ATi bios flashing: the proper way.

yukfou · Aug 7, 2005, 10:09 PM

I wanna upgrade my 9800 pro 256mbx256bit to an xt.. so i just d/l the bios that i need (ex. 9800xt sapphire chipset unknown 412/365) and then flash it with that bios? just wanna make sure.. appreciate any response by someone who's done it.

Ðamage™ · Aug 9, 2005, 03:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukfou

I wanna upgrade my 9800 pro 256mbx256bit to an xt.. so i just d/l the bios that i need (ex. 9800xt sapphire chipset unknown 412/365) and then flash it with that bios? just wanna make sure.. appreciate any response by someone who's done it.

Hey yukfou, ya you could flash your Pro into a XT without a problem (depends on you

). There have been quite a few success stories with that specific mod, and just make sure that you back up your original bios and then you should be good to go. If you need any more help with finding the correct bios then by all means leave me a pm or use my msn and I'll be glad too help you with it.

Also just for curiousity sake, what core is the card in question: 350/360? and have you tried using an overclocking utility to see if your core and memory speeds can reach the XT speeds without any stability issues?

Peace & welcome to DH

yukfou · Aug 11, 2005, 05:22 AM

Damage.. appreciate the help... this is the card i bought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102294

Ðamage™ · Aug 13, 2005, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yukfou

Damage.. appreciate the help... this is the card i bought:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102294

Hey yukfou, I am going on a whim here but I think the card in question would more then likely be a 360 core. Back up your original bios and send it to my msn email and I'll take a closer look at it and send you an XT bios that will work with your card.

Peace

mucci · Aug 25, 2005, 02:11 AM

hi kowboys.. i have any problems too.. my radeon is HIS Excalibur 9600 XT (256 Mb).. i think change my VGA bios..bu i am not find a new bios version.. My version is BK-ATI VER008.015.073.000 and BIOS Date 2003/12/24 ..have u new bios kowboys? or where am i find it.? i use catalist 5,8 but i have still any problem. HIS is blackmail to me..8).. send me please friends... i wanna play Battle Field 2.. please mercy 8)
thanx..

::System Specification::

AMD XP 64 3000+ (939)
MSI K8 Neo2 Platinum..(I loVe MSI 8)..)
Twinmoss 1 Gb. Dual Kit..
HIS Excalibur Radeon 9600 XT classic
Samsung Dvd-CdRw
Seagate SATA 120 Gb.
And Samsung 17" SyncMaster 793DF

triggerx · Aug 25, 2005, 03:23 AM

im relatively new to the world of overclocking, but i was wanting to flash the bios of my gecube 9800pro (r350)... to what? i dont know, but any help on the topic would be appreciated.

RobM · Aug 25, 2005, 06:16 PM

What purpose does uninstalling the graphic drivers fulfill when flashing the BIOS of the video card?

warder · Aug 26, 2005, 01:11 AM

HI I have a x850xt and was wondering if there was any difference between overclocking it to xt pe speeds or flashing the bios is there any advantage to having the flash?

Rasta Monsta · Aug 26, 2005, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by warder

HI I have a x850xt and was wondering if there was any difference between overclocking it to xt pe speeds or flashing the bios is there any advantage to having the flash?

Flashing to a different BIOS effects a couple of significant things about your gfx card. First off, what you are contemplating would increase your clock speeds without having to resort to software (i.e., ATi Tray Tools, Catalyst Overdrive). Many folks view that as a good thing.

Secondly, and rarely discussed, a flash can effect memory timings of the card. Is this good or bad? I don't pretend to know, not being an engineer. Intuitively, though, it is reasonable to conclude that your card could either benefit, or be harmed by different memory timings. Impossible to know for sure, unless you were a developer working for your gfx card manufacturer.

Finally, a flash could change either your device or vender id, which are codes used by Windows (and software installers that work under Windows) to identify different pieces of hardware. How could this impact you? Let's say, for example, that you have a BlahCo X850, and you love the proprietary BlahCo software that came with your video card. If you flash your BIOS with a .bin file dumped from a card made by a different company, your BlahCo software might not install, telling you "No compatible hardware found."

In short, it is preference and willingness to take a risk. My own example: I flashed my HIS X850XT with a BBATi (built by ATi) X850XT/PE BIOS. Now I have ATi X850XT/PE clock speeds (and presumably memory timings if they are different from HIS) without having to use a software overclocker. Whichever CAT or Omega driver version I install, I know I am running at PE clocks. However, the touted "I-Turbo" software that comes with my card won't install, because Windows does not detect HIS hardware.

