ok, yesterday i was just listening to some music on my comp (mp3s) and suddenly my computer froze!!!
i reset it but now it won't load windows!!!!!!!!!
apparently it can't read the boot from my hard drive, so i inserted the boot disk that i got with my computer, it loaded windows 98 in ms dos mode and all i get is
a:\>

i tried typing exit but it didn't work
so i reset the computer (without the bootdisk) and now it never reads the boot from the hard drive
is there any way i can fix this?
how can i format my computer?
thanks in advance if you want to help

You can restore your default boot records by typing this:

fdisk \MBR
or
fdisk /MBR

not overly related, but when I have had similar trouble....

take out the hard drive, fiddle with the jumpers and stick it on slave and stick it in another machine - ensures you save all your gear as it by passes boot records etc.

hope it gets fixed and doesnt resort to that.

ok, too late :(
i formated my computer and in result lost all my data!!!!!!!:( :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :bawling: :( :bawling:


but now i have another problem!
my sound isn't working, any ideas on how to fix this?

Sorry to ask the stupid question... but have you installed your sound card drivers? And if yes, are they installed correctly? Check the Device Manager for to see if there are any conflicts.

Matt

no stupid question, i didn't install the drivers cuz i don't know where they are, i didn't get any cd with them on, but i do have a cd labeled "PC100 SystemBoard" do you think that has the drivers?

thanks again for the help, i just wish i didn't have to format and lose all my data!

In most cases on a 95/98 system, if you can get the system to boot you to a dos prompt, you can usually (not always) get windows to start by typing WIN at the prompt. If you hadn't formatted the hard drive, you may have been able to save your data b4 doing the reinstall by slaving it to another system and copying it over.

fdisk /mbr from dos will usually reset the boot record.

look at the web site for the maker of your sound card for the drivers.

for future note : before wiping a system, make certain you have all the drivers (video, audio, modem, network card, etc).

Good luck.

As a side note : be certain you are also running good antivirus software (F-Prot or McAfee), and have the latest data tables for it.

i now have windows 2000 because it was suggested that it is the stablest, and for some reason, my internet seems a little slower :(
i have yet to find out who made my sound card, so i can't get the drivers :(
man, if only i went to the library to read the replies to this post, i wouldn't have lost all my data :bawling:

Call Microsoft!

They'll charge you something like $10/minute though :rolleyes:

Originally posted by coolguy23
no stupid question, i didn't install the drivers cuz i don't know where they are, i didn't get any cd with them on, but i do have a cd labeled "PC100 SystemBoard" do you think that has the drivers?

thanks again for the help, i just wish i didn't have to format and lose all my data!

If your motherboard has onboard audio, then there may be drivers for that on the cd that came with the motherboard. If it's a seperate (as in you have a PCI or ISA sound card) sound card you might try looking on the web site of the company that made your sound card.

-joe

Originally posted by B-Broker
They'll charge you something like $10/minute though :rolleyes:

is this true?

bastards! I wish people paid me for a service, and were willing to pay for support ON TOP of that!

Originally posted by coolguy23
i have yet to find out who made my sound card, so i can't get the drivers :(

Ok, first take a deep breath... avoid the temptation to "fiddle" with the computer and start looking through this lot...

1. Find your motherboard manual.. in fact find ALL your manuals. Take a look at all the various bits that are in your machine.

No manual? Ok, take off the cover (power off!) and look around for any distinguishing information. Write it ALL down, serial numbers, version numbers, etc...

2. Ok, with all that info go visit www.windrivers.com and go to the "Advanced Search" area to start locating all your latest drivers.

Chances are you won't know what your sound card actually is so if you start doing searches based on the information you gleaned from manuals or the box exploration you should find what you're looking for.

Google is a useful resource at this point and has helped me locate drivers for bits that were in excess of 5 years old and with bug all real info on them.


Oh and to re-iterate what was said earlier... Make sure you have a decent virus checker on your system and scan the hard drive before you do anything like install the drive in a second system or anything like that... You don't want to get caught way off base by some thing like that..

On last tip... Get yourself X-setup and use it to tweak your file and data settings so that those annoying little things like your address book, 'my documents' folders, templates, etc... can be located on a seperate partition or hard drive. Makes for easier backup using something like 2nd Copy. If you really want to save yourself some grief consider getting Norton Ghost or DiskImage (powerquest) and get a snapshot of your system for later reinstallation for those times when it all goes horribly wrong. Makes a major difference to your day.

