Updating BIOS - should I do this?

[lister]

SSD SATA II Speed Setting Problems

Hi it seems that I have a problem with my SATA II speed settings. Apparently this might be due to a lack of BIOS / Motherboard support for SATA-II - is there a way to check for this? I mean, I can check the BIOS settings, but I dont see any particular reference to SATA-II - Is there a resource to cross reference my particular BIOS generation or type to see if it does allow SATA II? Thanks!

 

[lister]

It seems that my BIOS might not support SATA II If is does not, can I, should I - upgrade my BIOS? (My laptop is about 1.5 years old now - should it have SATA II installed in the BIOS settings?) Thanks!

 

[severedsolo]

The short answer is no you shouldn't.

The long answer is that Panasonic don't offer a BIOS update for your model. I just checked, and no BIOS updates are available for the CF-F8.

What makes you think it doesn't support SATA II if you don't mind me asking? I cannot find any information stating one way or the other.

Edit; Plus what Mike said below.

 

[Hopalong X]

It is not necessary.

Your internal hard drive already has the proper Bios needed to make it work.

Installing a new Bios has a chance of not working properly. It results sometimes in the computer never working again.
So if you are not having a problem it is best to not upgrade the Bios.

Mike

 

[lister]

great thanks for all your helpful replies....

"What makes you think it doesn't support SATA II if you don't mind me asking?"

The problem is that I keep getting this error that says that the system is - "limiting SATA link speed to 1.5 Gbps" and it has to "hard-reset"

This has caused the machine to freeze a couple of times.

I should mention two things:

1. That the SMART tests show 100% health in both windows and linux tests
2. That the system freeze is ONLY in linux.

(PS I know that the issue seems to be in linux but you guys are so knowlegeable about all things I thought to ask you all!!)

THanks as usual for your help!

 

[severedsolo]

That sounds like a Linux SATA controller driver issue to me, I'd ask over on the Ubuntu forums. If it's working on 7, then you have SATA II it's just Linux isn't recognising it.

 

[lister]

That sounds like a Linux SATA controller driver issue to me, I'd ask over on the Ubuntu forums. If it's working on 7, then you have SATA II it's just Linux isn't recognising it.

Thanks - that is very helpful.

 

[lister]

OK! This still hasnt been fixed! Its been 168 days since I first posted this and trust me, I must have googled about 2,000 times since then.

Anyways I have picked this up again and have decided that I will fix this once and for all...

The driver in question is the Intel Corporation ICH9M/M-E SATA AHCI Controller which I would love to update. There is an update here but unfortuantely it is only for windows. The problem is however in my dual booted ubuntu partition. (Now I know that this is a windows forum but you guys have been v helpful and the ubuntu forum, although v helpful, simply have not replied at all...)

Anyway! Here is what I am thinking - there is an updated BIOS for this machine located here. I am hoping that this update will contain an ability to edit the SATA fields so that I can select a better version for the OS to read the Hard Drive.

I should also point out that the problem is as the same as the origin of this post and that I have tried several different 2.5 hard drives all of which ubuntu linux does not like and keeps to throttle the data read.

- My New Question!! Based on the above and since there is no linux update driver - should I go for the updated BIOS and hope for the best?

Thanks v much

 

[Corazon]

The answer is still no...Apart from the fact that the new BIOS is pretty unlikely to give you new SATA-related settings, the issue is still with Linux, not the BIOS or your hardware.

You're trying to fix a car engine problem by replacing the steering wheel.

Besides, even at SATA 1.5G speeds, your harddisk isn't going to be throttled...I doubt that it can provide in excess of 150MB/sec read speeds anyway...

 

[marsmimar]

Are you using the latest version of Ubuntu? I believe that's 11.10. If still no joy have you tried Ubuntu's free technical support (not the forum.) Use Launchpad to open a free tech support inquiry. Or, present your issue to the paid Professional Support Services. They've been known to waive support fees if the problem is worthy enough.

Support | Ubuntu

 

[lister]

@marsmimar - I havent tried the support - its a very good idea thanks for sharing that idea.

Besides, even at SATA 1.5G speeds, your harddisk isn't going to be throttled...I doubt that it can provide in excess of 150MB/sec read speeds anyway...

@Corazon - Do you think that I can ignore this message? It doesn't seem to affect the performance of the machine in any way but I dont like thinking that I have this unsolved issue....

I guess my question is, would you ignore a constant re-setting SATA message?

Thanks!

 

[Corazon]

As long as I knew that the message wasn't indicating an actual problem, which it isn't, I could live with it. I'd sure want to find a way to turn off the message itself, though.