I say: JUST DO IT. I also say, DON'T do it until you have created an automatic restoration floppy as I describe above.

Peace,

rasta

me972 · Aug 31, 2005, 07:09 AM

Ya nice guide..a little wrong but nice...

. and for those looking to download a bundle with all the right software and BIOS bin's for the 9800 series your welcome to here:
www.hardwareheaven.com/bios

me972 · Aug 31, 2005, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

Finally, a flash could change either your device or vender id, which are codes used by Windows (and software installers that work under Windows) to identify different pieces of hardware. How could this impact you? Let's say, for example, that you have a BlahCo X850, and you love the proprietary BlahCo software that came with your video card. If you flash your BIOS with a .bin file dumped from a card made by a different company, your BlahCo software might not install, telling you "No compatible hardware found."

rasta

Rasta my friend I so sorry to have to say this but your WRONG... and I'll tell you why...
using Rabit to edit and view the settings of your original BIOS will tell you the two ID's that identify your card, thus you can copy paste them into your new bios file and flash. and still all the propriety vendor software will work.

secondly - what you can do' and this is most [color=black]Preferable is to open TWO RABIT windows - one with the desired new BIOS and the second with a copy or your original bios. then you just view the timing from the first bios and select them one by one in your original bios. [/color]
[color=black]save the changed origianl bios and flash it.[/color]
[color=black]that way you dont change any thing except for the timings.[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]also the best practice for this - inorder not to harm your card is to do some test on the new timings. either using ATITOOL or RABIT they can change your timings setting on the fly... after each change you run some tests with benchmark programs to see if all is ok (ususally if its wrong the windows graphics will fail. ) if any things wrong you just press the reset button and your back to normal to try something else.[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]This process does not demand you remove every driver file known to man on your system befor you start as the original threads guid says, since by not changing the cards ID's the drivers will remain the same and run just as they should.[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]the process shown in the original thread is need if and ony if you actually change your BIOS ID's or upgrade your card lets say from 9800/NP/SE/PRO to XT or[/color]
[color=black]X800PRO --> XT/XT PE.[/color]
[color=black]using the tools I've explaind - most cards from the same series can be upgraded to their older brother (pro->xt/xt pe etc...) the only thing thats stopping you might be a bios flash prevention mechanisem on the card or the fact that you card can't take the upgraded timings and clock rates. so use you original bios change the bios ID to that of the better card keeping the timings and clock rate the same as befor or o/c just a little ..[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]I hope this clears some of the mistakes talked about through this thread..[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]best of luck to every one doing this. (make sure you have a PCI card around)[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]if any one needs some help your welcome to ask me. (mail,PM, or my thread in my signiture.)[/color]
[color=black][/color]
[color=black]Brgds Me972[/color]
[color=black][/color]

Rasta Monsta · Aug 31, 2005, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by me972

Rasta my friend I so sorry to have to say this but your WRONG... and I'll tell you why...
using Rabit to edit and view the settings of your original BIOS will tell you the two ID's that identify your card, thus you can copy paste them into your new bios file and flash. and still all the propriety vendor software will work

Um, OK. But if he downloads a BIOS from one of the usual sources and DOESN'T know a bout RaBiT and DOESN'T edit the BIOS before the flash (which is obviously how most people new to BIOS mods would proceed) then my answer ("flash COULD change" vendor and hardware ids), my friend, is correct.

rasta

P.S. Oh, and thanks for clearing up the mistakes talked about in this thread! AHH AHHH AHHHHH (jackass) CHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

me972 · Aug 31, 2005, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

Um, OK. But if he downloads a BIOS from one of the usual sources and DOESN'T know a bout RaBiT and DOESN'T edit the BIOS before the flash (which is obviously how most people new to BIOS mods would proceed) then my answer ("flash COULD change" vendor and hardware ids), my friend, is correct.

well if you look at it from that point of view then ok...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rasta Monsta

rasta

P.S. Oh, and thanks for clearing up the mistakes talked about in this thread! AHH AHHH AHHHHH (jackass) CHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

your welcome... al you needed to do is ask....

Rasta Monsta · Aug 31, 2005, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by me972

your welcome... al you needed to do is ask....

rasta

Ðamage™ · Sep 1, 2005, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by me972

Ya nice guide..a little wrong but nice...

. and for those looking to download a bundle with all the right software and BIOS bin's for the 9800 series your welcome to here:
www.hardwareheaven.com/bios

So would you care to tell me what's wrong with my guide? or are you just in the habit of putting someone's work down? or maybe it's just that you're not getting enough hits from your own thread that you have to come here and post your own link? If you have problems with the thread/guide why don't you be a little more elaborate then just saying it's wrong.. like maybe some constructive criticism.. now I remember why I don't chill out here anymore..

