Win Xp Pro BIOS on AMD

Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line and
then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's, CD-ROM,
etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems good. There
are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs. This is an Asus
A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not tried flashing the
BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from here. I wouldn't think
it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD either because of where it
stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this please? Is much appreciated!

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!

Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm

SC Tom

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!

Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm

SC Tom

Mark G. wrote:
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line and
then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's, CD-ROM,
etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems good. There
are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs. This is an Asus
A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not tried flashing the
BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from here. I wouldn't think
it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD either because of where it
stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this please? Is much appreciated!


Simplify the hardware setup. Disconnect all storage devices. See if you
can get to a BIOS screen or not that way. Disconnect the power plugs to
the storage devices, in an effort to reduce the loading on the PSU
(in case it is weak).

Check the video card, and see if the fan is still spinning. If
the video is heating up, it could be freezing at startup or malfunctioning.

If you have a spare video card, give that a try. I keep a PCI video
card around, for special occasions like this.

Sometimes, a heatsink will lose contact with the surface it is
cooling. Check the chipset heatsink(s), the video card heatsink,
for signs they are loose. If a heatsink isn't making contact
with the chip underneath, the chip gets very hot, the heatsink
stays cold. And it is difficult to tell if a chip is naturally
cool, or contact with it has been lost. Sometimes, a plastic
pushpin works loose.

If you have more than one stick of RAM, try each stick one at
a time. In case something is wrong with it, which the built-in
RAM test is not catching. For example, my A7N8X-E Deluxe had a
bad stick of RAM one day, and the RAM test didn't seem to care.
One entire chip on the module was dead, and it didn't detect
that. On the other hand, memtest86+ went nuts. If the bad
stick was present to cover the low memory requirements (where
some BIOS functions live), then the motherboard could not start
or even beep (it should have beeped a RAM error). If the stick
was in the higher parts of the memory space, then the RAM test
didn't catch it. It almost suggests all the chips are not
tested equally bu the BIOS.

In other words, don't assume anything works, and try a
bunch of test cases, in the hope you'll get a symptom which
narrows down the trouble source.

Since you cannot get into the BIOS at the moment,
changing the Vcore setting is not going to be possible.
My 3200+ didn't like too much voltage. It uses 1.65V
normally, but I couldn't really boost it too much without
getting a black screen for my trouble. If you can get
in there, change the setting from 1.65V to 1.70V and
try again. But you have to get into the BIOS to try that.

Paul

Mark G. wrote:
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line and
then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's, CD-ROM,
etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems good. There
are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs. This is an Asus
A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not tried flashing the
BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from here. I wouldn't think
it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD either because of where it
stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this please? Is much appreciated!


Simplify the hardware setup. Disconnect all storage devices. See if you
can get to a BIOS screen or not that way. Disconnect the power plugs to
the storage devices, in an effort to reduce the loading on the PSU
(in case it is weak).

Check the video card, and see if the fan is still spinning. If
the video is heating up, it could be freezing at startup or malfunctioning.

If you have a spare video card, give that a try. I keep a PCI video
card around, for special occasions like this.

Sometimes, a heatsink will lose contact with the surface it is
cooling. Check the chipset heatsink(s), the video card heatsink,
for signs they are loose. If a heatsink isn't making contact
with the chip underneath, the chip gets very hot, the heatsink
stays cold. And it is difficult to tell if a chip is naturally
cool, or contact with it has been lost. Sometimes, a plastic
pushpin works loose.

If you have more than one stick of RAM, try each stick one at
a time. In case something is wrong with it, which the built-in
RAM test is not catching. For example, my A7N8X-E Deluxe had a
bad stick of RAM one day, and the RAM test didn't seem to care.
One entire chip on the module was dead, and it didn't detect
that. On the other hand, memtest86+ went nuts. If the bad
stick was present to cover the low memory requirements (where
some BIOS functions live), then the motherboard could not start
or even beep (it should have beeped a RAM error). If the stick
was in the higher parts of the memory space, then the RAM test
didn't catch it. It almost suggests all the chips are not
tested equally bu the BIOS.

In other words, don't assume anything works, and try a
bunch of test cases, in the hope you'll get a symptom which
narrows down the trouble source.

Since you cannot get into the BIOS at the moment,
changing the Vcore setting is not going to be possible.
My 3200+ didn't like too much voltage. It uses 1.65V
normally, but I couldn't really boost it too much without
getting a black screen for my trouble. If you can get
in there, change the setting from 1.65V to 1.70V and
try again. But you have to get into the BIOS to try that.

Paul

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!


Mark G.
Needless to say there are a variety of reasons why you're experiencing the
problems you describe - both hardware or software, although it does sound
like hardware-related.

The very first thing I would do is check out the HDD with the diagnostic
utility that should be available from the disk's manufacturer. Have you done
this? (The fact that the boot process aborts during the beginning of the
process is *not* an indication that that absolves the HDD from causing this
problem). You should check out the HDD.

