Unstable BIOS Settings

I have recently made the mistake of trying to install incompatable RAM.
Before I learned that it was incompatible I change alot of the BIOS settings
to try to get my system to boot. Since then I have put my old RAM back in
which allowed my computer to boot but is now unstable and often reboots or I
get the blue screen. After a reboot I will get one of two error reports: RAM
failure or device driver failure. I believe I have narrowed the problem down
to a BIOS issue bcause I have completely reinstalled windows and updated all
hardware drivers. At the moment I can't use my system for more demanding
programmes such as internet explorer or games. Since I am a novice at best
when it comes to BIOS I would really appriciate some advice

Gary

Hi, Gary.

As you must have figured out by now, this is not a Windows issue at all.
It's a BIOS issue. Microsoft wrote Windows, but Microsoft did not write
your BIOS. The BIOS controls the hardware and gets your computer ready to
load Windows. Windows can't fix the BIOS; the best it can do is try to
adapt to your settings as you are installing it and, later, as you are
loading Windows on each reboot.

Your first step - obviously - is to make sure your BIOS settings are good.
You haven't mentioned the make and model of your computer - or your
motherboard if you built it yourself. We don't even know if you have an
Award BIOS, or AMI or some other, so we can't tell you exact settings or the
steps to get there. All we can give is "generic" advice.

Reboot your computer and press Del or whatever key is appropriate to enter
your BIOS setup utility. Press F7 (or whatever key fits) to Load Optimal
Defaults (or whatever similar function your BIOS provides). Then Save the
changes and reboot and enter the BIOS utility again. This time, scan
through each page of settings, making sure each setting on each page fits
your individual situation. In your case, since you've changed your RAM, be
sure you have the BIOS configured to match what you currently have
installed. If necessary, READ the documentation for both your computer and
for the RAM you are using. Then Save and reboot one last time.

Now, if you get device driver errors, post back with the exact error
messages - and a reasonably detailed description of your hardware. Then
maybe we can offer some useful advice instead of just lashing out blindly in
the dark.

But it really is NOT a Windows problem at this point.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

"Gary" wrote in message
...
I have recently made the mistake of trying to install incompatable RAM.
Before I learned that it was incompatible I change alot of the BIOS
settings to try to get my system to boot. Since then I have put my old RAM
back in which allowed my computer to boot but is now unstable and often
reboots or I get the blue screen. After a reboot I will get one of two
error reports: RAM failure or device driver failure. I believe I have
narrowed the problem down to a BIOS issue bcause I have completely
reinstalled windows and updated all hardware drivers. At the moment I can't
use my system for more demanding programmes such as internet explorer or
games. Since I am a novice at best when it comes to BIOS I would really
appriciate some advice

Gary

Ok more info for you:
home built pc
windows xp home sp2
mother board: ABIT NF7-S
Award BIOS V6.00PG
Athlon xp 3000 (333Hhz)
512Mb DDR400 PC3200 (unbranded)
Graphics Card: ASUS V9280/TD 128Mb
Sound Card: SB Live 5.1

What I'm trying to determine is if it's a BIOS problem or I've damaged my
RAM. I've put a new thermal pad on my CPU checked with AMD if my heatsink is
recomended, this was to try and account for the reboots. The device driver
failure is a generic failure which the fault report can't detmine exactly
what is failing. Could it be posible that my RAM is overclocking the
graphics card? I've previously run BIOS with fail safe defaults and the
problem persists. My CPU/RAM ratios are set to by SPD whenever I change
these the problem seems to get worse so I don't like blindly playing with
those settings too much. Would it help if I short the CMOS jumper? I'm not
entirely sure what this does or how to do it though.

Gary
"R. C. White" wrote in message
...
Hi, Gary.

As you must have figured out by now, this is not a Windows issue at all.
It's a BIOS issue. Microsoft wrote Windows, but Microsoft did not write
your BIOS. The BIOS controls the hardware and gets your computer ready to
load Windows. Windows can't fix the BIOS; the best it can do is try to
adapt to your settings as you are installing it and, later, as you are
loading Windows on each reboot.

Your first step - obviously - is to make sure your BIOS settings are good.
You haven't mentioned the make and model of your computer - or your
motherboard if you built it yourself. We don't even know if you have an
Award BIOS, or AMI or some other, so we can't tell you exact settings or
the steps to get there. All we can give is "generic" advice.

