Can't upgrade F/W SH-S203b oem code 1

#1

Title says it all.

I’ve updated FW for dozens of drives in the past and never have I gone thru any of this ridicules BS. Probably spent at least 4 hours trying to get it upgraded but nothing works. It’s an SH 203b. Wininquiry shows my OEM code as 1, so I’m assuming thats the problem. I can’t use any of the F/W versions I have been able to find because they are only for OEM code SB. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr.
I’m hoping someone here knows a link where I can get the correct version.
Any help is appreciated.

Easy Duzit

#2

Hi and Welcome!

I am sure, you are running your drive on a VIA based Sata controller. Please have a look into the FAQ (see my signature) for further information about this issue.

Michael

#3

Thanks for the quick reply Michael, but I did read the FAQ before I posted. And, although it explains that there is different versions of OEM Codes, it doesn’t tell me where I can get the correct FW upgrade for my version.

Easy

EDIT Just saw the part about VIA Controllers. Wonderful…

Can I use the method as if I was crossflashing to get around this?

#4

Tried the [FONT=Verdana]-NOCHECK method from the command line, still didn’t work.
But I read the other posts regarding this problem. Frustrating. I have the Asus A8V Deluxe so I will hook the drive to the promise Raid controller and set it to IDE Mode. Hopefully that will work. I’ll let you know what happens. But you can bet I won’t be getting a new mobo or add in sata card just to upgrade the DVD burner. If it doesn’t work, I’ll have to live with the SB02 firmware.
Will post results in the next day or two.

Easy
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#5

Hi,[quote=Easy Duzit;2032355]Tried the [FONT=Verdana]-NOCHECK method from the command line, still didn’t work. [/quote] I should mention this in the FAQ.

But I read the other posts regarding this problem. Frustrating. I have the Asus A8V Deluxe so I will hook the drive to the promise Raid controller and set it to IDE Mode. Hopefully that will work.
I am not sure about that controller, but you can try. My main computer is similar, has MSI K8T Neo2-FIR. Fortunately, they soldered a Promise PDC20579 onto the PCB, which works nicely with my 203B, but fails with PATA ODD :confused:.

I’ll let you know what happens.
Thanks:) Feedback is always appreciated :iagree:
But you can bet I won’t be getting a new mobo or add in sata card just to upgrade the DVD burner. If it doesn’t work, I’ll have to live with the SB02 firmware.
It is reported, that bitsetting doesn’t work also with VIA controllers.
I bought me a cheap SiI controller with 3512 chipset to play with. Does nicely :slight_smile:
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Michael

#6

Man, A8V is almost a four years old technology. At that time SATA DVD burners were rare, if at all existing, kinly said.
Spare you grief and get a new mobo (or even better a completely new box) because in a year there will be only SATA burners.
Sad to say but this is reality nowdays. :wink:

[I]BTW[/I], VIA mobos always had issues with optical drives even the IDE ones, (example not being able to run in ful DMA mode on ide channel when more then one dvd burner connected on same cable and, and and much more…)

#7

[QUOTE=pinto2;2032507]Man, A8V is almost a four years old technology. At that time SATA DVD burners were rare, if at all existing, kinly said.
Spare you grief and get a new mobo (or even better a completely new box) because in a year there will be only SATA burners.
Sad to say but this is reality nowdays. ;)[/quote]

Anything with an Intel chipset would do just fine. The P35 is quite nice. Pair it up with an inexpensive Core2 Duo CPU and he’ll be golden.

[I]BTW[/I], VIA mobos always had issues with optical drives even the IDE ones, (example not being able to run in ful DMA mode on ide channel when more then one dvd burner connected on same cable and, and and much more…)

I remember those days. Good times, all the hours spent trying to troubleshoot those issues. I still liked my old VIA KT133A and 266A boards. :Z

#8

Yeah… yeah… yeah, everybody slam the guy with the antique computer. :bigsmile: Actually I’m sure I’ll do a new build in the next year, probably less. But for right now this still does everything I want. It’s nothing to write home about but a 3400+ will pretty much run anything I really need with the exception of Crysis. Has a good 512mb AGP card ( yeah I know, AGP…ewwwww). But it still holds its own gaming. Just finished Bioshock and it never choked once.

Easy

#9

:iagree: There is really no reason to drop a good working system just because of a 30€ DVD burner.
Also these modern intel based boards have no support for P-ATA drives, so they slap a crappy Jmicron controller on it, which is as poor with PATA ODD as is Via VT8237 with Sata ODD :bigsmile:.
Then stick with your system as long as it’s good enough for your needs. And you can stll install a PCI controller card (any modern mobo with more than 3 PCI slots? No!) to add a feature you’re missing :slight_smile:

#10

[QUOTE=Easy Duzit;2032804]Yeah… yeah… yeah, everybody slam the guy with the antique computer. :bigsmile: Actually I’m sure I’ll do a new build in the next year, probably less. But for right now this still does everything I want. It’s nothing to write home about but a 3400+ will pretty much run anything I really need with the exception of Crysis. Has a good 512mb AGP card ( yeah I know, AGP…ewwwww). But it still holds its own gaming. Just finished Bioshock and it never choked once.

Easy[/QUOTE]

3400+ is hardly antique. My best friend has an Athlon XP 2500+, an nForce2 motherboard, a Radeon 9500 AGP card (that soft-mods to a 9700), and a Plextor 24/10/40A burner that I gave him a couple years ago. All he pretty much plays is HL2 and its variants, and he’s been happy for a good, long while. He would love to have a system like yours. :wink:

#11

I hear ya saturnotaku, and thats why I’m waiting another 6 to 12 months before I do a complete rebuild. In reality this rig will still do anything that 98% of people would use it for. But in computer terms it’s a dinosaur. And there is quite a lot to be said for multi core. Right now when I burn a movie to DVD it takes 1.5 to 2 hours to encode the AVI and I really can’t use the pc for anything else during that time. With a dual or quad core…well, much faster on the encoding and I can still use the pc at the same time. But I just can’t justify the cost of the rig I’ll build for that reason alone. But soon, oh yeah, soon…

Anyway, as far as upgrading the SH-S203B Firmware on the Asus A8V Deluxe. It ain’t gonna happen. :sad: I tried the onboard promise raid controller today and set it to “IDE Mode” in the bios, but it wouldn’t recognize the drive. Seems the controller is only for HDD’s. So I’m stuck with the SB02 Firmware for now. If at some point it becomes necessary to do it, I can pull it out and flash it at a friends house but as long as it still burns everything I throw at it, I guess it’s ok for the time being.

Also want to say, Micheal, thank you for the help. At least now I know what caused the problem.

Easy :slight_smile: