At 07:49 AM 6/19/99 , Ken Cornell wrote: >Hello, this is a little more detailed discription of a problem >I'm having with a new system build, also the solutions I've tried. >System consists of the following: >Abit 55T31 oem mainboard, atx form >Ati 8mg pci expert 98 video >64mg nec 2clock pc100 ram >8.4gig WD cav. drive, format fat32 >Supra Max pci modem >Creative Labs awe 64 sound, isa >Antec 780 desktop case >Award Bios using setup defaults? > >Problem: >I am receiving random boot lock ups, >system goes through the post fine, reads >ram, accesses c:drive, when the system >begins to load and read startup files and >device drivers, it locks up, the drive light >flickers, and system runs in slow motion. >I then have to reset system to reboot which >dumps me into safe mode. >The system might boot fine 4 or 5 times, >then lock up 2 or 3 times, > >Solutions I've tried: >Changed ram, started system without startup files, >started system ramdomly selecting >device drivers, striped system dowm to >video card, ckecked to make sure mobo was >operational, checked power supply, loaded >cards one at a time and reboted after each. >The fact it seems random is what puzzles me. >Just when I think I have it fixed, same problem. >The fact the system gets past the post I beleive >tells me the hardware is ok, Hard drive is set at >LBA 4, The ram however is using setup defaults, >I'm not sure how to set the clock rate in the system >bios, but it is being read at startup without errors. >I was told that the board could use up to 64mb of >PC100 ram with the TX chipset. The first thing I would do is upgrade/flash the bios on the motherboard. I noticed someone mentioned it earlier and this is good advice. I would set the hard drive in your CMOS to auto-detect and let the BIOS decide the best settings. Some low end motherboards have conflicts with large hard drives and allowing the board to auto-detect each time can be helpful. I would also be sure you have loaded the motherboard's chipset drivers, you can download them from ABIT's web site: http://www.abit.com.tw Windows does not always have the latest version of MB drivers and this may also help. Reviewing your hardware list, all the items listed seem to have a low probability of conflicting. I might remove the modem until you can get the system stable and then add it back. Bob Wright The NOSPIN Group, Inc http://nospin.com - http://nospin.org PCBUILD mailing list is brought to you by: The NOSPIN Group http://nospin.com - http://nospin.org