bty

Well, I guess I'll start from the beginning..

First I had the Asus A7N8X running the xp 2200+..
One day it just randomly started restarting itself
My thoughts were that it was overheating
it would do this a few times a day usually
but everything started right back up just fine
and i carelessly ignored it..
Then after one of the resets I get an error..
"BIOS ROM checksum error"
along with this really wretched beeping noise

I had this error long before, though..
It used to be everytime I unplugged the system
anytime i moved it somewhere, to a lan, etc..
i'd get that error when i booted it up..
but if i just kept restarting over and over..
it'd finally give in and just boot up!

well, not this time..
couldn't get into bios or anything..
but it was also asking for a system disk..
so i burn a cd with boot files and the awdflash on the laptop
transfer those to a floppy using an old 386
move my power cables back to my system from the 386
then pop in that floppy..
(really has no relevance, just stressing lol)

Anyways.. i tried flashing the bios
it didn't work.. said it wasn't found...
my guess was that the bios was corrupted ?
someone told me i could just replace the bios chip
turns out my mobo was discontinued
so no chip and no replacing that one..
I tried ordering from some random retail site online
they said it was discontinued too and blah blah
but they sent me another no name mobo
"ECS ELITEGROUP N2U400-A"
pretty much a lesser brand version of my old mobo
I set it in and hook it all up
at first i wasn't getting a signal to my monitor
after resetting the cmos, resetting everything, realigning the mobo, and noticing that there was a new power plugin hiding in the top corner of the mobo.. i was used to my huge rectangle plug.. suprised me that this one had the big rectangle and the small square too, heh.. but eventually after doing all of this, my monitor got a signal!

I get into the bios and load the fail-safe defaults..
exit and save..
it freezes.
turn it off and on..
no monitor signal..
reset the cmos..
go back into bios..
keyboard isn't working..

so i'm doin this for a good hour or so going crazy..
then i try the "F1 to continue" option..
why not see if it'll magically boot..
I get the startup options screen..
I try safe mode, last known good, and start normally..
all 3 of them froze..
last known good and start normally
just froze right there and didnt do anything
safe mode started throwing up all the .sys stuff or whatever it does
then stopped and didnt do anything..

originally i was thinking it was overheating..
i'm thinking even if it was just overheating
that i could atleast get into windows..
I never did get around to putting thermal paste on.. *hides*

so i wouldn't be suprised if it was overheating..
but i don't see how just overheating would cause all of this..
it's not THAT hot.. especially if i'm leaving it turned off all night..
it should be able to atleast get into windows before it gets to hot it dies out..

bought the new mobo.. it's not working either..
although i'm getting farther with this one than i did the other one..

so, what the heck is going on?
I'm completely baffled at this point..

and will openly praise anyone that can help me out..
any and all help will be very much appreciated
Thanks ahead of time for any suggestions

dai

what power supply do you have,when you get bios beeps write down the sequence,because the code pinpoints the problem
put some arctic silver on the h/s
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_s...structions.htm
reseat the ram
reseat the video card
disconnect all the drives
reseat the main power lead and the 4 pin
reset the cmos
start it and see if it posts

bty

i have an Austin DR-B450ATX power supply
i've tried reseating\replugging in everything over and over

now i've got it to the point that it posts every time i start it up
i just get that cmos rom checksum error

the beeping it just did once or twice last night
but it was just one single beep around 2 seconds long

before when i first got the bios rom checksum error on the asus board..
it was this 2 part beep that reminds me of the noises
that it makes when you connect through dialup
kinda all dehhhh nuhhhh

lol.. i dont have any thermal paste at the moment but yeah i'm going to make a trip to the store and get some when i get the chance

it probably is just overheating
just wondering if i've fried my cpu yet =(



-edit-

maybe i spoke too soon
i redid all of that
and now my monitor is back to not getting a signal.. ><

dai

modern cpu's shut down before o/heating enough to burn up
put the paste on and make sure the heatsink is seated properly

bty

alright i made it out to the store and put some paste on here
cleaned out my heatsink fan too, had a good bit of dust in there..
but when i goto boot..
i still get the cmos checksum error - defaults loaded
message when it posts..
i hit f1 to continue
it goes to the windows boot options thing
and after i pick any of the options.. safe mode, last known, normal..
it just freezes and nothing happens..

so now what? =/

forcifer

mite wanna check your cpu. wen i had heating issues, my hs wasnt on all the way. i was the stock 1, which was hard to get on. check that. also, do "basics" startup, with only video card, 1 shich of ram, cpu, n maby hd.

bty

check cpu for what?
hs is on all the way.. cause yeah it is a hard one to get on
but i made sure of that after i put the thermal paste on
the cpu looked fine to me
so if it is fried, it isn't melted heh

and i've been booting with only my video card, 1 stick of ram, video card, and my keyboard..

so is my cpu dead?

do i just need a new processor?

dai

if the cpu had gone you would not be getting anything
list your full system specs

bty

well right now all that's in there is the
450watt Austin Power Supply
ECS ELITEGROUP N2U400-A mobo
AMD XP 2200+ w\ retail heatsink
ATI Radeon 9600 XT
and 512mb Samsung PC2700 ram

the harddrives..
one's a 120gig maxtor..
the other is a 40gig.. i think it's a western digital..

