternity 2009 version released by rockersteam.com) on a new build ... a Gigabyte EP45-UD3P F4 that was using Vista Loader v2.1.2 slipped into the install. Then, the usual story: everything went fine for a couple of weeks until yesterday morning when on a reboot ye ole "Error 17" reared it's head. Deleting the loader file from the root directory got me booting again, but of course, now Vista shows that it needs activation. I've checked, and KB940510 is not present on the machine. After trying several of the soft mods (Vista Loaders 2.0, 2.1.2, 2.1.3, and 3.0.0.1, as well as the Developer's Activation), uninstalling each one with VOATKTools v2.5 before installing the others, with none of them working, I've decided to take the plunge and flash the BIOS. My goal would be preferably not to have to do a fresh install due to the huge amount of data I have on the computer. My goal with this post is to answer a few questions: 1. Are there any recommended manual uninstallations that I should perform over and above VOATK Tools before I flash the BIOS? I know that it's recommended to clear out any soft mods, and that there are sometimes issues with pieces of softmods hanging around, but with a history like I've run through, I thought perhaps a list of places to check for files hanging around might be helpful. 2. Checking in the forums, I see two recommended flashes for the F4 bios: a Dell OEM and a Dell using the ISA mod. Is there a preferred one to start with or does one have a better track record than the other? 3. Should I use FlashSPI.exe to flash the BIOS or use Q-Flash? I've seen a couple of arguments for and against both, so I'm naturally a bit cautious of using either without hearing some additional information. 4. Any other suggestions that I missed? Hardware System Specs in Case You Need to Know (all drivers already pre-done on floppy/USB in case they're needed, but Vista sees the main system drive RAID array with no drivers needed): CPU: Q9550 Core 2 Quad Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3P, F4 BIOS RAM: 8GB GSkill DDR1200 Hard Drives: 4 x 500GB SataII in a RAID0 (system drive), 2x750GB IDE in a RAID0 (VIA VT6421 card), 2x1TB e-SATA drives Optical Drives: BluRay Reader/DVD Burner (SataII) Video Card: ATI HD4870 I believe that should cover any information that anyone needs (probably too much knowing me), but I can't stand people who ask for help and don't give a good history of the issue, so I try not to be one. Thanks in advance for any help, The VintageDon (Yes, I've heard all the VD jokes, so I doubt I'll hear any new ones anytime soon )
Either one is probably ok. The modder that did them is solid. They both have slp1 and slp2 for xp and vista. You could ask for a bios mod with just isa mod with the manufacturer of your choice if these dont meet your needs. Always flash from dos with the flashspi, or whichever tool for your bios. This usually gives the best possibility of good flash with least chance of errors and skipped flash. Just my opinion, but shared by most of the modders here if you ask I dont know where to look for rogue files from the bootloaders. The voatk tool seems to do a good job of ridding the system. You will need to clear cmos and load defaults after the flash, but it would seem you have this well under control..