ABIT BE6 - XP Compatible Bios upgrade?

4920 Views 15 Replies 2 Participants Last post by DJ Specs, Apr 20, 2002

luxcar101

Discussion Starter · Apr 17, 2002

While I try to upgrade to XP Pro I get close to done with the installation and a light blue screen pops up that says "IRQ/DRIVER/[something else I can't remember]" (Same thing happened when I tried to upgrade to Windows2000, right now I'm running Win98SE and it works fine). Basically I have to format my c: drive everytime cause it won't work. I thought of everything but updating my BIOS. I have an ABIT BE6 PIII 450 motherboard w/ 320MB and I have no idea what the [email protected]$K the Abit site is telling me. They have an updated Bios page for my motherboard but under the instructions it doesn't say whether it is to make the motherboard XP compatible or not.

Is this motherboard compaitable with XP or not?

Is that the right BIOS?

If so, then HOW do I update a Bios?

If not, what else can I do short of buying a new motherboard?

I know it's alot to throw at you at once but from what I've read from you guys, your the best shot i have to figure this out...

Thanx for the help

Lux

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1 - 16 of 16 Posts

G

· #2 · Apr 17, 2002

If this is not a new hard drive did you try wiping the drive by writing zeros to it before the new XP installation....

What brand of hard drive is it?

luxcar101

Discussion Starter · #3 · Apr 17, 2002

writing zero's?

Whats "writing zero's" mean? How do I do that?

I have an upgrade version not a full version so I have to work off of my 98se.

Right now I'm running 98se with no problem in sight, it's only when I try to upgrade to 2000 or to XP that I get these messages. What step's do I have to take in order to update my BIOS and is that what I should be doing?

I was told that "IRQ" meant something was up with your BIOS. IS that right?

I have an ABIT BE6 http://www.abit.com.tw/abitweb/webjsp/english/download.jsp

Thats the site I've reached in order to update my BIOS but neither says whether or not it's in order to make the motherboard XP compatible...

I'm sure you guys can see my frustration!!

PLEASE HELP ANYONE!

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G

· #4 · Apr 17, 2002

By looking at the Abit website I have not seen anything that says there is a bios upgrade for XP compatability.

Writing zeros to the drive basically cleans it off completely.

You can load the upgrade from scratch as long as you have a Win. 98 full load CD. Not an upgrade but the whole enchilata.

You will need drivers for your peripherals. such as sound, video, modem etc.

Venturing into such a project takes some experience and should be approached with the help of someone that has done this before...

luxcar101

Discussion Starter · #5 · Apr 18, 2002

SPEEDO said:
Venturing into such a project takes some experience and should be approached with the help of someone that has done this before...

I've actually fromatted my C: drive, ran FDISK's to delete and create partitions, and loaded windows (98se twice, XP three times, ME [horrible OS] about 2 times) all together about 7 - 10 times in the past month or so that this has been going on. I just want to be able to use my XP pro, it's jst that simple but my damm compu won't let me!!!!

DJ Specs

· #6 · Apr 18, 2002

Why dont you give us a rundown of ALL the hardware you have in your computer.

G

· #7 · Apr 18, 2002

Well it's good to know someones capabilities before you send them on a mission which they are not yet ready for...

When you fdisk and format a hard drive it doesn't really lose all of the info that is on there.

Writing zeros to the drive does a much better job by overwriting all of the sectors...

DJ Specs

· #8 · Apr 18, 2002

Ya but, Speedo, what app do you use to write zero's to the hard drive?

G

· #9 · Apr 18, 2002

It depends on the manufacturer of the hard drive.

Maxtor has Maxblast but not all of the disks have this program on them.

Western Digital has their own version of this also.

That's why I asked him for the drive manufacturer.

Maxtors disk is version 1.27s and it has the powermax program on it.

luxcar101

Discussion Starter · #10 · Apr 18, 2002

I have:

- ABIT Be6 motherboard w/ PIII 450 and 320MB (one 100 & one 133)
- 8 gig HD (I have no idea what manu, when I get home I'll check for you guys)
- NVIDIA 32 mb savage s3
- CDRW (i'm not sure what brand I'll update when I get home)
- 40x CD-Rom (not sure; update later)
- Intellimouse optical 3.0
- Memorex multimedia key 101/102 Keyboard

Anything else you wanna know?? Be specific I'll check inside for ya...

Thanks so much for all the help you guys are priceless right now.

How do I wrwite zero's?????

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G

· #11 · Apr 19, 2002

As soon as I know the make of the hard drive I'll find the program if it is available for your drive and post the link.

Now were rollin'

luxcar101

Discussion Starter · #12 · Apr 19, 2002

will writing zero's work or are you not sure. I don't want to risk having to install everything again if it's not going to work. Maybe if there's a high probabiliy it will work I'd be down to do it.

G

· #13 · Apr 19, 2002

will writing zero's work or are you not sure

I'm not sure! Hey I'm not sure that I'll be breathing by the end of the day either...

To me it looks as though when you are trying to load XP that it is seeing something on the drive that it doesn't like.

One last question. Before you tried to load XP did you load set up defaults in the bios?

DJ Specs

· #14 · Apr 19, 2002

At this point I would say to Start a fresh clean instal of WindowsXP or 2000. Forget the upgrade, it obviously has problems with something. So.... Can you Instal a clean WindowsXP? Wipe out everything on the drive, and JUST install WindowsXP or 2000. This problem may not appear this way.

G

· #15 · Apr 19, 2002

That's why I would like him to write zeros to the drive to insure a clean install.

It doesn't fudge anything up.

I just want him to know that he is going to have to do a complete install, If I can find out what hard drive he has.

Of course if there is a serious hardware issue that in itself could be a problem.

Abits website has gone down the toilet as of late...

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DJ Specs

· #16 · Apr 20, 2002

Quote: "Abits website has gone down the toilet as of late..."

I'll say, so has their Boards and service. I smell a going out of business sale!

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