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Tony was right again!

Guest Carlos

By Guest Carlos
in Windows XP 64 Bit

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Guest Carlos

Guest Carlos

Posted
Posted

One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to the

latest version in case of strange troubles.

I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs memory

stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

And that was it!

Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

Carlos

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Guest Tony Sperling

Guest Tony Sperling

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

Thanks , Carlos!

 

It may not be all that often, but Freewheeling and Hipshooting do really

catch some of those tricky errors - the fixes you will not find in the

books!

 

Actually, looking for these updates is usually the first thing I do with a

new system. Info on precisely what has been updated is often extremely vague

but the dates are there and if considerable time has passed, I go ahead and

flash the damned thing!

 

 

Tony. . .

 

 

"Carlos" <Carlos@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:69D4C1FD-88B2-4A6F-8923-D6B2458BE02C@microsoft.com...

> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to

the

> latest version in case of strange troubles.

> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

memory

> stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

> 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> And that was it!

> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> Carlos

>

>

Guest Charlie Russel - MVP

Guest Charlie Russel - MVP

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

Yes, I agree.

 

Another thing that can happen with memory, btw, is simply a lack of voltage

when they're all there. This can often be fixed by tweaking the voltage up

just a bit in the BIOS. I've got an ASUS A8V-vm that used to run 4 sticks

just fine, but now won't. But since it's my Windows Home Server box, it's

fine with 2 GB so I've left it alone.

 

--

Charlie.

http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

 

 

"Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message

news:e6Umrtx1IHA.1240@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> Thanks , Carlos!

>

> It may not be all that often, but Freewheeling and Hipshooting do really

> catch some of those tricky errors - the fixes you will not find in the

> books!

>

> Actually, looking for these updates is usually the first thing I do with a

> new system. Info on precisely what has been updated is often extremely

> vague

> but the dates are there and if considerable time has passed, I go ahead

> and

> flash the damned thing!

>

>

> Tony. . .

>

>

> "Carlos" <Carlos@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> news:69D4C1FD-88B2-4A6F-8923-D6B2458BE02C@microsoft.com...

>> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to

> the

>> latest version in case of strange troubles.

>> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

> memory

>> stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

>> 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

>> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

>> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

>> And that was it!

>> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

>> Carlos

>>

>>

>

>

Guest Carlos

Guest Carlos

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

Charlie,

I resorted to do the flashing after having tried the usual tricks:

1.- Increment memory voltage

2.- Decrease from DDR2-667 to DDR2-533

3.- Memory timings

None of those could prevent the BSOD.

After the flashing everything is back to normal.

Carlos

 

"Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

> Yes, I agree.

>

> Another thing that can happen with memory, btw, is simply a lack of voltage

> when they're all there. This can often be fixed by tweaking the voltage up

> just a bit in the BIOS. I've got an ASUS A8V-vm that used to run 4 sticks

> just fine, but now won't. But since it's my Windows Home Server box, it's

> fine with 2 GB so I've left it alone.

>

> --

> Charlie.

> http://msmvps.com/blogs/xperts64

> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel

>

>

> "Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message

> news:e6Umrtx1IHA.1240@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...

> > Thanks , Carlos!

> >

> > It may not be all that often, but Freewheeling and Hipshooting do really

> > catch some of those tricky errors - the fixes you will not find in the

> > books!

> >

> > Actually, looking for these updates is usually the first thing I do with a

> > new system. Info on precisely what has been updated is often extremely

> > vague

> > but the dates are there and if considerable time has passed, I go ahead

> > and

> > flash the damned thing!

> >

> >

> > Tony. . .

> >

> >

> > "Carlos" <Carlos@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

> > news:69D4C1FD-88B2-4A6F-8923-D6B2458BE02C@microsoft.com...

> >> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to

> > the

> >> latest version in case of strange troubles.

> >> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

> > memory

> >> stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

> >> 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> >> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> >> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> >> And that was it!

> >> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> >> Carlos

> >>

> >>

> >

> >

>

Guest BP

Guest BP

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

Carlos expressed precisely :

> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to the

> latest version in case of strange troubles.

> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs memory

> stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

> 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> And that was it!

> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> Carlos

 

Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

Guest Tony Sperling

Guest Tony Sperling

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

With HP, you are actually lucky, because if you visit their home site you

can type your product name and number into the search-box and it will take

you to the correct place where there are (or isn't?) updates waiting for

you.

 

As an alternative - when your machine is booting, the first thing that

appears on your screen is the name and BIOS number of the graphics card -

the next thing that displays will usually be the CPU and memory and BIOS

info of your machine and if you want to look for updates you go to the

manufacturers site and see what they have. Most times, when you buy someting

new, it is at least six months old and updated system drivers and BIOS's are

likely to be available. But if you are not having any trouble with the

machine or the OS, then you may want to wait, many updates concerns specific

hardware that you may not have anyway. HP don't issue a lot of BIOS

updates - it is my understanding that they make a considerable effort to do

it right the first time. My HP notebook is three years old now and there has

been one single update that I wanted, in that time.

 

If there are things you don't like about a HP machine, it is not likely to

go away with an update - it is probably associated with the particular

philosophy by which HP build their products.

 

 

Tony. . .

 

 

"BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:mn.d4b87d862e637a69.88421@hotmail.com...

> Carlos expressed precisely :

> > One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to

the

> > latest version in case of strange troubles.

> > I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

memory

> > stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

> > 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> > 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> > His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> > And that was it!

> > Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> > Carlos

>

> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

>

>

Guest Carlos

Guest Carlos

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

BP,

In addition to Tony's wise and comprehensive comments you may also want to

download and run (no installation needed) this very small freeware utility:

http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

It is called CPU-Z.

Once you run it, go to the "Mainboard" tab and you will find the information

you are asking for.

Carlos

 

"BP" wrote:

> Carlos expressed precisely :

> > One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to the

> > latest version in case of strange troubles.

> > I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs memory

> > stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista x64).

> > 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> > 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> > His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> > And that was it!

> > Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> > Carlos

>

> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

>

>

>

Guest BP

Guest BP

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

I like my HP. Having used it for 6 months I'm sorry I didn't get the

larger monitor, but it's a sweetheart. Oh, and sometimes I wish I had

waited for another 6 months because the machine now being sold is

faster, etc. But I recall having waited another six months before

getting this one so I'd get a faster, etc. machine. Oh Well.

 

And thank you for the information. I've checked the HP site and there

are no new updates for the computer. You've also solved a minor puzzle

for me. I can see white text on the screen during the boot process,

but it's never on long enough to read and I've wondered what it said.

I still can't read it, but at least I have an idea what the subject

matter is.

 

Tony Sperling has brought this to us :

> With HP, you are actually lucky, because if you visit their home site you

> can type your product name and number into the search-box and it will take

> you to the correct place where there are (or isn't?) updates waiting for

> you.

>

> As an alternative - when your machine is booting, the first thing that

> appears on your screen is the name and BIOS number of the graphics card -

> the next thing that displays will usually be the CPU and memory and BIOS

> info of your machine and if you want to look for updates you go to the

> manufacturers site and see what they have. Most times, when you buy someting

> new, it is at least six months old and updated system drivers and BIOS's are

> likely to be available. But if you are not having any trouble with the

> machine or the OS, then you may want to wait, many updates concerns specific

> hardware that you may not have anyway. HP don't issue a lot of BIOS

> updates - it is my understanding that they make a considerable effort to do

> it right the first time. My HP notebook is three years old now and there has

> been one single update that I wanted, in that time.

>

> If there are things you don't like about a HP machine, it is not likely to

> go away with an update - it is probably associated with the particular

> philosophy by which HP build their products.

>

>

> Tony. . .

>

>

> "BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> news:mn.d4b87d862e637a69.88421@hotmail.com...

>> Carlos expressed precisely :

>>> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to

>>> the latest version in case of strange troubles.

>>> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

>>> memory stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista

>>> x64). 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

>>> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

>>> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

>>> And that was it!

