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Started by query, July 15, 2001, 03:38 hrs

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query

Do a "Reset to defaults" in your CMOS setup and the problem should go away.



 

Kurt

I can't seem to get past the "insert system disk and press enter" to enter the BIOS.  When I try to move the jumper to the "clear" CMOS position the computer will not start.



 

query

Remove everything but the board, RAM, CPU and video card and try again.  Have you looked in the manual to determine the significance of the error beeps?







 

Kurt

no go.  I have tried to disconnect everything and still get the same message.  I'm looking into the beep code now.



 

Kurt

Here is what I think might be wrong.  I believe that my BIOS flash is either not present or has been corrupted.  When I insert a blank floppy I get a message "AWDFLASH.EXE not found!!"  I think I should be able to download the applicable flash program from the Epox website.  I see that they have updates but I'm not sure if that would include everything I would need.  Any thoughts?



 

Andreas

If this is a new motherboard, I would return in to the store for a replacement before you flash your BIOS. Sometimes flashing a BIOS can void the warranty. Something to llok into.



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query

Why is the system even looking for awdflash.exe on bootup?  Do you have the board jumpered for some sort of recovery mode (i.e., a mode that would allow BIOS recovery by flash from floppy)?







 

Kurt

After doing all I could, and talking to the company I bought it from, they suggested that I send it back for a replacement.  They were actually quite helpful and didn't seem to care that I wanted a replacement.  I have lost a little confidence in the product, but maybe I just received the one in a thousand that turned out to be defective.  I'll let you know how the rest of the transaction goes.  As far as the board looking for AWDFLASH.EXE on boot up, all of the configuration jumpers are correctly positioned as per the manual.  That's the problem.  I get the message immediately at boot up without a chance to enter BIOS.  Thanx for all of the suggestions.



 

scuzzy

Kurt,



Thanks for poasting with us. I do hope you'll come back and tell us the outcome.



Please let others know that we're here.



http://www.poasters.com/images/scuzzy.gif" border=0>

Alex Garcia
Antec Performance TX640B Case | WinXP Pro SP3 & Win7 64-bit | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale LGA 775 3.16GHz Dual-Core | 8GB (4x2GB) PC6400 G-Skill RAM | eVGA 7600GT 256MB PCI-E | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 16MB Cache | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 8MB Cache | 320GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 16MB Cache | External 640GB WD Caviar SATA 32MB Cache | Sony DRU-V200S DVD/RW | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W | Samsung SyncMaster 2494 (24") LCD Monitor | LG Flatron W2361V (23") LCD Monitor

Kurt

Well it has taken long enough but supposedly my replacement board is on the way.  I don't really know if it is a different mobo or my repaired one (although I did mark it inconspicuously before I shipped it back).  Hopefully my mobo blues will be gone in a few days.  I do appreciate all of the responses and advice.



 

scuzzy

Kurt,



Thanks for updating us. Marking the MoBo was pretty smart. I probably wouldn't have thought of that, but I'm certainly placing that idea into my memory banks.



Let us know what happens.



http://www.poasters.com/images/scuzzy.gif" border=0>

Alex Garcia
Antec Performance TX640B Case | WinXP Pro SP3 & Win7 64-bit | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale LGA 775 3.16GHz Dual-Core | 8GB (4x2GB) PC6400 G-Skill RAM | eVGA 7600GT 256MB PCI-E | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 16MB Cache | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 8MB Cache | 320GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 16MB Cache | External 640GB WD Caviar SATA 32MB Cache | Sony DRU-V200S DVD/RW | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W | Samsung SyncMaster 2494 (24") LCD Monitor | LG Flatron W2361V (23") LCD Monitor

Kurt

The saga continues.  I received my replacement board in the mail.  I did get a new board and processor.  I installed it in the case and applied power.  Things seemed to be going well.  I was prompted to start the system with 98 setup, cd support or no support.  I chose #1 and that's where I ran into trouble.  After going through the entire 98 setup and the final restart, my computer begins to pull up my desktop and then freezes.  I tried several attempts but with the same result.  I even reinstalled 98 again.  No luck.  I don't think that I needed to go through the setup but after it began I decided to finish it.  Any thoughts?



 

John

Kurt, did you do a clean install of windows 98 or did you reinstall over the the old install. Was this the first time this hard drive had ever been formatted and used. Poast back.



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John
Cogito Ergo Sum

Kurt

Hi John,

        I installed it over the old 98.  I guess that I thought that since I was prompted for it, that it would be ok.  After I had started the install I wish that I hadn't but was afraid to abort it so I finished.  How much damage have I done?



 

John

Kurt, no damage we just need to FDISK the drive and do a clean install of windows. Also you will need a boot disk. If you do not have one we can handle that. Actually I believe that Scuzzy has the best instructions to FDISK your hard drive and hopefully he will see this and send it too you. If not I can probably dig one up. Is the Windows CD you have an ugrade CD or a OEM/RETAIL version. Another words did it come with a floppy disk.



http://www.poasters.com/images/pcguy.gif" border=0>

John



Edited by - John on Aug 10 2001  11:12:38 AM
Cogito Ergo Sum

Kurt

John,

     I have a complete 98 CD and a boot disk.  I also have all of the paperwork and key codes.  Does this mean that I really should have backed up my files before attempting to replace the board?  Ah, will us new guys never learn!  Another bit of information, I'm also trying to install an ATI AGP All-In-Wonder at the same time.  I'm not sure the board is seeing the AGP card.  My old board had on-board graphics.



