Dell Inspiron 530 / 530s v1.0.2 Experimental Unlocking & Upgrading Project

[jb2zero0six5]

Is anyone still working on this BOIS? I bought an e8600 CPU and wish to push it, along with a GTX550Ti card. I was giving this old machine and I've only put $100 into it. I also like to dabble in other things, like getting Mac OS X to run, plus I wish to get a SSD soon. AHCI option would be nice, although I understand RAID setting would suffice. Thanks.

[Mr. Genius]

O.k., since this thread is still alive...somewhat. Let me add my $.02...

1. I've come to find out that the difference between the used Dell G33M02 that I bought to replace the one in my sister's Inspiron 530/530s(as opposed to 530abcd/530sabcd), and have now(also) been trying to use as an E8600 budget gamer build platform for myself(since her MoBo didn't end up needing replaced), is(mainly) that it's not the same BIOS-wise. Why? Well, if you've been paying attention you should already be able to guess why(50/50 chance of getting it right). If not, it's because it's actually the G33M02 from a Vostro 200(which I've already proved to be the case by searching with the Service Tag on the Dell website). How it all started though was with the inability to flash BIOS v.1.0.18 or v.1.0.2 to it. Which I still can't determine the exact reason(s) for. So how is it incompatible with the G33M02 BIOS from an Ispiron 530/530s? Both use the EXACT same G33M02(REV A01). Other than it being due to the fact that one's from a Vostro system, and not an Inspiron system(like the other one), I can't imagine what else it could possibly be. But for some reason, other than a specific hardware difference that doesn't appear to exist(BIOS chip and/or MoBo wise, since the Vostro 200 G33M02 is IDENTICAL in every way to the Inspiron 530/530s G33M02), you CAN NOT flash to a later BIOS version than 1.0.16(which was already installed, and is the latest version available FROM DELL for the Vostro 200). Even though, like I'm saying, hardware/specs wise it's EXACTLY the same as an Inspiron 530/530s. I know because I tried, with both v.1.0.18 and v.1.0.2, and it says "the file is not for this system". Which, I assume, means it's for an Inspiron system...and not a Vostro system...obviously. And NO, I probably shouldn't have tried flashing v.1.0.2. Since that's probably what's been bricking people's boards. Because v.1.0.2 is only meant for certain lower-end Inspiron 530 models(see #2).

2. The other difference here(sans Vostro vs. Inspiron), BIOS wise, isn't with mid-tower(530) or slimline(530s). Both use the same BIOS revisions. There's a difference, but that's not it. It's actually with the letters after the 530, that aren't "s"(as in "s"limline). It "breaks down" as follows...

530: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 16 Mb(G33/ICH9 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.18)
530a/530c: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 8 Mb(G33/ICH9 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.18)
530b/530d: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 8 Mb(G31/ICH7 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.2)

530s: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 16 Mb(G33/ICH9 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.18)
530sa/530sc: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 8 Mb(G33/ICH9 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.18)
530sb/530sd: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 8 Mb(G31/ICH7 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.2 )

Vostro 200: BIOS chip (NVRAM) 16 Mb(G33/ICH9 chipset, uses BIOS v.1.0.16)

All info quoted directly from their respective owner's manual(s) and/or the Dell website.

3. So how about that modded 1.0.16 version for us less fortunate Vostro 200 G33M02 folks? Yeah...I'm not going to be holding my breath on that one...

EDIT: Just found the thread...

[haderade]

I agree with Mr Genius. I have a Vostro 200 with the G33M02 Rev. A01 motherboard that has the latest bios from Dell, which is 1.0.16. It currently has a Core 2 Duo, I would like to put in the Q6700 that I have. Can this machine take the official Foxconn BIOS with out bricking? Will the Inspiron modded BIOS work with in this machine? I have a soldered Phoenix chip. D686 as pictured previously.

This thread talks about the Instiron 530 series, but not much about the Vostro 200. I am not clear as the usability of the modded BIOS in the Vostro 200. It is not my machine and I don't want to brick it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[SGT Presticle]

hey guys, im hoping someone can help me, i have an Inspiron 530 and i wanna make sure i use the right BIOS when i flash it, can i post a pc report or something and have someone tell me which one i need to use?

[BDMaster]

hey guys, im hoping someone can help me, i have an Inspiron 530 and i wanna make sure i use the right BIOS when i flash it, can i post a pc report or something and have someone tell me which one i need to use?

