InbetweenDays wrote on 2020-07-13, 07:45:

I recently got an Intel RC440BX motherboard, version 724299-205... according to CPU-upgrade.com this will take up to a Pentium I […]
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I recently got an Intel RC440BX motherboard, version 724299-205... according to CPU-upgrade.com this will take up to a Pentium III 600 with BIOS version P10 or later.
Mine had P03 so I updated it to P14 (and have also tried P12 - these are the only two versions I've been able to find online).
I almost always back up the original BIOS first, but this time I didn't... and guess what? I should have.

Everything is okay, except for the onboard AGP video. The BIOS defaults to AGP not PCI, and it won't actually POST if set to AGP unless I put an ISA video card in. That lets me change the BIOS setting to PCI and then it will boot using a PCI video card. But if the settings are cleared / returned to default, then the ISA card becomes essential again. (It also gives no error beeps if the PCI card is removed... POST just hangs)

Any suggestions? Or does anyone have an old BIOS for the RC440BX?

Thanks 😀

Just checked my board (718163-211) which is on P14, and I have no such issues with a minimal boot setup (it even partially boots with video using a coppermine cpu though it halts with the Intel unsupported processor warning message) -

- 600/512/100 (SL3JT)
- 128MB memory (1 x 128 PC133)
- bios video config: palette snooping DISABLED / primary video output AGP / aperture size 64MB

Can't see anything relevant in the bios history relating to your issue

http://cwcyrix.duckdns.org/intel-legacy-files … IOS/rnote14.pdf

though I notice P03 was probably the first production release for your board version, so when you updated to P12 or P14 was there any indication that you should update the bios boot block as well (which happened at P09)?

There are a few other versions available online (P10, P11 & P13) at www.driverguide.com (by searching for RC440BX) though I'm unsure if they're Intel retail or OEM versions.

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2020-07-13, 10:11:

though I notice P03 was probably the first production release for your board version, so when you updated to P12 or P14 was there any indication that you should update the bios boot block as well (which happened at P09)?

There are a few other versions available online (P10, P11 & P13) at www.driverguide.com (by searching for RC440BX) though I'm unsure if they're Intel retail or OEM versions.

Thanks... yes the update process did the boot block as well.
I hadn't found those files on driverguide, so I've just rolled back to P10 (including the boot block) - no luck though I'm afraid.
I found a spec update document that mentions the AGP/PCI option was introduced in P09... but it also says that P10 can be used with my board revision. I'm sure Intel would have tested it, right? 😁

Maybe something went wrong... or I'm just very unlucky and the onboard graphics died at the same time as I did the update.

Gonna bump this.

Just snagged one of these boards off ebay. Can anyone upload or provide a link to the BIOS files? Google isn't returning crap for results.

You'll get most files for the board from here

http://cwcyrix.duckdns.org/intel-legacy-files … ntel%20RC440BX/

or by searching for RC440BX on https://www.driverguide.com/

Just wanted to give a little update to my board.

Received it with a 366mhz Celeron. Board reported it as a 400Mhz, was running a VERY early BIOS revision. Managed to get it updated to P10 or P12 (I forget off hand without hooking it up) and stuck my 600Mhz Katmai PIII in. Aside from the horrendous POST time (like almost a full minute to complete POST) it works great!

Private_Ops wrote on 2020-08-11, 02:55:

Just wanted to give a little update to my board.

Received it with a 366mhz Celeron. Board reported it as a 400Mhz, was running a VERY early BIOS revision. Managed to get it updated to P10 or P12 (I forget off hand without hooking it up) and stuck my 600Mhz Katmai PIII in. Aside from the horrendous POST time (like almost a full minute to complete POST) it works great!

Glad you got the BIOS updated. If the POST times are that long, maybe you don't have Quick Boot enabled in the BIOS Boot Menu. On my board, with this option enabled, I can cold boot to a W98SE DOS prompt in 10-12 seconds (P3 600 + 256MB memory + 6.4GB HDD + DVD ROM drive, but no floppy)

PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2020-08-12, 18:02:

Private_Ops wrote on 2020-08-11, 02:55:

Just wanted to give a little update to my board.

Received it with a 366mhz Celeron. Board reported it as a 400Mhz, was running a VERY early BIOS revision. Managed to get it updated to P10 or P12 (I forget off hand without hooking it up) and stuck my 600Mhz Katmai PIII in. Aside from the horrendous POST time (like almost a full minute to complete POST) it works great!

Glad you got the BIOS updated. If the POST times are that long, maybe you don't have Quick Boot enabled in the BIOS Boot Menu. On my board, with this option enabled, I can cold boot to a W98SE DOS prompt in 10-12 seconds (P3 600 + 256MB memory + 6.4GB HDD + DVD ROM drive, but no floppy)

I don't recall quick boot making a difference. Not a big deal though.