Gateway MX6433 and Ati 200m... Grafic issue - Page 3

Hey All OEM's seem to be that way as of late, my roomie bought brand new Dell 1705 notebook, and he has nothing but problems with it GW, HP,DELL, are all the same, they just want your $$$ once they get you hooked, they don't care about you, and that's the way it is I'm really done with all OEM's as of late, and Vista, is another problem as well, it just isn't ready as far as I can see, maybe things will shape up this comming fall, when Vista comes out with Vista SP1

UPDATE: I found a way to update to the New Gateway BIOS 8504.exe for the Vista OS, Here's how I did it :
Reboot your notebook, and tab the F2 key, once you reach the BIOS, you must tap the F9 key to set Defaults, then tap the F10 key to exit, your BIOS will be set to the defalut mode. after you boot into windows vista download , (if you haven't already done so) the 8405.exe to your desktop, right click-on the zip file and run it as Adminstrator, it will then unpack the zip file to the C:\Cabs\8405\Winphlash folder, Double-Click on the Winplash.exe. If you already are running Windows Vista, you must right-click on Winplash.exe and then choose Run as administrator.
In the Phoenix WinPhlash dialog box, verify that Backup BIOS and Flash BIOS with new setting is selected. If the location is already listed as C:\Cabs\8405\Winphlash\BIOS Files\8405.wph, before you click on Flash BIOS. you must 1st click-on the the Advanced tab, and clear all the check marks, the only box that should be checked is, Flash BIOS only if it is newer, click ok and exit the advance tab, then click on Flash, after it flashes, your PC will reboot, then you can check to see if it flashed in the BIOS string to 8405.exe
I didn't notice anything after updating to the new Vista BIOS, but that Vista run a little faster, and windows update, did the rest, and updated, and fixed all of my problem vista drivers, sorry for being so long winded, but I just wanted to share how I flashed to the new BIOS, after about 4 or 5 Fails, I did get something right, so if any of you are having the same problems flashing this new BIOS, I hope this helps you out some, I found this out on-my-own and Gateway didn't have a clue why I couldn't flash to the new BIOS...........kinda makes you wonder just where they get the Tech Support Chat Reps form? they are clueless to about anything, unless they read it outta some service tech white papers, and don't seem to know much, are really care much, about your problems with your PC or Notebook...............LOL

Thanks denb45! Did this resolve your memory issue as well? Excellent post!

No..........I still don't have the Hypermemory Function that I had in Media Center 2005, but, I think that's a ATI video drivers Issue, GW, is very culeless as to why, I don't have that Function anymore, and says, "As soon as we get a better ATI Xpress driver to sovled this problem, what we have posted on our website, and what's on ATI's site is the same drivers with the same issues" so , I guees we'll all have to wait and see what ATI comes out with next, maybe this problem will be addressed in the next update, but, who knows for sure.............all I can say is (Shared Memory SUCKS) the next notebook I buy wiill definately be dedicated V-RAM and not shared, I noticed that GW is still shipping PC's and notebooks with this dreaded shared memory and the Vista OS

Timber, I'll PM you that info soon as I get back on that PC....

denb45, you have a different PC line then Timber and I do. the BIOS you reference does not support our laptop board (compare the list on your post and mine above). Glad you got it to work though!!!! Can you go into the BIOS and adjust the UMA memory setting now??

No........There's still no function in the New BIOS Version, I didn't have that in the old BIOS, but, I did have Hypermemory functionally in the ATI Control Panel, when I was running XP PRO MCE 2005, but, now that I have updated to Vista Home Premium, that function seems to be missing in Vista's new ATI Driver Version

I just looked at your notebook specs, it seems that you have the same motherboard & chipset as I have in my MX6447, so, looks like you're gonna have to wait untill ATI/AMD comes out with better Video-Chipset Drivers, untill then, your just like me, your stuck at 64MB, but it would seem at the moment, I'm stuck at 128MB, I could go back to XP, but, I don't have any Imaging Softwear, (like Norton Ghost 2003) to Burn Vista to a DVD, that won't work with Vista, and Vista is about 15 to 20 Gigs LARGE, so , I'd need at least 3 to 4 DVD-RW's just to do it with something that will work with Vista, so for now, I'm SOL.........

