GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

[ThermoPhysical]

I'm looking to upgrade my Windows drive to an SSD and wanted to try updating my motherboard's BIOS to the latest version. However, the only available current BIOS update is F6c beta and it's from 2009.


F6c updates the AHCI of the BIOS while it seems the F5c may have problems with 1.07 AHCI which is apparently from 2006.


Would it be beneficial to update to the beta drivers or just stick with the current ones for my SSD?

I would like to have ACHI on for TRIM support so I don't want to go without it. However, with the update being nothing more than a beta with no hope of ever being finished.

[profJim]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

Welcome to the forum.

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...tml#post268592, post #11 has a link to the GA-EX38-DS4 - F6d beta bios. You can post a request for a modded beta bios with the most recent drivers in the http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...fied-bios.html thread. Hopefully one of the bios modders can help you out.

I can't speak for your motherboard, but my P35-DS4 and P35-DS3L motherboards work fine with my Samsung 830 and 840 Pro ssd's. A forum member recently requested a modded bios for his P35-DS4 motherboard and I will shortly be updating my P35-DS4 bios with the modded bios that they provided.

[ThermoPhysical]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

Welcome to the forum.

http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...tml#post268592, post #11 has a link to the GA-EX38-DS4 - F6d beta bios. You can post a request for a modded beta bios with the most recent drivers in the http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...fied-bios.html thread. Hopefully one of the bios modders can help you out.

I can't speak for your motherboard, but my P35-DS4 and P35-DS3L motherboards work fine with my Samsung 830 and 840 Pro ssd's. A forum member recently requested a modded bios for his P35-DS4 motherboard and I will shortly be updating my P35-DS4 bios with the modded bios that they provided.

Thank you for the response and for the welcome to the forums. :)

In the meantime, would I be able to get by with f5c instead of the modded f6c? Currently, my motherboard is on f3c so I don't know how jumping to f5c would work. As it stands, I don't have a drive installed in my PC that has Windows on it yet and a friend of mine will be here tomorrow to update the BIOS for me so I'm not sure if the f5c would work while I wait for a modded f6c.

[profJim]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

I can't give you a specific recommendation as to which bios version is "best" but you can use the forum's Advanced Search feature to find EX38-DS4 threads using the following procedure:

1. Click on the Advanced Search text in the upper right corner of any forum web page.
2. In the Keyword(s): field, type EX38-DS4 without the GA- prefix.
3. Change the default Search Entire Posts option to Search Titles Only.
4. Click the Search Now button.

The Search Results window will list 81 threads, but some threads will deal with other EX38 models such as the EX38-DQ6.
Check the threads to see which bios versions were used by forum members and see what issues might be related to the different bios versions. Generally, the more recent bios versions, including the beta versions will have more recent updates and fix many or most issues from earlier bios versions.

You might want to check out the http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...light=EX38-DS4 that is about half way down the list on the first page.

Double check your motherboard model to ensure that you don't have an X38-xxxx motherboard.
Some motherboard model versions (such as rev:1.0 and rev:2.0) sometimes require bios versions with different names.
The X38 and EX38 motherboards each have a different series of bios files names.

Do not use @BIOS for bios flashing under any circumstances, or you might brick your motherboard.
Follow the bios flashing recommendations using QFlash in the http://forums.tweaktown.com/gigabyte...ash-guide.html thread.

[profJim]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

In the meantime, would I be able to get by with f5c instead of the modded f6c? Currently, my motherboard is on f3c so I don't know how jumping to f5c would work.

Sorry, I forgot to answer your question.

You shouldn't have any problem with going from F3c to F5c or even going directly to F6c or F6d.
I'm not familiar with which ACHI versions are in each of the existing bios versions.

FWIW, this is the mod bios that that virtualfred recently created for a forum member:

GA-P35-DS4 BIOS F15b mod
Modified with:

• Intel Serial ATA AHCI 1.20E
• Intel RAID for SATA 8.9.1.1002 to 12.7.0.1936
• Jmicron 1.06.59 to 1.07.28
• Realtek LAN ROM 2.09 to 2.58

[ThermoPhysical]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

Sorry, I forgot to answer your question.

You shouldn't have any problem with going from F3c to F5c or even going directly to F6c or F6d.
I'm not familiar with which ACHI versions are in each of the existing bios versions.

FWIW, this is the mod bios that that virtualfred recently created for a forum member:

GA-P35-DS4 BIOS F15b mod
Modified with:

• Intel Serial ATA AHCI 1.20E
• Intel RAID for SATA 8.9.1.1002 to 12.7.0.1936
• Jmicron 1.06.59 to 1.07.28
• Realtek LAN ROM 2.09 to 2.58

Thanks! :) I got the post made in the modders forum, hopefully something can come out of it,

[patriiiiiiiiiick]

Re: GIGABYTE GA-EX38-DS4 Firmware Question

I have precisely this configuration (EX38-DS4 and a Samsung SSD 840 PRO) and am struggling with setting it up. As soon as I have a Linux system on it, it hangs at the AHCI detection. Did I just hit an incompatibility? I have put the GA-EX38-DS4 - F6d beta bios but it doesn't change anything.

@ThermoPhysical, Did you get any further with that configuration?

The longer story is to be found here.

Thanks for your time!