dai

cannot find the details on the line amps on google,which is usually an idication it is generic
but did find endless reports of problems stemming from this supply

bty

the mobo?

this is the new mobo
only reason i bought this one
is because I thought my Asus was dead
it started giving me that bios rom checksum error
and i couldn't flash the bios or anything..

should i just return this mobo
try my old mobo..
and if that doesn't work either..
just save up money and build a new comp?

is this problem really that bad?
i just don't get what's wrong.. lol

dai

see if you can borrow a quality 550w p/s and set it up out of the case
try with your asus first

bty

Alright, I don't have another power supply..
but I plugged the asus back in outside of the case..

i'm getting the same error i was getting when all of this first started..

BIOS ROM checksum error

Detecting floppy drive A media...
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER


it makes that same beeping noise when i start up too

it's all dehhh nuhhh

everyone tells me to write down the beep codes or something
but i know the sound..
just not sure how to write down a sound or what to do with it..

but yeah, now what? heh

dai

you can check the beep code here
www.bioscentral.com
if it is an asus code it will be in the manual

bty

Gah, I hate this laptop..
I just typed out an entire summary of what was happening
and i guess i grazed the mousepad and poof gone..

anyways..

I bought a new cpu..

Right now there's a brand new mobo and cpu in this system..

ECS ELITEGROUP N2U400-A
AMD Barton XP 2800
1gb Samsung PC2700
Radeon 9600 XT
Austin 450 watt p\s

I didn't look up the beep codes there, but I called Asus tech support
they told me that it was a memory error
that it was either my processor, power supply, or ram..

well..
I bought a new processor
it still doesnt work..
I tried a spare power supply that a friend brought over like you suggested.. set it up outside of the case and everything..
it still doesnt work..
i tried reseating both sticks of my ram one at a time in every slot in both motherboards assuming that both sticks wouldn't just go dead at the same time.. then i tested them with memtest86+ and passed it over and over all night long with 0 errors...

So right now a little refresher of the problem..

"CMOS checksum error - defaults loaded"

I get this everytime i boot
I cant change any bios settings, it keeps loading the defaults..
I've tried 3 different bios batteries that I think all work
Unless I managed to kill all 3 batteries within a few months, lol..

I have the option then to go into bios or to continue to booting windows
If I try to boot into windows..
it takes me to the boot screen
normal, last known good, safe modes..
normal and last known just freeze right there..
safe mode it shows the drivers loading and then freezes at Mup.sys

Tried to boot from the xp cd to repair the file or format..
Oh yeah, I can't cause I can't set my bios to boot from a cd, how cute!
use a dos boot disk, of course i can't run the setup from dos..

so now.. I try a completely different spare hard drive with it's own seperate copy of windows on it...

I still get the same error? wow.. it froze at mup.sys too..

so i'm baffled.. what's going on?
i've completely interchanged every part that i can think of..
(except the ram, but i'm thinking it's insane for both sticks of ram to go bad at once already, and i tested it in memtest86+ and it passed with 0 errors.. and i'd really like to stop wasting money if it's not a sure fix.."
I have stil yet to try the new cpu on the old mobo
but unless anyone suggests a better idea..
then that's my project for the afternoon!

Ah.. and as far as cooling goes..
I've got Arctic Silver 5 and a Thermaltake Volcano 12 in there right now..
it's hugeeee compared to the last heatsink haha...
but, yeah.. if there was any kind of heating problem, it's not there anymore!

bty

Alright..
Hooked the Asus A7N8X back in outside of the box..

I still get the
BIOS ROM checksum error
telling me to insert a system disk..
i put in a disk with the awdflash utility on it..

it loads up
says

AwardBIOS Flash Utility V8.24B
...

Flash Type -
File Name to Program:

Message: Source File Not Found!


does this mean it can't find my bios or something to flash it?
i don't know i'm lost and out of ideas..
seems to me like i just wasted $300 trying to fix a problem
when I could've upgraded for that price..
was trying to save money by just fixing instead of upgrading..

this is getting ridiculous..

someone just tell me what's wrong, please!

and should I repost this in the Asus section? I figured I should do it here instead since I'm dealing with 2 mobos now and they're not both asus.. ><

dai

boot from your xp cd and choose install
when the first repair option comes up,ignore and continue with install
when windows finds the previous installation
then do the repair

bty

i can't boot from the xp cd

bios defaults are set to boot floppy - hd - cd

i cant change it to boot from cd
because it always sets back to defaults..

i tried booting to dos from a floppy
but xp setup cant run in dos

i tried finding a xp boot disk
but i just couldnt get it to work idk..

is there a floppy i can make
to boot from the xp cd?

if we can't get this problem sorted out soon
i'll probably take it to a tech store to get it fixed
not wanting to spend the money
and i wanna fix it myself, but this is ridiculous..

bty

i also noticed that when i boot into dos
that my c:\ drive is my cd rom
it doesn't find my harddrive when i boot into dos
but it shows them when i first boot at post

dai

check the cables are secure into the drives and the m/b
recheck the jumpers
make sure they are listed in the bios