URGENT- flashed BIOS, now compy has major problems.

[impostal22]

ok..so i reformatted my sister's computer and reinstalled XP onto it. then i installed the mobo drivers, and saw the flash utility, i installed that and decided to check the net for an updated version of BIOS. there was one, so i flashed it. rebooted, seemed to be fine. then i tried going on the internet and the compy froze, so i rebooted and it sat beeping at me...every 3 seconds or so it would beep. so i turned the power off completely and hit the power button again. then it booted, saying the processor was only running at like 1.2ghz when it's a 2.something ghz processor. it boots ok..but freezes again so i hit the reset button, same thing happens. it sits and beeps at me. i followed the overly-easy directions of the BIOS flash, and now i get this. why is the computer beeping like it is, and saying the processor is so much slower than it is? how can i fix this? HELP!

[Tunaman]

Check the bios settings for CPU speed and FSB speed. I betcha one is set wrong. ;)

[impostal22]

ya...and how do i know exactly what each is supposed to be? would that be the cause of the beeping as well? and why would flashing bios set that wrong? prior to flashing, the settings were correct and i had no problems booting.

[MantisMag]

people who don't know what they're doing should leave things alone. :rolleyes: in order to do anything you need to know the model of both your mobo and cpu. look up what the beeping means. sometimes the beeping comes in patterns that mean something. there might also be lights on the mobo to tell you what's wrong. look up what your fsb and multiplier should be set to. flashing the bios most likely reset all the settings on your mobo and now some of them are wrong.

[impostal22]

people who don't know what they're doing should leave things alone. :rolleyes: in order to do anything you need to know the model of both your mobo and cpu. look up what the beeping means. sometimes the beeping comes in patterns that mean something. there might also be lights on the mobo to tell you what's wrong. look up what your fsb and multiplier should be set to. flashing the bios most likely reset all the settings on your mobo and now some of them are wrong.

thanks for not being too condescending.

[Fixion]

Check the bios settings for CPU speed and FSB speed. I betcha one is set wrong. ;)

Exactly the problem. A bios flash always resets the settings (unless your fsb and multiplyer are set by jumpers, and your multiplyer is probably locked so that doesn't matter).

As for the other problems. What motherboard do you have? Some have multipule revisions, and the revisions don't always take the same bios (they are incompatible in some way). You might have flashed the wrong bios onto it. I'd flash the old bios back (if you saved it).


people who don't know what they're doing should leave things alone. in order to do anything you need to know the model of both your mobo and cpu. look up what the beeping means. sometimes the beeping comes in patterns that mean something. there might also be lights on the mobo to tell you what's wrong. look up what your fsb and multiplier should be set to. flashing the bios most likely reset all the settings on your mobo and now some of them are wrong.

Beep codes are given at boot, when the computer can't boot for some reason. I don't know of any motherboard that would give beepcodes after boot.

[impostal22]

As for the other problems. What motherboard do you have? Some have multipule revisions, and the revisions don't always take the same bios (they are incompatible in some way). You might have flashed the wrong bios onto it. I'd flash the old bios back (if you saved it).

it's the asus ASUS A7N8X-X nVidia nForce-2 400 FSB...i know it's cheap, but it's not my computer either.

the CPU is the AMD Athlon XP 2800+ with 512K L2 cache...

i used a utility on the mobo's driver cd to flash bios. it found various new versions of bios that (i assume) were compatible with my mobo, then i picked the latest one and installed it.

how do i figure out what settings need changed back and what they need changed back to? this is obviously my first time flashing BIOS, so your help is appreciated.

[impostal22]

ok........so i reset the CPU settings to the correct ones (that's the only thing i changed). it booted...but then shortly after booting i got a blue screen saying....

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

some helpful information here...

then...

STOP 0x0000000A (0x0F000A0F, 0x000000FF, 0x00000000, 0x804ECABB)

Beginning dump of physical memory.

[Buff]

uhm, not sure what the exact setting are supposed to be, but try to set exactly as I say:
under advanced chipset features:
CPU external freq---200mhz (higher then supposed, but will work)
cpu ratio/multiplier--10.5 =cpu speed 2100mhz
memory freq -------100%
system performance-user defined
cpu interface-------Optimal
Memory timings-----user defined
set ram timings, from top to bottom
11-3-3-2.5
AGP Vddq-----------1.6V
AGP aperature------64mb or 128mb
cpu vcore setting----menu
Vcore/cpu voltage--- 1.6V
Vdimm/ ram voltage--2.8V

follow all that to the letter and it should work.
if it dosn't, I'll give u a ne set of settings.
by the way, I have the A7N8X, not my preference.......

[Buff]

o, that error u got means ur ram aint holding up, or sum settings are wrong.

[impostal22]

o, that error u got means ur ram aint holding up, or sum settings are wrong.

what should the sum settings be...

[Buff]

lol, no, i meant *some* settings are wrong.

look up^^^^^^, and set those. From there i can help u.
with those settings it will eliminate most probs, and any probs that come up will be fixable.

[impostal22]

ok about those settings you told me...