I don't want to read all posts, so Would explain to me what is happened ?
May be I can help You !
regards

[Mr. Genius]

I agree with Mr Genius. I have a Vostro 200 with the G33M02 Rev. A01 motherboard that has the latest bios from Dell, which is 1.0.16. It currently has a Core 2 Duo, I would like to put in the Q6700 that I have. Can this machine take the official Foxconn BIOS with out bricking? Will the Inspiron modded BIOS work with in this machine? I have a soldered Phoenix chip. D686 as pictured previously.

This thread talks about the Instiron 530 series, but not much about the Vostro 200. I am not clear as the usability of the modded BIOS in the Vostro 200. It is not my machine and I don't want to brick it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

I'll make this short and sweet.

1. Yes, you should agree with me(because I'm correct in all I've stated thus far).

2. A Foxconn bios probably won't flash because it uses AFU(Award Flash Utility), and/or because its 8Mb not 16Mb. Or...IT MIGHT FLASH/TRY TO FLASH AND BRICK YOUR BOARD!!! Based on what's been stated in this thread. Which I'll buy.

3. A Dell 530 bios won't flash because the Dell bios updater(apparently a version of Award WinFlash) doesn't recognize the system as being correct(as in, it's a Vostro 200, not an Inspiron 530). I'm telling you this from personal experience. I don't know if force flashing the bios would work. But it very well could. If you're willing to figure out how to go that route. If you do, I'd recommend trying v1.0.18. Since it's the same size Mb wise, though that might not matter. I know for a fact it doesn't matter on certain graphics cards(my HD 6950 can run on various sizes). But whether or not that applies here is beyond my experience...at the moment.

4. You have a Vostro 200, which means there's a thread on it.
On another note. I did try this on my sisters 530 and it worked flawlessly. Thanks Dansolo and Willis!

                   

[Mr. Genius]

One last screenshot for reference. Since I can't attach more than 5 in one post.

It's the lower half of the settings on the newly aquired PC Health Status page.
   

[thegreatyashu]

I have an inspiron 530. Does this bios add support for drives over 2tb when this new AHCI mode is enabled?

Currently, if RAID mode is enabled, my 3tb drive is seen as only 746.5gb. Running in "ide" mode for the SATA allows it to see all 3tb, but there is no AHCI, so no NCQ and also lower speed for an SSD. I'm learning there was no working AHCI anyway, but with this modified bios there will be.

Will this new mode still have the 2tb limit? If so, is there any way to modify this bios to include support for large drives?

[Pendaws]

4. You have a Vostro 200, which means there's a thread on it.
On another note. I did try this on my sisters 530 and it worked flawlessly. Thanks Dansolo and Willis!

Hi there, as you can see I am a new member and I would like to ask a couple of questions as you seem to have gotten this to work. I have a 530 (Slim)? and I would like to have the AHCI function operating.
Is this the file you used:

DellInspiron530-18-RAID87-IBA1363-AHCI120E0027-VGA1653.zip

if so, was there any major hurdles you had to overcome? I understand that this mod can break the MB but I am willing to try as I would like to add an SSD to it later and I have seen that the AHCI function doesn't appear to be implemented using the RAID setup in BIOS. I set the RAID setting after I had installed Win7 in IDE mode and changing the registry settings but, the boot up has increased as it keeps wanting to implement RAID.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[mikeedanz]

First time here, so apologies for the noob questions ...

I've been reading this thread with interest as, like the previous poster, I would like to enable AHCI on my Inspiron 530s (so, not a 530) for my SSD to run at its best. It seems a few have been successful with this, and there's a very well written blog by twoleftbrians which makes the process seem pretty straightforward.

According to the Dell website the BIOS version is the same for the 530 and the 530s so I hope I am right in assuming this mod should work for both machines. Most of the posts here refer to the 530. I have updated and am successfully running BIOS 1.0.18. which claims AHCI is enabled but it Dell have hobbled the Foxconn board so that AHCI isn't available. I tried to flash the BIOS using the flasher and the DellInspiron530-18-RAID87-IBA1363-AHCI120E0027-VGA1653.zip file following twoleftbrains steps but got hit with winflash "Load Driver Failed" error message before I even got going. So now I am stuck. Am I overlooking something obvious?

Any advice appreciated!