Blank screen after playing with bios

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I have just installed Windows XP from Windows 98. I was installing some software. When I finished installing it I was told to re-boot my computer so I did. On the reboot I redid the BIOS but only changed a little. I told the BIOS that I had a floppy drive in the Drive A slot under the Standard CMOS features I saved and exited. My computer rebooted but all that happened when I rebooted was that a blank screen came up. I can here all of the fans going round but my moniter doesn't accept that there is a connection between the moniter and the computer. I tried the screen on a Laptop and it works fine so I know its not the screen. When I reboot it doesn't even get as far as the windows loading pag

I think the motherboard is trying to load BIOS/Windows from the floppy drive but I can't get as far as bios to change it back

Please hel
Thank
David Gray
 
David Gray said:
I have just installed Windows XP from Windows 98. I was installing some
software. When I finished installing it I was told to re-boot my computer
so I did. On the reboot I redid the BIOS but only changed a little. I told
the BIOS that I had a floppy drive in the Drive A slot under the Standard
CMOS features I saved and exited. My computer rebooted but all that
happened when I rebooted was that a blank screen came up. I can here all of
the fans going round but my moniter doesn't accept that there is a
connection between the moniter and the computer. I tried the screen on a
Laptop and it works fine so I know its not the screen. When I reboot it
doesn't even get as far as the windows loading page

I think the motherboard is trying to load BIOS/Windows from the floppy
drive but I can't get as far as bios to change it back.

Please help
Thanks
David Gray
Click to expand...

Hello

I don't think that merely changing the FDD setting should cause the problem
you're describing. However, try clearing the CMOS and see if this fixes the
problem.

I don't know what motherboard etc you're using but there should be a CMOS
clear jumper (or remove the battery for a few seconds if there isn't a CMOS
jumper) then re-boot. This *should* restore the default BIOS settings. You
may still need to adjust the BIOS settings according to what CPU etc you're
running.

HTH

BillL
 
To Bill

Whats the CMOS? If the CMOS is in BIOS I can't get to it because I can't get as far as BIOS

How do I take a battery out of a computer? Unplug from the wall

I hope you can answer my questions
Thanks
David Gray

P.S. My motherboard is a xfx nf24-alh
 
David Gray said:
To Bill

Whats the CMOS? If the CMOS is in BIOS I can't get to it because I can't
get as far as BIOS

How do I take a battery out of a computer? Unplug from the wall

I hope you can answer my questions
Thanks
David Gray

P.S. My motherboard is a xfx nf24-alh
Click to expand...

Sorry - I should have explained it better.

To access the CMOS (I've pasted a definition of this from a web page below)
clear jumper or remove the battery to re-set the BIOS you'd need to
physically open the PC and access the motherboard and no, unplugging the PC
from the wall socket wont have the same effect. I'm not familiar with your
motherboard, hopefully you still have the manual somewhere?

The CMOS basically stores the BIOS, time, date etc. settings when the PC is
switched off.

If you don't feel confident about this (and your reply suggests that messing
with the physical insides of the PC may bother you ;o) then see if someone
you know will help you out.

Just another thought, have you tried hitting the delete key as the PC is
booting to enter the BIOS - just a long shot but it might work and allow you
into the BIOS.

Also are you getting any bleeps from the PC speaker? A single, longish beep
indicates a successful POST (Power On Self Test)?

CMOS


Short for complementary metal oxide semiconductor. Pronounced
see-moss, CMOS is a widely used type of semiconductor.


HTH but sorry if I've just increased the confusion.

BillL
 
I have done what you said by doing the CMOS

It now thinks I only have a AMD1300 when I actully have a AMD3000

It also comes up with an error saying something like

Floppy disk can't be found (40

I finally got it to the desktop it works fine apart from at a AMD 1300 speed & the floppy drive doesn't work how do I get it working 100% by stoping it come up with the floppy drive error and tell it I've got a AMD 3000+ processo

Please Help Agai
Thank
David Gray
 
David Gray said:
I have done what you said by doing the CMOS.

It now thinks I only have a AMD1300 when I actully have a AMD3000+

It also comes up with an error saying something like:

Floppy disk can't be found (40)

I finally got it to the desktop it works fine apart from at a AMD 1300
speed & the floppy drive doesn't work how do I get it working 100% by
stoping it come up with the floppy drive error and tell it I've got a AMD
3000+ processor

Please Help Again
Thanks
David Gray
Click to expand...

