Hello, Did you manage to download all of the drivers that you needed? Should you need anymore I'd be more than happy to help. Still playing with this HTPC too. Just replaced the HDD on an iDea 500 with an SSD and it's booting up reasonably quick to be fair. Trying to source a replacement front panel assembly and top cover but think that parts are now desperately difficult to source. Not replaced the GPU on an iDea 510 though as cannot seem to find any reasonably priced.I see and i find all driver but the VFDTranscorder are missing.
No problem, The HD2600 has been working great here as well.
I was running an 8600M GT before which has roughly the same performance but there is always the increased risk the 8600M might fail due to the bad solder issue, so when the HD2600's from the iDea 520BD popped up I had to grab one
For anyone else looking to upgrade the graphics cards have been relisted (This is not my listing) - NEW VIDEO GRAPHIC CARD ACER iDEA 520BD M76 MXMII 512MB ATI HD2400 07379-SA | eBay
VFD works well in windows7 but not in w8.1, I try to install in compatibility mode but it doesn't work. I think that i can live without VFD, but if someone have a solution i'll sleep better tonight
You can use the classifieds to sell partsWell...after 8 years of fantastic operation its time to say goodbye to this machine. It served me well and i will never forget the first time i could pause the live tv and rewind...what a cultural shock!
I have my graphic card failed and i decided not to fix it and proceed with the purchase of a mac mini for my HTPC with XBMC and a eyetvgo software for my Live TV needs.
Thank you all for your great support
edit: I hate to see the machine dusting on my living room. I'm willing to sell parts if anyone is interested. i can place them on eBay or something we will figure it out. just wanna help other users.
The last time I had a 500 it had a Core Duo T2300E (SL9DM) as standard, I did not keep this machine but I did play around with it a little. The Acer iDea 500 needs to be flashed with the BIOS from the 510 in order to support processors from the T5xxx and T7xxx range.
The T2600 (SL8VN) should be working without the BIOS upgrade though, can you confirm your T2600 is SL8VN?
The highest end processor I had running on the 500 was a Core 2 Duo T7200 (SL9SF) but there should be no reason why the T7600 (SL9SD) should not be working unless you have had some bad luck and got faulty processors.
When you install the new processors does the system display an image at all or does it hang at POST?
I tried to flash the BIOS for a 510 but got a message that the file was too large.
Was this error produced under Windows using WinFlash or under DOS using AWDFLASH?
Thanks
John
John,
Thanks very much. That would be great. I look forward to receiving them. Do you need my email address to send the file? I may need a word or two of instruction also to be on the safe side!
Hello,
Processor - Core 2 Duo T7600 2.33GHz - SL9SD.
This is the max as far as I have tested, there is a possibility of a T7600G achieving more if the Acer BIOS will allow a multiplier change with a T7600G installed.
John
Before going forward I recommend you take a backup of your existing BIOS first, this can be done using WinFlash or Universal BIOS Backup Toolkit (Universal BIOS Backup Toolkit
There is a zip file attached containing an ISO image that will need to be burned to a CD or DVD, I use ImgBurn (The Official ImgBurn Website for burning ISO images but pretty much any burning software will do.
Once you have burned the disk you need to boot from it, reboot your system with the disk inserted and press F12 at POST and this will give you the boot menu. Select CDROM from the boot menu, press enter and allow the system to boot into DOS. When the command prompt appears type "update" and press enter, from there follow the on screen instructions.
As with any BIOS update, this is risky so only go ahead if you are 100% sure you know it could go wrong and could leave your system non functional. This was successful for me when I updated an iDea 500 with a newer CPU but I cannot offer any guarantees.
John,
Thanks very much again. I am in process of moving house and have only just been able to follow through. I followed your advice closely and with great success. I now have a working computer with an updated BIOS and a T7600, 2.3 GHz CPU working perfectly.
*****
In the process of upgrading I removed the front fascia to correct a fault with the on/of button and disconnected the cable to the infra-red and VFdisplay. When I now reconnect this, the computer fails to power on. Is this a fault with the cable or have the VFD and I-R cards blown? For my purposes, the computer runs as required, so these functions are not essential for me but would be useful. Any advice from members would be appreciated.
John
Finally found time in the house move and aftermath to fit new PSU purchased following your link. Worked first time and back to full working order. Now to see what problems Windows 10 will bring. Again many thanks for help and advice
If you find a T7600G you can give it a try with Throttle Stop.
Heatsink surface look quite rough, lapping it could be a good idea.
I installed T7600 today and make a standard test with IntelBurnTest.
Result was ok. The max cpu temp measured by Core Temp was 74° C. in idle is about 47-48° C.