On Saturday 18 August 2007 10:59:17 William L. Maltby wrote:
> On Fri, 2007-08-17 at 16:03 -0400, Phil Schaffner wrote:
> > On Fri, 2007-08-17 at 18:45 +0100, Mário Gamito wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > ><snip>
> > > >
> > > > I just read in your previous email that your pc goes berzerk when
> > > > trying to change things on the BIOS, in such case, most probably
> > > > you'll run into issues afterwards even if you manage to start the
> > > > installations :(
> > >
> > > It's now booting, but strange things happen.
> > >
> > > It say my hard drive is hda and my CD-ROM is hdb.
> > >
> > > But then, it states that:
> > > ide0 is hda and hdb
> > > ide1 is hdc and hdd
> > >
> > > therefore, as there is no hdc and hdd, it just hangs :(
> > >
> > > Any idea ?
> >
> > <snip>
> >
> > Anyway, the above messages don't seem to be problematic - the controller
> > ports will be seen even if nothing is attached to them, and may/may not
> > be relevant to the problems are seeing. Have to agree with Jordi Molina
> > - looks like you may have BIOS/hardware issues.
>
> *If* you can get into BIOS, disable IDE 2 and see if that doesn't stop
> the "hang" (I suspect it is not hung, but just timing out waiting for
> some device to respond - can take a *long* time).
>
> > Might try checking
> > cables and re-seating things - chips/boards. Could try clearing CMOS -
> > there's often a jumper you can short on the motherboard to do that.
> > Might try a different CD drive.
>
> Also, *if* you have a choice, put the CD on the 2nd IDE port (after re-
> enabling it if you disabled it) to reduce contention when using both the
> CD and HD at the same time. Since you have a P III and I have a P II
> board (and older) in some of my machines that will boot from CD on
> secondary IDE ports, maybe yours would allow this too? Might take care
> of some issues.
>
> The suggestion to try resetting the BIOS is a good one. Also, maybe time
> to replace the CMOS battery on a mainboard that old? Might get rid of
> the flakiness in your BIOS?
>
> > <snip sig stuff>
>
> HTH
> --
> Bill
>
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Is the BIOS chip sat in a socket? If so check that the BIOS chip is fully
seated. These older socket BIOS chips have a tendency to walk out of their
socket over time due to expansion and contraction from the machine heating up
and cooling down when started up and shut down. I have also come across the
BIOS code getting corrupt, so you might try to find the board manufacturer's
web site and down load the latest / last bios code and re-install it. If you
have trouble finding the manufacturer's BIOS web page let me know and I will
have a go for you. You can check out the BIOS manufacturer's web site for a
program that will identify the board for you, I think AMI's one is called
MBID.exe and runs from a D.O.S bootable floppy. I have been playing around
with old second hand boards for years. Oh it would be well worth installing a
new BIOS battery on an older board such as this, an average life for a
battery is about 2/3 years unless the machine is run continuously.
--
Guy Fawkes, the only man to enter the house's of Parliament
with honest intentions, (he was going to blow them up!)
Registered Linux user number 414240
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