Assuming it checks out OK, another possibility is a defective PSU. Have you
a power supply tester or do you have another PSU that you can install?

Assuming no problem re the preceding, just on the off-chance the problem may
be due to a corrupted OS, have you considered a Repair install of the OS?

If that's no go, you can consider Paul's initial suggestion as to
powering-up the machine with *only* the basic components needed, i.e., power
supply, processor & heatsink, RAM, graphics card, monitor, mouse & keyboard
connections. Work *only* with those foregoing components connected - no
HDD(s), no optical drive, no floppy drive, no sound card - no other
peripheral/external devices connected.

Power on the machine and let it run for at least 1/2 - 1 hour during which
time you can access the BIOS settings and go from one screen to another and
in the process determine that all BIOS settings are appropriate to your
system. Check the temps with the BIOS hardware monitor settings to see all
is normal. If no untoward events during this period it should give you some
assurance there's no hardware issue involved here affecting the machine's
basic components (although this process is not completely definitive).

Obviously you'll check whether the CPU fan is spinning. I really don't think
you need to remove the heatsink and/or reseat the processor unless you have
some specific reason to believe one or the other is defective or needs
reseating.

I doubt updating the BIOS will resolve your problem.

I'm assuming you do not have another HDD at your disposal, right?
Anna

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!


Mark G.
Needless to say there are a variety of reasons why you're experiencing the
problems you describe - both hardware or software, although it does sound
like hardware-related.

The very first thing I would do is check out the HDD with the diagnostic
utility that should be available from the disk's manufacturer. Have you done
this? (The fact that the boot process aborts during the beginning of the
process is *not* an indication that that absolves the HDD from causing this
problem). You should check out the HDD.

Assuming it checks out OK, another possibility is a defective PSU. Have you
a power supply tester or do you have another PSU that you can install?

Assuming no problem re the preceding, just on the off-chance the problem may
be due to a corrupted OS, have you considered a Repair install of the OS?

If that's no go, you can consider Paul's initial suggestion as to
powering-up the machine with *only* the basic components needed, i.e., power
supply, processor & heatsink, RAM, graphics card, monitor, mouse & keyboard
connections. Work *only* with those foregoing components connected - no
HDD(s), no optical drive, no floppy drive, no sound card - no other
peripheral/external devices connected.

Power on the machine and let it run for at least 1/2 - 1 hour during which
time you can access the BIOS settings and go from one screen to another and
in the process determine that all BIOS settings are appropriate to your
system. Check the temps with the BIOS hardware monitor settings to see all
is normal. If no untoward events during this period it should give you some
assurance there's no hardware issue involved here affecting the machine's
basic components (although this process is not completely definitive).

Obviously you'll check whether the CPU fan is spinning. I really don't think
you need to remove the heatsink and/or reseat the processor unless you have
some specific reason to believe one or the other is defective or needs
reseating.

I doubt updating the BIOS will resolve your problem.

I'm assuming you do not have another HDD at your disposal, right?
Anna

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!



If BIOS is corrupted, you would get no output to the screen. So BIOS is
working. Video must also be working otherwise you would see nothing. If
memory wasn't working, you would see nothing.

Go into BIOS setup and check for the presence of hard drives and CD/DVD
drives. Does everything show up as it should?

If your hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to the primary IDE cable,
and the hard drive is not showing, but the CD/DVD drive is, your hard drive
has terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If the hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to primary and secondary
IDE respectively, and the hard drive is not showing, your hard drive has
terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If nothing shows up in the IDE configuration, primary or secondary, suspect
IDE controller failure which is terminal. A new motherboard will be
required.

Assuming that the CD/DVD drive shows up, connect a hard drive which is known
to be functioning, and then check BIOS again for its presence. If it shows
up, this will confirm that your own hard drive is done.

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!



If BIOS is corrupted, you would get no output to the screen. So BIOS is
working. Video must also be working otherwise you would see nothing. If
memory wasn't working, you would see nothing.

Go into BIOS setup and check for the presence of hard drives and CD/DVD
drives. Does everything show up as it should?

If your hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to the primary IDE cable,
and the hard drive is not showing, but the CD/DVD drive is, your hard drive
has terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If the hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to primary and secondary
IDE respectively, and the hard drive is not showing, your hard drive has
terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If nothing shows up in the IDE configuration, primary or secondary, suspect
IDE controller failure which is terminal. A new motherboard will be
required.

Assuming that the CD/DVD drive shows up, connect a hard drive which is known
to be functioning, and then check BIOS again for its presence. If it shows
up, this will confirm that your own hard drive is done.

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

While as far as the boot screen gets, it does say press "DEL" to enter BIOS
options, but when I do so, nothing happens at all.


