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    #1

    Dell BIOS

    has anyone here bothered hacking DELL bios's? my g/f's PC is dell and its really dumbed down!

    its out of warranty so id like to maybe replace it with a standard intel bios...

    easy?? or not?

    DFI Lanparty NF2 Ultra B
    TICTAC 619XT Bios
    AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+ FQQ4C IDYHA I-Stepping
    Speeze Vulture spin 3 Heatsink and Fan
    2x Mushkin XP4000 1024m DDR500 (1:1) @ 2.5-3-2-8 1T
    GeForce FX 5700 256m
    Zalman VF900 CU GPU cooler
    Skyhawk 400W Aluminium psu
    Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 case fans
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Dell BIOS

    Providing that the motherboard from the Dell system is the exact same as an aftermarket one (say Intel in this case), then yes you probably could just reflash it with the BIOS from the aftermarket manufacturer. But I dunno if Dell may have improvised any locks into reflashing the BIOS with a different one other than a Dell BIOS. What model is the Dell system you are trying to hack?

    I know that I have successfully reflashed an ECS BIOS onto an ECS based motherboard that was installed inside a system built by Micro center, when they had some "Power spec PC" (or something like that) BIOS installed on it.

    Thanks.
    Don't find love, let love find you. That's why its called falling in love, because you don't force yourself to fall, you just fall. - Anonymous

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Dell BIOS

      its only a P4 thing

      dell dimension 3000

      thanks

      DFI Lanparty NF2 Ultra B
      TICTAC 619XT Bios
      AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+ FQQ4C IDYHA I-Stepping
      Speeze Vulture spin 3 Heatsink and Fan
      2x Mushkin XP4000 1024m DDR500 (1:1) @ 2.5-3-2-8 1T
      GeForce FX 5700 256m
      Zalman VF900 CU GPU cooler
      Skyhawk 400W Aluminium psu
      Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 case fans

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Dell BIOS

        If:
        All chips on the boards are the same: *same chipset, sound, LAN, etc...
        and
        The BIOS chip supports the BIOS code you want to flash..
        and
        There is no security chip..

        Then it should work.

        I have seen cases (or rather one case but several times) where the BIOS chip used by the OEM fit in the same socket but was not the same as (or compatible with) the chip used on the manufacturers 'manufacturer branded' motherboards.
        Because of that if you wanted to use the manufacturer's BIOS you would have to replace the BIOS chip itself.
        -
        I don't remember specific numbers but this will get the point across.
        Boards were identical except BIOS chip.
        Manufacturer's BIOS used a 2 Mb BIOS chip.
        OEM used same BIOS chip socket but used a 1 Mb BIOS Chip.
        So: Manufacturer's BIOS wasn't compatible with OEM's chip.

        There are a couple of companies around that will burn you a custom BIOS chip.
        Also some that will sell replacement chips for either/or manufacturer's or OEM's BIOS.
        Only helps if BIOS chip is the socket type or you are brave enough to solder in a pre-programmed BIOS chip.

        Prices for these things has come down because more companies are doing it now but usually I think you are still better off just replacing the board.

        .
        Mann-Made Global Warming.
        - We should be more concerned about the Intellectual Climate.
        -
        Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
        - Dr Seuss
        -
        You can teach a man to fish and feed him for life, but if he can't handle sushi you must also teach him to cook.
        -

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Dell BIOS

          I have the Dell Optilpex GX 180, PIII, 1 Gig, and the Dell Dimension 4550, P4, 2.4 Gig. While I have found retail boards that are similar they are not exactly the same for these things. My feeling is that you would be getting into a whole big nest of snakes, and worms trying to reflash the BIOS using the flash utility for the similar retail board. A Dell BIOS is dumb, and you can't do much to over clock these PC's but at least they work. Well they work most of the time on a good day. I'd love to upgrade my 4550 to a board that supports SATA, and a Duo-core CPU. I don't think that Dell will be of any help in this area as all they want me to do is buy a new one with Vista "Windows ME II" preinstalled. I'll just have to gut this case, and do some test fits with retail boards down at my friends PC shop. I also have a Saws-All. I can make things work if I have too.
          "It ain't what you don't know that gets you into trouble. It's what you know for sure that just ain't so."
          Mark Twain

          "I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm's way."
          John Paul Jones

          There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone.
          Rod Serling

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Dell BIOS

            It might be worth your time to grab a copy of MODBIN6 or whatever current flavor of bios editor is out there.

            I use this tool to customize the bios settings for client machines that I build. If Dell has "dumbed down" their bios, there is a good chance all they did was disable the display of hidden features. You can easily turn this on with MODBIN.

            Note this program ONLY runs under DOS, so you will need a FAT32 disk, and MSDOS6.x operating system. I have not had much luck with it running in a RAMDISK either. I keep a VMware DOS machine available for doing DOS work. Works a treat.

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Dell BIOS

              Hi, bgavin
              Did modbin6 gave you any trouble? (as in resulting in a no boot motherboard at some point?)
              TIA

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Dell BIOS

                thanks

                DOS scares me hahah

                but cheers for the info - i think ill leave it incase i render her DELL useless lol

                DFI Lanparty NF2 Ultra B
                TICTAC 619XT Bios
                AMD Athlon XP-M 2600+ FQQ4C IDYHA I-Stepping
                Speeze Vulture spin 3 Heatsink and Fan
                2x Mushkin XP4000 1024m DDR500 (1:1) @ 2.5-3-2-8 1T
                GeForce FX 5700 256m
                Zalman VF900 CU GPU cooler
                Skyhawk 400W Aluminium psu
                Sharkoon Silent Eagle 1000 case fans

                Comment

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