Hope that lot helps
:)
Martin

Is that the same board you had when you posted having troubles with a hard disk?

If its a new board gimme the model number and I'll try and suss out the sound setup.

How did you get on with your hard disk problem?

ok, yes it's the same mother board
model : P2B-F/350-U
S/N : 95M7407786

i think the sound is intergated, and i am going to get a anti-virus program, probably norton
i'm gonna open the case up later, i gotta go register my self at the school

i did have a partition before my formating, but when i inserted the win 2000 cd to install it formated the partion too!

oh well, i'm gonna have to start all over:stickout
but i need some ram cuz my 64 megs ram can't handle the win 2000, any one got any extra they wanna donate? :D

ok, i got new information, here is the latest!!!!
it seems that i don't really have an asus board! bastard gave me the box anyways

BIOS CAPABILITIES TEST REPORT
===============================

Generated by: BIOS Wizard 2.10
Date: April 29, 1999
Time: 14:29

PnP Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 1.0
PCI Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 2.1
PCI IRQ Routing Table : BIOS currently supports this feature
Enhanced Disk Drive
Specification : BIOS currently supports this feature
DMI Version : BIOS supports minimum version 2.2. Latest is
version 2.3
ACPI Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 1.0
APM Version : BIOS currently supports latest version 1.2
Booting From CD-ROM : BIOS currently supports this feature
Supports ESCD : BIOS currently supports this feature
Can be Updated (flashed) : BIOS currently supports this feature
Can be Shadowed : BIOS currently supports this feature
BIOS Chip in Socket : BIOS currently supports this feature
Supports Selective Booting : BIOS currently supports this feature
Supports LS-120 Booting : BIOS doesn't support this feature
Supports ZIP Booting : BIOS doesn't support this feature
Supports Network Booting : The testing of this feature is not supported by
the current DMI version
BIOS Manufacturer : American Megatrends
BIOS ID : 62-0413-009999-00101111-071595-000000
BIOS Date : 07/15/95
BIOS OEM Signon :
BIOS ROM Size : 256K
Chipset : SiS620 rev 2
Super I/O Chip : ITE 8661/SiS 6801 found at port 279h

That could still be an Asus board. AMI (American Megatrends) makes BIOS's that wind up in a lot of manufacturer's boards. AMI does sell their own boards, but I don't think that they are too common. P2B-F is the model name of an Asus board. Not sure whose BIOS they used on it though...

I just found this utility from AMI that might help. It helps determine who made the board in your system.

http://www.ami.com/support/mbid.html

do you think you can find me a driver for win 2000 for the sound, i think it's intergated with the mother board

this is what it says in the missing drivers
Multimedia Audio Controller***:***The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)
PCI Simple Communication Controller***:***The drivers for this device are not installed. (Code 28)

you think you can help me out?

I would try that AMI utility and see if you can figure out what kind of motherboard you have (it's good to know).

As for the sound card, you really need to figure out if you are using audio capabilities on the motherboard or a seperate sound card. If you are using the motherboard's audio, then you need to figure out what kind of baord it is. If you are using a PCI or an ISA sound card, then you need to figure out what kind of card it is.

If you open your case you should be able to tell if you are plugging your speakers into a the motherboard or a seperate sound card. If the speaker jack is on the back of a card sticking up off the motherboard, that's your sound card. If it's attached directly to the motherboard, then you are using the motherboard's audio capabilities.

If you are using a seperate sound card you can try to identify it visually. Here is a page that offers some assistance to that end:
http://www.windrivers.com/identity/SOUND/

-Joe

thanks joe, you are really helpful:)
well here is what i got from the amibios thingy

AMIBIOS Motherboard Manufacturer Identification
Version 1.2 (02/07/2001) Copyright 2000 American Megatrends, Inc.

This file has recorded information useful in identifying the manufacturer
of this motherboard. The information is listed below:

An AMIBIOS ID String Was Detected:
62-0413-009999-00101111-071595-000000
-- ---- ------ ------
| | | |
| | | Chipset/BIOS Info
| | Manufacturer ID
| Version Information
Processor & BIOS ROM Information

The Manufacturer Code Detected (9999) Does Not Have A Database Entry.

The Following AMIBIOS Project Tag Was Found: _TG_M748MR

Aargh SiS, this could be a lot of makes of board. I cant pin down which audio chip exactly but the 3 listed below are all used on 620 chipset boards.

