bios

Fri
17
Feb
Dennis Faas's picture

Use External hard drive to boot Windows incase C drive crashes?

Infopackets Reader Steve T. writes: " Dear Dennis, I have recently added a 120GB external hard drive to my Dell Dimension computer (via the USB port). Problem: whenever I turn my computer on (to start Windows), the external hard drive always tries ... to boot first. Inevitably I get an error message that 'operating system is not found' and I have to shut off the external unit and then reboot the machine in order to start Windows properly. For this reason, I am curious if my Windows XP crashes, would it be able to boot from the external hard drive? If so, how would I go about doing this? ... (view more)

Fri
30
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

A Christmas Story, Part 2

We apply power to the system and suddenly, we have a problem. Even though I had correctly installed that wonderful 20 GB hard drive, including the Master/Slave/Cable Select jumper, the drive was not identified by the system! After a lot of ... additional research and a fair amount of testing, I discovered the awful truth! The 20 GB hard drive was too big! Yes, that is correct. The system would not accept a drive much bigger than 12 GB. Time for a BIOS upgrade since the Dell systems allow BIOS Flashing. It was time to download an appropriate BIOS load for the system. However, when I try to apply ... (view more)

Fri
01
Jul
Dennis Faas's picture

'Nvidia Bios Editor', and 'Interface Traffic Indicator'

Nvidia Bios Editor NVIDIA BIOS Editor enables you to change the sign-on message text ... (view more)

Thu
22
Jan
Dennis Faas's picture

Hard drive does not detect and has disappeared?

Infopackets Reader LaVerne B. writes: " Approximately two months ago my computer suddenly stopped recognizing my D Drive. What should I do to correct this problem?? I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the hardware; however, I still have the ... predicament! " My response: This sounds like it might be a hardware problem. What I am about to suggest may not be the most 'correct' answer, but will surely set you in the right direction. Having said that, here are some probable reasons as to why your drive is no longer working: The drive is not configured / plugged in properly. The BIOS ... (view more)

Thu
18
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Change CMOS Battery?

Infopackets Reader 'CusterCr' writes: " I have been away from home for quite some time. A friend of mine went to use my computer recently, and now she has to hit F10 on the keyboard to save the time and date every time the computer turns on. Any ... ideas what might be wrong? " My response: It is most likely that your CMOS battery has faded away and now your BIOS settings have been lost. The BIOS settings will keep resetting every time power is lost or the computer is unplugged because there is no way to save the information (which is done with the aid of a CMOS battery). Put in Simple ... (view more)

Wed
19
Nov
Dennis Faas's picture

PC won't go into hibernation mode with Digital Camera?

Infopackets Gazette Reader Linda S. writes: " Dear Dennis, My Compaq Presario 7000 computer will not hibernate: I always get a message that says, 'Your computer cannot hibernate or standby because the Intel (R) PC Camera CS110 cannot enter a low ... power state.' I went to Compaq Communities [online message board], and received a reply which stated that I needed to download and install the BIOS and driver update for the camera to resolve the problem. Since my camera has worked flawlessly for the past 2 years, I assume that I don't need to download another driver? Please Help! " Side note: " ... (view more)

Tue
07
Oct
Dennis Faas's picture

CD burner dead after power outage?

Side note: Because this Visitor Feedback section deals with computer hardware, both the question and answer are somewhat technical. Even if you're a newbie, you should take the time to read this article: I've done my best to outline and explain the ... techy-terms in simple English. Infopackets Reader John T. writes: " Hi, Dennis! I'm sure hoping for your help, if you have the time and are up for a challenge. When I turned my computer on after the recent massive power outage ... I discovered I no longer had D (CD ROM) drive -- it disappeared from My Computer under Windows ... The rest of the ... (view more)

Wed
02
Apr
Dennis Faas's picture

How to flash a BIOS

Infopackets Reader Reza M. asks, " Can you tell me, how I can update my computer's main board BIOS? " My Response: Flashing a BIOS simply means to update the BIOS. A BIOS is a computer chip which contains simple instructions required for operation ... particular to a device. Since not all main boards are the same, the steps taken for flashing a motherboard BIOS can only be generalized. I will attempt to explain the procedure, but must first advise: do not flash your BIOS unless you absolutely need to (IE: an update is required to have the device function properly). The reasoning for ... (view more)

Tue
31
Dec
Dennis Faas's picture

Difference between CMOS and BIOS

CMOS or BIOS? What's the difference? The CMOS (pronounced "sea moss") is a computer chip responsible for storing settings of a computer system. The word "CMOS" is actually an acronym which stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. Try and ... say that 10 times without slipping! Most users have undoubtedly witnessed a message stating "Press DEL to enter Setup", or something similar when a computer has been powered on. If the DEL key was pressed at this instance, something called a CMOS utility screen would appear on the screen. Various hardware settings can ... (view more)

Tue
10
Sep
Dennis Faas's picture

Windows XP Crashes with My Nvidia Geforce Mx 400 Video Card?, Part 2

As some of you may know, I recently installed Windows XP on my system. So far, not so good. My computer system has one of those cutting-edge video cards (NVidia GeForce 400 MX w/ 64 meg) that allows me to output the video to my monitor and my big ... screen TV. I use my DVD drive (inside the computer) to play videos on my TV. Yeah, it's a pretty sweet setup. I have the latest NVidia drivers (30.82) for my video card (for Windows 2000 / XP). When the driver is installed, I get a message that "this video driver has not been certified by Microsoft ... blah blah" warning. Basically, this ... (view more)

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