>>> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

>>> Carlos

>>

>> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

>> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

>> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

>> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

Guest BP

Guest BP

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

Carlos - Thanks for cite to CPU-Z. The program looks to be just the

one I'm after. And thanks to for the other post about making Flash

work on the 64 bit version of IE. Some sites don't seem to realize it's

installed, but that's a different issue.

 

 

After serious thinking Carlos wrote :

> BP,

> In addition to Tony's wise and comprehensive comments you may also want to

> download and run (no installation needed) this very small freeware utility:

> http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

> It is called CPU-Z.

> Once you run it, go to the "Mainboard" tab and you will find the information

> you are asking for.

> Carlos

>

> "BP" wrote:

>

>> Carlos expressed precisely :

>>> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS to

>>> the latest version in case of strange troubles.

>>> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

>>> memory stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard (Vista

>>> x64). 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

>>> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

>>> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

>>> And that was it!

>>> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

>>> Carlos

>>

>> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

>> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

>> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

>> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

>>

>>

>>

Guest Tony Sperling

Guest Tony Sperling

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

You are right, the Boot Screen text messages are wizzing by rather quickly,

but usually the messages that identifies the BIOS info stays long enough to

be read - among other things, the brief pause give you an option to press

<F2> or <DEL> or whatever it happens to be, to access the BIOS Setup

utility - if you want to write down some of the information, you can enter

the BIOS at this stage and all the version information can be read from

inside!

 

Don't make changes that you don't understand what they are for - but you can

safely turn off support for devices that you know you don't have! Notebooks

often do not have a lot of options so probably better to leave it alone, but

it is absolutely safe to go inside and read - then <F10>, and you are back

out again!

 

Or, as an alternative - your monitor probably eats a few seconds to light

up, so you can give the machine the 'three-finger' (Ctrl+Alt+Del) if you've

missed anything and after the re-boot you'll find it is easier to read some

of that stuff since the screen has already been activated.

 

 

Tony. . .

 

 

 

"BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

news:mn.d5117d8619e3459a.88421@hotmail.com...

> I like my HP. Having used it for 6 months I'm sorry I didn't get the

> larger monitor, but it's a sweetheart. Oh, and sometimes I wish I had

> waited for another 6 months because the machine now being sold is

> faster, etc. But I recall having waited another six months before

> getting this one so I'd get a faster, etc. machine. Oh Well.

>

> And thank you for the information. I've checked the HP site and there

> are no new updates for the computer. You've also solved a minor puzzle

> for me. I can see white text on the screen during the boot process,

> but it's never on long enough to read and I've wondered what it said.

> I still can't read it, but at least I have an idea what the subject

> matter is.

>

> Tony Sperling has brought this to us :

> > With HP, you are actually lucky, because if you visit their home site

you

> > can type your product name and number into the search-box and it will

take

> > you to the correct place where there are (or isn't?) updates waiting for

> > you.

> >

> > As an alternative - when your machine is booting, the first thing that

> > appears on your screen is the name and BIOS number of the graphics

card -

> > the next thing that displays will usually be the CPU and memory and BIOS

> > info of your machine and if you want to look for updates you go to the

> > manufacturers site and see what they have. Most times, when you buy

someting

> > new, it is at least six months old and updated system drivers and BIOS's

are

> > likely to be available. But if you are not having any trouble with the

> > machine or the OS, then you may want to wait, many updates concerns

specific

> > hardware that you may not have anyway. HP don't issue a lot of BIOS

> > updates - it is my understanding that they make a considerable effort to

do

> > it right the first time. My HP notebook is three years old now and there

has

> > been one single update that I wanted, in that time.

> >

> > If there are things you don't like about a HP machine, it is not likely

to

> > go away with an update - it is probably associated with the particular

> > philosophy by which HP build their products.

> >

> >

> > Tony. . .

> >

> >

> > "BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> > news:mn.d4b87d862e637a69.88421@hotmail.com...

> >> Carlos expressed precisely :

> >>> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS

to

> >>> the latest version in case of strange troubles.

> >>> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

> >>> memory stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard

(Vista

> >>> x64). 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> >>> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> >>> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> >>> And that was it!