Media Electronics CM8738 Audio Card (http://www.cmedia.com.tw/doc8738.htm)

Elite PCI Audio - CMI8338 (http://www.cmedia.com.tw/doc8338.htm)

Yamaha YMF 740 PCI driver downloads (http://www.yamaha.com/lsi/support/downloads.htm)

Heres some other info that might be of use:

Asus - SiS620 Chipset (http://www.asus.com/products/Techref/Chipset/SiS620/)

SiS 620 (http://www.sis.com/products/chipsets/integrated/socket370/620.htm)

All Bios World - AMI bios identification (http://www.abios.com/ami.html)

Hope that helps, SiS sell their chips to hundreds of manufacturers with many variation options so there are usually a lot of boards using the same chipsets.

Hope this helps.

Small tip...

If it's a SIS chip it will probably have the relevant type number silk screened (printed) on the outside. Look for the SiS logo on a chip on the board.

Hope that helps...
:)
Martin

ok, i opened the box and found exactly what helped me ht8338a, i typed it in windrivers and found the driver, my sound now works!!!!
yes!
alright, now i just have to get some more ram,

oh, now that you ppl know all this about my mb, can you help me find a bios update that can support larger hard drives?

thanks to all who helped, God bless you :)

edit: oh, and i got myself ZoneAlarm PRO as a firewall and Norton Antivirus 2002 for the antivirus :D:stickout

I havent managed to figure out the make. When you had the box open did it have a manufacturer logo anywhere on it?

no :(
i can open the box again if there is something you want me to look for that will help you determine the maker

Do you mean you didnt see anything or you didn't check?

Quite a few of the manufacturers print their name and/or board model number somewhere on the board, sometimes near the edge and sometimes not.

Just had an idea, download and try the best version of this you can get from here:

SiSoft Sandra (http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/sandra) , install it and use the mainboard information facility, hopefully it might give you the manufacturer and board model number.

Let me know what you find.

Another hint for you... when you boot up the machine... before you get to the system resources table you'll get a screen when the system locates your hard drive, test memory, etc...

Usually there's a serial number at the bottom and information on the screen... Take the time to try and grab as much of that information down on paper and then post it here... We might be able to dig out the relevant information for you to search with...
:)

ok, this is what i got for the mainboard info

<<< Mainboard Information >>>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

< Entire System >
Manufacturer: PCCHIPS
Model: M748MR
Version: 0000000
Serial Number: 00000000
Unique ID: FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF-FFFFFFFF

< System Mainboard >
Manufacturer: PCCHIPS
MP Support: No
Model: M748MR
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: 00000000

< On-board Devices >
SiS Video: Video Adapter

< Memory Controller >
Error Detection Method: None
Error Correction Capability: None
Supported/Current Memory Interleave: 1 way / 1 way
Number of Memory Slots: 3
Maximum Installable Memory: 1536MB
Maximum Module Size: 512MB
Supported Memory Types: DIMM, SDRAM
Supported Memory Voltages: 3.3V

< Physical/BIOS Memory Banks >
DIMM1 (RASL-0 RASL-1): 64MB DIMM SDRAM single-bank
DIMM2: Empty
DIMM3: Empty

< System Chipset >
Model: Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS620 CPU to PCI
Bridge
Bus(es): ISA AGP PCI USB SMBus/i2c
Front Side Bus Speed: 67MHz
ACPI PM Support: Yes

< Logical/Chipset Memory Banks >
Bank 0 Setting: 64MB SDRAM 8-1-1-1R 6-1-1-1W 3-3-3CL
Memory Bus Speed: 67MHz

< Memory Modules >
Memory Module 2: 64MB 8x(8Mx8) SDRAM PC100-322-622 (CL3 upto 125MHz)
(CL2 upto 83MHz)
Memory Bus Speed: 67MHz

< Environment Monitor(s) >
Model: SiS 5595 internal
Mainboard Specific Support: No
Configured Mainboard: M748MR
Level 4/5 Support: No

< Temperature Sensor(s) >
CPU Temperature: 53.0°C / 127.4°F td

< Cooling Device(s) >
CPU Fan Speed: 4720rpm

< Voltage Sensor(s) >
CPU Core Voltage: 2.05V
Aux Voltage: 2.58V
+3.3V Voltage: 3.41V
+5V Voltage: 4.87V

