# Gateway Owners, C51GU01 Motherboard



## Xerphon (May 1, 2007)

I have a Gateway GT5032. This model has a Foxconn C51GU01 motherboard, which as any other prebuilt system bios has all options locked out. I read on the internet that this board, the C51GU01 was a 6100K8MA-RS with Gateways options on it. Well, I took the plunge. I used Winflash to flash my C51GU01 with the latest 6100K8MA-RS bios, voila! All options are now unlocked and my system is performing faster with no problems at all... Anyway, don't risk what you can't afford to lose...but I've had nothing but success by doing this. Currently my stock X2 64 4200+ 2.2Ghz chip is running at 2.5Ghz stable, 230FSB with even more agressive memory timings than the Gateway bios had previously allowed. All in all, it's worked out great for me. I hope someone else out there can find this information useful... If anyone is unlucky enough to have bought a pre-built to begin with lol...


----------



## zekrahminator (May 1, 2007)

Thanks for that information, I thought it was impossible to unlock Gateway BIOS options .


----------



## ktr (May 1, 2007)

zekrahminator said:


> Thanks for that information, I thought it was impossible to unlock Gateway BIOS options .



yes and no...

Most of the these PC manufactures use almost a 1 to 1 replica of a board you can buy off the shelves...therefore you can sometimes force a bios of the store bought on these...

But word of warning is that some times the do have a little specialty on the PC manufactures boards...

Such as HP as a special bios chip to hold Tattoo information (for the security for the recovery cds) and to hold the software for recovery...


----------



## Xerphon (May 1, 2007)

ktr said:


> yes and no...
> 
> Most of the these PC manufactures use almost a 1 to 1 replica of a board you can buy off the shelves...therefore you can sometimes force a bios of the store bought on these...
> 
> ...



Yeah, Like I said I'm just stating it for this particular board and bios. The information may be invalid for any other combination out there. It's also not 100% definite this will work for you, but it has for me, and I haven't done anything special.


----------



## Squiffy (May 12, 2007)

*Don't Do This!!!*

Well, I downloaded the bios update from Foxconn, got a copy of WinFlash, ran it and now my  motherboard is deader than heck.  I think I got punked! All it does is beep like its in pain or something. Anyone out there with a dead C51GU01 mb that would like to send me the CMOS chip? TIA!


----------



## infrared (May 12, 2007)

You can try 'hot-flashing' the cmos chip on another working PC.

As long as the bios chip is the same size i'm pretty sure it can be done.


----------



## Squiffy (May 12, 2007)

*Hot Flash*



infrared said:


> You can try 'hot-flashing' the cmos chip on another working PC.
> 
> As long as the bios chip is the same size i'm pretty sure it can be done.



Thanks for the suggestion! I had never heard of that technique before so I had to Google it. Here is an article for anyone else not familiar with it.
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=62&pgno=0
Now all I have to do is con my buddy into letting me use his computer to try it!


----------



## infrared (May 12, 2007)

Yep, just be careful with the screwdriver when you're prising his bios chip out!


----------



## Xerphon (May 12, 2007)

Squiffy said:


> Well, I downloaded the bios update from Foxconn, got a copy of WinFlash, ran it and now my  motherboard is deader than heck.  I think I got punked! All it does is beep like its in pain or something. Anyone out there with a dead C51GU01 mb that would like to send me the CMOS chip? TIA!



That sucks, I'm very sorry to hear that. What model computer do you have?


----------



## Xerphon (May 12, 2007)

Are you referring to me AthlonX2? I certainly hope not.


----------



## Xerphon (May 12, 2007)

I'm going to assume you are referring to me since this thread was started by me. Anyway, what have I stolen to be called a theif? Also, what exactly have I done here?

I would not have thought about flashing my motherboard with that BIOS had I not read your thread stating that there was a hacked BIOS out there for this motherboard. I asked you if you had the file, you didn't. I asked the person you referred me to, he said he had about 10 different files for it and wasn't sure what worked and what didn't. I went ahead and read around online that this particular motherboard is a revision of the 6100K8MA-RS motherboard. I took the next logical step, I went ahead and flashed it with that BIOS.

Luckily, I had success with the flash. I took that information and posted it here for others who were having the same problem as me. I also told people not to risk doing it if they couldn't afford to have something go wrong, I just said that it worked for me and I could not assure anyone it would work for them. 

Now you're coming here calling me a thief and making it sound like I've done something wrong? I personally don't appreciate that at all. I never said I made this motherboard, or BIOS files, or anything. All I did was share my results with a community that is here for this very purpose. Once again, I really hope I'm wrong and I hope you're not referring to me with your post.


----------



## infrared (May 12, 2007)

wtf Athlon... I don't know what to say to you at this moment, but it wouldn't be nice. That was completely uncalled for abuse, and to make it worse, it was directed at a new member who came here to help others.


Don't listen Xerphon, you've done nothing wrong. And Squiffy will get his computer back up and running when he re-flashes the original bios.


----------



## Xerphon (May 12, 2007)

infrared said:


> wtf Athlon... I don't know what to say to you at this moment, but it wouldn't be nice. That was completely uncalled for abuse, and to make it worse, it was directed at a new member who came here to help others.
> 
> 
> Don't listen Xerphon, you've done nothing wrong. And Squiffy will get his computer back up and running when he re-flashes the original bios.



Thanks Infared, I'm just kind of lost. I don't know where this is coming from at all, or even why.


----------



## ex_reven (May 12, 2007)

yeah um that was random


----------



## sneekypeet (May 12, 2007)

http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=16708&highlight=C51GU01

maybe this is why he said what he did....um check the date!


----------



## Xerphon (May 12, 2007)

sneekypeet said:


> http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=16708&highlight=C51GU01
> 
> maybe this is why he said what he did....um check the date!



Sept. of 06, I still don't see your point. All I did was share my results, look a few threads up... I said that thread was the reason I started looking for a way to do this in the first place, and I even contacted AthlonX2 and Namlas about it. Neither of them was able to supply me with the 'hacked' bios file. I did some more reading online and found out the motherboard was a revision of another and I used that bios to unlock my computer. It worked, and I posted exactly that. So to be called a thief and be told I've done something wrong... Why? What exactly have I done wrong?


----------



## DaMulta (May 12, 2007)

AthlonX2 said:


> this is horrible...what a thief..i dont appreciate what u have done here



Lay off the beer and read the thread


----------



## Squiffy (May 12, 2007)

*Hey, I Prolly Did Something Wrong*

I think I might have indirectly implied that Xerphon intentionally posted something so people would blow up their computers. My apologies. I have received enough feedback to know that there are actually several alternate bios flashes that I might try. I never used WinFlash before and probably did something wrong. My system is the same as Xerphon's, a Gateway GT5032. I am going to try that hot flash thing and I am sure my system will be up and running this weekend. Hey, I'm a big boy. I knew it was risky but what the heck! No guts, no glory!


----------



## Xerphon (May 13, 2007)

Squiffy said:


> I think I might have indirectly implied that Xerphon intentionally posted something so people would blow up their computers. My apologies. I have received enough feedback to know that there are actually several alternate bios flashes that I might try. I never used WinFlash before and probably did something wrong. My system is the same as Xerphon's, a Gateway GT5032. I am going to try that hot flash thing and I am sure my system will be up and running this weekend. Hey, I'm a big boy. I knew it was risky but what the heck! No guts, no glory!



Hmm... If you have the same model number the motherboard should be the same. Exactly the same. The only thing I can think of, I updated my bios with gateway's bios update right after I bought my computer, it was the fix for Cool' N Quiet I think... If you didn't have the same BIOS software I had maybe that could have been the problem, I don't see how though since it's the same BIOS, just a bit more recent than what it shipped with. Anyway, have you tried clearing the CMOS jumper after you flashed? It's an option in Winflash, maybe you didn't have it selcted when flashing?


----------



## Namslas90 (May 13, 2007)

It is quite possable that two of the same Gateway model computers do not have the same BIOS or even the same components.    Between the three GT5056's I know of here on TPU they each had a diff BIOS version and Diff memory, and diff PCI cards installed from the factory.  Most likley the error happened while using WinFlash, as its easy to do.


----------



## zekrahminator (May 13, 2007)

AthlonX2 is crazy like that, one minute he's a great person, the next, a 12 year old brat.


----------



## Xerphon (May 13, 2007)

I didn't even know there were different variations of the same models. But, regardless of components, the motherboard would still be the same, no? If it's based off the 6100K8MA-RS, which it HAS to be since it worked for me, wouldn't that default bios work? I don't know, just seems a bit wierd, but I'm pretty sure there was an error made with Winflash which as you said is easy to do...


----------



## Namslas90 (May 13, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> I didn't even know there were different variations of the same models. But, regardless of components, the motherboard would still be the same, no? If it's based off the 6100K8MA-RS, which it HAS to be since it worked for me, wouldn't that default bios work? I don't know, just seems a bit wierd, but I'm pretty sure there was an error made with Winflash which as you said is easy to do...



Should always check to make sure the mobo is the same before flashing BIOS,  But, yes the memory could be different as well as the CPU etc.  Of course none of that realy matters much as far as the BIOS is concerned,  Unless you got a single core CPU verses a Double core CPU.  And then you could probably just change that in BIOS options (enable/disable Duel core support).
Yes, most likley an error with using WinFlash.


----------



## Squiffy (May 14, 2007)

*So which bios to try?*

I am hearing that there are several possible bios files to choose from. Any recommendations on which one to try first? The only one I have a download for so far is the Foxconn one that Xerphon had success with. Maybe I will try it again with the hot flash technique. Also, any idea how I might have screwed up the flash? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## Urlyin (May 14, 2007)

www.badflash.com ....


----------



## Athlon2K15 (May 14, 2007)

while i had my gateway i looked for bios's that could unlock it. there were quite a few retail boards that used the same,but the foxconn was the only one with the stability but even then you can only change memory timings..the biostar 6100939 will let you overclock but the system is very sluggisg while using it


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 13, 2007)

I have a question about the flash procedures for Xerphon. I have a Gateway GT5058 with the C51GU01 motherboard (I physically verified this). I want to install 2 SATA hard drives and configure them in RAID, but Gateway seems to have hidden the RAID options in the BIOS. I know the board supports it because the identifiers on the PPID label of the board are "-6ELRSK" which according to Foxconn means 6-channel audio (6), 1394 (E), 10/100 LAN (L), RAID (R), SATA (S), Gigabit LAN (K).

