Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found at
the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup is
the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.

Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video card
and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and reboot.

Regards,
John O.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

I seem to recall that the FR500 is an older Socket 7 board. According to the
items turned up in a Google search, it uses a SiS chipset. It is extremely
likely that your nVidia PCI card requires the newer PCI 2.2 specification, and
the FR500 board is either PCI 2.0 or PCI 2.1. I doubt that a BIOS upgrade will
help. And please, don't ask me what the differences are among PCI 2.0, 2.1,
and 2.2. The specs are pretty hairy... Ben Myers

On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 06:27:46 -0400, "JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote:

>I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found at
>the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
>information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup is
>the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
>Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
>little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.
>
>Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video card
>and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and reboot.
>
>Regards,
>John O.
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

JJO,
I have the PB MultiMedia 955, w/Win98 1st Edition, 333Mhz K6-2 AMD, 128 SIMM
(3.3V) NONPARTY EDO60NS RAM, PB850 motherboard. Manufactured in 1998, sold
in Michigan, USA. During the boot-up, it shows FR500 in the BIOS
description. You should go to http://priorityonesupport.com , register an
email address/password. Then in the Driver's section of the site under
Packard Bell, you can try checking your PC's Serial # under System
configuration. If the model is there it will give you the specs for it, when
manufactured. You should take the time and download drivers/manuals for your
PC, and copy them to a CD, for emergency use. just in case, this website
ever closes.

Now, if it is the same motherboard that I have, and you are using the
Packard Bell Restore Disk, you can only upgrade the BIOS to version 1.09 .
There is an issue with the PB OEM Restore Disk, reinstalling Windows,
recognizing a later BIOS version. You will get an error stating the
installation failed, because it doesn't recognize the PC as a Packard Bell.
This occurs for units manufactured for the US, and possibly for Canada too.
Basically the OEM installation CD is locked to the BIOS chip. For European
Packard Bell units, they placed some (Tattoo.exe) software on the hard
drive, for the installation to verify that the PC was a Packard Bell. If you
are using a Microsoft OS installation CD, it shouldn't matter what BIOS
version you are using.

PriorityOneSupport, has version 1.07 there to download, I found version 1.09
on the web, and can send you a copy if you want. I have tried different 2.XX
versions of the BIOS, and they did not work for me. I was able to flash back
the bios, to the version I currently have.

Now for your graphics card, it may be more than a BIOS issue. In addition to
getting the correct BIOS installed. You may need to disable the on board
graphics chip. You can try the following:

1. If you bought a new Graphics card, make sure it is compatible with your
Windows OS. Some of the newer cards need at least Win98 Second edition
running on PC. Win95/Win98 1st Edition will not work. Since some drivers the
card needs, are not found with earlier Windows versions.

2. Make sure that your Power supply will work with your Graphics card, if
you need to upgrade buy a quality one. I tried to upgrade twice, with
CompUSA's generic brand, and the both of them got fried, within months of
purchase.

3. Restart PC> During boot-up press F8 until you get into SafeMode> Then go
to Control Panel> System> Device Manager> Display Adapters> Right click the
on board adapter> Select to disable and/or not run in all profiles.

4. There should be a way of disabling the onboard graphics, by changing pin
settings on the motherboard. Again you can get the manuals from
www.PriorityOneSupport.com .

And additional problem I had with the installation of a PNY 64MB GeForce 400
graphics card in my Packard Bell. I could not use the PB OEM Restore CD,
without pulling the card out. Even with the onboard graphics disabled on the
motherboard. I may have not done it right, I don't know. But during the
installation process, the installation process looks for the graphics chip,
if it can't find it, an error notice will occur, stating that the PC is not
being recognized as a Packard Bell.


--

Rich/rerat

(RRR News) <message rule>
<<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>



"JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:w259e.5271$Jg5.441382@news20.bellglobal.com...
I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found at
the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup is
the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.

Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video card
and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and reboot.

Regards,
John O.