Peace

me972 · Sep 1, 2005, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ðamage™

So would you care to tell me what's wrong with my guide? or are you just in the habit of putting someone's work down? or maybe it's just that you're not getting enough hits from your own thread that you have to come here and post your own link? If you have problems with the thread/guide why don't you be a little more elaborate then just saying it's wrong.. like maybe some constructive criticism.. now I remember why I don't chill out here anymore..

Peace

are you kidding me??? I don't get paid nor an I a member of the DH staff so why in gods name would you think that I give a damm as to how many hits "my" thread gets???
"my" thread is just a page posted by its owener to help others... it can go away just like it came up...
so don't go claiming things that are untrue.
as for your thread - good luck with it... I hope you get many hits...

as for being more elaborate ? did you care to read one post afterwoods and see how much I've written in order to ADD to the main post of this thread..

so chill out get your facts straite...

as for you not chilling here at DH any more... if in fact this is because of me then from respect to DH I'm I'm sorry if I've said any thing to personaly offend you and cause this.. its not my place to drive DH fans like you away..

peace out man...

Brgds Me972

Ðamage™ · Sep 2, 2005, 01:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by me972

are you kidding me??? I don't get paid nor an I a member of the DH staff so why in gods name would you think that I give a damm as to how many hits "my" thread gets???
"my" thread is just a page posted by its owener to help others... it can go away just like it came up...
so don't go claiming things that are untrue.
as for your thread - good luck with it... I hope you get many hits...

as for being more elaborate ? did you care to read one post afterwoods and see how much I've written in order to ADD to the main post of this thread..

so chill out get your facts straite...

as for you not chilling here at DH any more... if in fact this is because of me then from respect to DH I'm I'm sorry if I've said any thing to personaly offend you and cause this.. its not my place to drive DH fans like you away..

peace out man...

Brgds Me972

The "thread thing" was a joke/sarcasm.. seeing as you have over 45,000 hits, but you seem to have taken it the wrong way which doesn't suprise me. As for your "I don't get paid for anything and helping others" comment, that's quite understandable because I don't paid either, and the whole reason I made this guide was to help people, so it seems we have something in common. But I don't go into other peoples threads and start beakin off by saying things like "it's a good guide, but wrong" either, so I'd expect the same from anyone else on this site. Do me a favor and stick to your own thread and I'll deal with this one.. thanks all the same.

Peace

me972 · Sep 2, 2005, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ðamage™

Do me a favor and stick to your own thread and I'll deal with this one.. thanks all the same.

Peace

as you wish my friend...

warder · Sep 13, 2005, 03:53 AM

so.. yeah, would it be useful or not to flash it to xtpe speeds?

Dragunov · Sep 13, 2005, 01:37 PM

why uninstall ur old drivers first?

Greetz

Dragunov

me972 · Sep 13, 2005, 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragunov

why uninstall ur old drivers first?

Greetz

Dragunov

because sometimes even-though your drivers are ati they might still hang your system... its better practice to let the system load without any drivers and let windows boot with VGA normal drivers and then reinatll the CAT's or any other.

Dragunov · Sep 14, 2005, 10:45 AM

thx, but u know and I think everyone who use Drivercleaner, know that not everything from the driver in the registery can be cleaned

Greetz

Dragunov

me972 · Sep 14, 2005, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragunov

thx, but u know and I think everyone who use Drivercleaner, know that not everything from the driver in the registery can be cleaned

Greetz

Dragunov

this problem sometimes happen when you run the cleaner in normal windows and not safe mode..

what i sugest doing is run the oficial UNINSTALL utill by ATI or Nvidia ..
reset into safemode and then run the cleaner.

do the flash and load windows in normal mode.
the system will load with VGA drivers and then you cancel all the windows auto driver install and run the ATI or Nvidia installation ...

good luck...

Reikis · Sep 25, 2005, 08:58 PM

OK... This videocards bios flashing thing is new to me. I didnt know that I can update my cards bios.

I have Sapphire Ati Radeon X800XL PCI-e. Can I update it to XT

and how I can do it without floppy drive?

nisallik · Sep 26, 2005, 05:52 AM

I need help trying to find the correct bios to use for my:

ATI Radeon 9550 256 mb

I've tried about 6 so far and had to blind type in my normal bios.

I don't have an uber cooling system for my PC so I was thinking this was the best way to start out with.

