[JimScott]

I've got a Mini 9 and a combination of a bios upgrade to A05 and the OS X 10.5.8 update has removed the ability to charge the 8-cell China-generic $42 battery, as well as the original Dell 3-cell. A complete wipe and reinstall of OS X 10.5.7 restored charging and correct operation of the Dell battery, but the 8-cell's now a door stop.

I've tried to find a download source for the original Dell Mini 9 A00 bios DOS version (QHA00DOS.exe) so I can roll back the bios to A00, which reportedly restores the functionality of non-Dell batteries. My plan is to replace the QHA05DOS.exe file in appleguru's "HOWTO: Upgrade your bios with OS X" AO5 FLASHER with QHA00DOS.exe.

Can someone post this file? If what I read in other threads is true, there are a lot of us out there who need to roll back our Mini 9's to A00 bios.

And as a side note, I've never heard of a computer manufacturer purposely disabling third-party batteries through a bios setting. What's next, RAM, hard drives, external drives, optical mice, etc? It sounds almost like a restraint of trade issue. Of course, I can see why Dell wants to sell me a $150 genuine Dell battery, but why turn me off as a customer by disabling my $42 third-party battery?

[JimScott]

Well, I answered my own question. I was trying to take my Mini 9 back to the original bios, A00, the hard way. My Mini 9 is running Mac OS X 10.5.7, so that complicated matters in my own head.

I used the Somms (a super moderator of mydellmini) flashBIOSv1.51.exe utility. See this thread for more details: <http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell-mini-9-hardware-issues-problems/8233-dell-i910-mini-vostro-a90-usb-key-drive-flashbios-utility.html>
Or search mydellmini for a link to the utility.

Using this utility, I flashed my Mini 9 from bios A05 back to the original A00, and now my third-party 8 cell battery (eBay, $42), charges and discharges without flashing lights. Most importantly, it charges. Thanks to the tips and posts by other mydellmini members.

Although this forum is filled with all kinds of wondrous information, it does take a bit of digging and experimentation to find a solution to our individual problems. In this case, I tried all kinds of methods to build a bootable USB thumb drive that would permit rolling back to A00. Finally, I burned the flashBIOSv1.51.exe onto a CD, booted my Intel iMac into Windows Vista, put in a 256MB USB thumb drive, and had a bootable disk in a matter of minutes. Don't know why I tried so long to do it the hard way. But I so rarely use Windows via Boot Camp on my iMac that I forgot it was there.

[kilikili]

Originally Posted by JimScott

Well, I answered my own question. I was trying to take my Mini 9 back to the original bios, A00, the hard way. My Mini 9 is running Mac OS X 10.5.7, so that complicated matters in my own head.

I used the Somms (a super moderator of mydellmini) flashBIOSv1.51.exe utility. See this thread for more details: <http://www.mydellmini.com/forum/dell-mini-9-hardware-issues-problems/8233-dell-i910-mini-vostro-a90-usb-key-drive-flashbios-utility.html>
Or search mydellmini for a link to the utility.

Using this utility, I flashed my Mini 9 from bios A05 back to the original A00, and now my third-party 8 cell battery (eBay, $42), charges and discharges without flashing lights. Most importantly, it charges. Thanks to the tips and posts by other mydellmini members.

Although this forum is filled with all kinds of wondrous information, it does take a bit of digging and experimentation to find a solution to our individual problems. In this case, I tried all kinds of methods to build a bootable USB thumb drive that would permit rolling back to A00. Finally, I burned the flashBIOSv1.51.exe onto a CD, booted my Intel iMac into Windows Vista, put in a 256MB USB thumb drive, and had a bootable disk in a matter of minutes. Don't know why I tried so long to do it the hard way. But I so rarely use Windows via Boot Camp on my iMac that I forgot it was there.

Now with that said, do you notice any changes in 10.5.7 since downgrading the BIOS?

[JimScott]

Originally Posted by kilikili

Now with that said, do you notice any changes in 10.5.7 since downgrading the BIOS?

None at all. Everything in 10.5.7 appears to work as it did before. The only "problem" that appears to remain the same is the wake from sleep issue, where the screen will light up but the cursor has disappeared and the system has frozen. As before, I have to shut it down with the power button and restart in order to use the Mini 9. Of course, I've got the same issue with my Mini 10v running 10.5.7 too. :^) But the good news is that I rarely use sleep, so it's a non-issue with me.

[yellowpearl]

I had this same issue with the generic 8 cell. I used the flashBIOSv1.51.exe to create a bootable USB (on a ...eugh... PC) and just downgraded to A00 (from A05).

I'm currently on OS-X 10.5.7, and with the A05 Bios, there was no issue with the sleep/wake functions, yet now in A00 .... they're back. I was wondering if perhaps a re-run of DellEFI may help... anyone have any thoughts on that... to be honest, I am loathe to do this, since IMHO, it ain't broken, but......

M