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

Wow...so much valuable information. I have upgraded the memory and am
actually running Windows XP without too much trouble. The video card problem
is more than likely a PCI 2.2 issue since this board is 2.1. If you have
1.09 I would appreciate it if you send it to me. I can disable the onboard
video using the jumper on the MB although when I install a video card, it is
automatically detected and used instead of the onboard graphics. I suspect
an older card such as a 64 MB Geforce 2 would be more in order or an ATI
Radeon 7000. Thanks for the information and the BIOS.

Regards,
John O.


"RRR_News" <nospam@isp.com> wrote in message
news:I4WdnWXkVtzWhfjfRVn-3Q@comcast.com...
> JJO,
> I have the PB MultiMedia 955, w/Win98 1st Edition, 333Mhz K6-2 AMD, 128
> SIMM
> (3.3V) NONPARTY EDO60NS RAM, PB850 motherboard. Manufactured in 1998,
> sold
> in Michigan, USA. During the boot-up, it shows FR500 in the BIOS
> description. You should go to http://priorityonesupport.com , register an
> email address/password. Then in the Driver's section of the site under
> Packard Bell, you can try checking your PC's Serial # under System
> configuration. If the model is there it will give you the specs for it,
> when
> manufactured. You should take the time and download drivers/manuals for
> your
> PC, and copy them to a CD, for emergency use. just in case, this website
> ever closes.
>
> Now, if it is the same motherboard that I have, and you are using the
> Packard Bell Restore Disk, you can only upgrade the BIOS to version 1.09 .
> There is an issue with the PB OEM Restore Disk, reinstalling Windows,
> recognizing a later BIOS version. You will get an error stating the
> installation failed, because it doesn't recognize the PC as a Packard
> Bell.
> This occurs for units manufactured for the US, and possibly for Canada
> too.
> Basically the OEM installation CD is locked to the BIOS chip. For European
> Packard Bell units, they placed some (Tattoo.exe) software on the hard
> drive, for the installation to verify that the PC was a Packard Bell. If
> you
> are using a Microsoft OS installation CD, it shouldn't matter what BIOS
> version you are using.
>
> PriorityOneSupport, has version 1.07 there to download, I found version
> 1.09
> on the web, and can send you a copy if you want. I have tried different
> 2.XX
> versions of the BIOS, and they did not work for me. I was able to flash
> back
> the bios, to the version I currently have.
>
> Now for your graphics card, it may be more than a BIOS issue. In addition
> to
> getting the correct BIOS installed. You may need to disable the on board
> graphics chip. You can try the following:
>
> 1. If you bought a new Graphics card, make sure it is compatible with your
> Windows OS. Some of the newer cards need at least Win98 Second edition
> running on PC. Win95/Win98 1st Edition will not work. Since some drivers
> the
> card needs, are not found with earlier Windows versions.
>
> 2. Make sure that your Power supply will work with your Graphics card, if
> you need to upgrade buy a quality one. I tried to upgrade twice, with
> CompUSA's generic brand, and the both of them got fried, within months of
> purchase.
>
> 3. Restart PC> During boot-up press F8 until you get into SafeMode> Then
> go
> to Control Panel> System> Device Manager> Display Adapters> Right click
> the
> on board adapter> Select to disable and/or not run in all profiles.
>
> 4. There should be a way of disabling the onboard graphics, by changing
> pin
> settings on the motherboard. Again you can get the manuals from
> www.PriorityOneSupport.com .
>
> And additional problem I had with the installation of a PNY 64MB GeForce
> 400
> graphics card in my Packard Bell. I could not use the PB OEM Restore CD,
> without pulling the card out. Even with the onboard graphics disabled on
> the
> motherboard. I may have not done it right, I don't know. But during the
> installation process, the installation process looks for the graphics
> chip,
> if it can't find it, an error notice will occur, stating that the PC is
> not
> being recognized as a Packard Bell.
>
>
> --
>
> Rich/rerat
>
> (RRR News) <message rule>
> <<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>
>
>
>
> "JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
> news:w259e.5271$Jg5.441382@news20.bellglobal.com...
> I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found
> at
> the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
> information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup
> is
> the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
> Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
> little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.
>
> Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video
> card
> and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and
> reboot.
>
> Regards,
> John O.
>
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