> >>> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> >>> Carlos

> >>

> >> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

> >> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

> >> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

> >> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

>

>

Guest R. C. White

Guest R. C. White

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

Hi, Tony - and BP.

 

USUALLY, the Pause/Break button (upper right on most keyboards) is

functional even during POST (Power-On Self Test, for those reading along).

When you see the first page of text, press that button and take as long as

you need to read the screenful of information. Then press almost any key

and the process will continue. Some systems present a second or even a

third page of info as devices and IRQs are detected; a second timely press

of the Pause key should let you read that, too.

 

Unfortunately, my current keyboard (from Microsoft! The Wireless Desktop

Laser 6000) does NOT let me use the Pause/Break key at that point, so I have

to READFAST - and then <Ctrl><Alt><Del> a few times to get all the info -

and that near the bottom of the page disappears REALLY fast! :>(

 

(Digression: This is a nice keyboard - but with several maddening traits.

The Function keys (F1 - F12) are grouped in 3s, not 4s - and they do double

duty, toggled by the F Lock key between the normal F5 and "Open", for

example. The Pause/Break key toggles to "ScrLk", for which I've seldom

found a need. :>( On boot or reboot, this key is set to the ScrLk function

and I can't get it toggled to Pause/Break , or at least, not quickly enough

to do me any good.. Don't you just LOVE Microsoft's hardware? Maybe HP's

keyboard works more sensibly.)

 

RC

--

R. C. White, CPA

San Marcos, TX

rc@grandecom.net

Microsoft Windows MVP

(Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

 

"Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message

news:u5$hNXD2IHA.4164@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> You are right, the Boot Screen text messages are wizzing by rather

> quickly,

> but usually the messages that identifies the BIOS info stays long enough

> to

> be read - among other things, the brief pause give you an option to press

> <F2> or <DEL> or whatever it happens to be, to access the BIOS Setup

> utility - if you want to write down some of the information, you can enter

> the BIOS at this stage and all the version information can be read from

> inside!

>

> Don't make changes that you don't understand what they are for - but you

> can

> safely turn off support for devices that you know you don't have!

> Notebooks

> often do not have a lot of options so probably better to leave it alone,

> but

> it is absolutely safe to go inside and read - then <F10>, and you are back

> out again!

>

> Or, as an alternative - your monitor probably eats a few seconds to light

> up, so you can give the machine the 'three-finger' (Ctrl+Alt+Del) if

> you've

> missed anything and after the re-boot you'll find it is easier to read

> some

> of that stuff since the screen has already been activated.

>

>

> Tony. . .

>

>

>

> "BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> news:mn.d5117d8619e3459a.88421@hotmail.com...

>> I like my HP. Having used it for 6 months I'm sorry I didn't get the

>> larger monitor, but it's a sweetheart. Oh, and sometimes I wish I had

>> waited for another 6 months because the machine now being sold is

>> faster, etc. But I recall having waited another six months before

>> getting this one so I'd get a faster, etc. machine. Oh Well.

>>

>> And thank you for the information. I've checked the HP site and there

>> are no new updates for the computer. You've also solved a minor puzzle

>> for me. I can see white text on the screen during the boot process,

>> but it's never on long enough to read and I've wondered what it said.

>> I still can't read it, but at least I have an idea what the subject

>> matter is.

>>

>> Tony Sperling has brought this to us :

>> > With HP, you are actually lucky, because if you visit their home site

> you

>> > can type your product name and number into the search-box and it will

> take

>> > you to the correct place where there are (or isn't?) updates waiting

>> > for

>> > you.

>> >

>> > As an alternative - when your machine is booting, the first thing that

>> > appears on your screen is the name and BIOS number of the graphics

> card -

>> > the next thing that displays will usually be the CPU and memory and

>> > BIOS

>> > info of your machine and if you want to look for updates you go to the

>> > manufacturers site and see what they have. Most times, when you buy

> someting

>> > new, it is at least six months old and updated system drivers and

>> > BIOS's

> are

>> > likely to be available. But if you are not having any trouble with the

>> > machine or the OS, then you may want to wait, many updates concerns

> specific

>> > hardware that you may not have anyway. HP don't issue a lot of BIOS

>> > updates - it is my understanding that they make a considerable effort

>> > to

> do

>> > it right the first time. My HP notebook is three years old now and

>> > there

> has

>> > been one single update that I wanted, in that time.

