Need some help booting me pc

[tainted]

I just got all my components inside my case today, so its my first boot. Had no problems turning it on, booted up and went to bios where I changed the date. Exited this and then let it boot from cd to install winxp.
It loaded this fine too, except when it reached the user agreement my new keyboard's damn F keys wouldnt respond, so I couldnt click F8 to agree, and had to exit. No real problem though I have another keyboard on hand, but after swapping them the comp has been giving me problems.

It would either sit on this screen and do nothing
(image removed)

or just boot up blank =(



I took out the motherboard battery and reset the cmos (twice), but after redoing the bios settings it would still just sit at the dmi pool data screen and proceed no further. I rebooted again and it gave me this
(image removed)

at which point I powered down and came here

Anyone have any idea's? Why wouldnt it be able to it get past the verifying dmi pool screen
my specs are asus A7N8X-D, 2800XP, 2 x 512 crucial 3200 and powercolor 9800 pro

 

[Testin da Cable]

Originally posted by tainted
I took out the motherboard battery and reset the cmos (twice)

is the computer connected to the mains when you're doing that?

other than that, take the whole thing apart, discharge the CMOS, put the cpu, cooler and gfx card together, turn on and see what happens.

 

[tainted]

I made sure it was disconnected, i'll try again though I think

 

[xane]

Originally posted by tainted
It would either sit on this screen and do nothing

This is after you've aborted the Windows XP install ?

I'd suggested the HDD has been formatted by this time and it can't boot, try forcing the boot sequence to use the CD-ROM and install from scratch again, edit it so the CD-ROM is the only boot device.

 

[tainted]

ok

 

[tainted]

Ok that got it working again its formatting the HD at the moment


Honestly, im really annoyed about that. It specifically said 'if you agree to install press f8, if not press esc'
My damn F8 key didnt work so I pressed esc. you'd think the defaults would be loaded or something..



anyway now its time to see if my uni copy of xp will work, they have some deal going where students can download and burn an iso image of certain microsoft software for use while we're studying there



edit: it would seem my new kboard has an F-lock key, and by default they are disabled :wall: my fault for not reading up on it first I guess

 

[Cdr]

Does that mean you have to uninstall it once you've finished at the Uni?

 

[tainted]

yeah

obviously theres no way they could enforce this so the cd keys they issue are once off only deals. though that'd really only work if you downloaded an update right?

either way thats how its supposed to work ~_^

 

[Cdr]

Or for whatever reason had to format your HDD (PC upgrade, virus, a general maintenance format).

 

[xane]

Don't forget to re-enable the boot sequence to include the HDD next time it reboots.

 

[tainted]

yep

 

[TheJkWhoSaysNi]

My keyboard has an Flock key too, annoying. (Even if it is a good keyboard - logitech internet navigator black)

 

[Big G]

Originally posted by TheJkWhoSaysNi
My keyboard has an Flock key too, annoying. (Even if it is a good keyboard - logitech internet navigator black)

I have the same and the F lock annoys the tits off me

G

 

[tainted]

just a minor query, but does win xp pro usually boot up with no desktop icons? all i have is a recycle bin

-t

 

[Deadmanwalking]

yes

 

[xane]

You can revert XP to "classic mode" and it looks like 98/Me, I personally do this as the menu system is confusing for an old timer like me.

 

[tainted]

hmm just switched the multiplier from 100 x 12.5 to 166 x 12.5 and it wont post again

 

[tainted]

ok I set it to user defined settings in the bios, though its on 166 x 12.5 now, in windows both the asus motherboard probe software and dxdiag say its still running at 1200mhz. Could I be missing something in bios?

 

[tainted]

hmm says the memory fsb is running at 100 also. I dont know much about memory timings but it should be at 166 I believe



This image shows the distortion windows had after rebooting with the 166 x 12.5 settings, and the memory fsb at 166

(image removed)

despite this, windows is still reading it as 1250mhz



heres a shot of the A7N8X D bios setup for these features, im not quite sure which version the bios is yet

(image removed)
(they are on the same screen, my editing was just a bit bad)



the asus manual says the frequency ranges are adjustable in 1, 2, 3 and 5mhz increments. I increased it from 100 to 166 straight off, could this be why its not registering a new clock speed? I'll go test for 5 increment increases after I submit this

 

[kameleon]

its the keyboard.

 

[tainted]

ah I see, the kboard was causing me big problems yesterday

having trouble with the clock speed now though

 

[kameleon]

I mean its probably one of those multimedia ones that have function keys that dont work in bios. Just use a standard one until you are past the setup procedure

 

[(Shovel)]

Are you referring to the pressing F8 business Kam?



