Samsung Q1UP gets a BIOS upgrade with... something.

Nosing around the Samsung Download center, I see there's a new BIOS version available for the Q1 Ultra Premium UMPC, both the XP and Vista versions. My device is currently running Vista but I noticed that my BIOS is version 01MI, so I've just downloaded 02MI. The under 2 MB file ran in under five minutes and then the UMPC rebooted. Bear in mind that you'll want to have your unit plugged in to an AC outlet and the battery must have at least a 30% charge or the BIOS update won't run.

I already had 2 GB of memory in the unit, so the old BIOS supports at least that much RAM. I figured the new BIOS would offer support for sharing up to 256 MB of memory with the video card since the Intel 945 chipset can handle that. On the original BIOS, only 128 MB of memory could be allocated to video. Unfortunately, when I checked in the the BIOS, I still see the same options for video memory: 64- and 128-MB, along with an Auto function which still tops out at 128 MB. At this point, I don't see any visible changes in the BIOS setup screens, so I have no idea what the new version adds. Can anyone say "release notes"? Just for kicks, I ran the Windows Experience Index rating again... same exact scores as the last time.

Update: Big word of caution. My Q1UP apparently no longer has a wireless radio inside after the BIOS upgrade. I've never seen software make hardware magically disappear. ;) I'll be working through the issue but wanted to quickly point it out. More to follow...

Update 2: Either a few reboots or changing the wireless setting in the BIOS addressed the issue. Samwise is flying around the web without wires. Whew!

Comments

[Travis]

Isn't the "rule" if it ain't broke don't fix it?

[Kevin C. Tofel]

For non-geeks: yes. For the rest of us: we always want to see what's in the next version of something. ;) Seriously, I was hoping for better graphics performance resulting from a change in how much memory you can allocate to the graphics.

[Virtuous]

I'm never buying another Samsung UMPC. Their support is so poor it's comical.

[Mitchell Oke]

Have you checked in the BIOS to see if the WiFi radio is disabled?

[Kevin C. Tofel]

I did check the BIOS setting for the Wireless device and it was defaulted to "Always On". I usually set that to "Last State", so I did just that, rebooted and she's back. Just for kicks, I set it back to "Always On" and it still worked. Odd, but good. Perhaps just the rebooting alone nudged it along... in any case, I'm glad it's back!

[JR]

Hopefully you can downgrade the bios easily. Most company's allow you to do so but for some bizzar reason Asus decided to disable the ability to downgrade a bios version on one of their motherboards after installing a beta version BIOS ??? Which left me a bit stuck after the BIOS turned out to be buggy. Found a work around in the end which forced the bios to downgrade (after hours of geeking the net) so all is well :).

[Jack Ford]

I also have a Q1UP. Is this worth doing or should I not bother? What's the benefit now that you've got the wireless radio working?

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Jack, I can't say that I see a benefit at this point. However, it could be that I haven't found the benefit or it could be an under-the-hood type of upgrade. Hard to say, but I now see no loss of functionality, which is great. Samsung really needs to get some release notes out with these updates!

[PJ]

One quick question for anyone who can help me. How do I get in to the BIOS set up screen? When I boot my Q1UP, it boots up too fast and I can't read which key to press to get in to the set up screen. Thanks~

[Kevin C. Tofel]

It does get through the initial splash screen fast. You want to press the R, or right mouse button during the splash screen.

[PJ]

Thank you, Kevin. By the way, I upgraded my ram to 2 GB and, let me tell you, it was not so easy as you mentioned on the video. I had your video play the whole time and, still, it was really tough to do certain things, like opening the freakin' case. =D On your video, you mentioned that you might not need to unscrew 2 screws for hard drive. Well, I think you actually have to unscrew those 2 as well. I think you have to unscrew every screws with a little white arrow pointing at it. Anyway, I just wanted to point out that I couldn't have done it without your video. Thank you.

[Kevin H]

to Kevin C Tofel, can you throw the question out to all SamQ1 UP owner's, are they looking to install new Samsung SSD 128Gb in near future, can you comment or give some guidance!!
I've used your site to upgrade memory to 2Gb and Novatel EU 870 D HSDPA upgrade, works great in Australia on 3 network.looking to SSD my hard drive in future, would be good to hear your comments.

regards, Kevin H.