Spoke to soon...now they are telling me:

"I apologize for any inconvenience you may be experiencing. However, we do not have the information available to answer this question. Gateway/eMachines technical support is here to help troubleshoot hardware technical issues and to determine if the original software is faulty or corrupted. We can also arrange for warranty repair service if required. However, we do not have the information available to answer software usage questions or work with third party software or hardware compatibility issues. The manuals provided with the system are a good reference and can provide answers to almost any software usage question. You could also check with the program Help files for additional assistance. You may also wish to do a search online to research any How To questions or issues concerning third party hardware or software. You could also check with the manufacturers of any third party software or hardware products for help and support with their product.

Consulting with the manufacturer of the hardware or software for further assistance would also be a good idea. They have resources that could answer in-depth inquiries, as these resources are designed for their products."

Now I'm ticked!!!!

Third party software issues ??!!?? What are they talking about? The software that THEY provided (drivers) on THEIR machine does not work with the hardware as advertised. What method are you using to contact these a$$-clowns? E-mail?

After I sent them a letter in anger saying basically the same as the above post (although I was a bit more abrupt), once again it's being escalated:

"Thank you for your e-mail. We will pursue this issue through our escalation process and will then provide you with a follow up email.
Our response will be delayed so we can research more to find the necessary information. We try to answer all of our customers in a timely fashion, but in this case we would ask you allow us to research and then get back to you with either an update or a resolution.

Thank you for your patience."

AH....... that's just a FORM LETTER, that GW sends out,( To everyone) just to satisfy you cuz, they don't have any answers to give you, more like, "we'll get back to you on that".............GOOD LUCK, keep Giving EM HELL tho..........

Figured that is what happened last time too. I'll give em a few days then start at them again.

I am going to e-mail them tonight. I don't have the serial # (like that does any good) or else I would do it right now. I did a chat session with a "tech" that told me I needed to upgrade my ram to 2 gigs before I could acess the 128 megs for the video card. (oh boy). I'll put a link in my e-mail that points to this thread, so that they can see there are other people having an issue with this. Just one quetion, though: Will they have to log-on to see this thread? (create an account)

What do u mean, you don't have a serial number? yes you do have one, check, the buttom of your lappy, every one has a serial number, without that, you won't get very far, with them at all

Oh, I have a serial number.. http://www.notebookforums.com/post2547558-28.html

New bios fixed annoying Fn button blackout - MX6453

thanks for the howto denb45 on the BIOS upgrade, I got my MX6543 flashed and noticed no significant changes, except that for the first time since the laptop was new the Fn volume adjustment and LCD dimmer functions work without that annoying 2 second screen blackout -- in media center.

however, in ubuntu edgy I still have a bit of garbage displayed in the upper left corner where the notification should be on LCD dim adjustment. the sound adjustment notifier always worked, even back when the sound didn't

as to the person with the MX6453 with the video memory locked at 64Mb, I can't say what is up, mine registered 128 and is wroking fine.

Great news, yeah I gave up on XP MCE 2005, I installed XP PRO, and it works flawlessly on my MX6447, better than MCE for some reason? it's faster and a lot more responsive, and has very little Processes Running in the back ground Eating up all of my System Ram and Resources, MCE had 90% XP only has about 30% what a difference..... MCE 2005 just Bites-the-big-one and is the WORST OS I have ever used

I received a call from some corporate drone at Gateway. Got the run around from that one too. This was three days after I returned the Gateway to BestBuy. Well past the 15 days you are supposed to get. But I took the unit in and showed them there was no way to get it to 128 megs of memory and they refunded my money.

GOOD FOR YOU...........on your next Notebook purchase........DON'T BUY a notebook w/ less than 1GB of Ram, and DON'T buy a notebook w/ (Shared Video Memory) that was THE MISTAKE I made, and MAKE SURE, you get a Proc w/ at least a intel Duo-Core or a AMD X2 Duo-Core, anything less than this, and you won't get a good Vista Experienece, spend at least $1,200 to 1,500 on a Good Notebook with the above stated specs, if you don't, you will be SORRY YOU DIDN'T I wished I DIDN'T buy the MX6447, but it's a little late for me to do anything ablout this now, so I'm SOL, trying to run Vista..........That's why the Vista Ultimate DSP/OEM Version I have, won't install on my MX6447........However Gateway has informed me that Vista Home Premium will run on my MX6447, but Vista Ultimate IS NOT SUPPORTED AT THIS TIME.......................