So, I downloaded the latest firmware for the 6100K8MA-RS motherboard from Foxconn (version 54AW1P40). I downloaded Winflash (version 1.84, I believe). When I try to open the BIOS file in Winflash, I get an error to "Please open the correct BIOS file". Any ideas? Did you have to do anything special to get Winflash to flash the bios?

The board is currently running Phoenix BIOS 6.00PG.


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 14, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> I have a question about the flash procedures for Xerphon. I have a Gateway GT5058 with the C51GU01 motherboard (I physically verified this). I want to install 2 SATA hard drives and configure them in RAID, but Gateway seems to have hidden the RAID options in the BIOS. I know the board supports it because the identifiers on the PPID label of the board are "-6ELRSK" which according to Foxconn means 6-channel audio (6), 1394 (E), 10/100 LAN (L), RAID (R), SATA (S), Gigabit LAN (K).
> 
> So, I downloaded the latest firmware for the 6100K8MA-RS motherboard from Foxconn (version 54AW1P40). I downloaded Winflash (version 1.84, I believe). When I try to open the BIOS file in Winflash, I get an error to "Please open the correct BIOS file". Any ideas? Did you have to do anything special to get Winflash to flash the bios?
> 
> The board is currently running Phoenix BIOS 6.00PG.



I'm pretty sure I had the same prompt, is there any way to continue flashing after that message comes up? I don't want to see you mess up your PC, but let me look into it a bit more and i'll get back to you, but answer that question for me if you can.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 14, 2007)

no...it closes the program completely when I hit ok


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 14, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> no...it closes the program completely when I hit ok



Hmmm... that sucks. I'll look into it and re-download everything and see what happens. It's almost 1AM right now so I probably won't get a chance to do it until the morning, but i'll try and get back to you ASAP... just hang in there...


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 14, 2007)

Hey guy's, you probably need to DOS Flash with Boot disk(ISO).


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 14, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Hey guy's, you probably need to DOS Flash with Boot disk(ISO).



Hey Namslas, did you get your flash to work with that bios?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 14, 2007)

Yes NP.  I did however have a problem getting that old Biostarr bios off.  But as long as his current bios is Foxconn, he shouldn't have a problem.  Maybe try again, follow instructions on site.


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 14, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Yes NP.  I did however have a problem getting that old Biostarr bios off.  But as long as his current bios is Foxconn, he shouldn't have a problem.  Maybe try again, follow instructions on site.



Awesome, glad to hear it man. I fell in love with my PC since I flashed the BIOS to an unlocked version... Dropped the multi down to 10 and raised the FSB to 250, lowered the mem timings a bit, but running so much better overall... I'm glad to have someone else verify that it actually works too... I felt horrible when that other guy messed up his PC...


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 14, 2007)

Well, I think I may have Biostar BIOS on this board. CPU-Z identifies the motherboard model as C51MCP51. When I google that, it comes up as a Biostart motherboard. However, I have opened the case and verified that the board is actually a Foxconn C51GU01. I also contacted Gateway, and they confirmed that.

CPU-Z also states that my BIOS is Phoenix Technologies, version 6.00 PG, date 2/10/06, if that helps any.


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 14, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> Well, I think I may have Biostar BIOS on this board. CPU-Z identifies the motherboard model as C51MCP51. When I google that, it comes up as a Biostart motherboard. However, I have opened the case and verified that the board is actually a Foxconn C51GU01. I also contacted Gateway, and they confirmed that.
> 
> CPU-Z also states that my BIOS is Phoenix Technologies, version 6.00 PG, date 2/10/06, if that helps any.



CPU-Z identified my mobo as the same thing, don't worry you have the right motherboard. We just have to get it to take the flash for the 6100K8MA-RS bios. 

This is the page I used to figure out what to do using Winflash, http://www.ecsusa.com/downloads/winFlash.html

Also, make sure the bios file you downloaded is http://www.foxconnchannel.com/EN-US...name=6100K8MA-RS,6150K8MA-8EKRS,6150K8MA-8KRS that bios file.

Sadly, I can't get winflash to work on Vista so I can't check to see exactly what I did. However, I do know that I selected all of the options to update (all the boxes should be blue, no green ones left) and you should check the box to clear cmos after flash.

I just followed the instructions on that page for how to use Winflash, with that bios file I linked you to and it worked for me.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 14, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> CPU-Z identified my mobo as the same thing, don't worry you have the right motherboard. We just have to get it to take the flash for the 6100K8MA-RS bios.
> 
> This is the page I used to figure out what to do using Winflash, http://www.ecsusa.com/downloads/winFlash.html
> 
> ...




Well, I will try it when I get home, and let you know how it goes! I will be doing this with my fingers crossed. I have already looked into buying a new BIOS chip if this goes bad!


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 14, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> I have a question about the flash procedures for Xerphon. I have a Gateway GT5058 with the C51GU01 motherboard (I physically verified this). I want to install 2 SATA hard drives and configure them in RAID, but Gateway seems to have hidden the RAID options in the BIOS. I know the board supports it because the identifiers on the PPID label of the board are "-6ELRSK" which according to Foxconn means 6-channel audio (6), 1394 (E), 10/100 LAN (L), RAID (R), SATA (S), Gigabit LAN (K).



Ok, just so you know;  The Raid Drivers are missing from your gateway, they are available on the gateway home site> downloads sections,  They are not pre-installed on the gateways, but are available as a downloadable option.  You do not need to Flash your BIOS to get the Raid funcion to work on your MOBO.  To find them at Gateway go to the site and select downloads > All Desktops > then your model # and the list of avialable drivers should come up.  If you just type in the Serial # or the Model #(and stuff) at the begining they will NOT show up.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 14, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Ok, just so you know;  The Raid Drivers are missing from your gateway, they are available on the gateway home site> downloads sections,  They are not pre-installed on the gateways, but are available as a downloadable option.  You do not need to Flash your BIOS to get the Raid funcion to work on your MOBO.  To find them at Gateway go to the site and select downloads > All Desktops > then your model # and the list of avialable drivers should come up.  If you just type in the Serial # or the Model #(and stuff) at the begining they will NOT show up.




I was thinking I need to flash the bios because I don't see the raid options in the bios. Am I making the wrong assumption?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 14, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> I was thinking I need to flash the bios because I don't see the raid options in the bios. Am I making the wrong assumption?



Even the Stock Gateway has the option in the BIOS, but without the Mobo Raid Drivers it does not work.  The Raid drivers were not included in the stock driver package.  It was offered as an additional download at Gateway download section.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Even the Stock Gateway has the option in the BIOS, but without the Mobo Raid Drivers it does not work.  The Raid drivers were not included in the stock driver package.  It was offered as an additional download at Gateway download section.



For whatever reason, the RAID option was not available in BIOS. But, I was able to flash the BIOS last night with the Foxconn distributed version. 

Couple of scares and notes though:


*Clear your CMOS* - I had a minor heart attack on the initial reboot after flashing the BIOS. After the OS shutdown and the system began to reboot, I got no video, and the POST just gave me a single beep. Talk about panic!  Luckily, a simple clearing of the CMOS fixed it, and the system booted with no problems. I know winflash gives you the option to do this (though I didn't). I just did it the old fashioned way with the board jumper.


*OEM OS Key* - Being that this was a prebuilt system from Gateway, I don't know why I didn't consider this earlier. The OS license key is the OEM key from Gateway. So, changing the BIOS invalidated the key! Doh! First boot into Windows told me I had to activate my OS (I have had this system for almost a year, fully activated). This wasn't such a big concern for me since this whole process is to get RAID functionality to install Vista. But, in the interim, the COA key that is usually found on a sticker on the case, worked without a problem. OS activated again!


*Hardware* - Interestingly, a lot of my hardware was reinstalled in the OS on the first boot after flashing the BIOS. Not a big problem, no lost functionality, but makes for a very long boot process.


*Software Licenses* - Some software licenses became invalid causing me to have to reinstall the software. The one I had a problem with was AVG Anti-Virus. Not a big deal since I just redownloaded the software, reinstalled, problem solved.


*RAID Controller* - The RAID controller will not be detected by Windows until you enable it in the BIOS (I know this may seem a bit rudimentary). Even if you are not using RAID at the moment (like me), but want to make sure it is seen by the OS, enable it in the BIOS. Just don't configure any of  your drives to use it.


*RAID Drivers* - Curiously, the RAID drivers that Gateway offers, stating that they are for the system model and the motherboard model didn't work. Windows XP could not install the drivers using the Gateway INF file. Going to the Foxconn website, I downloaded the drivers they offer for the Nvidia RAID controller. Installed without a hitch!

One last question I do have, after flashing my BIOS, my power LED (the blue light in the power button) no longer comes on. Is this controlled by the BIOS (couldn't imagine why), or might I have instead just knocked a wire loose when I was clearing the CMOS through the jumper? I am more inclined to guess that I knocked something loose, but I haven't had the opportunity to check yet (tonight's project). Just wondering if this happened to anyone else who flashed a Gateway system
I would like to thank everyone for their assistance in this project. I would especially like to thank Xerphon and Namslas90 for their insights and aid.

Good luck to all those that wish to try this in the future!


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 15, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> For whatever reason, the RAID option was not available in BIOS. But, I was able to flash the BIOS last night with the Foxconn distributed version.
> 
> Couple of scares and notes though:
> 
> ...



Awesome, glad to hear everything worked out. As far as the power LED, yeah it stops working. I'm pretty sure it was Namslas who told me that it stopped working because it has something to do with Gateway's BIOS.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> Awesome, glad to hear everything worked out. As far as the power LED, yeah it stops working. I'm pretty sure it was Namslas who told me that it stopped working because it has something to do with Gateway's BIOS.



That's rather annoying!


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 15, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> That's rather annoying!



Yeah, it is. I'm still looking into a way to get it working though, if I come across anything I'll be sure to post it. It's worth it though, unlocking your PC and all you have to give up is a little blue light lol


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> Yeah, it is. I'm still looking into a way to get it working though, if I come across anything I'll be sure to post it. It's worth it though, unlocking your PC and all you have to give up is a little blue light lol



I guess it is worth it, though I miss my little blue light!  I am looking into it too. I have a few things to try tonight. I will post any progress (or lack there of) after my tests.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

One thought I had...

Will I have problems installing Vista onto this RAID array without any drivers loaded? Will I need to have the drivers available on a disk (hmmm...no floppy drive on that machine currently)


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 15, 2007)

The Power light function is in the BIOS and Gateway added a line for it, the stock Foxconn BIOS does not support the power button light.  YOu would have to add a line of programming(or changing a value) to the BIOS.(good luck, I have had several people try this with no success).


