Asus p4p800 motherboard total failure problem after bios flashing - piece of crap

[Wylie Wilde]

Hello,

I had a p4p800s Asus motherboard. Together with a p4 Prescott, 1gig ram,
asus gf4ti card, etc..

I was planning to switch over to XP SP2 and thought I better do some updates
on the motherboard bios and intel cpu driver first before updating the
software.

Problems arose when I updated the asus motherboard bios. I followed the
instructions carefully- and the system confirmed that the flash was
successful. When I turned off the computer, upon turning it back on again,
the computer beeped several times and claimed I had a BAD CMOS and asked me
to
goto setup or 2 load default settings. I chose 2.

Initially everything seemed OK. I rebooted several times and although the xp
gui screen seems a few seconds slower than normal. Everything seems alright.

However, the problem still arose whenever I turned off the computer for more
than 10 - 20 minutes.

Finally, after a month, the computer just hung when it was turned on. Total
utter blackness. No POST screen. No bios screen - absolutely nothing.

I sent to the computer repair shop run by a friend- they pulled out the
motherboard and tried it with different CPUs but no luck. They also pulled
out the cmos battery but that didnt work either. The Asus motherboard was
dead.

I had to replace it with another motherboard (not asus).

I sent a complaint email to ASUS but have so far received no reply. And it
takes bloody forever to get into their website.

I also had problems with the Asus gf4 graphic card.

Anyhow I will never buy Asus products again.



I am using Windows XP Pro SP1 with all critical updates done (one by
one) Firewall is Zone Alarm Pro 5.1, Grisoft AVG. I also use Trojan Hunter,
Adware6, and TrendMicro's online scanner.

My computer system is a P4 3.0 Prescott, Asus P4P800S, 1G RAM,
PFUHL2keyboard, Geforce4Ti4800SE, Creative CDRW 32x, Sony DVDROM,
Mirage 400W powersupply, IntelliExplorer mouse. Cable modem - Motorola
SB5100.

*********
Intel(R) Processor Frequency ID Utility Report
Version: 7.1.20040716
Time Stamp: 2004/09/05 11:36:23
Number of processors in system: 1
Current processor: #1
Processor Name: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00E GHz
Type: 0
Family: F
Model: 3
Stepping: 3
Revision: 9
L1 Trace Cache: 12 Kµops
L1 Data Cache: 16 KB
L2 Cache: 1 MB
Packaging: FC-PGA2
Platform Compatibility Guide: 04A
MMX(TM): Yes
SIMD: Yes
SIMD2: Yes
SIMD3: Yes
NetBurst(TM) Microarchitecture: Yes
Expected Processor Frequency: 3.0 GHz
Reported Processor Frequency: 3.0 GHz
Expected System Bus Frequency: 800 MHz
Reported System Bus Frequency: 800 MHz
*************************************************************

 

[NewMan]

I have never had a problem with an ASUS product. I have had plenty of
problems with Jetway and Gigabyte!

ASUS (NOT ASUS Rock) is a solid brand. That said, every once in a
while you get a bad one. RMA the board, and let them replace it. This
will take time. I found that response time on queries was 10 days.

So you did the right thing, you got anothe board and got the system
running. Best that can be done I'm afraid. This could have happened
with any brand. Please don't let one bad experience with ASUS have you
put them on your black-list.

 

[MiniMe's Dad]

I believe the problem with ASUS is their lack of customer support when
things go wrong. I had a similar experience as Wylie and I couldn't buy
their time to take care of the issue. People spend good money for quality
products, they should get quality support. No one returns calls, issues
RMAs, 'til they're good and ready. If they're that busy, how good ARE their
products? They won't get my dollars again, but that is my choice.

 

[Roy Coorne]

I believe the problem with ASUS is their lack of customer support when
things go wrong. I had a similar experience as Wylie and I couldn't buy
their time to take care of the issue. People spend good money for quality
products, they should get quality support. No one returns calls, issues
RMAs, 'til they're good and ready. If they're that busy, how good ARE their
products? They won't get my dollars again, but that is my choice.

....

According to my experience with Asus boards, the initial revisions
tend to be faulty.
One has to buy a later revision board and flash to a higher BIOS version.

Roy

 

[Joek]

I have RMAed two mobos to Asus in two and a half years and never had any
problems. Considering that I have purchased many Asus products I belive
that brand to be very good. There is a problem with tech support
communication but when you get hold of them on the phone things go o.k.
Thats my 0.2cents
Good day all

 

[Travis King]

I have RMAed two mobos to Asus in two and a half years and never had any
problems. Considering that I have purchased many Asus products I belive
that brand to be very good. There is a problem with tech support
communication but when you get hold of them on the phone things go o.k.
Thats my 0.2cents
Good day all

Everyone complaing about Asus motherboards should try an Epox. Now that's a
nightmare. A motherboard I tried once from them lasted four months before
completely dying and their support was poor. Contacted them and it took
them two days to respond. (Once I spent about an hour or two trying to find
the place to contact them by e-mail.) They're website is only fair and is
slower than molassis. Anytime we'd try to call them, they would not answer.
Horrible. I wanted to try something other than Asus, but now I've quickly
went back to Asus motherboards. I also heard lots and lots of horror
stories of Epox motherboards and capacitor problems. And the person who
said to get Asus's later revisions is probably correct. Just like Windows,
you have more problems and security loopholes when Windows first comes out
than it does when a service pack or two comes out. Yes, I've had a few
minor problems with some Asus motherboards, (such as a lot of them having
problems with PS/2 devices where both PS/2 devices will quit working
simultaneously that seems to be rare for other users) but I would rather
have those minor problems than those huge problems with Epox and some of the
others. On the other hand, our first computer that we got 6 years ago was a
Compaq (cough cough) and it had a Gigabyte motherboard in it and nothing has
gone wrong with that computer except the CD drive (when the computer was
three years old). It is very slow though, but it still runs.

