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Need help restore my PC


Cpl Ledanek

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Pull the battery for a full minute, then re-insert the battery and see if it goes back to the BIOS default settings.  It should.

...

Do that again, but unplug (from the wall or PSU) the PC before. Maybe thats it?

Good luck with your asus mobo. :P

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If it's the same make/model, it's literally a swap in/swap out. No recycling. Just replacing, and a reboot. If it's merely a similar board, Windows will need to talk to you, but it's not much more effort.

To be simple, if it's not the same board, you will need to do a repair install of XP. If it's the same, it's a non-issue.

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If it's the same make/model, it's literally a swap in/swap out.  No recycling.  Just replacing, and a reboot.  If it's merely a similar board, Windows will need to talk to you, but it's not much more effort. 

To be simple, if it's not the same board, you will need to do a repair install of XP.  If it's the same, it's a non-issue.

this review worries me though. I'm not sure if I could use my 512DDR PC 2700. If it dumbs it down, then maybe I'll just 512 more.

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Upgrading BIOS after a format?

If you can start up on a boot floppy, you can download the BIOS using your laptop, copy it to a floppy and use that one to flash the desktop.

Asus website has info about how to do this.

Memory: if it's the A7N8X-X you look at, this board does not run in dual channel mode but it supports dual channel ram sticks. I've built a rig with that board for a friend about two weeks ago and tried out single channel and dual channel RAM. Both worked only - as said - with the dual channel sticks, the system runs single channel mode.

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Memory: if it's the A7N8X-X you look at, this board does not run in dual channel mode but it supports dual channel ram sticks. I've built a rig with that board for a friend about two weeks ago and tried out single channel and dual channel RAM. Both worked only - as said - with the dual channel sticks, the system runs single channel mode.

thx Wk

@GreyHaired...I'm not tech savvy thats why I'm in this situation. Whatever you said about the memory is all Charlie Brown to me.

Currently, the two memory I have (512RAM PC2700) came a two-pack deal, having same specs. All I wanna know if you would give me the go signal is:

-- will my current memory work for this new board?

-- will it function the same? Less or more?

thanks for everyones support.

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You could replace it with an MSI K7N2 Delta L or ILSR.

If you don't go with the same board, you will need, or rather should re-install XP clean.

XP has been known to follow it's 98 predecessor in this area, and just royally screw up. It doesn't happen all the time, but it happens alot more often than it should. It's just alot safer to install XP clean when you change mobo's, unless it's the same exact model.

I was never big on Asus, but that is just a matter of personal taste for me. I never had good luck with them. I prefer MSI, Abit, and Gigabyte, in no particular order.

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Memory: if it's the A7N8X-X you look at, this board does not run in dual channel mode but it supports dual channel ram sticks. I've built a rig with that board for a friend about two weeks ago and tried out single channel and dual channel RAM. Both worked only - as said - with the dual channel sticks, the system runs single channel mode.

thx Wk

@GreyHaired...I'm not tech savvy thats why I'm in this situation. Whatever you said about the memory is all Charlie Brown to me.

Currently, the two memory I have (512RAM PC2700) came a two-pack deal, having same specs. All I wanna know if you would give me the go signal is:

-- will my current memory work for this new board?

-- will it function the same? Less or more?

thanks for everyones support.

Yep your current memory works with that board.

Yes, it will function less

No, you won't notice any significant performance in functioning :thumbsup:

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Memory: if it's the A7N8X-X you look at, this board does not run in dual channel mode but it supports dual channel ram sticks. I've built a rig with that board for a friend about two weeks ago and tried out single channel and dual channel RAM. Both worked only - as said - with the dual channel sticks, the system runs single channel mode.

thx Wk

@GreyHaired...I'm not tech savvy thats why I'm in this situation. Whatever you said about the memory is all Charlie Brown to me.

Currently, the two memory I have (512RAM PC2700) came a two-pack deal, having same specs. All I wanna know if you would give me the go signal is:

-- will my current memory work for this new board?

-- will it function the same? Less or more?

thanks for everyones support.

Yep your current memory works with that board.

Yes, it will function less

No, you won't notice any significant performance in functioning :thumbsup:

Wheeeww!!! Ok, at least I'm not throwing it away. I just need to get another 512 to compensate.

Thanks!

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Memory: if it's the A7N8X-X you look at, this board does not run in dual channel mode but it supports dual channel ram sticks. I've built a rig with that board for a friend about two weeks ago and tried out single channel and dual channel RAM. Both worked only - as said - with the dual channel sticks, the system runs single channel mode.

thx Wk

@GreyHaired...I'm not tech savvy thats why I'm in this situation. Whatever you said about the memory is all Charlie Brown to me.

Currently, the two memory I have (512RAM PC2700) came a two-pack deal, having same specs. All I wanna know if you would give me the go signal is:

-- will my current memory work for this new board?

-- will it function the same? Less or more?

thanks for everyones support.

Yep your current memory works with that board.

Yes, it will function less

No, you won't notice any significant performance in functioning :thumbsup:

Wheeeww!!! Ok, at least I'm not throwing it away. I just need to get another 512 to compensate.

Thanks!

More RAM won't compensate for the speed loss, bro. You will just have more of it going slower.