>> >

>> > If there are things you don't like about a HP machine, it is not likely

> to

>> > go away with an update - it is probably associated with the particular

>> > philosophy by which HP build their products.

>> >

>> >

>> > Tony. . .

>> >

>> >

>> > "BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

>> > news:mn.d4b87d862e637a69.88421@hotmail.com...

>> >> Carlos expressed precisely :

>> >>> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your BIOS

> to

>> >>> the latest version in case of strange troubles.

>> >>> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2 gigs

>> >>> memory stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard

> (Vista

>> >>> x64). 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

>> >>> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

>> >>> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

>> >>> And that was it!

>> >>> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

>> >>> Carlos

>> >>

>> >> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do I

>> >> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so I

>> >> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked the

>> >> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

Guest Tony Sperling

Guest Tony Sperling

Posted
Posted

Re: Tony was right again!

 

It's true, the <Pause> key usually works fine - but more often, I find,

there is one or ½ of a screen that don't stop, back in good old DOS it used

to stop everything right away - right now it's the lines of IDE information

that goes by so I've stopped using Pause now. One other thing is you can

often set a 'Quick Boot' option in the BIOS and that stops the displaying of

POST info which is a delay - I disable this and forfeit the speed-up myself,

I like that it counts the memory and it gives the machine some time to

stabilize electrically and I believe I have fewer problems with strange

'hangs' when booting - and you'll have time to read some of the early stuff

there too!

 

 

Tony. . .

 

 

 

 

"R. C. White" <rc@grandecom.net> wrote in message

news:6B385EC1-6BE8-4F90-9C83-CDFEDAABD082@microsoft.com...

> Hi, Tony - and BP.

>

> USUALLY, the Pause/Break button (upper right on most keyboards) is

> functional even during POST (Power-On Self Test, for those reading along).

> When you see the first page of text, press that button and take as long as

> you need to read the screenful of information. Then press almost any key

> and the process will continue. Some systems present a second or even a

> third page of info as devices and IRQs are detected; a second timely press

> of the Pause key should let you read that, too.

>

> Unfortunately, my current keyboard (from Microsoft! The Wireless Desktop

> Laser 6000) does NOT let me use the Pause/Break key at that point, so I

have

> to READFAST - and then <Ctrl><Alt><Del> a few times to get all the info -

> and that near the bottom of the page disappears REALLY fast! :>(

>

> (Digression: This is a nice keyboard - but with several maddening traits.

> The Function keys (F1 - F12) are grouped in 3s, not 4s - and they do

double

> duty, toggled by the F Lock key between the normal F5 and "Open", for

> example. The Pause/Break key toggles to "ScrLk", for which I've seldom

> found a need. :>( On boot or reboot, this key is set to the ScrLk

function

> and I can't get it toggled to Pause/Break , or at least, not quickly

enough

> to do me any good.. Don't you just LOVE Microsoft's hardware? Maybe HP's

> keyboard works more sensibly.)

>

> RC

> --

> R. C. White, CPA

> San Marcos, TX

> rc@grandecom.net

> Microsoft Windows MVP

> (Running Windows Live Mail 2008 in Vista Ultimate x64 SP1)

>

> "Tony Sperling" <tony.sperling@dbREMOVEmail.dk> wrote in message

> news:u5$hNXD2IHA.4164@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl...

> > You are right, the Boot Screen text messages are wizzing by rather

> > quickly,

> > but usually the messages that identifies the BIOS info stays long enough

> > to

> > be read - among other things, the brief pause give you an option to

press

> > <F2> or <DEL> or whatever it happens to be, to access the BIOS Setup

> > utility - if you want to write down some of the information, you can

enter

> > the BIOS at this stage and all the version information can be read from

> > inside!

