ACPI question on BIOS

[Guest]

Seems I was duped into spending 60 bucks on a BIOS upgrade to fix an ACPI
error that is supposed to be causing my system to crash all the time.
Background: I installed Windows XP Pro SP2 on a 5 year old system w/orignal
Motherboard (Award BIOS v6.00PG). It was running fine until I replaced a
20GB internal hard drive w/a 120 GB internal hard drive (parent). I also
have a 40GB internal hard drive (child) This problem didn't start unitl I
installed the new hard drive. My error log shows acpi errors everytime it
locks up. Any suggestions anyone?

 

[Malke]

Seems I was duped into spending 60 bucks on a BIOS upgrade to fix an
ACPI error that is supposed to be causing my system to crash all the
time.
Background: I installed Windows XP Pro SP2 on a 5 year old system
w/orignal
Motherboard (Award BIOS v6.00PG). It was running fine until I
replaced a
20GB internal hard drive w/a 120 GB internal hard drive (parent). I
also
have a 40GB internal hard drive (child) This problem didn't start
unitl I
installed the new hard drive. My error log shows acpi errors
everytime it
locks up. Any suggestions anyone?

"Duped" is right. I've never paid for a BIOS update. Normally you would
not see those errors just because you added a hard drive. Check to make
sure the large drive is supported by your BIOS. Swap out the power
supply for a more powerful, known-working one. It sounds to me like
this is a hardware problem, not a software problem, and that possibly
your older hardware is coming to the end of its life.

Malke

 

[Kerry Brown]

"Duped" is right. I've never paid for a BIOS update. Normally you
would not see those errors just because you added a hard drive. Check
to make sure the large drive is supported by your BIOS. Swap out the
power supply for a more powerful, known-working one. It sounds to me
like this is a hardware problem, not a software problem, and that
possibly your older hardware is coming to the end of its life.

I'm not questioning your answer but what would you charge a customer to
flash their BIOS for them? Working Mom may have been overcharged but I don't
think she was duped.

Kerry

 

[Kerry Brown]

Seems I was duped into spending 60 bucks on a BIOS upgrade to fix an
ACPI error that is supposed to be causing my system to crash all the
time. Background: I installed Windows XP Pro SP2 on a 5 year old
system w/orignal Motherboard (Award BIOS v6.00PG). It was running
fine until I replaced a 20GB internal hard drive w/a 120 GB internal
hard drive (parent). I also have a 40GB internal hard drive (child)
This problem didn't start unitl I installed the new hard drive. My
error log shows acpi errors everytime it locks up. Any suggestions
anyone?

Can you post the full error message? Did you take the computer to a shop to
have the BIOS flashed?

Kerry

 

[Malke]

I'm not questioning your answer but what would you charge a customer
to flash their BIOS for them? Working Mom may have been overcharged
but I don't think she was duped.

Kerry

Of course I'd charge a customer. I read her post as that she paid for,
download, and updated her BIOS herself. On further thought, you are
probably right in your assumption of what happened and I'm wrong.
Thanks for your always good insight.

Malke

 

[Kerry Brown]

Of course I'd charge a customer. I read her post as that she paid for,
download, and updated her BIOS herself. On further thought, you are
probably right in your assumption of what happened and I'm wrong.
Thanks for your always good insight.

Malke

We may both be wrong

Whatever happened it sounds like it didn't solve the problem.

Kerry

 

[Guest]

I will post the error as soon as I get back into the error log. I've been
away all weekend and just turned this thing back on. I downloaded the flash
from esupport and the tech at customer support walked me through the backup
of my original BIOS and the upgrade. I am not complaining about the service
I rec'd from those guys, their technical staff assisted me in every way
possible, but the results I required were not achieved, thus my frustration.
I am simply a novice at these things w/a small amount of knowledge. Thanks
for your interest.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Of course I'd charge a customer. I read her post as that she paid for,
download, and updated her BIOS herself. On further thought, you are
probably right in your assumption of what happened and I'm wrong.
Thanks for your always good insight.

Malke

It appears we were both partly right. Working Mom paid an online company for
help in flashing the BIOS.

Kerry

 

[Kerry Brown]

It would also be helpful to know the model of your motherboard.

Kerry

 

[Guest]

Here's the system information, don't exactly know what part you need. Also,
following it are the errors from the event viewer I receive when I reboot
after it freezes (it's the exact same 4 everytime).

