BIOS Updates forum

I have an old Gateway P-120 with a Pentium 120 MHz CPU, a Selectron motherboard (MBDSAC045AAWW - a version of the Intel Advanced/ATX), and an Intel Triton 430 FX chip set running under the AMI 1.00.03.CN0T Bios.

Does any one know if the 1.00.06.CN0 BIOS, which I can download from the Intel site, is an appropriate upgrade for the 1.00.03.CN0T BIOS and for my P5-120?

It's an OEM version of the Intel board. You will not be able to flash the BIOS using the utility. You can try it using the recovery jumper on the board - but it's at your own risk.

First, thanks for your reply...

Second, from my reading of the MB manual, there doesn't appear to be a recovery jumper on the board. If you screw up flasing the BIOS, there is no recovery code in the FLASH device, so you have to get a special PCI card from the manufacturer (Gateway? Intel?) that allows the recovery process to take place. Fat chance for that, I think, considering the board is at least six years old.

So, where does that leave me? Clearly, I think that flashing with 1.00.06.CN0 would be foolhardy. No guarentee it will work and no way of recovering if it doesn't. That said, do you know of any BIOS I might substitute for 1.00.03.CN0T? The reason I'm pursuing this is this: The board is rated for 128 Megs of memory but only recognizes 64 Megs. Both Intel and Gateway docs say it should be able to recognize 128. My suspicion is that the BIOS is controlling the amount of RAM the machine recognizes. I'm hoping to find a BIOS that works and lets the machine recognize the additional memory. Any ideas?

In case anyone is resurrecting one of these machines like I just did, it IS possible to use the 1.00.06.CN0 BIOS from Intel on the Gateway motherboard. All you have to do is hex edit the 1006cn0_.bio and 1006cn0_.bi1 files and change the header to CN0T. It removes the gateway logo during post, but works perfect!

The other working option is using a recovery flash of the official Intel bios.