With regards to the BIOS set up, you shouldn't need to be messing with the 1/2/5 increments, I believe that such features are designed purely for overclocking purposes.

You should be able to configure your components to their defaults using just the defaults.

A7N8X-D
2800XP
**2 x 512 crucial 3200

I think it's the RAM where you've gone wrong: 3200 is DDR-400, therefore you want the Memory bus speed set to 200Mhz (x DDR = 400).

Having checked the specs for the AMD processors here I think that your processor settings are correct. The 2800+ runs at 2083 Mhz, so a multiplier of 166 x 12.5 *should* be right. The only thing I'm not 100% certain of is whether you are supposed to calculate that taking into account the DDR bus - since 333 only needs to be multiplied by half that. Someone will know and clarify that though.


Additionally, graphical glitching could also be a video card issue, though I'd suggest correcting the memory for the time being and seeing whether that alters matters.

 

[Testin da Cable]

you have tried putting everything on "AUTO" and leaving it at that haven't you?

iirc "optimal" means failsafe and thus slow. at least, that's how I read it in the manual.

 

[tainted]

yep did try auto, didnt adjust it to the proper settings though =(

Been doing a bit more with this, my bios is version 1005, mainboard is rev 2. According to Asus this version should recognise my processors proper speed.
I ran a microsoft memory test which found nothing wrong with the ram.
and installed sisandra which also recognised the processor as a clock speed of 1250mhz




I tried setting the memory fsb to 200 (which I believe is 200 x 2 = 400?) this gave a 'system error due to overclock' and refused to boot



I reset the cmos, and loaded into bios.

(image removed)


This image is the 'default' Advanced Chipset Features. for some reason even though I had a system failure error when booting with the memory at 200 fsb, it seems to be set at 200 here. Im not really sure why that is


Anyone have a suggestion as to which settings to adjust? I have the bios sitting open at the moment

 

[tainted]

I just tried switching the memory from slots 1 3 to slots 2 and 3, booted up and it came up as 2083mhz (or which ever 166 x 12.5 is) in windows.
Made a reboot (didnt enter bios) and it had reset it itself to 1250mhz again

So I entered bios again, and set the Advanced Chipset Features to user defined settings with the cpu external frequency at 166 x 12.5 and the memory fsb at 100% (which lists it as 166). and yep it still only came up as 1250 >=(


The bios settings just wont save. I think im running out of options here

 

[Insane]

you checked to make sure the bios battery is seated properly and not put in the wrong way round?

if your running from SPD, it will automatically detect the FSB of the memory at 400FSB as thats what speed the memory is set at.

as for your processor problem, have a look about your motherboard for a jumper called "CPU_FSB" and confirm its over pins 1-2 and not 2-3. (having it set to 2-3 will default automatically to the 100-200FSB of the Duron chips)

also make sure both memory sticks are in the blue sockets so you get ultra-spangily(tm) dual memory configuration, or you'll be hitting yourself with a dead duck.

if all else fails, http://www.asus.it/support/support.aspx

dont ask me why its an italian site, i went through the UK portal

 

[tainted]

yep, it saves the date settings after cmos clear so the battery must be in the correct way.

Ive set the 'by SPD' to 200fbs a couple of times and each time it gave a 'system failure due to overclock' error on bootup

I check the cpu_fsb jumper twice, its set in the correct 1 - 2 postion =/

ive tried the memory in 2 different slot configurations (1,3 and 2,3) and neither had any effect

I submitted my problems to http://helpdesk.asus.com but I'll also try this italian site.


thanks for the tips, though I think ive exhausted all my options =(

 

[tainted]

Ok my most baffling results can be posted.

Earlier today I swapped the 2 memory sticks (2 x 512 crucial 3200) from slots 1,3 to slots 2,3.
The machine booted to windows with the proper default clockspeed, 2.1ghz. However when I rebooted (and I didnt enter the bios at all) it had reverted back to 1250mhz again.


Just now I tried booting with 1 stick in slot 2. and once again it entered windows as a 2.1ghz machine. I varified the clock speed with asus probe, dxdiag and sis sandra which all read it as 2.1ghz.
Again however when I rebooted the machine it reverted back to 1250mhz I didnt touch the bios.



Basically the clock speed settings arent saving, I think? There must be something I can do about this

 

[Tom]

I had a myriad of problems getting my new Athlon 2200 to run at the correct speed. Even now, its running at 1.66GHz rather than 1.8GHz. A major factor in getting the whole thing working properly was making sure that I had the latest BIOS, which initially, I did not have.

Sorry if thats been discussed, but you could also try working the bus speed and multiplier against each other, eg:

10 x 100MHz = 1Ghz

5 x 200MHz = 1GHz

Ok thats a bit simplistic, but it worked better for me by changing the values around.