Reboot your computer and press Del or whatever key is appropriate to
enter your BIOS setup utility. Press F7 (or whatever key fits) to Load
Optimal Defaults (or whatever similar function your BIOS provides). Then
Save the changes and reboot and enter the BIOS utility again. This time,
scan through each page of settings, making sure each setting on each page
fits your individual situation. In your case, since you've changed your
RAM, be sure you have the BIOS configured to match what you currently have
installed. If necessary, READ the documentation for both your computer
and for the RAM you are using. Then Save and reboot one last time.

Now, if you get device driver errors, post back with the exact error
messages - and a reasonably detailed description of your hardware. Then
maybe we can offer some useful advice instead of just lashing out blindly
in the dark.

But it really is NOT a Windows problem at this point.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

"Gary" wrote in message
...
I have recently made the mistake of trying to install incompatable RAM.
Before I learned that it was incompatible I change alot of the BIOS
settings to try to get my system to boot. Since then I have put my old RAM
back in which allowed my computer to boot but is now unstable and often
reboots or I get the blue screen. After a reboot I will get one of two
error reports: RAM failure or device driver failure. I believe I have
narrowed the problem down to a BIOS issue bcause I have completely
reinstalled windows and updated all hardware drivers. At the moment I
can't use my system for more demanding programmes such as internet
explorer or games. Since I am a novice at best when it comes to BIOS I
would really appriciate some advice

Gary

The motherboard manual will tell you. You can download it from there
website. If they have my PX5 p200MMX then they must have yours.

r.

"Gary" wrote in message
...
Ok more info for you:
home built pc
windows xp home sp2
mother board: ABIT NF7-S
Award BIOS V6.00PG
Athlon xp 3000 (333Hhz)
512Mb DDR400 PC3200 (unbranded)
Graphics Card: ASUS V9280/TD 128Mb
Sound Card: SB Live 5.1

What I'm trying to determine is if it's a BIOS problem or I've damaged my
RAM. I've put a new thermal pad on my CPU checked with AMD if my heatsink
is recomended, this was to try and account for the reboots. The device
driver failure is a generic failure which the fault report can't detmine
exactly what is failing. Could it be posible that my RAM is overclocking
the graphics card? I've previously run BIOS with fail safe defaults and
the problem persists. My CPU/RAM ratios are set to by SPD whenever I
change these the problem seems to get worse so I don't like blindly
playing with those settings too much. Would it help if I short the CMOS
jumper? I'm not entirely sure what this does or how to do it though.

Gary
"R. C. White" wrote in message
...
Hi, Gary.

As you must have figured out by now, this is not a Windows issue at all.
It's a BIOS issue. Microsoft wrote Windows, but Microsoft did not write
your BIOS. The BIOS controls the hardware and gets your computer ready
to load Windows. Windows can't fix the BIOS; the best it can do is try
to adapt to your settings as you are installing it and, later, as you are
loading Windows on each reboot.

Your first step - obviously - is to make sure your BIOS settings are
good. You haven't mentioned the make and model of your computer - or your
motherboard if you built it yourself. We don't even know if you have an
Award BIOS, or AMI or some other, so we can't tell you exact settings or
the steps to get there. All we can give is "generic" advice.

Reboot your computer and press Del or whatever key is appropriate to
enter your BIOS setup utility. Press F7 (or whatever key fits) to Load
Optimal Defaults (or whatever similar function your BIOS provides). Then
Save the changes and reboot and enter the BIOS utility again. This time,
scan through each page of settings, making sure each setting on each page
fits your individual situation. In your case, since you've changed your
RAM, be sure you have the BIOS configured to match what you currently
have installed. If necessary, READ the documentation for both your
computer and for the RAM you are using. Then Save and reboot one last
time.

Now, if you get device driver errors, post back with the exact error
messages - and a reasonably detailed description of your hardware. Then
maybe we can offer some useful advice instead of just lashing out blindly
in the dark.

But it really is NOT a Windows problem at this point.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

"Gary" wrote in message
...
I have recently made the mistake of trying to install incompatable RAM.
Before I learned that it was incompatible I change alot of the BIOS
settings to try to get my system to boot. Since then I have put my old
RAM back in which allowed my computer to boot but is now unstable and
often reboots or I get the blue screen. After a reboot I will get one of
two error reports: RAM failure or device driver failure. I believe I have
narrowed the problem down to a BIOS issue bcause I have completely
reinstalled windows and updated all hardware drivers. At the moment I
can't use my system for more demanding programmes such as internet
explorer or games. Since I am a novice at best when it comes to BIOS I
would really appriciate some advice

Gary

did you manually change RAM setting?
not knowing your MOBO or BIOS, i would suggest looking for a "reset to
default" setting. this may help you.
or you might try looking at the MOBO manual, if you don't have one they are
usually online.