eurytopic
09-04-2001, 11:41 PM
I will be installing an IDT WinChip 2A on an old AT, Socket 5, Triton 430FX "Zappa" motherboard. All documentation I have read leading into this venture has told me I'd need to update my BIOS prior to doing so. The AMI BIOS version with which this Gateway system shipped in early 1996 was 1.00.05.BS0T . I found the flasher-and-binary combination on GW2K's website to upgrade to 1.00.11.BS0T .
I followed all the instructions, and the flash procedure seemed to work without a hitch. I rebooted the system, and aside from a new GW2K image and the appropriate new BIOS ID string, everything looked good... until the portion of the boot procedure where the system recognizes the HD, CD-ROM, and FD. The HD went by as normal. The CD-ROM was noted as an "ATAPI device installed" as opposed to the previous "CD-ROM installed". No big deal, makes sense.
However, it stalled a moment longer than usual when checking for the floppy, beeped loudly, flickered the screen, displayed the line "Floppy disk controller failure", and prompted me to either enter setup (F1) or continue to boot (ESC). This machine has never had any problems with its floppy drive or the functioning thereof. I entered setup to see what the heck went wrong.
In setup, under "floppy options", the following four lines were displayed:
Floppy A: Not Installed
Floppy B: Not Installed
Floppy A: Type 1.44/1.25 Mb 3-1/2"
Floppy B: Type Disabled
The first and second were not adjustable; i.e. I could not select them with the cursor keys. The third and fourth allowed the typical range of selection of floppy types. I set the third line to "Disabled" and continued to boot the machine.
It booted normally through the Win95 start screen, detected the IDE controllers as new hardware, and then looked as if it was about ready to go; icons on desktop, clock in lower right, etc. However, it got stuck on the windows startup items. It hung for about 2 minutes, hourglass spinning, and I figured at that point I was dealing with a very heavy paperweight. However, it suddenly came to life and began acting normally, with the obvious exception of no floppy drive. I restarted the machine, and it took a long time to shut down Windows. The slow speed of windows startup remained as well. This is where I am now... with a working but noticeably degraded machine, and no ideas. Does anyone have any? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Dave Straub
Lancaster, PA
I followed all the instructions, and the flash procedure seemed to work without a hitch. I rebooted the system, and aside from a new GW2K image and the appropriate new BIOS ID string, everything looked good... until the portion of the boot procedure where the system recognizes the HD, CD-ROM, and FD. The HD went by as normal. The CD-ROM was noted as an "ATAPI device installed" as opposed to the previous "CD-ROM installed". No big deal, makes sense.
However, it stalled a moment longer than usual when checking for the floppy, beeped loudly, flickered the screen, displayed the line "Floppy disk controller failure", and prompted me to either enter setup (F1) or continue to boot (ESC). This machine has never had any problems with its floppy drive or the functioning thereof. I entered setup to see what the heck went wrong.
In setup, under "floppy options", the following four lines were displayed:
Floppy A: Not Installed
Floppy B: Not Installed
Floppy A: Type 1.44/1.25 Mb 3-1/2"
Floppy B: Type Disabled
The first and second were not adjustable; i.e. I could not select them with the cursor keys. The third and fourth allowed the typical range of selection of floppy types. I set the third line to "Disabled" and continued to boot the machine.
It booted normally through the Win95 start screen, detected the IDE controllers as new hardware, and then looked as if it was about ready to go; icons on desktop, clock in lower right, etc. However, it got stuck on the windows startup items. It hung for about 2 minutes, hourglass spinning, and I figured at that point I was dealing with a very heavy paperweight. However, it suddenly came to life and began acting normally, with the obvious exception of no floppy drive. I restarted the machine, and it took a long time to shut down Windows. The slow speed of windows startup remained as well. This is where I am now... with a working but noticeably degraded machine, and no ideas. Does anyone have any? Thanks for any help you can provide.
Dave Straub
Lancaster, PA