Any other information needed? I would be very thankful for a quick response.
Thanks ahead of time

nisallik

Ðamage™ · Sep 26, 2005, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reikis

OK... This videocards bios flashing thing is new to me. I didnt know that I can update my cards bios.

I have Sapphire Ati Radeon X800XL PCI-e. Can I update it to XT

and how I can do it without floppy drive?

Hey Reikis, Yes you could possibly mod your card to an xt but first you want to make sure your card can reach XT speeds without artifacts or instability. I would suggest getting an overclocking utility like ATT or ATITool first and proceed to overclock your card to the XT specs. After you've done this and have found that the card is stable under the higher overclocking then proceed to getting the proper vga bios for your card. Once you have your new bios you want to "extract or send to" your floppy disk, if you want to make things easier for yourself then rename the bios to mybios.bin, the reason for this is because DOS can only create so many characters and you'll end up with something like ATI.X8~1. Then just follow the guide that I've made for the DH community and you should be all good. If there is any other questions just let me know and I'm sure if I can't answer you.. someone else will.

Peace and welcome to DH

Ðamage™ · Sep 26, 2005, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nisallik

I need help trying to find the correct bios to use for my:

ATI Radeon 9550 256 mb

I've tried about 6 so far and had to blind type in my normal bios.

I don't have an uber cooling system for my PC so I was thinking this was the best way to start out with.

Any other information needed? I would be very thankful for a quick response.
Thanks ahead of time

nisallik

Are you trying to mod your card to something else or are you just looking for a new bios for this specific card?

Peace and welcome to DH

Rasta Monsta · Sep 26, 2005, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reikis

and how I can do it without floppy drive?

You could create a bootable CD.

bxxxb · Sep 27, 2005, 09:14 AM

@Reikis
http://www.bootdisk.com/txtfiles/flashcd.txt
download-
http://www.bootdisk.com/kentucky/flashcd.zip

guartho · Oct 6, 2005, 09:59 PM

Hey Damage, looks like a helpful guide. I have a BIOS flashing question that I hope you'll find challenging. (and thus be willing to help me with.

) It's quite a bit unusual, but it's a matter of seeing what I can do with what I've got. So here's the setup. Soon I'll re-inherit an older AMD 750 that my fiancée's parents have been borrowing. I'm thinking of putting it back into service as I'm nostalgic for some of my old games etc, but the 16meg Voodoo 3 3500 in that thing is rather flakey.

I also recently inherited a 256 meg Radeon 9650 for my PowerMac G4 which replaced my 128 meg Radeon 9000 Pro Mac edition. It's in perfect working order.

What I'd like to do is use the Rad9000 in my PC when it comes back. I'd also really like it if I had the option to flash it back to Mac should my friend kill his X800 and need his 9650 back.

What do you think? do-able?

Aug 7, 2005, 10:09 PM	#31
yukfou DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: AMD 64 3000 Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	9800 Pro To 9800xt I wanna upgrade my 9800 pro 256mbx256bit to an xt.. so i just d/l the bios that i need (ex. 9800xt sapphire chipset unknown 412/365) and then flash it with that bios? just wanna make sure.. appreciate any response by someone who's done it. __________________ Gigabyte ultra 939 Amd 64 3000 Venice 4 x 512 dual channel pc3200 160 gig SATA 22 in flat CRT Razer Boomslang 2100dpi 9800 Pro (hopefully XT soon)

Aug 11, 2005, 05:22 AM	#33
yukfou DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: AMD 64 3000 Posts: 6 Rep Power: 0	Damage.. appreciate the help... this is the card i bought: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102294 __________________ Gigabyte ultra 939 Amd 64 3000 Venice 4 x 512 dual channel pc3200 160 gig SATA 22 in flat CRT Razer Boomslang 2100dpi 9800 Pro (hopefully XT soon)

Aug 25, 2005, 02:11 AM	#35
mucci DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	About HIS Excalibur radeon 9600 XT Classic hi kowboys.. i have any problems too.. my radeon is HIS Excalibur 9600 XT (256 Mb).. i think change my VGA bios..bu i am not find a new bios version.. My version is BK-ATI VER008.015.073.000 and BIOS Date 2003/12/24 ..have u new bios kowboys? or where am i find it.? i use catalist 5,8 but i have still any problem. HIS is blackmail to me..8).. send me please friends... i wanna play Battle Field 2.. please mercy 8) thanx.. ::System Specification:: AMD XP 64 3000+ (939) MSI K8 Neo2 Platinum..(I loVe MSI 8)..) Twinmoss 1 Gb. Dual Kit.. HIS Excalibur Radeon 9600 XT classic Samsung Dvd-CdRw Seagate SATA 120 Gb. And Samsung 17" SyncMaster 793DF

Aug 25, 2005, 03:23 AM	#36
triggerx DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	9800 pro 128? im relatively new to the world of overclocking, but i was wanting to flash the bios of my gecube 9800pro (r350)... to what? i dont know, but any help on the topic would be appreciated.