Hi

Well its a start ;o) You need to go into the BIOS and tell it what CPU
you're running. It *should* have a setting to let it detect the 3000+
automatically or you may need to set it manually (I'm not even sure what the
GHz rating of a 3000+ is) but it should be, for example, System Clock x 10
(e.g. 200 x 10 = 2.1 GHz). FWIW my current Gigabyte NF2 board identified my
CPU as a 1300 though it's a 1700+. This *should* be easy to correct.

I'm not sure about the floppy Drive error but check the standard BIOS
setting screen re. settings for this (btw wasn't this part of the original
problem?).

I've been to the NFX website (never even heard of 'em until today) and I
can't find the manual for your mobo (which would have made things much
easier for me). The best I can do is DL the manual for one of the Via KT400
boards - does your mobo use the Phoenix-Award BIOS if so this may help me if
you still have problems with the setting.

Hang on in there! ;o)

BillL
 
Someone else put this up but I don't know what they mean

I had a similar problem with a Jetway M/B and found that it had a jumper setting for the FSB speed on it which needed to be set . Check the manual for your board and make sure you have the jumper set correctly; if the M/B has one of course

What do they mean by a jumper switch for the FSB? Is it the same as clearing the CMOS?
 
David Gray said:
Someone else put this up but I don't know what they mean.

I had a similar problem with a Jetway M/B and found that it had a jumper
setting for the FSB speed on it which needed to be set . Check the manual
for your board and make sure you have the jumper set correctly; if the M/B
has one of course.

What do they mean by a jumper switch for the FSB? Is it the same as
clearing the CMOS?
Click to expand...

Hi (and welcome back to PC repair 101 ;o)

I've tried the link that you provided - unfortunately there's no manual
available for download. Anyhow with regards to the BIOS settings I'll use
the manual for the Via KT400 board as it uses the Phoenix/Award BIOS.

First off the jumper issue - you don't need to use the CMOS clear jumper. To
explain before the current problem did the motherboard correctly detect an
XP3000+ CPU? If so then you don't need to worry about a jumper to set the
correct CPU Front Side Bus (FSB) it'll already be set correctly.

However if you need to set the jumper for the 3000+ look in the manual for
something like 'CPU FSB jumper' this will tell the mobo whether you're
running a 200, 266 or 333 MHz FSB CPU the 3000+ is a 333MHz FSB CPU (as far
as I'm aware). I'm afraid you're on your own when it comes to finding the
correct part of the manual to look under but it should be in the section
Hardware Installation under Jumper Settings or similar.

Now to the multiplier/FSB issue (this is in the BIOS).

Please note these instructions are from the KT400 manual (I'm just hoping
the BIOS is similar enough for these to work :o/ But read the manual
thoroughly so that you're sure which jumper.

Hit delete as the PC is booting to enter the BIOS. First look for Advanced
Chipset Features then DRAM Clock Drive Control. Under the DRAM settings
choose DRAM Clock [By SPD] and DRAM Timing [Auto By SPD]. These should take
care of the memory speed automatically. If this doesn't work then manually
choose 166 MHz (for PC2700, 333 DDR MHz memory).

If the above settings are already using SPD & Auto By SPD leave them alone
for now.

I am assuming you're using PC2700 (333 MHz DDR) memory btw.

Hopefully you're still in the BIOS screen at this point?

Next go into Frequency/Voltage control and make sure that Auto Detect
DIMM/PCI Clk is [Enabled] and CPU Clock is set to [Default]. Then hit the
F10 key to save and exit the BIOS. The PC will restart and *viola* (we both
hope!) the CPU should be detected as a 3000+. To explain the 3000+ is a
2.158 GHz CPU i.e. The default FSB is 166 MHz with a multiplier of 13 (166 x
13 = 2.158 GHz).

If you still experience problems please come back to me - hey it's much more
interesting than my day job ;o)

BTW did you manage to sort out the floppy drive issue?

Regards

BillL







XP3000+ runs with a 13x multiplier and a default front side bus speed of
166Mhz.
 
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