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

how obsurd is it to put the control of the Power LED in the BIOS?! I know some people like to customize their case lighting, but if you want it off...just unplug it from the board! If you are not saavy enough to do that, you probably shouldn't be poking around in the BIOS anyway!


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 15, 2007)

Yeah, once the BIOS changes the MOBO identifier changes and according to MS that means new MOBO, If you call them you will just have to verify the mobo.  The gateway RAID drivers will not work on the Foxconn BIOS, you need the Foxconn drivers(of course you found that out).  Check the Optimize window thread to clean up your Boot process;
http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=11119&highlight=optimize+windows
Go here for Vista Raid drivers for Nvidea chipsets;
ftp://download.nvidia.com/Windows/vista/beta2/


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 15, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> how obsurd is it to put the control of the Power LED in the BIOS?! I know some people like to customize their case lighting, but if you want it off...just unplug it from the board! If you are not saavy enough to do that, you probably shouldn't be poking around in the BIOS anyway!



I followed a lead from a freind once that said the power light connector could be connected to another location of the MOBO, but found no information to prove this.   Have yet to randomly plug the header into possable locations on Mobo in the chance of finding it!!
(sounds too risky to me)


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

sounds risky to me too...why would there randomly be a second power led pin? what would be the normal need for that?!


----------



## Namslas90 (Jun 15, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> sounds risky to me too...why would there randomly be a second power led pin? what would be the normal need for that?!



Apparently there is another pin that would supply power to the LED when the PSU is activated, "which one", I do not know, and don't realy miss the light that much.


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 15, 2007)

hmmm...remembering from last night...the pin rows where the front panel cluster is plugged into, there are 4 unused pins...wonder if it is one of them...I am researching it. I am not about to randomly plug away!


----------



## erinecfl (Jun 18, 2007)

*Foxconn C51GU01 Motherboard/Gateway GT5098e*

Hey,

I am new to flashing bios and I want to do this anti-gateway bios flash.  I have read so many of these exact same problems on many different sites concerning the Gateway PC's.  So far, you guys are the only ones to figure out what to do.  Koodoos!    I am getting the same particular gateway desktop (GT5098e) and from all of the discussion boards I have seen, I want to follow your advice.  I was also wondering if Gateway's bios in general are constrictive and malproductive.   My laptop gives me a lot of trouble (similar to what I have seen others online regard as bios issues).  Could this same advice also help my laptop as well? 

Also, I am trying to fix an old computer of mine (desktop- Sis Integrated Systems, P6STMT MOB), I am having huge problems reinstalling windows.   First I had issues with my PSU.  It finally turned on and recognized my HDs and began formatting & installing windows until we had a major power surge from a storm right in the middle of installing Windows.  Now it is just unbareable.  It took me forever to get the system to see my entire hard drive, even when I had it set with 2 jumpers for large HD.  Sometimes it would install until my first reboot then have a critical error, or it would not recognize my hard drives at all, or install until I put in my disk for mainboard drivers and would mess up.  Sometimes it would turn on and then do nothing after the first screen, even when I set it not to stop on errors.  It did this in both windows 2000 and in XP, but it crashed earlier in Windows XP.  

My Western Digital Floppy install disk for my hard drive, suggested once that my bios did not support XP.  I want to install XP and with all the problems I am having, I really think I need to update the bios.  My problem is that now it is just not booting windows at all.  

Can I update the bios before I get to windows?  I am assuming this would be a DOS bios update, but I am clueless at how to do this.  Can anyone help with this? 

EEC


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 21, 2007)

Well, I know I seemed to have disappeared from this project, but I had good reason...

Last Friday, after work, I went home and attempted to mod the Gateway BIOS to enable RAID functionality on the motherboard. Well, I thought the mod went well, flashed the BIOS, and when I rebooted...DEAD. Ouch...talk about being pissed off! 

So, anyway...I ordered a couple of replacement BIOS chips from www.biosman.com, and waited. They were quick about getting them to me. They actually had them ready for FedEx to pickup on Sunday afternoon. So, I got the chips yesterday. They worked like a charm, but they were just the stock Gateway BIOS.

Now, obviously, I am not going to just let this whole thing go. While I was waiting for the BIOS chips, I thought I would ask Gateway if there were BIOS, even experimental ones, that would enable the RAID controller. Their first response was "Your motherboard does not have RAID capabilities". When I informed them that with the Foxconn BIOS I was able to get the RAID controller installed in Windows, their response was "Oh, since you already have the RAID controller enabled..." and proceeded to send me to a link on how to configure a RAID away. Still not answering my question about the availability if Gateway released BIOS with RAID enabled. So, after several e-mails back and forth, it was apparent to me that I was going in circles with Gateway, and I just resigned to them not helping in this matter.

So, back to the new chips. After a couple hours of work last night, I was able to modify the stock Gateway BIOS, and successfully enabled the RAID functionality. Works like a charm. I now have Windows Vista installed on a 1 Terabyte RAID 0 array. No 3rd party drivers needed. Vista had all the drivers already! Bonus! AND...I have my sorely missed little blue power LED!  Another bonus...I was able to hot flash my dead BIOS chip. Now I have 2 master chips (one of the original BIOS, one of the modded BIOS) and the working chip. It was a very productive night last night! 

So, if anyone is interested in enabling the RAID controller on a Gateway C51GU01 motherboard, let me know and I can send you the BIOS file. A couple of things I would suggest before you do flash your BIOS...get a backup chip from www.biosman.com. Believe me it is worth it, especially you are working on your primary computer! Because of how Gateway distributes their BIOS, you will have to provide BIOSMAN with the binary (.BIN) file. Just make a backup off your BIOS using a program like WinFlash, and send them that. It worked for me. Second, go to Radio Shack and buy a decent chip extractor. It only cost $10 and makes life a lot easier, as well as lessening the chances of damaging the motherboard or chip.

I did not attempt to unlock the overclocking functionality. I think I may try to do that this weekend. If you are interested in that let me know, and I will keep you informed of my progress.

Again, I would like to thank everyone for their continued assistance.


----------



## infrared (Jun 21, 2007)

Nice one mate!


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 21, 2007)

Computer Geeks 1 - Gateway 0


----------



## SAlexson (Jun 22, 2007)

Ok...now that I have my system working again...time to break it 

Tonight I am going to unlock the overclocking capabilities in my BIOS. Any suggestions or guidance for overclocking an AMD Athlon X2 dual-core 3800+? I never attempted to overclock a processor, but from what I have read, the 3800+ is the processor to do it with.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.


----------



## Xerphon (Jun 29, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> Ok...now that I have my system working again...time to break it
> 
> Tonight I am going to unlock the overclocking capabilities in my BIOS. Any suggestions or guidance for overclocking an AMD Athlon X2 dual-core 3800+? I never attempted to overclock a processor, but from what I have read, the 3800+ is the processor to do it with.
> 
> Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.



So you're pretty much modding the gateway bios to allow for those options? If you have gotten the overclocking options unlocked I'd like to get a copy from you. If I can get my blue light back and still overclock it, it's be extremely happy lol


----------



## Zipped (Jul 1, 2007)

Folks, I am not good with motherboards and hardware playing and need your help desperatley. I have this Gateway with MOBO C51GU01 for about 9 months now. Just after  delivery it started hanging on me with Blue screen with a stop error message. I contacted Gateway support and they told me it was a memory error and all I have to do is remove and re-install the memory, I did that and it worked fine for about 6 months. Later, as it is the fastest machine in the house, my kids requested for a game installation which their machines couldn't stand, generally I do not allow any games on my computer but since it was my son's B/Day, I made an exception, anyways since they played that game (for couple of hours) the blue screen with stop error has come back. What happens is after the stop error screen everytime I turn the computer off, it would not start for what ever, just the high speed fan would come on and every thing else is as dead as without power. The machine would restart about 8-9 hours of rest only for couple of minutes to repeat the same thing. Gateway support is trying to sell me a new computer and I cant afford anything at the moment. 
My machine is GM4019E, BTW I have already installed a 256mb video card, thinking that the game my kids played may have screwed up the integrated video.
Any help will be highly appreciated.
Thanks
Awais


----------



## DemocritusJr (Jul 1, 2007)

I had the exact same problem with that same mb in my GM5067H. With me, the memdump errors started when I swapped out their DVD-R for a faster one I had bought around Christmastime for my older sys. After three days of random crashes, I also upgraded the PSU. The system wouldn't boot. Fans spun up, and that was that. Same deal whn I swapped their 300W back in. When I contacted Gateway tech, the first thing the guy said was "It's a bad motherboard." I got the impression this is something they're familiar with. 

If you were getting the exact same problem you'd reported to them when you first bought the thing, my thinking is it's a problem they should have fixed for you then. Even if the warranty is passed, they should be responsible for fixing it now. Of course, that just means I'm a rational thinker, not that they'll actually do anything for you. I've had mine back for 6 days now and am hesitant to do anything at all that involves component-swapping. My plan now is to sell it off and build a new sys.

Not really much advice here, but knowing that it's the same problem others have had might help you get them to do something.


----------



## SAlexson (Jul 2, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> So you're pretty much modding the gateway bios to allow for those options? If you have gotten the overclocking options unlocked I'd like to get a copy from you. If I can get my blue light back and still overclock it, it's be extremely happy lol



Yep, I am modding the original Gateway BIOS. I didn't have any success modding it for overclocking on my first attempt, and I haven't revisited it yet. But, I haven't given up, and when I do get it, I will get you a copy of the BIOS file.


----------



## Xerphon (Jul 2, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> Yep, I am modding the original Gateway BIOS. I didn't have any success modding it for overclocking on my first attempt, and I haven't revisited it yet. But, I haven't given up, and when I do get it, I will get you a copy of the BIOS file.



Awesome, thanks. Good luck modding it, if I may ask how do you mod the bios? Are you Hex editing the .Bin?


----------



## SAlexson (Jul 2, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> Awesome, thanks. Good luck modding it, if I may ask how do you mod the bios? Are you Hex editing the .Bin?



I am using modbin6 to edit the setup menu. However, modbin6 corrupts the BIN file. So, I first make a backup of the working BIN file. Then, I mod the setup menu with modbin6. Once I have made the mods I want, I rip the setup menu out of the BIN file with cbrom. I take the seperate ROM file for setup menu, and insert it into the backed up, working copy of the BIN file with cbrom. Then flash away!


