Howdy to all from Texas,

I was running an AMD 1.3Ghz Athlon cpu with 256MB ram and WinXP, until the cpu cooling fan quit. Now I have a AMD burnt-up cpu. Anyway, I have noticed that this machine has a strange problem when booting up. I have 2 CD drives and it may read both on one bootup and then may read only one the next time. The system time and date is always fouled up as well. I replaced the BIOS battery and no luck. Is it possible that the BIOS is corrupt and needs to be replaced/updated? I have an older Gateway machine that does a similar thing with the CD drives. Very strange thing indeed.

Replacing the BIOS should be fairly simple by using a flash BIOS update. Am I correct in this assumption?

Thanks for the help!!

galaxyhunter:confused:

The BIOS is read only Memeory(ROM) and its data would not go bad, if there is something wrong with its software then getting an BIOS upgrade from your motherboard manufacturer would solve that problem and flushing BIOS is an easy job.
It is possible that your cable which goes to both CDs is cracked or not connected properly.
The PC clock is in your CMOS chip ( actually on a SRAM chip, NVRAM) which is kept upto date by the battery. Most of the time when the battery is low the content of COMS is set to default and date/time would go back to Jan 1 ... If time is fluctuating, then you either have some software that is effectiong it or NVROM is misbehaving.

Replacing the BIOS should be fairly simple by using a flash BIOS update. Am I correct in this assumption?

Well, yes, and then again no!
Updating the BIOS is not something to be taken lightly. If any errors occur, you can end up with a paperweight! The main reason for updating would be to overcome a bug, or hardware incompatibility problem, which you do not have, or the computer would not have worked at all.
To try it on a machine which appears to be a bit erratic would be asking for trouble.
Your problem is more likely to be either a ribbon cable, loose connection, or a failing power supply.
I would rule those things out before trying the BIOS update.

Now I have a AMD burnt-up cpu.

What parts have been replaced?

I agree that a BIOS update is not warranted, at least not yet. I've seen a number of machines have trouble identifying CD drives, bad ribbon cable is probably the number one reason. Number two has oddly enough been Bad Capacitors (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25482). Motherboard or IDE controller failure is probably not very likely.

Jumper settings could also be the cause, but usually neither will be recognized from the start. Cable Select usually works best for hard drives on 80 conductor cables, standard Master/Slave configuration is usually best with CD/DVD drives using either 40 or 80 conductor cables.

Some ribbon cables are also made backward, check the cable against a few others if possible, if the connectors are different that could be the cause. It's hard to describe, in text form anyway, but I'll try...

The standard cable should plug in without twisting anything if all 3 IDE connectors were laid out in a row like this:

| | |

Master, in that example, would be at far left, motherboard at right. If the cable has to twist between the two drives, if stacked Master on top, the cable is probably not correct.

Hmmm...guess I was near brain-dead when I did that, didn't een think to check it to see if it came out right...NOPE!

OK, Top to bottom maybe...seems this editor won't do much with 12 spaces no matter how I code it...

_Master_

_Slave_



_Motherboard_

That should have no twists in the cable between the two drives. With Slave on top it would have to twist to fit. If Master is in the top bay and the cable twists, try a different cable.

As of this writing another CPU (same type) is on the way with a much better cooling fan. I will install and test again. While I am at it as the forum has suggested a new ribbon cable will be the order of the day.

It was also suggested that the power supply may be suspect. How would one test the power supply past the normal volt meter way? I mean I can test for the output voltage but how would you "stress" the power supply to see if it is indeed on the "fritz". I don't seem to have any problems while the machine is on, such as fluctuations or power shutoffs.

I hope my questions are making sense. I wonder sometimes!!