If you have to replace the board, get a dual channel offering. They aren't that expensive.

And you will see a difference in gaming, but not in your regular apps, unless you do alot of video and graphics editing, then you will see the difference.

Quantity is no substitute for speed.

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I just went to Fry's and CompUsa seeking a SocketA boards with the same quality as my original board. And I find myself walking away from their ridiculous offers.

Then it kind a hit me.

Why bothering extending this set up to only maybe last another 2 yrs, vs a newer board with a faster CPU, that may give me another 3-4 yrs.

Keep the 512RAM (2x256) PC2700 memory, HDs, Austin PSU (450watts) that came with the case.

Just upgrade the mobo and CPU. As long as the mobo is 8x AGP, I can continue using either my Gainward GF4 Ti4200 or my ATI AIW 9700 PRO.

As long as I can play GR1 is my only request.

GRAW can be played on my SLI rig.

Was that a moment of clarity or was is still denial. <_<

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UPDATE:

Great someone gave me a 2x256 DDR 400 PC 3200 XMS and inserted them.

Got into the POST and FLASH BIOS screen, y'know the first screen you see.

Immediately I see that the BIOS is 1008, the wrong BIOS for this board, coz mine is a PCB/Rev 1. The first generation of this particular board.

So I set my settings. Then I tried flashing back it to my original 1007.

So, at DOS, it ask for the BIOS FLASH file, I typed 1007 and it said wrong file. I typed, 1007bin, wrong file.

So is it: 1007[space]bin?

And what happens now with my old Memory? Is it useless now?

Better yet, what do I do now to correctly flash it back to 1007?

Thanks

btw: thanks Mr. Someone, I'm trying to protect your identity, just in case :shifty:

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UPDATE:

Great someone gave me a 2x256 DDR 400 PC 3200 XMS and inserted them.

Got into the POST and FLASH BIOS screen, y'know the first screen you see.

Immediately I see that the BIOS is 1008, the wrong BIOS for this board, coz mine is a PCB/Rev 1.  The first generation of this particular board.

So I set my settings.  Then I tried flashing back it to my original 1007.

So, at DOS, it ask for the BIOS FLASH file, I typed 1007 and it said wrong file.  I typed, 1007bin, wrong file. 

So is it: 1007[space]bin?

And what happens now with my old Memory? Is it useless now?

Better yet, what do I do now to correctly flash it back to 1007?

Thanks

btw: thanks Mr. Someone, I'm trying to protect your identity, just in case  :shifty:

Doing it from DOS, the filename is probably 1007.bin. If you can't find it on your machine, see if you can DL the correct file from the MFR, put it on a floppy, and note the name.

Anytime you boot to a DOS prompt, it will use the 8+3 naming conventions that DOS was restricted to. That is, the filename will be no longer than 8 letters, followed by a period and a 3 letter extension, such as .bin, which is commonly used for firmware and BIOS flash file names.

If you can correct the BIOS, your old memory should be fine again with the correct settings.

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well, I could get the 1007.bin so I search the Asus forum and Hardware Analysis Forum about this BIOS file and someone suggested I go all the way back to 1004.

That worked!

Except, now I get this "boot system disk error, insert disk something, hit enter"...(don't get old! you forget messages you just saw).

I'm at work for another 1.5 hrs. I'll post the exact message. Then now I'll just have to research the default settings in the BIOS settings/set up...can't remember :wall: the menu that ask what order the BOOT up. I'm supposed to go HD1, then CD-ROM 2, disable floppy???

then hopefully from there see what this 1004 can do for me. Then hopefully from there climb into 1006 then eventually to 1007 was the last stable bios this Revision 1 board.

I wonder what WK77 has on his :unsure: ...we got the same board but he has the better graphics card.

....will post some how tonight.

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hmmm, here's the message I got:

"DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER."

Thanks Wk77, as soon as I figure this out, I will need to ask to "copy" your BIOS/ settings so I can run stable like you do...I could have swore we've done this before. :unsure:

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Ok, you’ve had this message because the floppy containing the bios is NOT bootable; you need AWDFLASH.EXE to make that floppy bootable.

Problem: AWDFLASH.EXE is nowhere to be found on the Asus website!?

Asus.. :rofl:

If you still have the original CD that came with the mobo, you can find it on that CD and copy it to a floppy with the bios file. That should make that floppy bootable. Then…

1. Insert the diskette in A:

2. Reboot

3. Fallow instructions Asus

4. Do not interrupt the bios flash process.

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WOOOOHHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm back!!!!!!!!!!!

My C:/ is left intact and I was able to restore to my original settings, minus the driver for the nForce Audio which this time I'm going to pass, since I'm going to install my Audigy ZS drivers instead.

Once I get everything back, (ie drivers for devices: mouse, Logitech controllers, updates from WinXP, AVG, Spyblaster, etc) I'm going to make a newer back up to DVD-ROM.

no games yet, just stuff I need for a working pc.

Again thanks to: (no particular order---but yknow)

Specter

Dannik

GreyHaired

Wk77

Raton

Wheeww, and I thought I had to buy a new mobo/cpu/memory VS a newer vidcard.

THANK YOU!!!!

now more goggle for me to find correct and stable BIOS and settings... :thumbsup:

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