Just updated BIOS - XP restarts

This is my first post - anywhere/ever

Just flashed Bios on A7A266 (rev 1.10) mobo from Asus 1006 to 1012 which seemed to work ok

Now Windows XP (Home ed SP1) won't shut down - I hit the turn off button and get an instant BSOD followed by a reboot - now have to shutdown using the power switch - not fatal but annoying.

I did the usual reset to bios defaults and then on first post-BIOS-flash-boot into Win XP - the onboard sound for the mobo was detected and installed - I have since disabled that in the bios.

Is there a setting in the bios that I should be tinkering with tho fix the problem?

As I said - I am a newbie so please be kind.

 

"I did the usual reset to bios defaults"

Did you just go in and set everything to default? Or did you actually reset the CMOS by unplugging the computer and removing the battery for 30 seconds? If not, then do this first.

If that fixes the problem, then the new BIOS is the culprit. Of course you can try and reflash it, but a general rule of thumb for BIOS updates is, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

"Is there a setting in the bios that I should be tinkering with tho fix the problem?"

What problem? Are we still talking about the reboot problem or the onboard sound? Has setting the BIOS to defaults fixed the reboot problem?

Just to make sure you got the correct BIOS, is this the one you flashed your mobo with?
http://www.asus.com/support/download/item.aspx?ModelName=A7A266&Type=BIOS

 

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry - the question was confused.

I'm not worried about the onboard sound. I never had onboard sound before the flash and I thought it might just be the source of the shutdown problem -so I switched it off to see if that would help. It didnt.

I did use the bios you linked to - A7A266 BIOS 1012 - so I think its ok.

The recommended procedure using the Aflash utility (which I used with sweaty palms) is to open up the new BIOS the firs time and click on the "reset to defaults" (or similar wording) and reboot- which is supposed to clear the CMOS (whatever that means). I didnt do the battery removal/shoting the CMOS thing.

I heard that (in general terms) the default settings in the BIOS can sometimes cause problems - which made me think that something in the power management might be a problem - I just dont know.

I have a bigger chip on the way - and it needs the new bios to work - which explains why I never fooled with it before!

Should I clear the CMOS now - or is that just a waste of time?

Thanks again

 

Yes, unplug the computer and remove the battery for 30 seconds. This will reset the BIOS back to the original one. This will let us determine if the BIOS is causing a problem, or if Windows now has a problem...

 

The Aflash routine does recommend setting the BIOS to default to extablish the new settings, but step 2 in that process, is to immediately reboot back into BIOS and manually reset everything back to what YOUR system needs. Obviously onboard sound was enabled by default, and other things might be wrong as well. Common defaults that could cause problems are onboard sound & video (if your mobo has them), PCI instead of AGP as primary display, different ram timings than what you had set, ACPI enabled/disabled opposite what you had when you set up Windows, possibly other things.

Go through all the BIOS screens and look for anything that's different than your original setup.

 

Wyatt - did the cmos battery thing - Bios is now the uptodate 1012 version with its own default settings.

XP restart on shutdown is still there - I guess its a windows thing?

G.T. - good point. Im now looking at "clean" bios settings - and of couse - you guessed it - I have no idea what the original settings were.

I wont trouble you with a long list of what settings might be correct without trawling the web first but if you have any idea what the main Mzand FSB settings are for an athlon 1400 let me know. Belarc says I have a 1.4Gz processor but I thought the 1400 runs at 1Gz
Thanks

 

When you flash Bios, all bios settings will return to default settings.
I have flashed bios on several of my own pc's and a couple of them several times.
No need to set bios to default before flashing. ( altough I would do as per manufacture reccomendations)
Once flashed ALL BIOS SETTINGS RETURN TO DEFAULT ON THIER OWN.
After I flash bios, before I boot to windows, I go into Bios and set to suit my needs, if this is not done you may have problems: mem timings,cpu speeds,PCI/AGP settings etc.

Here is bios settings guide:
http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=7&var1=18

System Memory/CPU speeds/FSB INFO:
http://store.yahoo.com/directron/fsbguide.html#part2

I'm no expert on Athlon 1400 but seems were sold rated at various speeds some were 1Ghz!
some info in here on various speed about 1/4 page down:
http://www.viperlair.com/reviews/cpu_mobo/amd/retired/tbird14.shtml

 

How do you get in to the BIOS to change settings?

Adrynalyne has been so kind as to try to help me with my problem but all of you in this post I think can answer my question. I have a Dell 4600 C with WINDOWS XP home edition, SP1, with crash after crash occuring (see my thread in Software, "crash #6? I'm losing count" -- although that was a crash old.)

Adryn said " try turning off L2 cache. L2 cache gets factored into physical memory and could very well be the problem." And at the time of the crash it said "disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing"

Well, I must be missing something because I have restarted my computer about 30 times in the last 3 days and hit F2, F8 and F12 and can't change settings in my BIOS. I have downloaded 4 different BIOS programs -- 3 that work in Cprompt that don't respond to any commands I give it (my problem I'm sure) and 1 that works in windows but I couldn't actually CHANGE these settings.

OK - I'm not that dense. What am I missing? Where do I go in this computer to disable these settings? Or change them or whatever? I'm assuming (never assume) that with a "cache" STUFF is building up and causing these memory problems (because I actually have 2 new memory sticks -- and this computer is only a few months old as it is)

**Sigh** any advice gentlemen?

 

Re: How do you get in to the BIOS to change settings?

Try pressing the delete key to get into BIOS. When the computer is checking the memory, there should be a message somewhere on the screen that says, "Hit DEL to enter setup" or something like that. This will take you into the BIOS. If you tell us the make and model of your motherboard, I can tell you exactly how to do it.

 

Asus - thanks for that. I'll try and work out the right settings for the Bios from the links you provided.

In my frustration at the shutdown/reboot problem I disabled the auto restart feature in XP to get a good look at the BSOD. The stop code was "7F" one and I followed that up to discover it suggest a memory problem!! Funny this problem only appeared on the first shutdown after the bios flash.

I downloaded the MS memory checking utility ....http://oca.microsoft.com/en/mtinst.exe
and after looking at 5 FAILED (in red) test results out of 6 I gave up in dispair.

What do you think - time for new memory (despite the fact that my pc seems to be quite happy and stable other than on shutdown) ? Or is this just a wild goose chase.

 

Re: motherboard

Nothing happens when I hit DELETE (I've tried) I think it says Hit F2 or F12 to enter set up -- but when I'm there, like I said, I don't see how I can chanage settings. I hit ENTER - to go into the different sections, but most items are marked in BLUE and can't be changed. Anyway, I'll give a screenshot. (if that's possible)

OK - I looked at all my System Info and I don't see "motherboard" -- so what else is it called --I usually hang out in the "software" section (obviously)

 

see attachments for details

OK - I've attached two files of the motherboard info and chipset info (I used the Everest program so I hope that gives enough details)

 

Re: see attachments for details

Ok, I didn't know you had a Dell. I'm not sure you can get into the BIOS on those computers. You may have to contact Dell and get them to help you disable the L2 cache if at all possible.

 

Yep - I have a DELL

 

just an update on my BSOD restart problem...which I think is gone now (here's hoping!)

Pulled out the faulty RAM - which didn't cure the problem.

Uninstalled Asus Probe - which I read somewhere can cause problems.

Uninstlled Sound Blaster live and all the numerous associated drivers - and allowed XP to install its own ones.

Updated display adapter drivers (ATI) for good measure.

All is fine so far.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

could also very well be so that the RAM isn't faulty but that it just needs slower timings, sometimes too fast settings can cause problems.