let's see...sister's new computer is less than 12 hours old...and..PROBLEMS

[athomas]

For flashing BIOS there is a flash utility at the site that you download with the bios.

You will boot the computer into a dos mode using a boot disk. That way there will be no driver conflicts. Almost no memory is used so memory errors shouldn't affect it either.



P.S. - I use Mozilla Firefox and like it very much.

[jefbarn]

As far as 'best' memory timings go, you want the lowest numbers that are stable. It depends on the memory chips you have. Most memory should have the SPD programmed to the correct settings for the chip already, but sometimes you can get some flaky generic stuff and then you are on your own. Buff is right in that a CAS 2 will yield better performance, but your memory might not support that speed.

Also note that you are running your memory slower that rated speed (you have 400 mhz memory running at 333). Sometimes this can adversly affect the memory timings. Sometimes you can run lower timings, but on rare occasions the latency gets worse.

[rmriggin]

About the rebooting problem. Make sure you run windows update and make sure that you have the latest drivers installed for the hardware in your pc. The rebooting issue sound like it may be a variation of the blaster worm which causes XP to reboot constantly. Look at download.com for the blaster worm removal tool. Also go to this link

http://msblast.maruhn.com/msblast-patch-winxp.html

and download the blaster virus patch to make sure you don't get it again. Also, if you have an AMD system then your RAM speed is probably correct, but check bios settings to see if your front side bus speed is corect and if your ram speed is correct. Hope this is helpful. Shoot an email back if you need any further help.