CPU external freq---200mhz (higher then supposed, but will work)
i set to 166 (dunno why, i heard that's what the xp2800+ is supposed to be)

cpu ratio/multiplier--10.5 =cpu speed 2100mhz
set to 12.5 to make it 2083, the processing speed of the 2800+

memory freq -------100%
there wasn't 100%...just auto and by speed...i picked auto

Memory timings-----user defined
set ram timings, from top to bottom
11-3-3-2.5
there's no way to alter those...at least i couldn't find one in this crappy version of BIOS

AGP Vddq-----------1.6V
couldn't even go that low...lowest was 1.65v

cpu vcore setting----menu
Vcore/cpu voltage--- 1.6V
i was too afraid to alter this

so now the compy boots fine and i have not YET had another blue screen, although it's only been up for about an hour...

my ram is ddr400...so should i set the cpu external frequency to 200 (and adjust the multiplier accordingly) to match the ram? or should i leave it at 166?

thanks for all your help, man.

[Buff]

if ur ram is 400, set the external freq to 200, and the multiplier to 10.5, that will give u 2100mhz, close enough to 2083. Mine is a 1.83, I run it at 2.41ghz:D

to set ur ram timings, u have to set another option to user defined, then they can be changed. dont set the exteranl freq(FSB) to 200 until u get the ram timings set to 11-3-3-2.5, or it might throw a fit.

[impostal22]

if ur ram is 400, set the external freq to 200, and the multiplier to 10.5, that will give u 2100mhz, close enough to 2083. Mine is a 1.83, I run it at 2.41ghz:D

to set ur ram timings, u have to set another option to user defined, then they can be changed. dont set the exteranl freq(FSB) to 200 until u get the ram timings set to 11-3-3-2.5, or it might throw a fit.

ya..i couldn't find a user defined option for anything ram related...oh and why those timing settings?

[Buff]

those timings need to be set like that because the NF3 chipset will throw a fit if cas is set to 3(thats the one I said 2.5) when the FSB is over/around 200. if its set to autodetect, it normally sets cas to 3 at 200......very bad.

set system performance to user defined. that will enable u to change the ram stuff.

[impostal22]

those timings need to be set like that because the NF3 chipset will throw a fit if cas is set to 3(thats the one I said 2.5) when the FSB is over/around 200. if its set to autodetect, it normally sets cas to 3 at 200......very bad.

set system performance to user defined. that will enable u to change the ram stuff.

will try that...how'd you figure all this out? like what ram timings are bad for the mobo is what i'm really curious about.

[Buff]

I own 3 different NF2 boards......and comps is one of my hobbies;

[impostal22]

ok so i set the memory timings to what you said and THEN changed the fsb to 200 and multiplier to 10.5 (this was all without rebooting yet, but i did change the first before the second like you said). after saving the changings, the compy wouldn't reboot. i turned it off, turned it back on, and BIOS was set to 166 x 10.5. was i supposed to change the memory timings, THEN save changes and reboot THEN change the fsb and multiplier THEN save changes and reboot? or is something screwy?

[Thordic]

Man you are much more patient than I am, if I can't fix a computer in 6 hours, I usually resort to beating it.

[Buff]

Well, being an A7N8X, it aint always gonna do 200fsb. The mobo is rated for it, the cpu dosn't care, and the ram is *sorta* rated for it.......I'll bet the ram is holding u back. Since u bought it pre-built, u get generic ram, which aint always that great.
keep the ram at 11-3-3-2.5, FSB at 168, and multiplier at 12.5
That will give u an even 2.1Ghz, and nothing should throw a fit.

[impostal22]

changing the memory timings will increase efficiency or what?

[Buff]

Lower timings mean lower latency which gives a higher max bandwidth, and better performance. So say i am running 185 FSB with loose timings, but get the same bandwidth as 167 with tight timings, the 167 will be faster in graphics and such.
On my rig i can run 230@11-2-2-2 with system performance set to aggressive.
The system performance option is another ram timing, but bigger and more important then the others, and much more demanding.

[impostal22]

ok..now i'm thinking for my own computer...how would i know what ram timings to try out? i'm running dual channel on mine (two dimms of corsair 512mb ddr400 goodness), with an abit-IC7 mobo...i'd love to know what to set my ram timings to to maximize efficiency...

[Buff]

the IC7 is a P4 board........
what cpu? Do u have good cooling?
The P4 dosn't care as much as the Athlons what the ram timings are, they want a higher FSB.

Do this:
Raise the Vdimm as high as it goes. Dont worry about, am getting mine modded so i can give 3.3Vdimm......the ram will be fine.
Then increase the FSB about 10mhz and see how it works. If u can play WarcraftIII(very good stability test), then ur fine. Raise the FSB again, test......etc.
Once u reach a spot where it crashes.....then its either the ram or cpu. bump the Vcore up one notch and see.....if its stable.....cool.
Just make sure the temps dont get to high. Since ur new to this......maybe dont raise the Vcore at all. bump it down until its stable agin.

actually, go to truextreme.com/forums
Thats one of the best sites to go to for overclocking info.
go to the intel section, they can help u alot. for any questions.
Thats where I am a member:D

[impostal22]

gracias, as alwayas, senor!