SuperSport

Hey Guys/Gals,
This is my first post, and it looks like you have a great site here. I have a built computer that was given to me. I know it has a 600 MB Pentium III processor, and im sure i will lear more about it as time goes on. I dont have it up and running yet, because there is a booting problem, and it wont load ME. I would like to know if and when i get it working, if ME is a descent OS? What is different from 98 to ME? Once i get around to booting this thing up, i will post again with my problems, but as for now i want to know if ME is a good OS, because i have heard different.

Thanks!

manic

Imho M.E. is a bug ridden os that should never have been released. That
being said, Win98se would be the good choice. But keep in mind M.S
does not support the os any more, you will have to install updates
manually from m.s's website. You get what you get, no further support.

waynesdukeess

I liked ME, It has automatic drivers for USB mass storage(flash memory,jump
drivers),system restore and a CD player. But it is a Winx like 95 &98 With a
FAT filing system. most XP use non fat NITS Win9Xs cannot see NITS files.
WinXPsp2 cost about $85 on ebay is best way to go. you need >300MB ram
your 600MHZ will be ok. But if you use ME for online use free firefox not IE5or
6, get Geist Co. AVG antivirous free.
luck

Done_Fishin

I've found it won't run for more than a couple of days without a reboot. If I start to use it heavily it runs out of memory (448 MB) and the cache seems to find a bottleneck so everything just comes to a standstill. Frequently fails to respond to ctrl alt del and requires a COLD BOOT.

If I just leave it to run my kerio inroute lite router, it goes for weeks.
XP is far more stable and I do the same work for weeks that kills ME in hours on the same machine.
I can't wait to finish getting myself fully XP enabled. Still a few lessons to learn about the changeover. btw I don't like XP, I preferred the ME layouts and GUI's which in XP I have put to Classic style.

ps the pc is a QDI Advance 10, PIII 800MHz 448MB, 40GB main drive plus 13GB secondary, 8GB usb for ease of data transfer. CD Writer, DVD ROM on a 300W PSU. Been running it for years, only started to have problems when I started to use it as server for my LAN. I was ALWAYS happy with ME until then.

Kittay

Take this advice, and take it well.. do not choose ME!
I'd say 98 would be better. Windows ME is the worst OS ever, in my opinion.

Done_Fishin

It all depends upon hoe you use it!

It was graet for me for general Office work.

I found it a very poor OS when you needed it to keep running.
I have NO idea what it was like for gamers

SuperSport

Thanks for all the advice guys. Since i can handle XP, would it run extremely slow? Or would it run fairly efficient? (600MB Pentium III) Thanks.

manic

It should run ok, just feed it plenty of ram, 512mbs would be ok but
1gig would be better.

Done_Fishin

I'd agree with that, my PIII 800 is running fine in XP with 448MB (1*256, 1*128, & 1*64) It's the same m/c that is dual boot with Me and gets tired in Me after a few hours of intense work now that it has to work as a server too!
XP is fine, allows everyone access to each other and the internet. A great work horse for me .. but then everyones requirements are different .. I don't think we found out yet what you are going to be doing!
No point in using a Ferrari in cross country or a 4*4 on a race track!

Done_Fishin

Do you want to explain what is happening that it wont boot Me?

It could be memory related, does it have enough memory power? 128 I would say would be a mininum but more would be better. 98 will let you get away with a lot less!
You shouldn't have hopes of becoming a gamer though!

SuperSport

Yes, i finally got around to try to boot it up and here's my situatuion...

It wont boot at all! I turn on the power, and i get a faint high/low pitch humming (barley noticeable) from somewhere in the tower, but cant pinpoint it, but i know it is not the fans. Sometimes the sound comes out of the modem speaker. Nothing but a black screen, no flashing cursor, no nothing. Sorry if this is not descriptive enough, but its the best i can do. I dont have a boot disc or anything like that. If anybody would like to help me out with this, it would be great. Thank You!

Windows ME, 600MHz Pentium III, 256 ram, 80GB WD HD. Voodoo3 Graphics Card, and thats all i know off the top of my head. Any more info and i can look it up. Thanks.

Done_Fishin

So not dead but trying ..

Is this a new system (to you) or one that has been inherited, or perhaps just hanging around waiting for an innocent to try to use it?

Have you taken the cover off to look inside?

Can you see the fans spinning ??

If you remove all disk drives & CD/DVD connections ( power & IDE) does it behave any different.
If you remove ram do you get a beep from the motherboard.
If you replace the RAM but remove the graphics card does it beep, but diffrently?

it could be power supply related so pls give specs of PSU for the lads to examine.
try a spare power supply of similar or better rating ..

