New system nightmare

[daddog]

Will have it back tonight. 

They installed XP with SP2 on it. He did say I need to update the BIOS. Should I update the BIOS before I install anything else?

[daddog]

Have it back and it boots up fine, but it locks up every few minutes.

http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Motherboard/BIOS_DownloadFile.aspx?FileType=BIOS&FileID=14517

Not quite sure how to go about this. I have QFlash and reading the PDF file. Any suggestions appreciated.

[daddog]

What is it with these company's and the use of floppy drives?
http://www.gigabyte.us/FileList/WebPage/motherboard_howtoreflash_bios/flashbios_qflash.pdf
Here is the how to and after reading the PDF their example suggests using a floppy drive? Unbelievable. That is comparable to explaining step by step how to repair a TV using a vacuum tube. I am really getting PO'ed about this stuff. I don't have a floppy drive that works, I am not going to look for a floppy drive and I am getting pretty close to sending the MB/CPU back to Mwave.

[Harppa]

Dad,

The easiest way is to get a floppy drive, they are dirty cheap these days.

The harder way is to make yourself a bootable cd and make sure you have the required bios files on the disk ready to use. Be warned though you will not be able to backup your old bios file onto the cd. Also I think I heard somewhere you could also use a usb flash drive for the job as you would a floppy drive (never done that my self)

Check these URL

http://www.bootdisk.com/
Find the line: Need To Flash Your BIOS On A PC With No 1.44

http://www.biosflash.de/e/bios-boot-cd.htm

[Malap]

Daddog, i got a floppy drive that also doubles as a flash card reader, similar to this one.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4115642&CatId=287

That way it doesn't seem such a waste to buy a floppy drive you may rarely use, however i personaly will continue to put a floppy in any system i build for the forseeable future just in case, LOL

[Ghosth]

New technknowalgy vs old hardware daddog.

First off if you have everything else set why do you need to flash the bios?

Second on some motherboards with some SATA drives you will need a floppy.
I know they are obsolete, the problem is that flash drives are not available until the machine is fully booted up.

That leaves bootable cd drives and floppy's, and floppy's are simply easier to write for the programmers.
All the code is there, its copy paste.

Once your system is up and running you can take it back out.
But you need A floppy drive, and ribbon cable on hand for building new systems, flashing bios, etc.

Just the way it is, cost of doing business. Steal one out of any old system anywhere.

[daddog]

Thanks guys.
Mal I like the looks of that drive and ordered one. Feel better about it since it does offer more than just a floppy slot.

Ghosth I need to flash my BIOS as it locks up every few minutes, then it might run for an hour. No telling. Fans are all running and it is not a heat issue. Tech guys told me I would have to flash the BIOS.

Looking at the links Harppa.

[Ghosth]

Unstable??  Tsk tsk tsk, won't catch me buying a gigabyte board anytime soon then.

[outlaw]

have ran gigabytes for years but i always keep a floppy around but have never had to flash a bio's makes one wonder.

[forHIM]

See his other email/thread.  Looks to be a RAM / dual channel issue.

[daddog]

System has been running all day with out any issues. Have updated and downloaded for most of it and it is running as smooth as silk. Must have been one of the memory sticks, or one was in the wrong slot. I will trouble shoot that tomorrow. Phew...what a chore that was.

Thanks for all the helpful posts guys. It was not any fun to be sure. Will try some AH shortly.