Actually a proper Email address might help.

jochenduszko@sympatico.ca


"RRR_News" <nospam@isp.com> wrote in message
news:I4WdnWXkVtzWhfjfRVn-3Q@comcast.com...
> JJO,
> I have the PB MultiMedia 955, w/Win98 1st Edition, 333Mhz K6-2 AMD, 128
> SIMM
> (3.3V) NONPARTY EDO60NS RAM, PB850 motherboard. Manufactured in 1998,
> sold
> in Michigan, USA. During the boot-up, it shows FR500 in the BIOS
> description. You should go to http://priorityonesupport.com , register an
> email address/password. Then in the Driver's section of the site under
> Packard Bell, you can try checking your PC's Serial # under System
> configuration. If the model is there it will give you the specs for it,
> when
> manufactured. You should take the time and download drivers/manuals for
> your
> PC, and copy them to a CD, for emergency use. just in case, this website
> ever closes.
>
> Now, if it is the same motherboard that I have, and you are using the
> Packard Bell Restore Disk, you can only upgrade the BIOS to version 1.09 .
> There is an issue with the PB OEM Restore Disk, reinstalling Windows,
> recognizing a later BIOS version. You will get an error stating the
> installation failed, because it doesn't recognize the PC as a Packard
> Bell.
> This occurs for units manufactured for the US, and possibly for Canada
> too.
> Basically the OEM installation CD is locked to the BIOS chip. For European
> Packard Bell units, they placed some (Tattoo.exe) software on the hard
> drive, for the installation to verify that the PC was a Packard Bell. If
> you
> are using a Microsoft OS installation CD, it shouldn't matter what BIOS
> version you are using.
>
> PriorityOneSupport, has version 1.07 there to download, I found version
> 1.09
> on the web, and can send you a copy if you want. I have tried different
> 2.XX
> versions of the BIOS, and they did not work for me. I was able to flash
> back
> the bios, to the version I currently have.
>
> Now for your graphics card, it may be more than a BIOS issue. In addition
> to
> getting the correct BIOS installed. You may need to disable the on board
> graphics chip. You can try the following:
>
> 1. If you bought a new Graphics card, make sure it is compatible with your
> Windows OS. Some of the newer cards need at least Win98 Second edition
> running on PC. Win95/Win98 1st Edition will not work. Since some drivers
> the
> card needs, are not found with earlier Windows versions.
>
> 2. Make sure that your Power supply will work with your Graphics card, if
> you need to upgrade buy a quality one. I tried to upgrade twice, with
> CompUSA's generic brand, and the both of them got fried, within months of
> purchase.
>
> 3. Restart PC> During boot-up press F8 until you get into SafeMode> Then
> go
> to Control Panel> System> Device Manager> Display Adapters> Right click
> the
> on board adapter> Select to disable and/or not run in all profiles.
>
> 4. There should be a way of disabling the onboard graphics, by changing
> pin
> settings on the motherboard. Again you can get the manuals from
> www.PriorityOneSupport.com .
>
> And additional problem I had with the installation of a PNY 64MB GeForce
> 400
> graphics card in my Packard Bell. I could not use the PB OEM Restore CD,
> without pulling the card out. Even with the onboard graphics disabled on
> the
> motherboard. I may have not done it right, I don't know. But during the
> installation process, the installation process looks for the graphics
> chip,
> if it can't find it, an error notice will occur, stating that the PC is
> not
> being recognized as a Packard Bell.
>
>
> --
>
> Rich/rerat
>
> (RRR News) <message rule>
> <<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>
>
>
>
> "JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
> news:w259e.5271$Jg5.441382@news20.bellglobal.com...
> I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found
> at
> the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
> information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup
> is
> the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
> Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
> little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.
>
> Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video
> card
> and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and
> reboot.
>
> Regards,
> John O.
>
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

This site lists info for both the PB930 and PB950 boards.

http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/930.htm

From the website:

a.. Audio : Cirrus Logic CS4235 Audio Chipset with integrated CODEC & FM
Synthesis
a.. Battery : Socketed 3 volt Lithium coin cell battery.
a.. BIOS : 2 M-bit Flash EEPROM. System BIOS by Award
a.. Bus : PCI 2.1/ISA based system bus. 100MHz maximum bus speed
a.. Cache : 0/512KB Pipeline Burst Cache soldered-on, non-upgradeable.
a.. Chipset : ALi Aladdin V M1541/M1543C AGP/PCI/ISA Chipset.