OS Name Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Version 5.1.2600 Service Pack 2 Build 2600
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name MOM
System Manufacturer VIA Technologies, Inc.
System Model VT8363
System Type X86-based PC
Processor x86 Family 6 Model 3 Stepping 1 AuthenticAMD ~701 Mhz
BIOS Version/Date Award Software International, Inc. 6.00 PG, 12/29/2000
SMBIOS Version 2.3
Windows Directory C:\WINDOWS
System Directory C:\WINDOWS\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume1
Locale United States
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "5.1.2600.2180
(xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158)"
User Name MOM
Time Zone Central Standard Time
Total Physical Memory 512.00 MB
Available Physical Memory 286.79 MB
Total Virtual Memory 2.00 GB
Available Virtual Memory 1.96 GB
Page File Space 1.22 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

AMLI: ACPI BIOS is attempting to read from an illegal IO port address
(0x71), which lies in the 0x70 - 0x71 protected address range. This could
lead to system instability. Please contact your system vendor for technical
assistance.

AMLI: ACPI BIOS is attempting to write to an illegal IO port address (0x70),
which lies in the 0x70 - 0x71 protected address range. This could lead to
system instability. Please contact your system vendor for technical
assistance.

AMLI: ACPI BIOS is attempting to read from an illegal IO port address
(0xcfc), which lies in the 0xcf8 - 0xcff protected address range. This could
lead to system instability. Please contact your system vendor for technical
assistance.

AMLI: ACPI BIOS is attempting to write to an illegal IO port address
(0xcf8), which lies in the 0xcf8 - 0xcff protected address range. This could
lead to system instability. Please contact your system vendor for technical
assistance.

I also get these Hardware Conflicts/Sharing (not a clue what these mean BTW)
in System Information:

I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 PCI bus
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7 Direct memory access controller

I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF VIA CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP

IRQ 5 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System
IRQ 5 ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP
IRQ 5 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 5 VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 5 VIA AC'97 Audio Controller (WDM)
IRQ 5 CNet FAST200 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter

Memory Address 0xD6000000-0xD6FFFFFF VIA CPU to AGP Controller
Memory Address 0xD6000000-0xD6FFFFFF ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP

Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF PCI bus
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF VIA CPU to AGP Controller
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP

I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB VIA CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP

I/O Port 0x0000C000-0x0000CFFF VIA CPU to AGP Controller
I/O Port 0x0000C000-0x0000CFFF ATI Technologies Inc. 3D RAGE IIC AGP


You also mentioned a power source earlier. Are you talking about the one I
plugged into the internal hard drive when I installed it? If so, can I just
go to a computer store and purchase a new one?

Thanks!

 

[Kerry Brown]

Those errors are indeed usually fixed by a BIOS upgrade. Do you have any
information about the BIOS update you installed? The information you gave
doesn't include the motherboard model number and the motherboard
manufacturer's BIOS revision.

Kerry

 

[Guest]

The invoice says: Shuttle AK12 Socket A w/sound for the board. Is that
helpful?

I used the BIOS agent as listed. I saved the stats before and after.
Status shown before (intitial test at there website) and after upgrade
download and installation (running the agent again for infor):

BEFORE Upgrade:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.45
BIOS Date: 12/29/00
BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
BIOS ID: 12/29/2000-8363-686-AK12C
OEM Sign-On: AK12S014 12/29/2000
Chipset: VIA 82C305 rev 2
Superio: VIA 686 rev 64 found at port 7h
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: AMD Duron(TM) 700 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 512 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 256 MB
Memory Slot 03: 0 MB
Memory Slot 04: 0 MB

eSupport.com, Inc.
1-800-800-BIOS (2467)
www.esupport.com

AFTER Upgrade:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.45
BIOS Date: 05/03/01
BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
BIOS ID: 05/03/2001-8363-686-AK12C
OEM Sign-On: (6A6LSH22) AK12 BIOS Provided by eSupport.com
Chipset: VIA 82C305 rev 2
Superio: VIA 686 rev 64 found at port 7h
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: AMD Duron(TM) 700 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 512 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 256 MB
Memory Slot 03: 0 MB
Memory Slot 04: 0 MB

eSupport.com, Inc.
1-800-800-BIOS (2467)
www.esupport.com

 

[Kerry Brown]

It appears Malke was right. You may have been duped. eSupport gave you a
BIOS that they have somehow modified. It is not the latest BIOS from Shuttle
who manufactured the motherboard. The latest BIOS from Shuttle can be found
here:

http://global.shuttle.com/Download/Download_File.asp?Item=AK12

Flashing the BIOS is not to be undertaken lightly. My recommendation would
be to take the computer to a reputable shop and have them do it. At this
point you have to ask how much is this computer worth to you? It is an old
computer and even with the latest BIOS, dated 2001/6/26, you may still have
problems. If you notice on the download page their are no drivers for
Windows XP. You may want to save your money and look for a new computer. You
may be able to use some of your hardware like the new hard drive in a new
computer.

Kerry

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help anyway. I will call around and see if someone can
assist me locally. Any perhaps you're right, I should give up this old
machine and get rid of such mess.