----------



## sirkeekles (Jul 23, 2007)

Hey guys, was reading your thread and thought I'd pop in. I have the same motherboard and it started to have a problem.. when I'd turn on the power, the fans would go really high but nothing would happen. I'd turn it off and turn it back on and it was fine. July 4th, it started to only have the fans on max. I messed with the cmos and removed the battery, after several tries it booted -- but with all CMOS settings lost. however, on reboot, same thing happened. 

any idea what might be wrong with the system? I contacted gateway but they say its no longer under warranty and it will be about 200 bucks to replace the board. When you guys say that you killed your bios, was the same thing happening? I'm just wondering if the bios went bad or if there's another problem.

I already removed the board from the system ( to make sure it wasnt a grounding issue). Disconnected everything except power and still no go. Also tried with one stick of ram, no go.

This is a really nice system and i'd hate to just "throw it away".

If worse comes to worse, I'm willing to sell it as is, if anyone wants. please let me know any suggestions.... as of right now, all I get are fans, no POST.


Thanks in advance.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 23, 2007)

Try this;

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/jefn/bootblock.html

Are you sure the PSU is working on all lines?   The stock PSU's are not that good, when they go they usually take the Northbridge with them.  Pull off the HS from the northbrige and see how it looks.  If you got one try a diff PSU.

Have you ever redone the thermal paste on the CPU.

Take a good look at the mobo, look for anything not normal (burned/broken/changed- color/etc)


----------



## sirkeekles (Jul 23, 2007)

Hey there 

I managed to get another PSU from work, the board still wont post. I pried off the heatsinks on both the GPU and NORTHBRIDGE and everything looks fine.. i've tried the CMOS jumper as well as removing the battery, still no post. I've tried leaving everything off but the ram, still no post. 

I've tried another harddrive, still no post. I'm not sure if theres any options left.

Thanks for your help guys


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 23, 2007)

sirkeekles said:


> Hey there
> 
> I managed to get another PSU from work, the board still wont post. I pried off the heatsinks on both the GPU and NORTHBRIDGE and everything looks fine.. i've tried the CMOS jumper as well as removing the battery, still no post. I've tried leaving everything off but the ram, still no post.
> 
> ...



PM sent


----------



## fratinggutom (Jul 24, 2007)

good day guys,

m new to this forum, i have a gateway gt5056 and started hung when i tested my friends harddrive (sata).after finding that her hd is ok, i rebooted and my system doesnt boot up now. i reconnected the sata drive and it will boot up but after that it will hung once its removed.

was wondering, how can i flash my bios if there's no display and only the fans running on max.

please help....thanks in advance


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 24, 2007)

fratinggutom said:


> good day guys,
> 
> m new to this forum, i have a gateway gt5056 and started hung when i tested my friends harddrive (sata).after finding that her hd is ok, i rebooted and my system doesnt boot up now. i reconnected the sata drive and it will boot up but after that it will hung once its removed.
> 
> ...



Re-check your connections to HDD and reset your CMOS with jumper on Mobo.(unplug computer first).


----------



## fratinggutom (Jul 24, 2007)

I did both of them, all HDD are unplug and reconnected and CMOS reset for a number of times, even removed the battery for more than 10 minutes. Check all connections they are tight and m lost now, wanted to follow what you guys are saying but have to boot mypc first.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 24, 2007)

Disconnect HDD's, GPU, DVD"S (cd if u got one), plug monitor into onboard and try booting.
If it boots, go into bios and check HDD settings.  IF it works than add one of the disconnected items at a time starting with HDD's and see if it will get you into Windows.


----------



## fratinggutom (Jul 25, 2007)

Tried disconnecting all ide devices (hdd and dvd) and reboot...to no avail.M kinda despondent now, will i ditch the motherboard and get another socket 939 from other mobo manufacturers or from foxconn, what's the best way for this one mates.I know it will be a big dilemna becaue of the oem xp mc that i have.It will be a struggle making it works.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 25, 2007)

Yeah, I just don't see how adding an HDD and then removing it can cause all your issues.  You sure you didn't do this whith power on or maybe you knocked a cable loose or hooked something up wrong, or even shorted something out.


----------



## Xerphon (Jul 27, 2007)

Hey Namslas, ever have any luck unlocking the default bios for overclocking?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 27, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> Hey Namslas, ever have any luck unlocking the default bios for overclocking?



Not trying to any more, I'm happy with the 6150K8MA-8KRS Bios,  But I think Salexson has made some progress.


----------



## Xerphon (Jul 27, 2007)

6150K8MA-8KRS? What benefits does that have over the 6100K8MA-RS bios? Did you have any problems when flashing with that BIOS?

Edit: Nevermind, I see that it's the same file lol


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 27, 2007)

I think there must be some differences, for some reason it runs more stable.  I thinks it's because of the OCZ Ram of mine, but could be because of the X1900XTX.  I think I got the flashing down now, have not had any probs for a while.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 27, 2007)

Xerphon said:


> I have a Gateway GT5032. This model has a Foxconn C51GU01 motherboard,...I read on the internet that...the C51GU01 was a 6100K8MA-RS with Gateways options on it. Well, I took the plunge. I used Winflash to flash my C51GU01 with the latest 6100K8MA-RS bios, voila! All options are now unlocked and my system is performing faster with no problems at all



EDIT: The C51GU01 is not a 6100K8MA-RS with Gateways options on it; it seems to be a µBTX clone of a Foxconn 6100K8MA series motherboard.   I noticed that the Foxconn 6100K8MA-RS motherboad is of µATX form factor while the Foxconn C51GU01 motherboard is of µBTX form factor.

EDITED: Xerphon and other, would you please paste a BIOS Agent (see link below) report after crossflash for reference?

I was planning on flashing a Foxconn C51GU01 motherboard, but have not yet.

EDIT: Attachment has been removed.  Dirrect link to the BIOS Agent 3.66 download:  http://download.esupport.com/biosagent/gb/ba.exe


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 27, 2007)

Ascii2 said:


> EDIT: The C51GU01 is not a 6100K8MA-RS with Gateways options on it; it seems to be a µBTX clone of a Foxconn 6100K8MA series motherboard.   I noticed that the Foxconn 6100K8MA-RS motherboad is of µATX form factor while the Foxconn C51GU01 motherboard is of µBTX form factor.
> 
> I was planning on flashing a Foxconn C51GU01 motherboard, but have not yet.



Yes the form factors are different.   What will realy confuse you is that both of those mobo's and a version offered by ECS, Biostarr, and Gigabyte are all the same and all manufatured by the same company;  FIC.   The motherboards all have minute differences mostly in the BIOS.  The C51GU01 and the C51GU01-G1, and the 6100K8MA series are so closeley identical that the BIOS files are interchangeable but not necessarily compatable.   The biggest question being do you have the Foxconn C51GU01 or the C51GU01-G1.
What model # is your Gateway, and If you look at the 20(20+4) mobo connector does your connector have 4 empty holes towards the back(20pin) or is it full (24pin).  Also, download CPU-Z (available here at TPU - Downloads section) and check your mobo ID.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 29, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> What will realy confuse you is that both of those mobo's and a version offered by ECS, Biostarr, and Gigabyte are all the same and all manufatured by the same company;  FIC.


That does not confuse me.



Namslas90 said:


> The biggest question being do you have the Foxconn C51GU01 or the C51GU01-G1.


Foxconn C51GU01



Namslas90 said:


> What model # is your Gateway, and If you look at the 20(20+4) mobo connector does your connector have 4 empty holes towards the back(20pin) or is it full (24pin).


Four empty holes exist; a 20-pin male connector is connected to a 24-pin female connector on the motherboard.  There is also a populated 4-pin auxiliary 12 volt ATX connector on the motherboard.

My BIOS Agent reoort is (not crossflashed):
	
	



```
Program:   eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.66
BIOS Date: 02/10/06
BIOS Type: Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS
BIOS ID:   02/10/2006-C51MCP51-6A61HFK9C
OEM Sign-On: C51GU01 series 611E3P04 021006
Chipset:   AMD 1100 rev 0
Superio:   ITE 8712F rev 7 found at port 2Eh
OS:        WinXP SP2
CPU:       AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ 2000 Mhz MAX: 3000 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size:      512K
Memory Installed:   1024 MB
Memory Maximum:     16384 MB
Memory Slot 01:     512 MB
Memory Slot 02:     512 MB
Memory Slot 03:     0 MB
Memory Slot 04:     0 MB
ACPI Revision:      Unknown
```

I mainly wish to compare Super I/O chips being used for the possibly crossflashable motherboards (BIOS Agent gives more accurate information than CPU-Z for the Super I/O chip).