"Mike Hall - MVP" wrote in message
...
"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a
couple of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own
and/or lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the
worst. Now, when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before
it just stops. It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and
then another line and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the
point where it goes through all of the controllers. You know, where it
shows the HDD's, CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is
bad, but it seems good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine
when this occurs. This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand
BIOS. I have not tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some
suggestions from here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't
think it is a HDD either because of where it stops, but could be wrong.
Thoughts on this please? Is much appreciated!



If BIOS is corrupted, you would get no output to the screen. So BIOS is
working. Video must also be working otherwise you would see nothing. If
memory wasn't working, you would see nothing.

Go into BIOS setup and check for the presence of hard drives and CD/DVD
drives. Does everything show up as it should?

If your hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to the primary IDE
cable, and the hard drive is not showing, but the CD/DVD drive is, your
hard drive has terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If the hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to primary and secondary
IDE respectively, and the hard drive is not showing, your hard drive has
terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If nothing shows up in the IDE configuration, primary or secondary,
suspect IDE controller failure which is terminal. A new motherboard will
be required.

Assuming that the CD/DVD drive shows up, connect a hard drive which is
known to be functioning, and then check BIOS again for its presence. If it
shows up, this will confirm that your own hard drive is done.

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

While as far as the boot screen gets, it does say press "DEL" to enter BIOS
options, but when I do so, nothing happens at all.


"Mike Hall - MVP" wrote in message
...
"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a
couple of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own
and/or lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the
worst. Now, when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before
it just stops. It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and
then another line and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the
point where it goes through all of the controllers. You know, where it
shows the HDD's, CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is
bad, but it seems good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine
when this occurs. This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand
BIOS. I have not tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some
suggestions from here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't
think it is a HDD either because of where it stops, but could be wrong.
Thoughts on this please? Is much appreciated!



If BIOS is corrupted, you would get no output to the screen. So BIOS is
working. Video must also be working otherwise you would see nothing. If
memory wasn't working, you would see nothing.

Go into BIOS setup and check for the presence of hard drives and CD/DVD
drives. Does everything show up as it should?

If your hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to the primary IDE
cable, and the hard drive is not showing, but the CD/DVD drive is, your
hard drive has terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If the hard drive and CD/DVD drive are connected to primary and secondary
IDE respectively, and the hard drive is not showing, your hard drive has
terminated which would explain the recent crashes.

If nothing shows up in the IDE configuration, primary or secondary,
suspect IDE controller failure which is terminal. A new motherboard will
be required.

Assuming that the CD/DVD drive shows up, connect a hard drive which is
known to be functioning, and then check BIOS again for its presence. If it
shows up, this will confirm that your own hard drive is done.

--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
While as far as the boot screen gets, it does say press "DEL" to enter
BIOS options, but when I do so, nothing happens at all.






Try a different keyboard, preferably a PS/2 type..


--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
While as far as the boot screen gets, it does say press "DEL" to enter
BIOS options, but when I do so, nothing happens at all.






Try a different keyboard, preferably a PS/2 type..


--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!


It might be the CPU overheating or it might have been damaged from
overheating.

You should check to see if the fan on the CPU heatsink is spinning.

See if the fan or the heatsink is clogged with dust.

I took a look at one person's computer and there was literally a carpet of
dust on the heatsink to the point where air could not blow through the
fins.

Which was why they brought it to me to fix. It kept crashing and locking
up.


Take the memory out and reseat them. Disconnect all other unnecessary
devices to narrow down the source of the problem.

"Mark G." wrote in message
...
Have an AMD machine that is running Windows XP Pro. Anyhow, after a couple
of months where the thing would reboot out of the blue on it's own and/or
lock up frequently, the thing now has stopped and went for the worst. Now,
when it starts, it doesn't get that far into posting before it just stops.
It because just listing the BIOS brand and version and then another line
and then nothing. It doesn't even get as far as to the point where it goes
through all of the controllers. You know, where it shows the HDD's,
CD-ROM, etc... I have checked the RAM to see if any is bad, but it seems
good. There are no beeps whatsoever from the machine when this occurs.
This is an Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe mobo with Award brand BIOS. I have not
tried flashing the BIOS yet. I wanted to check for some suggestions from
here. I wouldn't think it is the mobo going out. Don't think it is a HDD
either because of where it stops, but could be wrong. Thoughts on this
please? Is much appreciated!


It might be the CPU overheating or it might have been damaged from
overheating.

You should check to see if the fan on the CPU heatsink is spinning.

See if the fan or the heatsink is clogged with dust.

I took a look at one person's computer and there was literally a carpet of
dust on the heatsink to the point where air could not blow through the
fins.

Which was why they brought it to me to fix. It kept crashing and locking
up.


Take the memory out and reseat them. Disconnect all other unnecessary
devices to narrow down the source of the problem.