 

[j.burghdoff]

Hello,

I had a p4p800s Asus motherboard. Together with a p4 Prescott, 1gig ram,
asus gf4ti card, etc..

I was planning to switch over to XP SP2 and thought I better do some updates
on the motherboard bios and intel cpu driver first before updating the
software.

Problems arose when I updated the asus motherboard bios. I followed the
instructions carefully- and the system confirmed that the flash was
successful. When I turned off the computer, upon turning it back on again,
the computer beeped several times and claimed I had a BAD CMOS and asked me
to
goto setup or 2 load default settings. I chose 2.

Initially everything seemed OK. I rebooted several times and although thexp
gui screen seems a few seconds slower than normal. Everything seems alright.

However, the problem still arose whenever I turned off the computer for more
than 10 - 20 minutes.

Finally, after a month, the computer just hung when it was turned on. Total
utter blackness. No POST screen. No bios screen - absolutely nothing.

I sent to the computer repair shop run by a friend- they pulled out the
motherboard and tried it with different CPUs but no luck. They also pulled
out the cmos battery but that didnt work either. The Asus motherboard was
dead.

I had to replace it with another motherboard (not asus).

I sent a complaint email to ASUS but have so far received no reply. And it
takes bloody forever to get into their website.

I also had problems with the Asus gf4 graphic card.

Anyhow I will never buy Asus products again.



I am using Windows XP Pro SP1 with all critical updates done (one by
one) Firewall is Zone Alarm Pro 5.1, Grisoft AVG. I also use Trojan Hunter,
Adware6, and TrendMicro's online scanner.

My computer system is a P4 3.0 Prescott, Asus P4P800S, 1G RAM,
PFUHL2keyboard, Geforce4Ti4800SE, Creative CDRW 32x, Sony DVDROM,
Mirage 400W powersupply, IntelliExplorer mouse. Cable modem - Motorola
SB5100.

*********
Intel(R) Processor Frequency ID Utility Report
Version: 7.1.20040716
Time Stamp: 2004/09/05 11:36:23
Number of processors in system: 1
Current processor: #1
Processor Name: Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 CPU 3.00E GHz
Type: 0
Family: F
Model: 3
Stepping: 3
Revision: 9
L1 Trace Cache: 12 Kµops
L1 Data Cache: 16 KB
L2 Cache: 1 MB
Packaging: FC-PGA2
Platform Compatibility Guide: 04A
MMX(TM): Yes
SIMD: Yes
SIMD2: Yes
SIMD3: Yes
NetBurst(TM) Microarchitecture: Yes
Expected Processor Frequency: 3.0 GHz
Reported Processor Frequency: 3.0 GHz
Expected System Bus Frequency: 800 MHz
Reported System Bus Frequency: 800 MHz
*************************************************************

Well this must have been your first BIOS flash because anyone thats
done it before would know to clear CMOS before rebooting the computer.
That would have stopped you from getting the BAD CMOS message.

Then you should have entered the BIOS and reset all critical settings.
You didn't do that because your only showing 1 cpu and you should see
2. By not setting the BIOS correctly you could have damaged the board
yourself.

Also a 400 watt power supply for a P4E? Your CPU was sucking up 100
watts of that power on its own. So power starvation could have also
been a problem.

I'm not bragging anything for ASUS I just bought my first ASUS board
and I'm currently waiting for its replacement due to a bad memory
controller on the first. But as far as customer support, they all suck.
Motherboard quality control has gone down the tubes since they all
moved production from Tiawan to mainland China.

 

[Michael W. Ryder]

Well this must have been your first BIOS flash because anyone thats
done it before would know to clear CMOS before rebooting the computer.
That would have stopped you from getting the BAD CMOS message.

Then you should have entered the BIOS and reset all critical settings.
You didn't do that because your only showing 1 cpu and you should see
2. By not setting the BIOS correctly you could have damaged the board
yourself.

Since I have done a number of BIOS flashes over the last ten years I
have been using ASUS boards and never done the steps you outline so I
can't believe that they would make any difference in this case.

Also a 400 watt power supply for a P4E? Your CPU was sucking up 100
watts of that power on its own. So power starvation could have also
been a problem.

You must be one of those who feel that you have to have a 600 watt
monster for anything. I am running a 400 watt power supply with a P4
3.4 and it runs rock solid. Before that I had a 300 watt generic power
supply running a P4 2.0 for years. While his problem may have been
power related it is more likely just a normal failure in some component.