Relevant portions of CPU-Z report (not crossflashed):

```
-------------------------
  CPU-Z version 1.40.5
-------------------------

Processors Map
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number of processors	1
Number of threads	2

Processor 0
    -- Core 0
        -- Thread 0
    -- Core 1
        -- Thread 0


Processors Information
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Processor 1 (ID = 0)
Number of cores		2
Number of threads	2 (max 2)
Name			AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
Codename		Manchester
Specification		AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
Package			Socket 939
CPUID			F.B.1
Extended CPUID		F.2B
Brand ID		5
Core Stepping		BH-E4
Technology		90 nm
Core Speed		1002.2 MHz (5.0 x 200.4 MHz)
HT Link speed		1002.2 MHz
Stock frequency		2000 MHz
Instructions sets	MMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64
L1 Data cache		2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L1 Instruction cache	2 x 64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size
L2 cache		2 x 512 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size
FID/VID Control		yes
max FID			10.0x
VID range		1.100V - 1.400V
K8 Thermal sensor	yes
K8 Revision ID		4.1
Attached device		PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 0
Attached device		PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 1
Attached device		PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 2
Attached device		PCI device at bus 0, device 24, function 3


Chipset
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Northbridge		NVIDIA GeForce 6100 rev. A2
Southbridge		NVIDIA nForce 410/430 MCP rev. A2
Memory Type		DDR
Memory Size		1024 MBytes
Memory Frequency	200.4 MHz (CPU/5)
CAS#			3.0
RAS# to CAS#		3
RAS# Precharge		3
Cycle Time (tRAS)	8
Bank Cycle Time (tRC)	11
DRAM Idle Timer		16
Command Rate		2T


Memory SPD
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIMM #1

General
Memory type		DDR
Manufacturer (ID)	Samsung (CE00000000000000)
Size			512 MBytes
Max bandwidth		PC3200 (200 MHz)
Part number		M3 68L6523CUS-CCC 
Serial number		0601D996
Manufacturing date	Week 70/Year 05

Attributes
Number of banks		1
Data width		64 bits
Correction		None
Registered		no
Buffered		no
EPP			no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz)		166	200	
CAS#			2.5	3.0	
RAS# to CAS# delay	3	3	
RAS# Precharge		3	3	
TRAS			7	8	



DIMM #2

General
Memory type		DDR
Manufacturer (ID)	Samsung (CE00000000000000)
Size			512 MBytes
Max bandwidth		PC3200 (200 MHz)
Part number		M3 68L6523CUS-CCC 
Serial number		0601D99D
Manufacturing date	Week 70/Year 05

Attributes
Number of banks		1
Data width		64 bits
Correction		None
Registered		no
Buffered		no
EPP			no

Timings table
Frequency (MHz)		166	200	
CAS#			2.5	3.0	
RAS# to CAS# delay	3	3	
RAS# Precharge		3	3	
TRAS			7	8	


Monitoring
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sensor Chip		ITE IT8712


DMI
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DMI BIOS
--------
	vendor		Phoenix Technologies, LTD
	version		6.00 PG
	date		02/10/2006


DMI System Information
----------------------
	manufacturer	Gateway
	product		GT5028
	version		unknown
	serial		unknown
	UUID		FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF


DMI Baseboard
-------------
	vendor		unknown
	model		C51MCP51
	revision	unknown
	serial		


DMI System Enclosure
--------------------
	manufacturer	unknown
	chassis type	Desktop
	chassis serial	unknown


DMI Processor
-------------
	manufacturer	AMD
	model		AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
	clock speed	2000.0MHz
	FSB speed	200.0MHz
	multiplier	10.0x


DMI Processor
-------------
	manufacturer	AMD
	model		AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+
	clock speed	2000.0MHz
	FSB speed	200.0MHz
	multiplier	10.0x


DMI Memory Controller
---------------------
	correction	64-bit ECC
	Max module size	4096MBytes


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
	designation	A0
	size		512MBytes (single bank)


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
	designation	A1
	size		512MBytes (single bank)


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
	designation	A2


DMI Memory Module
-----------------
	designation	A3


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	PRIMARY IDE (internal)
	connector	On Board IDE


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	SECONDARY IDE (internal)
	connector	On Board IDE


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	FDD (internal)
	port type	8251 FIFO Compatible
	connector	On Board Floppy


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	COM1 (internal)
	port type	Serial Port 16450
	connector	9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
	connector	DB-9 male


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	COM2 (internal)
	port type	Serial Port 16450
	connector	9 Pin Dual Inline (pin 10 cut)
	connector	DB-9 male


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	LPT1 (internal)
	port type	Parallel Port ECP/EPP
	connector	DB-25 female
	connector	DB-25 female


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	Keyboard (internal)
	port type	Keyboard Port
	connector	PS/2
	connector	PS/2


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	PS/2 Mouse (internal)
	port type	Mouse Port
	connector	PS/2
	connector	PS/2


DMI Port Connector
------------------
	designation	USB0 (external)
	port type	USB


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
	designation	PCI0
	type		PCI
	width		32 bits
	populated	no


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
	designation	PCI1
	type		PCI
	width		32 bits
	populated	yes


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
	designation	PCI2
	type		PCI
	width		32 bits
	populated	yes


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
	designation	PCI3
	type		A5
	width		32 bits
	populated	yes


DMI Extension Slot
------------------
	designation	PCI4
	type		A5
	width		32 bits
	populated	yes


DMI Physical Memory Array
-------------------------
	location	Motherboard
	usage		System Memory
	correction	None
	max capacity	16384MBytes
	max# of devices	4


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
	designation	A0
	format		DIMM
	type		unknown
	total width	64bits
	data width	64bits
	size		512MBytes


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
	designation	A1
	format		DIMM
	type		unknown
	total width	64bits
	data width	64bits
	size		512MBytes


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
	designation	A2
	format		DIMM
	type		unknown
	total width	64bits
	data width	64bits


DMI Memory Device
-----------------
	designation	A3
	format		DIMM
	type		unknown
	total width	64bits
	data width	64bits
```


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 31, 2007)

This Bios should unlock all your options, Winflash works just fine as long as you stick to proceedures.  If you flash a Biostarr version it will lock out stock and this BIOS, then you will have to DOS flash/force flash with ISO to get out of it.  The Biostarr versions of BIOS don't work that well anyways.

http://www.foxconnchannel.com/EN-US/...,6150K8MA-8KRS



Note: YES, you can install a X1800/X1900 series cards on that Mobo.  Pm for details.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> This Bios should unlock all your options, Winflash works just fine as long as you stick to proceedures.


Which "proceedures"?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 31, 2007)

Oh yeah, forgot;






Instructions on site in link.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Post #80 by Ascii2 has been edited, replacing the attachment with a direct link to BIOS Agent 3.66.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Oh yeah, forgot;


The image is with BIOS for Gateway and not a Foxconn retail BIOS, correct?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 31, 2007)

Yes, thats stock BIOS, Had some Sound Hic-cups and wanted to eliminate the BIOS as a cause, Hav'nt gotten a chance to re-flash yet!  The BIOS I-linked you to works just fine, My sound problems turned out to be the sound card gettin hot,  It's over 100º here!  My kids had turned down the exhaust fan speed, and forgot.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Ah, so you installed an exhaust fan.  Are you using the entire 24-pin motherboard AND the 4-pin 12-volt auxiliary power connectors?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 31, 2007)

Ascii2 said:


> Ah, so you installed an exhaust fan.  Are you using the entire 24-pin motherboard AND the 4-pin 12-volt auxiliary power connectors?



Yes I have added a vari-speed 90mm exhaust.  Defaulted the 120mm intake to full on, 2ea 60 mm Memory fans, 1ea 40mm Northbridge fan, a cyclone pci exhaust fan behind the GPU, and the Stock X1900XTX fan running on full with the help of ATI TOOL.  ALso the PSU has dual vari-speed fans on full.

NO I have the +4 mobo power connector tied back,  So, I'm only using 20-pin.  I was warned not to plug in the +4 as it may blow the mobo.
The standard 4 pin mobo power is required.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Yes I have added a vari-speed 90mm exhaust.  Defaulted the 120mm intake to full on, 2ea 60 mm Memory fans, 1ea 40mm Northbridge fan, a cyclone pci exhaust fan behind the GPU, and the Stock X1900XTX fan running on full with the help of ATI TOOL.  ALso the PSU has dual vari-speed fans on full.


Probably a very loud PC; I am reminded of my computer with two high CFM 120mm fans, an 80mm case door fan (ATX form factor), a suorthbridge fan, and a fan for an nVidia GeForce 6800. Also, your computer should not have a northbridge; AMD64 does not use a northbridge.



Namslas90 said:


> NO I have the +4 mobo power connector tied back,  So, I'm only using 20-pin.  I was warned not to plug in the +4 as it may blow the mobo.


Where did you receive the warning?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 31, 2007)

Ascii2 said:


> your computer should not have a northbridge; AMD64 does not use a northbridge.?



Umm, actually The C51GU01 has both a Northbridge and a Southbridge. 








Ascii2 said:


> Where did you receive the warning?


Another user here on TPU.


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> Umm, actually The C51GU01 has both a Northbridge and a Southbridge.


What you have labeled as "NORTHBRIDGE" is actually an integrated GPU, the GeForce 6100.

EDIT:  When memory controller was integrated into Athlon64, FSB and Northbridge were no loger necessary; HyperTransport came into existence.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jul 31, 2007)

Ascii2 said:


> What you have labeled as "NORTHBRIDGE" is actually an integrated GPU, the GeForce 6100.



Yes, OK.  but still qualifies as commonly used terminology for basic users and overall general understanding.  This board does not have a single IC chipset.  Thats the main Point.  So whats the proper terminolgy for the "southbridge"?


----------



## Ascii2 (Jul 31, 2007)

Proper terminology is "southbridge".

Also, I have edited post #93.


----------



## nickl (Aug 6, 2007)

*Replacement for C51GU01*

The Motherboard on my Gateway GT4015E failed less than 6 months after I purchase it and it seems it has failed again, the fan comes on when you turn it on but there is no video or beeps.
I am planning to buy another mobo that uses the AMD CPU and memory,  does anybody has any recomendations other than the C51GU01.
 Thanks


----------



## Ascii2 (Aug 6, 2007)

I crossflashed the BIOS successfully using AwardBIOS Flash Utility V8.60H (using "awdflash /py/sn/cc/cd/cp/Wb/QI" to crossflash).

Foxconn C51GK8MA series BIOS does seem to yeild a more sluggish system withiout reinstalling Windows (I have not reisntalled Windows).

Some new other issues also exist (more about this later).

Current BIOS Agent report with C51GK8MA series BIOS:
	
	



```
Program:   eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.66
BIOS Date: 06/28/06
BIOS Type: Phoenix - Award WorkstationBIOS
BIOS ID:   06/28/2006-C51GK8MA-6A61HFKDC
OEM Sign-On: C51GK8MA series 54AW1P40 06/28/06
Chipset:   AMD 1100 rev 0
Superio:   ITE 8712F rev 7 found at port 2Eh
OS:        WinXP SP2
CPU:       AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 3800+ 2010 Mhz MAX: 3000 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size:      512K
Memory Installed:   1024 MB
Memory Maximum:     16384 MB
Memory Slot 01:     512 MB
Memory Slot 02:     512 MB
Memory Slot 03:     0 MB
Memory Slot 04:     0 MB
ACPI Revision:      Unknown
```


----------



## Namslas90 (Aug 6, 2007)

nickl said:


> The Motherboard on my Gateway GT4015E failed less than 6 months after I purchase it and it seems it has failed again, the fan comes on when you turn it on but there is no video or beeps.
> I am planning to buy another mobo that uses the AMD CPU and memory,  does anybody has any recomendations other than the C51GU01.
> Thanks



More info needed, what CPU (socket 939?), what memory, how much.  What do you use your computer for??  How much do you want(have) to spend?  Do you want to go Crossfire or SLI or what???


----------



## Squiffy (Aug 6, 2007)

nickl said:


> The Motherboard on my Gateway GT4015E failed less than 6 months after I purchase it and it seems it has failed again, the fan comes on when you turn it on but there is no video or beeps.
> I am planning to buy another mobo that uses the AMD CPU and memory,  does anybody has any recomendations other than the C51GU01.
> Thanks



If it uses the C51GU01 you can pretty much kiss it off. It is NOT an ATX mb, but instead a BTX  layout. When I killed mine I figured I would just pop in something else. The only BTX mb I could find that was even close to economical was an Intel that only takes Intel cpu. Search for Intel 915GV P4 LGA775 BTX Motherboard and the like.

