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1two3four5
11-27-2006, 08:09 AM
hello everyone. i have some very strange problems with my computer so after some internet searching i decided to take the next step and ask for help :)

i have an asus k8n-e nforce 3 motherboard, 3.000+ amd processor, 640 mb ram, radeon 9550 video card, 160 gb sata 2 hdd maxtor (set with the jumper on sata 1 because the motherboard doesn't support sata 2). the problem is that i have been having constant troubles with my system. some of them i have solved, others not, so i will make it short and say what is wrong now.

in the setup of the motherboard drivers i am prompted at one time and asked if i want to install the sw drivers or something like that, which allow my system to work better (replacement drivers for ata/sata i think). if i choose to install them, windows won't load anymore (it stays for some time at the "loading" image of the windows logo and then restarts). also, if i try to reinstall windows after the drivers have been installed, the setup blocks at "verifying hdd at id...") and i have to connect it to my dad's computer and format the c:\ partition before i can install it again.

if i don't install those drivers (but everything else), the system seems to be working fine - with the oddity that if i restart the computer (not shut down completely) windows won't load anymore, so it's like the hdd needs to shut down completely first before it can start again.

so now i have my windows installed without those drivers and i have a problem: i can connect to the internet through the ethernet card on my motherboard, yet when i ping any site it shows "request timed out" always (when i ping the server it works fine though). so no ping, but yes browsing. also my dc++ won't connect to the internet anymore, or bittorrent - and that's what i am annoyed by most. i had some things i downloaded from the net and now i can't connect anymore (for instance, bittorrent logs the fact that it "cannot find a UPnP port"). so i'm asking what is wrong? seems like something is preventing the feedback from reaching my computer - so i thought it might have something to do with the available ports (COM1, 2 etc.) or something.

strange thing again: in device manager there is only one communication port (COM1) and ECP printer port. i find that very weird so i browsed through the BIOS settings. there i found only one serial port listed. so there is something like "serial port 1" and it has an irq and number assigned. but no "serial port 2", just USB ports and others. now i will admit i am not too nosey when it comes to computers so i am not sure if i always had one port listed there, but i seem to vaguely remember there was another one at some point. and i searched the net and from what i understand there should be at least two ports. now this is a recent problem, everything worked fine (with the problems mentioned before except the port thing), until i checked the "yes" in the "allow OS to manage plug and play devices". now i loaded the setup defaults (with "no" selected) and still the same port problem. so what do you guys think? what is wrong? why isn't my port detected, and is that why i can't connect to the net through bittorent and why i don't get return packages in the ping?

note: firewall on/off, same thing.

if you need more info, feel free to ask. any suggestions will help and would be appreciated.

thank you very much :)

Whyzman
11-27-2006, 09:20 AM
Welcome tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Forums!

Do you have a floppy drive with this build? If so, I would suggest downloading the harddrive diagnostics from the manufacturer's website. These are self-booting and will make sure there are no problems with the harddrive itself...

If you do not have a floppy drive, most sites will instruct you on how to accomplish the same by creating a bootable CD... These also come into operation before Windows loads and do their work...

1two3four5
11-28-2006, 07:06 AM
Welcome tohttp://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif Forums!

Do you have a floppy drive with this build? If so, I would suggest downloading the harddrive diagnostics from the manufacturer's website. These are self-booting and will make sure there are no problems with the harddrive itself...

If you do not have a floppy drive, most sites will instruct you on how to accomplish the same by creating a bootable CD... These also come into operation before Windows loads and do their work...


thanks, i will try that! :D do you think it could be the hdd then? could the hdd have that influence on the motherboard so that the second port doesn't show up in bios? :confused:

thanks for the reply and the welcome :)

Whyzman
11-28-2006, 08:12 AM
Actually, the first thing I would suggest doing is removing the battery from the motherboard for about 10 minutes. Doing so, will return the motherboard to default values. If anything has been altered in the BIOS/Setup that might create problems with the computer's ability to make it through POST (Power On Self Test) resetting the default values can work wonders. If the computer is a few years old, replacing the motherboard battery is also a good idea...

The ports can be turned disabled in the BIOS/Setup. If they are not being used, it allows for additional IRQs to be allocated elsewhere.

Running the harddrive diagnostics and also RAM tests (www.memtest86.com) are very similar to checking a vehicle for spark and gas before yanking the engine for a rebuild... ;)