Recent content by mjbanks

No dice with safe mode, system recovery disk, or anything :( BUT... after all this work, I found out 10 minutes ago that my friend has a 3 year replacement plan from PC Richards, where she bought the computer!!!! So she's taking it back and having them replace it. Sort-of frustrating :(

Hi mainegeek, The problem with that Sony program you pointed me to for download, is that when I try to run it on my desktop so that I can make the bios floppy disk, it gives me an error that the model number or my computer does not match, and the installer quits. I thought maybe it needed a...

mainegeek, I tried that last night. That program will only run on Sony model PCV-RZ16G, no other computers. Sony has it locked down for some reason. I tried it on a friend's Sony computer and both my desktop and laptop at home. None would let the program install to make the bios disk. And...

garebo - you're right, I should have noted all that :) Sorry I'm still just very frustrated at the lack of knowledge and support I've gotten from Sony on this issue. I know the bios needs to be reflashed, however I have no way of getting this done. If only they would allow you to make the bios...

mainegeek - cpu fan is spinning is seems to be working fine. The model number is PCV-RZ16G. I think the bios is corrupt because the computer was hacked, had over 200 viruses, and more pieces of spyware than I want to count.

Hi Garebo, I tried talking to Sony, but they're only response is "take it to a service center and pay $100 to have them look at it" which is just not acceptable. I don't think it's a windows issue, as the Bios setup screen (hitting F2 at boot) looks that way also. I think something in the bios...

I'm fixing a computer for a friend, and there's something I've never seen. http://mjbanks.net/temp/screen.jpg The Bios screen looks like that too. Sony's system recovery disks won't work. It won't let me get to windows. I think there's an issue with the bios, but I'm not sure. I found a...

I am having the same problem. I haven't check the Upper and Lower registry settings yet (I'm at work now). I tried the AutoFix program with no luck. It's really annoying, as it works on my laptop and not on my desktop. Also, CDRW and DVDRW drives do work with AutoPlay, just not my SanDisk adapter.

I think what I'm going to end up doing is dual boot Fedora Core 3 (64-bit) and Windows XP Pro (32-bit). Not sure if I'll do this on the same drive or on separate drives (I know separate drives is much easier).

Where did you see it would be OEM only? If newegg sells the OEM version, I'll buy it from there. I've built all my machines, so I always buy OEM OS software when I buy all the parts.

I do a lot of beta testing for some other software companies (won't name them here), so beta software doesn't bother me at all. The main reason I asked was because of all I've heard about driver issues (not being able to find them, etc). What I'll probably do is just dual boot WinXP Pro (32bit)...

I purchased an AMD 64 3200+ (winchester core, socket 939), Asus A8V Deluxe motherboard (VIA K8T800 chipset), Thermaltake Silent Boost K8 heat sink/fan, 2x512mb Corsair XMS TwinX DDR400 ram (2-3-3-4 timings). Can't wait to get it all and fire it up :) Thanks for the help everyone! Should I...

Well I'd rather go with 939 than 754, because of the hypertransport. I read somewhere that the 64 3000+ will work with ddr333? I was going to stick with that temporarily until I found the $$$ to get the ddr400. I want to run dual channel ram, so I'm staying away from socket 754.

In the same price range for cpu, the new P4 lga755 chipset 2.8ghz, 800mhz fsb, 1mb L2 cache HT chip is the same price as the 64bit 3000+. Would this be a better option than the AMD64 (if it's even worth it to move up to either chip right now)?

I'm not considering the price of a new motherboard in the equation. I hate the MSI board I have now, and will be replacing it with an Asus board regardless of what CPU is purchased. My main question is... is it worth an extra $55 to go from XP2500+ with nforce2 chipset motherboard to an AMD64...