Let me know if you find anything. I still haven't been able to fix mine. The bios flashing guys I talked to said the Gateway bios cannot be flashed with a eprom burner, just via an OS.


----------



## Namslas90 (Aug 6, 2007)

Squiffy said:


> If it uses the C51GU01 you can pretty much kiss it off. It is NOT an ATX mb, but instead a BTX  layout. When I killed mine I figured I would just pop in something else. The only BTX mb I could find that was even close to economical was an Intel that only takes Intel cpu. Search for Intel 915GV P4 LGA775 BTX Motherboard and the like.
> 
> Let me know if you find anything. I still haven't been able to fix mine. The bios flashing guys I talked to said the Gateway bios cannot be flashed with a eprom burner, just via an OS.



What BIOS flashing guy's did you talk to?  If you go to BIOSMAN.COM you can order a BIOS chip with your exact bios allready installed, for only $25.00.  You just need to peel the sticker off the bios chip in your machine and write down the number and it's NP.


----------



## SAlexson (Aug 7, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> What BIOS flashing guy's did you talk to?  If you go to BIOSMAN.COM you can order a BIOS chip with your exact bios allready installed, for only $25.00.  You just need to peel the sticker off the bios chip in your machine and write down the number and it's NP.



A quick note on that. If it is a Gateway motherboard, BIOSMAN.COM will not be able to flash it unless you can provide them with the BIN file. This is because of the way Gateway packages their BIOS; they come in an executable that only creates a boot disk with an image that contains the flashing program and the BIN file. The kicker is, that the BIN file is not directly accessable even on the created boot disk.

I used BIOSMAN.COM to get a replacement chip for my C51GU01. I gave them the BIN file (I luckily made a backup of my BIOS in it's original state). They may still have the image if you have the same board.


----------



## Ascii2 (Aug 7, 2007)

SAlexson said:


> They come in an executable that only creates a boot disk with an image that contains the flashing program and the BIN file. The kicker is, that the BIN file is not directly accessable even on the created boot disk.


Not quite true.  The Gateway download is a self-extracting archive that contains *an image* with a boot file.  The boot file may be extracted from the image to yeild the contents of the archive I have attached to this post.

Interesting Note:  "Foxconn" is misspelled in the Gateway "Autoexec.bat" file.


----------



## nickl (Aug 7, 2007)

Squiffy said:


> If it uses the C51GU01 you can pretty much kiss it off. It is NOT an ATX mb, but instead a BTX  layout. When I killed mine I figured I would just pop in something else. The only BTX mb I could find that was even close to economical was an Intel that only takes Intel cpu. Search for Intel 915GV P4 LGA775 BTX Motherboard and the like.
> 
> Let me know if you find anything. I still haven't been able to fix mine. The bios flashing guys I talked to said the Gateway bios cannot be flashed with a eprom burner, just via an OS.



I was planing to buy a new box to install the replacement board on it and use the CPU, memory and drives from my Gateway.
The specs on my Gateway are as follow.
AMD Athlon 64 processor 3500+ 2.2GH 2000MH System bus 512 L2 cache
1024 MB DDR dual chanel memory
Operating ststem Windows XP home edition.
Thanks a lot for getting back to me.
nickl


----------



## nickl (Aug 7, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> More info needed, what CPU (socket 939?), what memory, how much.  What do you use your computer for??  How much do you want(have) to spend?  Do you want to go Crossfire or SLI or what???



The system uses an AMD Athlon 64 processor 3500+ 2.2GH 2000 MH system bios 512 L2 cache (939 socket).
MCH (northbridge)GeForce  6100
ICH (southbridge) nForce 410
1024 MB DDR dual chanel memory.
Excuse any errors in the message, I am learning how to use forums for the first time.
Thanks.
nickl.
My budget is $150.00


----------



## Namslas90 (Aug 7, 2007)

nickl said:


> I was planing to buy a new box to install the replacement board on it and use the CPU, memory and drives from my Gateway.
> The specs on my Gateway are as follow.
> AMD Athlon 64 processor 3500+ 2.2GH 2000MH System bus 512 L2 cache
> 1024 MB DDR dual chanel memory
> ...



If you plan to use the Gateway motherboard, then you will need to get a ATX/BTX compatable case(most come with a BTX adapter).  The Thermaltake Armor Jr, has a BTX adapter available and plenty of room.


----------



## nickl (Aug 7, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> If you plan to use the Gateway motherboard, then you will need to get a ATX/BTX compatable case(most come with a BTX adapter).  The Thermaltake Armor Jr, has a BTX adapter available and plenty of room.



I will buy the case as you recomend.
Can I use the CPU, drives and memory I mentioned?.
The operating system. Windows XP home, and the rest of the sofware provided by Gateway are still on the hard drive. I guess they will not be usable.?.
Thamks.
nickl


----------



## Namslas90 (Aug 7, 2007)

nickl said:


> I will buy the case as you recomend.
> Can I use the CPU, drives and memory I mentioned?.
> The operating system. Windows XP home, and the rest of the sofware provided by Gateway are still on the hard drive. I guess they will not be usable.?.
> Thamks.
> nickl



As long as all the comnponents are still good, it should not be a problem using them.
Are they fixing the computer for you or are they sending you a board?


----------



## nickl (Aug 7, 2007)

Thank for the info.
nickl


----------



## Namslas90 (Aug 7, 2007)

nickl said:


> Thank for the info.
> nickl





Namslas90 said:


> Are they fixing the computer for you or are they sending you a board?



If they are fixing it for you it should all work fine, If they are sending you a board than you may have to call Microsoft for a new Key code for windows, becaus the mobo id has changed.


----------



## nickl (Aug 7, 2007)

Namslas90 said:


> As long as all the comnponents are still good, it should not be a problem using them.
> Are they fixing the computer for you or are they sending you a board?



The components are good, how about the sofare on the drive, can I use it?.
I will have to buy the new board, other than the C51GU01 and the case and fix it myself. Do you have any sugestions on wich board to buy?. I will like to spend no more than $100.00 on the board.
Thanks. nickl


----------



## Namslas90 (Aug 7, 2007)

nickl said:


> The components are good, how about the sofare on the drive, can I use it?.
> I will have to buy the new board, other than the C51GU01 and the case and fix it myself. Do you have any sugestions on wich board to buy?. I will like to spend no more than $100.00 on the board.
> Thanks. nickl



If you change motherboards than you may have to get a new key code from Microsoft for the OS.  Any socket 939 mobo from DFI or Asus, should be fine it all depends on what you want/need.


----------



## nickl (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks for all your help. Wish me luck.
nickl


----------



## MrG (Sep 17, 2007)

Hi everyone,

I have created a post that contains a zip file with the unlocked bios for the C51GU01. http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40005
Avoid all the problems discussed in this post by using the original bios with all the settings unlocked.
Please go there, have a read and get the unlocked bios.  I would like to thank all that participated in the post.  Without you I would of never been able to unlock the hidden settings.


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Sep 18, 2007)

*But First - Do I NEED the Unlocked Bios??*

Thank you MrG and others for sharing your knowledge and effort with the rest of us.  I am the owner of a C51GU01 and I don't know if I need the unlocked bios.  If I don't need to, then I won't bother.  

I want to ditch the stock RAM in favor of some high-performance 2 CAS memory.  So I guess I need to know whether the C51GU01 mobo will auto-detect/support 2.7V or 2.8V 2CL RAM (replacing stock 2.5 V 3CL).  If it won't, then the hacked bios would be necessary to manually tweak my memory voltages. . . . 

I couldn't find anything about this subject on the boards .... though I would expect this to be a common issue.

There are lots of knowledgeable people on this board   Could anybody please clear this up???


----------



## Namslas90 (Sep 18, 2007)

You will need the Bios Mentioned by MrG. or the 6100K8MA-RS Bios mentioned also in the thread.


----------



## MrG (Sep 18, 2007)

Hi Peasantman 67,

First of all I must say I am not an expert in this area.  As you already no the DRAM Configuration menu has been hidden by Gateway.  However the memory timing mode is set to Auto which makes me think that it might auto detect your new memory correctly.  If you set the memory timing to manual then all of the other fields become available.  In manual mode the CAS# latency is set to 2.5 by default with available values of 2, 2.5 and 3.  You can also adjust your memory clock speed and serveral other settings that I am not familiar with.  However I do not see a field for memory voltage.  So I am not sure if the voltage is fixed on this board.  Perhaps Namslas90 can shed some more light on this.

I can tell you that there is no harm in using my unlocked bios.  This is because it is the original bios with the hidden features enabled.  I did not make any other changes.  Even if your memory is auto detected correctly, it would still be nice to have the option to further tweak it.  I will also say that I unlocked the SATA Raid Controller in the bios.  You have to connection points on the board for SATA drives but Gateway has them disabled by default.
Go figure...


----------



## Namslas90 (Sep 18, 2007)

If memory serves me right I think the vdimm limit on the stock BIOS is 2.4.  My OCZ needed 2.6 and I had the Bios modified by ATHLONX2 ( member here @ TPU)!  He's still around, I hope....  The 6100K8MA-RS bios will get it to 2.6 also, not sure about 2.8


----------



## MrG (Sep 18, 2007)

Hi Namslas90,

Fogive my ignorance in this area but I am confused.  How does the 6100K8MA-RS bios allow you to run your memory at 2.6V?  If I look at the 6100K8MA-RS bios using modbin6, I do not see any settings for memory voltage.  The same applies with the unlocked C51GU01 bios in that I do not see any settings for mem voltage.  Did Athalon2 add in a setting for mem voltage?  I also notice that both of these bios do not offer CPU voltage.  How would one change the CPU or memory voltage without a setting for it?  Please advise...


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Sep 19, 2007)

*Shouldn't Autodetect Work?*

Thank you Mr. G and Namslas90.  So if the board can support 2.6V, and if the board has auto-detect settings for the memory timing, then I would (falsely?) presume that it would auto-detect the timings and (possibly) the voltage. :shadedshu  Since they don't even give the option to mess with the mem voltage, AND they don't warn you to pay attention to RAM voltages in the manual, then how are you supposed to make it work???