 

John

Kurt, Rule (1) Before doing any serious ugrades always back up your important imformation from your hard drive. Which brings me to my next question are you using a clean (no data) hard drive. Or one that already contains data. As for your Vidoe card you will need to install the video card drivers for your video card to work properly. Here is a useful site. Although the parts are different the process is basically the same. You can use this as a guide.



http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Howto/buildcom/socka/1.htm



http://www.poasters.com/images/pcguy.gif" border=0>

John



Edited by - John on Aug 10 2001  12:16:05 PM
Cogito Ergo Sum

Kurt

John,

     I know, I know back up the hard drive.  Well I probably will not make that mistake again.  I was planning on upgrading my hard drive in a few weeks anyway.  Maybe I will just go ahead and do that now.  I have the necessary drivers for my video card, I was just not sure when to install them.



 

Kurt

Could some of my ills be coming from the new video card.  Since my old mobo had on board graphics and I haven't installed any drivers that I know of for my AGP card, how does the display work?



 

scuzzy

Click here: Using FDisk if you want to partition your hard drive. Otherwise, simply format the hard drive, and clean install Windows.



As for the ATI card, go ahead and install it before installing Windows, as it will make things easier for you. It should have no effect on installing Windows, however, Windows probably won't recognize the card. So, once you have Windows up and running, go ahead and install the video drivers. I've done this several times with an ATI Rage Fury Pro AGP card, and it's never been a problem. Actually, it should work pretty much the same with most hardware.



http://www.poasters.com/images/scuzzy.gif" border=0>

Alex Garcia
Antec Performance TX640B Case | WinXP Pro SP3 & Win7 64-bit | Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R | Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale LGA 775 3.16GHz Dual-Core | 8GB (4x2GB) PC6400 G-Skill RAM | eVGA 7600GT 256MB PCI-E | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 16MB Cache | 74GB WD Raptor SATA 8MB Cache | 320GB Seagate Barracuda SATA 16MB Cache | External 640GB WD Caviar SATA 32MB Cache | Sony DRU-V200S DVD/RW | PC Power & Cooling Silencer 500W | Samsung SyncMaster 2494 (24") LCD Monitor | LG Flatron W2361V (23") LCD Monitor

John

Kurt, Many things can cause this problem, but a frequent cause is an anti-virus program. If the hardware is in fact not locked-up by an IRQ conflit. To fix it restart and hold the F8 Key down as winddows starts. Select boot to Safe Mode from the resulting menu. Once in safe mode go to Start, Run,in the blank space type MSCONFIG. This will bring up your System Congiguration Utility. Choose the Start up tab. Uncheck all items except Systray and explorer if it is present. See if that corrects the problem if not poast back for more assistance.

 





http://www.poasters.com/images/pcguy.gif" border=0>

John
Cogito Ergo Sum

Kurt

John,

     I tried to see if I could get things going last night but I didn't have much luck.  I got into safe mode ok and attempted to load my drivers for the video card, but it appears that in safe mode I do not have a D:\.  Is this normal?  I can't install from DOS mode so I am unsure how to get the drivers installed before I continue.  I will try your suggestion this afternoon.



 

query

Don't try to install video drivers in Safe Mode.  Boot into Safe Mode and uninstall the drivers for your video card.  That will leave you with the Windows default VGA-only drivers.  Then restart in normal operating mode and retry the driver installation.







 

Kurt

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you all.  Family vacation, you understand.  Everything seems to be working now.  I did the start, run, msconfig and disabled everything in the start up.  Then I began adding one progrma at a time and rebooting.  So far the problem has not returned nor has it been found.  I've been so happy just having my computer working againg that I really haven't looked very hard.  I'm very thankful that this forums is here.  The help that I have received has been first class and the responses have always been quick.  Thanx all!



 

John

Kurt, it's a nice thing to hear someone say thank you. Glad to hear it's up and running. Wish I had time for a Vacation but alas and forlorn there is not. Glad your back. Visit us anytime. Also share us with your friends. Have a nice day,



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John
Cogito Ergo Sum

Kurt

Well now I've gone and done it.  In my quest for computer muscle I decided to upgrade my mobo to an EPOX 8K7A with an AMD TBird 1.2.  I also put in an ATI All in Wonder Radeon.  Sounds good, but here is where it all goes wrong.  Upon power up there are two beeps; one short and the second longer and lower in tone.  The message that comes up is BIOS Checksum error.  It says searching drive a for media and then asks me to insert system disk and press enter.  I have checked my IDE cables several times.  I have even tried a different floppy drive and cable.  Even with everything disconnected I get the same message.  Any ideas?