Look at the mobo and see if there are any signs of swollen capacitors.

SuperSport

I have taken off the cover, the fan going out the back, and the motherboard fan are spinning. I am new to the "internals" of a computer so bear with me. Do you mean by removing the drives, do you mean unplugging the connections on the back of them? Do you want me to remove the 3.5 A drive as well? What would happen differently if i unplug these?

I dont know about the power supply, is this the large box with the fan on it that the power cord goes to (im guessing yes) How would i change it?

I was reading in the Voodoo3 booklet, that if the computer does not boot at all, it could be a problem with the seating on the motherboard etc.. could this be possible?

This computer was my fathers, he got it built, and it worked for 3 or so days, and then it (the mouse) started freezing on the desktop, then the next day or so, everything above happened. So to answer your question, it is new to me. My dad doesnt know too much about it, and he lost touch with the builder, so no luck there. Thanks for your help so far.

Do you think i could unplug, and re-plug everything on the motherboard, and see what happens, or do you suggest something else. Remember, Hardware newbie be advised!! Thanks so much.

Done_Fishin

Unplugging devices would give an bette chance for the motherboard to work with the power supply should the power supply not be good enough..

yes, it would require having a spare that is as good as but preferably better than the one that is there,

yes, there might be something shorting the motherboard to the chassis, a screw that has dropped and wedged in, a screw placed wrongly, an extra standoff that doesn't match up with a screw hole on the board and causes it to short, amongst others

Ok so it's basically a new system that never got finished off, this means that we have to check everything

I would like you to start as I said earlier.
remove the power cord unless there is a proper on off switch either at the wall socket (preferred) or the back of the power supply where the power goes in. If no switch pull the plug from the power supply.
unplug the power cords that go to the HDD and CD/DVD. you'll find them a tight fit but wiggle a bit til they pop out.
unplug the flat cables (at the motherboard) that go to the drives.
remove the ram boards.
replace the power and power on
we are hoping to get a beep or beeps from the speaker.
if you get beeps then power off, replace RAM and power on again.
If no beeps and no display (graphics card should be mounted and the monitor plugged in & powered on) then power off again and remove the graphics card.
replace power cable and power on again. we are hoping for beeps again but not the same pattern as before.
Please post your findings and i'll be back later to see what happened.

SuperSport

Ok, thanks for all your help sofar, I tried this post word for word,


I tried all you said, and still the same as before, nothing changed, except the same faint buzzing at two tones from the modem speaker. I even removed graphics card from motherboard, plus all you mentioned above, and no dice. Does this mean the power box with the fan on it is toast, or what?? Thanks a lot!

Done_Fishin

I would suggest you try and see if you can identify your motherboard.
Also try a differnt power supply, remove mobo and try outside of case. Use a block of wood to lift it away from your work surface.
With CPU installed and no memory or any other items attached apart from power switch & speaker (before you pull all those cables off the motherboard make careful note of what goes where) when powering on you should get a couple of beeps. Installing the memory buut not graphoics should encourage a different set of beeps.

If at this point in time you have no joy, it might be motherboard jumper configuration causing the problems. WE'd need info about your board to go any further.

SuperSport

Ok, i tried your suggestion, with the motherboard outside, and it still no beeps. (The only thing i didnt do is change the power supply.) Oh, and one other thing i noticed, is when the power button on the front of the tower is pushed the light is amber instead of green. Dont know if that has anything to do with anything. I need to know how to identify the motherboard. I dont know how. Is it something to look for on the motherboard itself? Thanks Again.

Done_Fishin

If you used the same power supply then we only know that either mobo or PSU are likely to be faulty.. which we are already fairly sure of anyway.

There WILL be something written on the board but getting you to recognise it is asking for too much.

If you have a digital camera can you take a picture of the board in high definition and post a link to the picture?

I think Zazula had an article on motherboards .. might give you a idea.

take a look at this article by Zazula

http://www.techsupportforum.com/arti...es-part-i.html

Sometimes there are specific details on the motherboard like Gigabyte xxxxx
Soyo, MSI.
Other times you might find a sticker on the last connector close to the board edge.
Look to see what chipset your mobo has, the chipset comprises two square looking flat devices on the mobo. One might have a heatsink which hides coding but the other is usually free to see. might need a good light and a magnifying glass.

SuperSport

I will get you a picture as soon as possible. I found this on the link you gave me, and it sounds like my problem. Its kind of brief, could you point me in the right derection, that would be great.


And I will get a picture link up in a little while. Thanks.

Done_Fishin

First of all I need that photo to identify whether you have a socket style board or a slot
I haven't heard of that particular beep being part of PIII mobo's, only P4.
Is your CPU in a slot upright on the board or in a socket ??