Mr. G, I pulled down your unlocked bios.  I guess the thing to do now is to buy the new memory and try it (I will just go for 2.6V to minimize chances of failure).  I probably will flash to your unlocked version of the bios in order to tweak the timing.  If all goes well and if I end up still having a working computer when all is said and done, I will make sure I post the result.

In the meantime, if anybody has any experience getting the 2.6V+ stuff to work in his/her C51GU01 then please post what you had to go through to get it to work.


----------



## Namslas90 (Sep 19, 2007)

Autodetect does not work on the voltage.  I'm working with MrG to resolve the issue and make as many versions of compatable BIOS available to all.  Takes time. 



Peasantman 67 said:


> In the meantime, if anybody has any experience getting the 2.6V+ stuff to work in his/her C51GU01 then please post what you had to go through to get it to work.



I have OCZ Gold 2.6 volt running right now, w/Bios modified by AthlonX2.


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Sep 19, 2007)

OK - I see where if I pull down the 6100K8MA-RS manual
http://www.foxconnchannel.com/EN-US/support/downloads_detail.aspx?ID=en-gb0000505
that it has the voltage setting under the Superspeed options.  But using modbin6 I looked at both of the bios that Mr. G posted  and can't seem to find the Superspeed options. . . . .

So if the manual is correct, it would appear that it has settings that you can't readily drill down to in modbin6. . . . .  So could the same be true for Mr. G's unlocked bios?  Has anybody flashed with it & if so could you check the bios itself for the setting?

I guess we have some time to work with as I await delivery of my new mem. . .


----------



## Namslas90 (Sep 19, 2007)

As of yet, I have not.  Still working on consolidating all the diff Bios's I have for that mobo.  I'm sure somebody can put together a good consolidated version of them all, or add what is needed to the best one.

You might find it hard to believe but MSI,Biostar, and a few other companys also use the same mobo made by Foxconn, I ran a Biostarr bios for 3-4 months NP.


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Sep 20, 2007)

*But the*

The specs on the RAM that Patriot recommends for this mobo is 2.6V.  I confirmed with their tech support today that if this mobo can support that RAM module at 2.6V, then voltage-wise it should be able to support any 2.6V RAM module.  We are talking about the "certified to work" RAM they recommend for systems _with_ the locked bios.  So voltage should not be an issue at 2.6V. 

What the guy did confirm is that there could be issues with the timing that I would not be able to resolve unless I could tweak timings on the board and for this reason they recommend that users of systems with locked bios' use their standard stuff.  I assume they do this to minimize issues with mobos that can't detect the faster timings.

But because:
 - This mobo w/ stock locked-bios configuration can handle the 2.6V RAM (as per Patriot);
 - Default (locked setting) is set to auto-detect RAM timings (as per MrG and my viewing the bios file); and
 - The bios is capable of supporting 2 CAS (as per MrG and my viewing the bios file).,
then I don't know why it would not run the 2.6V low latency stuff with the stock bios.  I realize the timings maybe won't be optimal, but shouldn't it work?   But if it does, that would mean that Namslas90 would have been able to run his OCZ RAM with the stock bios.  And it sounds like he wasn't able to.

Am I missing something???  I look forward to resolving this so that many future generations of Gateway owners can take advantage of the better-performing RAM out there .


----------



## MrG (Sep 20, 2007)

Hi Peasantman 67,

I am glad you found the vdimm voltage in the 6100K8MA-RS bios file.  I see it also has a setting for vcore voltage.  I did not find it because I was looking under the DRAM Configuration options.
I just figured that is were it would be.  My bad.

My unlocked bios does not contain the vdimm voltage settings.  It also does not contain the vcore voltage or the PCIE Clock settings.  I would guess that the Gateway bios engineers did not put these items in or removed them when they were dumbing down the bios.  BTW I have flashed my unlocked bios on my clients machine and can confirm that none of the items mentioned show up.

So were does that leave us.  Well since the vdimm voltage item is listed under SuperSeed in the 6100K8MA-RS, I would guess that the Auto/Manual setting for timing mode under DRAM Configutation will not have any effect on the vdimm voltage.  So the question is, what is the default setting for the vdimm voltage on the C51GU01?  The other question is will it auto detect the required voltage for the ram and change the value accordingly?  I do not no the answers to these questions.

To further confuse the issue, I notice that different memory stores sell replacement ram for the GT5056 with different voltages.  I verify that Patriot's modules are rated at 2.6V.  If I look at Kahlon it is 2.5V.
http://www.kahlon.com/rn625469_Gateway_GT5056_Desktop.html Just click on the Product Info link to see this.
If I look at Crucial they are recommending 2.8V memory.
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=GT5056%20Media%20Center&pl=Gateway&cat=RAM

This is very confusing.  Does this mean the stock or unlocked bios will adjust the voltage accordingly?  Does this mean that the modules can run at higher or lower voltages than what they are rated?  One of these questions must be true for the modules from all three vendors to work on the C51GU01.  I really would like to no what the default vdimm voltage is on the C51GU01.  Unfortunately I do not think that PC Health status in the bios shows this info. There must be a windows diagnostic utility that will tell us what the vdimm voltage is currently running at.  Perhaps SpeedFan will show us.  Can you download and install and take a look on the Voltages tab?  Another program that claims to show vdimm voltage is Everest.  You can find Everest Ultimate Edition at downloads.com

Hope this helps you some.  I will check back to see what you think of all this.  Until next time...


----------



## Kibith (Nov 15, 2007)

*Help*

I am in need of some assistance..

I have a Gateway GM5084 Desktop Computer. I bought it in August 2006 and it has worked great until now. Recently it has had trouble booting up, it would turn on but no signal would reach my monitor. I brought it to the local tech support and they suggested it was the BIOS, i obtained one from badflash.com and they installed it, but it still wont work. They say my only option is to replace my motherboard (Foxconn C51GU01) which would be about $200. So is this my only option or is there something else I should try?


----------



## Athlon2K15 (Nov 15, 2007)

do you have a video card installed in it? or are you using the onboard video..either way i would get my hands on a spare card either of the PCI or PCI Express flavors and give it a try


----------



## Kibith (Nov 15, 2007)

I have a  Nvidia in currently. But the first thing we tried was trying a few different video cards and it still did not work.


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Nov 15, 2007)

*Kibith*,

I wouldn't have thought it was the bios based on that description.... and it it sounds like you have ruled it out as the cause.  Besides the lack of video, does the computer seem to boot up normally?  Do the keyboard lights blink?  Or does the PC itself just give a series of beeps?  

Thoughts about diagnosing are right along with AthlonX2's....   Have you tried removing the video card and connecting the monitor to the mobo video out?  It should revert to onboard video auto-magically (no bios tweaks necessary).  If this doesn't work then your mobo may be hosed.

Other things..... Remove everything that isn't necessary for PC to work (modem, tuner, etc) *except for the monitor and keyboard *and while you are at it examine to mobo for _any_ loose connections, leaky capacitors, etc.  Even try removing all but one of the memory sticks (assuming you don't have to pair up RAM sticks in this mobo) and try booting again.  If there is still this problem, swap the memory stick with the one(s) that you took out .  Absent any signs of life after doing this, or if there is any physically visible problem with the mobo, then I would start to agree that it is time to think new motherboard .

Good luck and let us know what happens!


----------



## Namslas90 (Nov 15, 2007)

Before paying $200 for a new motherboard, go to  BIOSMAN.COM  and get a replacement Bios chip with stock Bios Pre-Installed(less than $30).  A lot cheaper than the mobo and gives you a spare bios chip also.  If the Bios chip restores the mobo then you can hot flash the old chip with a better version bios, like one linked in this thread.


----------



## Kibith (Nov 15, 2007)

In response to Namslas90 see my first post on page 5 on this thread. And in response to Peasantman when i boot up there is no beeps whatsoever. Some lights flash on the computer but that’s all. Also I have tried removing the unnecessary parts and booting, it still has not work, and I have also checked for loose connections. So yeah, it must be the motherboard, I ordered it and it should be here by tomorrow. I will let you know how it turns out.


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Nov 16, 2007)

Kibith,

Good luck and I'm looking forward to finding out if swapping the mobo fixed the problem!


----------



## jafosse (Nov 17, 2007)

i have a gateway GT5056 im intrested in overclocking it. it has the g1 version of this motherboard. It has anthlon 2.4 dual processor which i have heard good things about as far as overclocking but all the settings r locked out. If neone has ne idea how i can do this it would be comepletey appreciative...i am computer savy but new to the idea of flashing and overclocking....thanks for ne help


----------



## Peasantman 67 (Nov 17, 2007)

jafosse,

If you are serious about overclocking, then check earlier postings on this board about flashing this motherboard with links to unlocked bios  for it.   The unlocked bios will let you tweak all the necessary settings.  It will also allow you to use higher-performing memory and to optimize that memory for your oc'd system.  But you need to be brave because there is some risk. . . .

Good luck!


----------



## instyne (Dec 7, 2007)

I have a Gateway GT5034 with of course a C51GU01 Mobo. It was my sister in-laws and all I can find out is that she said she was on-line when it took a dump. A lot of the things Nickl talked about seem to apply to this machine.  I'm trying to confirm that the BIOS are the main problem but must eliminate several other parts first. With the monitor and keyboard hooked up. I plug in the power cord and without pushing the power button the lights on front panel come on, the HD and  the fan on PSU both spin up. the monitor displays (no signal). I can hold power button 5 secs to power down and when I try to restart light comes on in front, HD and fan spin up but cannot get anything on monitor again. Are these things that others have experienced and not discribed. I really need to eliminate the PSU as cause before I can blame the BIOS or anything else. Does this mean the mobo is a total loss. My sister in-law paid about $1700. for the system and it will be a long time before I can go buy a new system, so this still might be a cost effective way to get something newer than my 5 yr old HP. Now comes the "PLEASE HELP!" opinions welcome.


----------



## Namslas90 (Dec 7, 2007)

If the PSU is the original one than it could be bad...If it went bad it most likley took the mobo with it.  Shut down and unplug computer, open case side and look in botom corner near the back of case for a blue jumper.  This jumper resets the CMOS.  After grabing the inside of case (to remove static from youself) move the jumper to the reset position, wait 10 seconds and replace it to run position.  Plug in computer and attemp reboot.  If no change try a different power supply.


----------



## instyne (Dec 7, 2007)

I tried resetting jumper no go. I will see about new PSU, as at this point it sounds like the quickest and easiest thing to try.  As Arny once said "I'll be back"


----------



## Namslas90 (Dec 7, 2007)

FYI there was a bad mobo(C51GU01) version installed in some gateways computers.  If it's still under waranty contack Gateway to see about getting a new mobo (free).  If it's not under waranty, you will be better off getting a diff mobo, the authorized Gateway replacement is about $200.