< AGP Bus >
Version: 2.00
Max Data Transfer Rate: 2x
Side Band Enabled: No
Side Band Support: Yes
Fast-Writes Enabled: No
Aperture Size: 64MB

< PCI Bus(es) >
Version: 2.10
No Buses: 1
Bus Speed: 34MHz
Speed Multiplier: 1/2x

< LPC/ISA Bus(es) >
Model: Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS85C503/5513 PCI to
ISA Bridge (LPC Bridge)
Speed Multiplier: 1/4x
Bus Speed: 9MHz
DMA Multiplier: 1/2x
DMA Speed: 5MHz

< i2c/SMBus/BMB Bus(es) >
Total/MB Channels: 1 / 1

< Expansion Slot(s) >
PCI1 (1h): PCI 32-bit 3.3V Shared PME FullLength Available
(Silicon Integrated Systems (SiS) SiS85C503/5513 PCI
to ISA Bridge (LPC Bridge))
PCI2 (2h): PCI 32-bit 3.3V Shared PME FullLength InUse (Silicon
Integrated Systems (SiS) Virtual PCI to PCI Bridge)
PCI3 (3h): PCI 32-bit 3.3V Shared PME FullLength Available
ISA1 (6h): ISA 16-bit 5V FullLength

< Port Connector(s) >
COM Port - Serial Port A: Serial Port 16550A Compatible - None / DB-9 pin male
COM Port - Serial Port B: Serial Port 16550A Compatible - None / DB-9 pin male
LPT Port - Parallel Port: Parallel Port ECP/EPP - None / DB25 pin female
Keyboard - Keyboard: Keyboard Port - None / PS/2
Mouse - PS/2 Mouse: Mouse Port - None / PS/2
Floppy - Floppy: None - Floppy / None
Primary IDE - IDE-1: None - ATA / None
Secondary IDE - IDE-2: None - ATA / None
USB Port - USB: USB - None / USB

< Performance Tips >
Notice N224: SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate.
Tip T2505: System does not support memory error detection. Some
memory errors may go unnoticed.
Tip T2511: Some memory slots are free so the memory can be easily
upgraded.
Warning W2528: System monitor device implementation is known to vary.
Tip T2525: Current AGP data rate not optimal.
Tip T2524: AGP Aperture size should be less or equal to system
memory.
Tip T2: For more information about tips, press F1 and scroll
to the Tips section.


if you want to see other stuff click on the link
and also what kind of ram and how much ram do you think i can upgrade to,
also, how do i do these things:
Make sure the controller or BIOS has LBA mode enabled to gain the full capacity of the drive.
If you do not have either an EIDE controller or LBA mode support, leave it at the detected settings and run "Disk Go!" overlay.

thanks for all the help!

http://www.pcchips.com.tw/M748MR.html

Bingo...

There's a BIOS download at the end of that page and a pdf manual which will tell you all the answers to the rest of your questions...
;)

Dammit, I was 99% sure it was a PcChips but I didnt want to say anything that might be misleading.

Was sitting here thinking, no visible identification on board, SiS controler chips, whats the usual suspect!

PcChips are probably the biggest users of SiS chips I've seen.

Your CPU looks like its running a little hot, but the old P2's were hotter I suppose.

RaM: you can use PC66 and PC100 up to what looks like 768MB (3 x 256) although sisoft says 1536MB (3x512).

Your current dimm is PC100 so it should mix with new PC100 as well. When youre fitting Ram always have the biggest module in the first slot down to smallest in the last concurrent slot if you see what I mean. (Or if theyre different makes any quirky way theyre willing to work in :) ).

You might want to consider a cheap P3 500 and a slocket card (socket 370 to Slot 1 adapter card) as well, depending if you can verify the board can take P3 (Some claim any P3 up to 800 after latest bios update but there are doubts about voltage support). Either that or find a second hand P2 500 or 550 (katmai core) in slot 1 form or socket 370. Would give you a significant power boost for probably not much cash.

You may be able to go to a higher CPU after a bios update, I cant find any info on what the update does, incidntally you'll nedd this program to flash the bios as well as the rom image: ftp://203.66.106.251/utility/aminf327.zip

This link might be of interest to you: The PC-Chips lottery (http://www.stud.fernuni-hagen.de/q3998142/pcchips/threads.html#M748MR)

Cant find any info on HDD support, all I can say is try the bios update and come back if theres still problems. Sandra has HDD info module and IDE module I think, and other benchmarking stuff, see if it can give you any solid info.