> >

> > Don't make changes that you don't understand what they are for - but you

> > can

> > safely turn off support for devices that you know you don't have!

> > Notebooks

> > often do not have a lot of options so probably better to leave it alone,

> > but

> > it is absolutely safe to go inside and read - then <F10>, and you are

back

> > out again!

> >

> > Or, as an alternative - your monitor probably eats a few seconds to

light

> > up, so you can give the machine the 'three-finger' (Ctrl+Alt+Del) if

> > you've

> > missed anything and after the re-boot you'll find it is easier to read

> > some

> > of that stuff since the screen has already been activated.

> >

> >

> > Tony. . .

> >

> >

> >

> > "BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> > news:mn.d5117d8619e3459a.88421@hotmail.com...

> >> I like my HP. Having used it for 6 months I'm sorry I didn't get the

> >> larger monitor, but it's a sweetheart. Oh, and sometimes I wish I had

> >> waited for another 6 months because the machine now being sold is

> >> faster, etc. But I recall having waited another six months before

> >> getting this one so I'd get a faster, etc. machine. Oh Well.

> >>

> >> And thank you for the information. I've checked the HP site and there

> >> are no new updates for the computer. You've also solved a minor puzzle

> >> for me. I can see white text on the screen during the boot process,

> >> but it's never on long enough to read and I've wondered what it said.

> >> I still can't read it, but at least I have an idea what the subject

> >> matter is.

> >>

> >> Tony Sperling has brought this to us :

> >> > With HP, you are actually lucky, because if you visit their home site

> > you

> >> > can type your product name and number into the search-box and it will

> > take

> >> > you to the correct place where there are (or isn't?) updates waiting

> >> > for

> >> > you.

> >> >

> >> > As an alternative - when your machine is booting, the first thing

that

> >> > appears on your screen is the name and BIOS number of the graphics

> > card -

> >> > the next thing that displays will usually be the CPU and memory and

> >> > BIOS

> >> > info of your machine and if you want to look for updates you go to

the

> >> > manufacturers site and see what they have. Most times, when you buy

> > someting

> >> > new, it is at least six months old and updated system drivers and

> >> > BIOS's

> > are

> >> > likely to be available. But if you are not having any trouble with

the

> >> > machine or the OS, then you may want to wait, many updates concerns

> > specific

> >> > hardware that you may not have anyway. HP don't issue a lot of BIOS

> >> > updates - it is my understanding that they make a considerable effort

> >> > to

> > do

> >> > it right the first time. My HP notebook is three years old now and

> >> > there

> > has

> >> > been one single update that I wanted, in that time.

> >> >

> >> > If there are things you don't like about a HP machine, it is not

likely

> > to

> >> > go away with an update - it is probably associated with the

particular

> >> > philosophy by which HP build their products.

> >> >

> >> >

> >> > Tony. . .

> >> >

> >> >

> >> > "BP" <brcphillips@hotmail.com> wrote in message

> >> > news:mn.d4b87d862e637a69.88421@hotmail.com...

> >> >> Carlos expressed precisely :

> >> >>> One of most recommended fixes by Tony is to upgrade (flash) your

BIOS

> > to

> >> >>> the latest version in case of strange troubles.

> >> >>> I helped one friend of mine who could not add a second DDR-667 2

gigs

> >> >>> memory stick to his brand new Gigabyte GA-MA790FX-DS motherboard

> > (Vista

> >> >>> x64). 2 gigs DDR-667, Vista would boot Ok.

> >> >>> 4 gigs DDR-667, Vista would BSOD on boot.

> >> >>> His BIOS was ver F3 so I downloaded the latest one, a.k.a. v F6.

> >> >>> And that was it!

> >> >>> Vista is now happy with 4 gigs.

> >> >>> Carlos

> >> >>

> >> >> Carlos and Tony - This thread raises some questions fro me. How do

I

> >> >> find out about the mother board, BOIS, etc. that is in my system so

I

> >> >> can find out if there are updates? I have an HP and I've checked

the

> >> >> HP site to look for updates to my system, but is there another way?

>

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