----------



## Gerasik (Dec 21, 2007)

*ok dont be stupid*

if you reflashed to this BIOS and your pc beeps like a dying animal, don, i repeat, DO NOT go out and buy a new mobo. sure go ahead hot flash, but thats more dangerous than what i did to restore my pc after this reflash screwed me over. basically everything is cached in CMOS and all you have to do is reset it. but how? open your pc case and remove the round battery on the mobo (on a GT5032 its right next to the pci slots, towards the bottom of the case.) now leave it out for a minute or two, to short out the CMOS. or to make things a bit faster hold a knife to the 2 prongs for maybe 30 secs. just stick the battery back in and VOILA pc will be back up again. of course you also have the reflashed bios there. when you get back on, start windows in safe mode, restart, go to BIOS settings, and load optimized defaults, dont go screwing around or same thing will happen again. hope that helped!

p.s., if this didnt help, go get yourself another nforce 6100 motherboard for like 80 bucks on newegg. =)


----------



## PuluPulu (Jan 9, 2008)

I have a problem with my gateway gt5056.

Once turned on, the fan will run, LED will light up, and beep will start continuously with no display.

It just happen randomly just a few days ago, but I was able to boot after a few more attempt at turning it on and off; the same didn't apply again.

Any clue on where the problem is?

The only thing I done to this thing is insert a new graphic card awhile ago, and opened it up for a new 1GB ram, then it happened. It is not the RAM, because I removed it and same thing happened.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jan 9, 2008)

PuluPulu said:


> I have a problem with my gateway gt5056.
> 
> Once turned on, the fan will run, LED will light up, and beep will start continuously with no display.
> 
> ...



Most likley you need a new PSU, the OEM PSU is not a quality piece of equipment.  Oem PSU'S do not last long.  I usually replace mine soon after purchase of a new OEM rig.   What kind of GPU did you install, if its anything thats needs a power connector I'm suprised it worked at all.  BE carefull, when the PSU blows is usually takes the mobo with it.  Get a New and better PSU as soon as you can.


----------



## PuluPulu (Jan 9, 2008)

It was ati 3850 256mb GPU.

I guess that is shocking discovery for you that it worked for more than a month 

Are there any physical evidence I can identify with whether the PSU is done and/or the M'board as well?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jan 9, 2008)

PuluPulu said:


> It was ati 3850 256mb GPU.
> 
> I guess that is shocking discovery for you that it worked for more than a month
> 
> Are there any physical evidence I can identify with whether the PSU is done and/or the M'board as well?



Well the fact that the mobo boots means it still works.  The problems you had booting tend to point towards the PSU.  The PSU thing is just common knowledge for the most part.  OEM psu's are usually the ones that dont pass the final  test with a good rating and are therefore sold to OEM builders at a greatly reduced price.

Furthermore, on my GT5056, I instaled a 1900xtx and when i called Gateway I was told I needed at least a 500 watt PSU, they wanted to charge me $250.  I bought one at Fry's for $160, and got a better PSU.


----------



## Gerasik (Jan 9, 2008)

make sure all your drivers are up to date, if the middleware does not work properly, the hardware will have issues launching. hope that helps.


----------



## PuluPulu (Jan 9, 2008)

Now that I checked my PSU wattage, I couldn't believe it last for a month either... 300? wow

thanks for the help, now I hope my PSU arrive before weekend (T-T)


----------



## PuluPulu (Jan 12, 2008)

Ok my PSU arrived, and plugged in.

Now my gt5056 is still doing the beeping without boot screen.

It show the boot screen (gateway logo) once, and got stuck there when it was first turn on; then not anymore.

I did take out the round battery before, does that have anything to do with it? It seem to show me the boot screen with the logo after I remove and put in the round battery again.

Thanks in advance.


----------



## ShadowFold (Jan 12, 2008)

Could I flash my HP NODUSM3 and OC my 4200+?


----------



## Namslas90 (Jan 12, 2008)

ShadowFold said:


> Could I flash my HP NODUSM3 and OC my 4200+?



Probably not most HP's have a locked BIOS and locked (soldered-on) Bios lock jumper.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jan 12, 2008)

PuluPulu said:


> Ok my PSU arrived, and plugged in.
> 
> Now my gt5056 is still doing the beeping without boot screen.
> 
> ...



did you get a PSU with 20 pin ATX connector or 24 pin ATX.  You gota leave the back 4 holes of the mobo conector empty with the 20 pin only connector, the extra 4 pin should be removeable from the PSU conector.


----------



## PuluPulu (Jan 12, 2008)

With both 20 and 24pin connector to main board, the thing still beep like dying animal =(


----------



## jerc (Jan 14, 2008)

Definely not a PSU issue. Try reseating your memory sticks. Almost everytime ive encountered a long endless beep it was loose ram.


----------



## instyne (Jan 15, 2008)

I think you will find your mobo is shot. How long have you had it, maybe in the 12 to 15 month range. I have done a little research on Gateway. It seems that just about all of the GT5000 series computers had an almost identicle mobo. Many have gone bad. Mine was the C51GU01 which is a uBTX motherboard.  I have found what I hope to be a replacement, this board is a KTBC51G. The web address is http://www.fic.com.tw/product/motherboard/AMD/KTBC51G.aspx. I'm not sure I will get it until I can find out more about its stability. I am e-mailing FIC.com to get more info and find out what kind of warrenty it carries. From what I have found out this is not the same mobo Gateway used but is based on it. (I'm really thinking of just getting a good ATX mobo and building something around it.) I will supply more info on this FIC board when I know more. If someone has checked this out already please post your experiences about it.


----------



## Kimble005 (Jan 15, 2008)

Hi all! I'm new here and have enjoyed how thorough you all are. Thanks for all the detailed info. I have the gateway GT5082 with the C51GU01-G1 motherboard. I have read all the previous posts about flashing the bios with the unlocked original gateway bios file. I was just checking to make sure that it would work for the G1 version of this motherboard as well. I read "





Namslas90 said:


> Yes the form factors are different.   What will realy confuse you is that both of those mobo's and a version offered by ECS, Biostarr, and Gigabyte are all the same and all manufatured by the same company;  FIC.   The motherboards all have minute differences mostly in the BIOS.  The C51GU01 and the C51GU01-G1, and the 6100K8MA series are so closeley identical that the BIOS files are interchangeable but not necessarily compatable.   The biggest question being do you have the Foxconn C51GU01 or the C51GU01-G1."
> I did not see anyone having this MB. Any advise would be appreciated. Thanks Again.


----------



## instyne (Jan 16, 2008)

I have a C51GU01 this is printed on the mobo. This board is dead it's not the BIOS or mem or PSU. I recieved an e-mail from johnlin@fica.com. He informed me that they do indeed make the KTBC51G mobo but they are under contract to Gateway and they cannot sell to an individual, he said to check for a grey market board. I won't even answer to tell him thats what I thought his company sold. In about a month I will have finally saved enough money to either buy or build a new system and TO HECK with Gateway.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jan 16, 2008)

A Foxconn 6100K8MA mobo is also the same but ATX - not BTX. (also manufactured by Fic...LOL).  Most of the time the PSU blows and takes the mobo with it.  However there was a bunch of C51Gu01 mobo's installed in gateways that were all from the same BAD lot.  IF the gateway was still under warrantee, they would replace it for free.  Not likly now.


----------



## Namslas90 (Jan 16, 2008)

Kimble005 said:


> Hi all! I'm new here and have enjoyed how thorough you all are. Thanks for all the detailed info. I have the gateway GT5082 with the C51GU01-G1 motherboard. I have read all the previous posts about flashing the bios with the unlocked original gateway bios file. I was just checking to make sure that it would work for the G1 version of this motherboard as well. I read "
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I have the -G1, mixed results with this version.....http://www.foxconnchannel.com/EN-US/...,6150K8MA-8KRS

Check this thread first.  http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=40005&highlight=gateway 
Look for the Bios Mod by Mr G.

Make sure you back up your BIOS first and flash it properly.


----------



## GhostUnit (Jan 27, 2008)

Hi  I have a GT5032 i bought it  2 years ago. :X

And i wanna OC my processor!  so ya i wanna unlock BIOS

is it possible to OC 2.6? 2.5ghz should be fine also like this guy i saw ^^ he has it 2.5ghz stable. 


But i am newbie at this and i need someone to help me in MSN lol

to help me with this easily ;P reading all this confuse me 

daddyyankeezz@hotmail.com is my email ^^ plz add me ty!

I have a 8800GT , thats y i ask first if is k to install this BIOS? 
don't want my 8800gt not to work!


Cause i play HL2 games and i really need to OC not to hit 30-40 fps on a 10v10 less!! 
i want 50-60 lowest atleast on 10v10.


----------



## Woody106 (Mar 14, 2008)

*Similar Problem*

Hello,
I'm new to TPU forums, and I'm not sure if anyone is keeping up with this thread, but it's the closest I could find to my problems.  I have a Gateway GT5228.  The bios is similarly locked.  However, the motherboard is a FIC K2BC51 LF (I'm pretty sure although cpu-Z said it was K2BC51G/PV, and there was a sticker on the board that said K2BC51 LR).  
Chipset: NVIDIA geForce 6100
Southbridge:  nForce 410/430 MPC
Current revision of the bios is: NAG11GWA
I've checked the FIC website, and they don't appear to have any BIOS to download for this board.  Does anyone know of anything that I could use as a substitute?
If I tried to use the one you guys had for the C51GU01 would that totally screw me?
 Thanks in advance!


----------



## instyne (Mar 14, 2008)

Use your browser and type in BIOSMAN. check out their website it will tell you what information they need to fix you up. This should help, have a nice day.


----------



## jrs.reign (Jun 8, 2009)

Awesome, animated to apprehend it man. I fell in adulation with my PC back I flashed the BIOS to an apart version... Dropped the multi down to 10 and aloft the FSB to 250, bargain the mem timings a bit, but active so abundant bigger overall... I'm animated to accept anyone abroad verify that it in fact works too... I acquainted abhorrent if that added guy messed up his PC...


________________
ip pbx


----------



## instyne (Jun 8, 2009)

I had an e-mail alert on this post. That is the only reason I knew about this reply. I am glad that something I posted 1.25 yrs ago was able to help someone today. Thank You!


----------