Originally posted by Cyberpunk

Your current dimm is PC100 so it should mix with new PC100 as well. When youre fitting Ram always have the biggest module in the first slot down to smallest in the last concurrent slot if you see what I mean. (Or if theyre different makes any quirky way theyre willing to work in :) ).

will sdram work?



You might want to consider a cheap P3 500 and a slocket card (socket 370 to Slot 1 adapter card) as well, depending if you can verify the board can take P3 (Some claim any P3 up to 800 after latest bios update but there are doubts about voltage support). Either that or find a second hand P2 500 or 550 (katmai core) in slot 1 form or socket 370. Would give you a significant power boost for probably not much cash.

You may be able to go to a higher CPU after a bios update, I cant find any info on what the update does, incidntally you'll nedd this program to flash the bios as well as the rom image: ftp://203.66.106.251/utility/aminf327.zip


what will this do, will it mean that i will have dual p2? if yes, then that would be cool!

and also, now that i have found the update, how do i install it?:confused:

thanks for all the help, you guys are really cool!:cool:

Youd need a mb that supports 2 cpu's for that. A slocket as theyre called is just an adapter board with a slot 1 connector on the edge and a socket 370 on it (It just goes in in place of the older slot1 processors), oh, you'd need an new heatsink and fan too. So you can use socket 370 PII's and Celeron's in slot 1 boards. Dont know if there is a PIII to slot 1 adapter as I've never had need of one, I am strictly AMD if I can help it these days.

SDRAM is what most DIMM's use, thats what your one is :-)

Extract the flash utility and you should find an instruction file, something like readme.txt. The usual way is to put the flash file and rom image on a floppy disk, boot the pc to safe mode dos (no memory managers) and then run the flash program and point it to the rom file on the same disk.

You need to check if your bios has a setting to write protect the bios first, and if it does switch it to allow writing. Some boards have a jumper you need to change to facilitate this, hopefully yours isnt one of them.

A tip, if your electricity meter is a card meter, make sure its not about to run out of credit! :)

Once the flash program starts, do not do anything till it reports finished! Usually if interfered with mid flash will render the board useless!

Originally posted by Cyberpunk
A tip, if your electricity meter is a card meter, make sure its not about to run out of credit! :)
Ouch, that sounds like you've been there and cried... my sympathies!! :bawling: :bawling:

Saw it happen to a friends PC when he was flashing, 40% 50% 60% click darkness and the air turning blue! Was ok though, it was only a week or so after he bought it, so I took it back and pretended it was dead out of the box. :D

Saw one taken out by a power cut as well.

Why dont most manufacturers take gigabytes lead and fit dual bios chips for backup?? I mean, its not like it would add much cost to the boards is it???

ok, i still haven't flashed the bios, i can't seem to download from the site, it says page not available

anyways, would this ram work? Crucial 128MB CL2 ECC 100MHz SDRAM CT16M72S4R8E

Originally posted by coolguy23
ok, i still haven't flashed the bios, i can't seem to download from the site, it says page not available

anyways, would this ram work? Crucial 128MB CL2 ECC 100MHz SDRAM CT16M72S4R8E

That part is registered ECC RAM. It has some extra capacity to allow for error correction. I don't think that your motherboard supports ECC (the info you posted from Sandra above shows that your memory does not support error correction, which is what ECC is for), so you should just get the regular non-ECC part. From Crucial that would be CT16M64S4D8E, available for far too little money (RAM is just so cheap these days) directly from Crucial:
http://www.crucial.com/store/PartSpecs.asp?imodule=CT16M64S4D8E


-joe

Originally posted by coolguy23
ok, i still haven't flashed the bios, i can't seem to download from the site, it says page not available

anyways, would this ram work? Crucial 128MB CL2 ECC 100MHz SDRAM CT16M72S4R8E The Crucial site actually tells you which Ram will work with which Motherboard.

Check it ou

sorry to bring this old topic up again but i want to upgrade my bios now and get a new hd + some more ram
can someone tell me what i have to do exactly and also what to download (the above link doesn't work no more)
thanks in advance

lol
flash your bios

i can't get the .rom it's not working!

You will need the latest upgrade image for your boards bios, its the only way you can do it.

Email them telling them the image you want, detailing the page the bad link is on and see what they come back with.

You absolutely must use the specific one for your board.