Aug 31, 2005, 07:09 AM	#40
me972 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Posts: 696 Rep Power: 0	Ya nice guide..a little wrong but nice... . and for those looking to download a bundle with all the right software and BIOS bin's for the 9800 series your welcome to here: www.hardwareheaven.com/bios __________________ Intel 2600K - ASRock Fatality1 Pro(Gen3) -16GB Ram 8-8-8-24 - M4 128GB Last edited by me972; Aug 31, 2005 at 07:32 AM.

Aug 25, 2005, 06:16 PM	#37
RobM DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	What purpose does uninstalling the graphic drivers fulfill when flashing the BIOS of the video card?

Aug 26, 2005, 01:11 AM	#38
warder DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 36 Rep Power: 0	HI I have a x850xt and was wondering if there was any difference between overclocking it to xt pe speeds or flashing the bios is there any advantage to having the flash?

Sep 13, 2005, 03:53 AM	#49
warder DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 36 Rep Power: 0	so.. yeah, would it be useful or not to flash it to xtpe speeds?

Sep 13, 2005, 01:37 PM	#50
Dragunov DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 316 Rep Power: 0	why uninstall ur old drivers first? Greetz Dragunov __________________ - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 + Zalman 9700 LED - MSI P6N (Nvidia 680i chipset), BIOS: P33 - 2GB DDR2 ram Corsair Dominator 1066Mhz - MSI Geforce 8800GTS 640MB - Creative X-Fi Elite Pro - Seagate 320GB 7200/10 - WD Caviar 750GB - Logitech MX-518 - Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit NL

Sep 14, 2005, 10:45 AM	#52
Dragunov DriverHeaven Addict Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 316 Rep Power: 0	thx, but u know and I think everyone who use Drivercleaner, know that not everything from the driver in the registery can be cleaned Greetz Dragunov __________________ - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 + Zalman 9700 LED - MSI P6N (Nvidia 680i chipset), BIOS: P33 - 2GB DDR2 ram Corsair Dominator 1066Mhz - MSI Geforce 8800GTS 640MB - Creative X-Fi Elite Pro - Seagate 320GB 7200/10 - WD Caviar 750GB - Logitech MX-518 - Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit NL

Sep 25, 2005, 08:58 PM	#54
Reikis DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Varkaus, Finland Posts: 2 Rep Power: 0	OK... This videocards bios flashing thing is new to me. I didnt know that I can update my cards bios. I have Sapphire Ati Radeon X800XL PCI-e. Can I update it to XT and how I can do it without floppy drive?

Sep 26, 2005, 05:52 AM	#55
nisallik DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 1 Rep Power: 0	I need help trying to find the correct bios to use for my: ATI Radeon 9550 256 mb I've tried about 6 so far and had to blind type in my normal bios. I don't have an uber cooling system for my PC so I was thinking this was the best way to start out with. Any other information needed? I would be very thankful for a quick response. Thanks ahead of time nisallik

Sep 27, 2005, 09:14 AM	#59
bxxxb Surfin' Bird Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Nowhere Posts: 1,802 Rep Power: 0	@Reikis http://www.bootdisk.com/txtfiles/flashcd.txt download- http://www.bootdisk.com/kentucky/flashcd.zip

Oct 6, 2005, 09:59 PM	#60
guartho DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 4 Rep Power: 0	Hey Damage, looks like a helpful guide. I have a BIOS flashing question that I hope you'll find challenging. (and thus be willing to help me with. ) It's quite a bit unusual, but it's a matter of seeing what I can do with what I've got. So here's the setup. Soon I'll re-inherit an older AMD 750 that my fiancée's parents have been borrowing. I'm thinking of putting it back into service as I'm nostalgic for some of my old games etc, but the 16meg Voodoo 3 3500 in that thing is rather flakey. I also recently inherited a 256 meg Radeon 9650 for my PowerMac G4 which replaced my 128 meg Radeon 9000 Pro Mac edition. It's in perfect working order. What I'd like to do is use the Rad9000 in my PC when it comes back. I'd also really like it if I had the option to flash it back to Mac should my friend kill his X800 and need his 9650 back. What do you think? do-able?