<ben_myers_spam_me_not @ charter.net (Ben Myers)> wrote in message
news:4265029a.2233208@nntp.charter.net...
>I seem to recall that the FR500 is an older Socket 7 board. According to
>the
> items turned up in a Google search, it uses a SiS chipset. It is
> extremely
> likely that your nVidia PCI card requires the newer PCI 2.2 specification,
> and
> the FR500 board is either PCI 2.0 or PCI 2.1. I doubt that a BIOS upgrade
> will
> help. And please, don't ask me what the differences are among PCI 2.0,
> 2.1,
> and 2.2. The specs are pretty hairy... Ben Myers
>
> On Tue, 19 Apr 2005 06:27:46 -0400, "JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote:
>
>>I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found
>>at
>>the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
>>information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup
>>is
>>the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
>>Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
>>little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.
>>
>>Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video
>>card
>>and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and
>>reboot.
>>
>>Regards,
>>John O.
>>
>>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

It seems that the FR500 is associated with the PB850 while the FR510 is
associated with the PB930. More can be found at these sites to help
determine which one you have:

http://j12345.users1.50megs.com/me [...] rds.html#p

http://j12345.users1.50megs.com/me [...] ay.asp.htm

Indeed, the PB850B/FR500 has an SiS chipset while the PB930/950/FR510 has
the ALi chipset. The above sites have some setup (BIOS) info also.

"JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:w259e.5271$Jg5.441382@news20.bellglobal.com...
>I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found at
>the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
>information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup
>is the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
>Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
>little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.
>
> Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video
> card and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and
> reboot.
>
> Regards,
> John O.
>
>

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.packardbell (More info?)

mdp,
I sent JJO, the BIOS update for the PB850 board, versions 1.07 & 1.09 . The
MultiMedia 955 was manufactured with two (2) motherboards. The first units
( one I have) came with the PB850 motherboard, probably leftovers from the
950C series build. Later on the PB930 board was used, in the MM 955, the
same as the NEC 9888 unit.

If anyone else needs them, I can send them to you. Also you can get most of
the American ( US & Canada) sold Packard Bells, driver downloads at:
www.priorityonesupport.com

You will need to register an email address and password there, then search
the "Drivers" section under Packard Bell.

--

Rich/rerat

(RRR News) <message rule>
<<Previous Text Snipped to Save Bandwidth When Appropriate>>



"mdp" <markdpend@spambegone.aol.com> wrote in message
newscQae.13791$JB.9642@tornado.socal.rr.com...
It seems that the FR500 is associated with the PB850 while the FR510 is
associated with the PB930. More can be found at these sites to help
determine which one you have:

http://j12345.users1.50megs.com/me [...] rds.html#p

http://j12345.users1.50megs.com/me [...] ay.asp.htm

Indeed, the PB850B/FR500 has an SiS chipset while the PB930/950/FR510 has
the ALi chipset. The above sites have some setup (BIOS) info also.

"JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:w259e.5271$Jg5.441382@news20.bellglobal.com...
>I am going to update the BIOS with the FR500 2.00 BIOS that I have found at
>the PB site. However I hesitate doing this since I have found almost no
>information on the 950C anywhere on the Net. The BIOS displayed at bootup
>is the FR500 1.03 and I have to assume that the various models of the
>Multimedia systems used the GVC motherboard (FR500). Can anyone give me a
>little more information to go on? Thanks for any help.
>
> Oh, updating the BIOS because I attempted to install a new NVidia video
> card and once the drivers were installed the system would blue screen and
> reboot.
>
> Regards,
> John O.
>
>