bios wont load

[dave mca]

built pc

it seemed to keep coming up with Fatal Exception OE errorswhiile i tried to install win 98 and i tried to reinstall it several times.
Eventually i suspected an old cdrom had somethin to do withit so swapped it.The bios would still recognize the old one though it was no longer attached and had trouble letting me reformat , fdisk , reinstall windows for another crack because of this
"no fixed drive"
it would say.

Next thing bios wont even load.

"reading NVAM memory it says or something an does nothing right on boot. No bios at all.

What do i do ?

If i give it to someone they`ll only charge me a fortune.
i`m not too bad with pc`s i understand how they all go together and doing the afore mentioned things but this time there just seemed to be something wrong.
Even the first time i tried to format, fdisk,win 98 install it would crash if on the question screens i would take more than about 15 seconds.I got through it eventually.
But after that it would come up with all these Fatal exceptions after installing my direct X drivers or audio chip drivers etc.
Definitely not normal and straightforward but i dont know what is wrong.

One thing i noticed at first was when it was on for a bit these fatal exception swould come up , i`d go out , come back and get through a complete fdisk,format,win install without an error.
In the end i even took side off and put it by open window wonderin if it was overheating.
fans seemed to be working though.

If i could just get bios workin again i might have a chance.

any help appreciated as i`m skint as it is and if i dont find a cheap solution i may end up leavin it broke for about 2 weeks. And i just got broadband installed :cry:

please help
(runs off grasping wallet to chest)

cheers
dave

[Kuddy]

Fatal Exception errors might indicate that the CPU is running too fast/overheating or your RAM is faulty.

I'd check the motherboard clock speed jumpers, if they're correct for your processor, I'd unplug HD, Floppy, CD ROm drives, and leave one stick of RAM in so it's bare bones and see if it gets to the point where it looks for it's O/S again. If not, try some other RAM and if still no joy, you've got possible Motherboard/CPU/RAM problems....

Is the RAM the correct rating?

[Jalfrezi]

Yeah, I agree, looks like you've got a hardware fault, best bet is to get some new memory (which is probably the cheapest component to replace)

Failing that, like Kuddy says, you'll be looking at motherboard problem - try unplugging anything unnecessary, soundcards, network cards or anything else that isn't needed for an install.
If your copy of win98 is bootable, you'll only need hard disk, cdrom and graphics card connected.

Hope this helps.......:)

[voodoo_melon]

Try resetting the bios if you havn't already, there should be a jumper for it. Make sure it's unplugged/switched off at the mains first.

[dave mca]

i dettached the CD , Floppy , HD , took out the sound card , still does the exact same thing.

Cant i somehow reset or reinstall or update the bios?
Cant i short the cmos and reinstall bios or have i not got the correct understanding of that ?

cheers
dave

[voodoo_melon]

You can flash (update) the bios, but you need to get it going before you can do that (need a floppy with a bios image on it). Look in the manual if you have it, or on the board there should be a jumper labelled 'clear cmos', if theres 2 pins just connect them together, if theres 3 move the jumper to short the 2 which aren't connected. If you can't find it just unplug it from the wall and take the battery out for a while (few minutes should probably do it), that should clear it, stick the battery back in and turn on.

[realityx]

defo sounds like the memory to me,
had the same thing happen a few times
and it was memory related, change the
stick of memory your using, preferbly
to a branded type and then give it a try.

you can try clearing cmos/flashing bios,
but if it is memory related that will not make a
difference.

[dave mca]

replaced memory , same result exactly.

Attempted to short the cmos like it said in the manual , nothing changed , same result.
Removed cmos battery , same result , nothing changed.

Just turns on, recognizes the processor as a duron 1300 and says

"checking VRAM..."

and does nothing

[voodoo_melon]

Sure the memory is seated properly? Sometimes it can be quite stiff. Make sure its clipped right in properly.

Vram suggests it's the video card, can you try another?

[marty_t3]

Make sure it's unplugged/switched off at the mains first.

Don't unplug the PC from the wall if you're working inside the case unless you're using an ESD strap. Switch it off at the wall but leave it plugged in and make a point of touching the case regularly. In the one in a thousand chance of ESD damaging any components, the earth from yourself-case-ground will help protect the more sensitive components.

edited this bit cuz i need to learn to read the whole thread before posting :rolleyes:

[marty_t3]

You could try holding a bunch of keys down on the keyboard to see if it errors out and kicks you into the cmos setup. (not likely though cuz i don't think it's getting that far)

Another thing to try.... unplug all the memory and power the PC up.... you should get a beep code if it detects no memory. (1 long beep then 3 short beeps).

[Pauly_Boy]

If you've got 2 RAM chips, only use 1, ad swap them around if u get me.

How far is it getting, VRam testing, WTF is Vram, :confused: It won't be video as this is the first thing to test, and if you can see the CPU speed, the video card ram is fine. Reseat the gfx card, kick it and piss on it. If that doesn't work, send back the motherboard!

I wouldb't go flashing the Bios, because if that goes tits up, o doubt the warrenty will cover you!

[dave mca]

i think i`ve worked out what it is.
Firstly its VMRAM not VRAM.
This is memory that remains when the power is turned off.
I searched the web and found a few peeps sayin they changed bios settings and then it hung on "checking vram..." in the bios.

I remembered before this happened that i did change some bios settings to try to get it to see a cd drive that it wasnt and to unsee one it was and shouldnt have been cos i`d removed it.
In doing so i`ve obviously confused the hell out of the bios and now it hangs on this stage at the very start.

Problem now is i cant get at the bios to change it but i know its the bios that is confused and hanging the machine.

Solution i think is to replace the bios chip on the motherboard.
Its an American Megatrends BIOS chip
Anyone know where i can buy bios chips and quickly ?
Does your high street computer component shop and pc builder/repairer have bios chips for sale or do i have to go direct to the manufacturer ?

cheers
dave

[Pauly_Boy]

Dave

If thats the case, go into the Bios, and just reset it all to the defaults. Sometimes theres a Item on the main menu, other times its F10 when on a specifc item.

I doubt you can Buy chips just like that!

[marty_t3]

I wouldn't bother with all that caper.... just keep trying to reset the bios....

remove the battery and leave the whole thing unplugged overnight and try again tomorrow.... it should definitely have cleared by then.... 2 hours was the standard "CMOS reset test" i used in the PC factory i used to work in. Most will clear in much less time but i've seen some store the settings without the battery for up to 6 hours.

[marty_t3]

Oh...and if you short the CMOS jumper/switch to clear it... try turning the PC on with the jumper closed... I've seen some boards use this as a recovery mode. Turn it off again after 10 seconds then open the jumper/switch and try and power up as normal again.

[Nismo_Freak]

good luck! :cry: :)