Weird problem after modest overclock

Darkmatters

Darkmatters

Darkmatters

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I have been looking at the oc capabilities of an old pc. The bios has facility to increase speed by 10% but doesn't allow you change things manually. It has manual mode but this doesn't work for some reason. Any how I have set it to 10% oc and ran a couple of load tests which were fine. Temps never over 58C. with stock cooling. Reset to factory settings.
Last night I set to 10% oc again and pc rebooted. As windows was loading I got an error message - 'machine had to recover a registry file from log.. operation successful.' Clicked OK and it flashed through a few screens and then went to shutdown screen, 'windows is saving your settings'. Then it hung. Cut off power set bios to no overclock again but the same thing kept happening.
Not seen anything like this on the forum and would appreciate any advice.

The MB is Asus M2 N4-SLI
Athlon dual core 4400+
1Gb RAM
XP Pro.

:eek:
 
mmm I would say your best bet is to either try booting in to safe mode or put the XP CD and recover the installation.
 
Some older motherboards have the nasty habit of overclocking everything, including the PCI bus, which in term can lead to corrupted writes on the hard drive, borking the windows installation. I'd go with J.B and suggest trying a recovery from the XP CD. Good luck.
 
Borking sounds quite sinister, the kind of thing they lock you up for.:D

Thanks for the replies fellas.

This machine has so much dross it was due for a re-format which was why I didn't mind experimenting with it:cool:
 
By the way, is there any point in installing a more recent bios - is it even possible and will it make any difference? Should I just keep it as a work horse and get on with "THE PROJECT":rolleyes:
 
Darkmatters said:
By the way, is there any point in installing a more recent bios - is it even possible and will it make any difference? Should I just keep it as a work horse and get on with "THE PROJECT":rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Sometimes upgrading the BIOS can limit the overclocking potential, check the revision history and manufacturer's forums before updating. Hopefully a newer BIOS would improve stability and compatibility though.
 
OMG I've killed it!!!

Seriously guys, I need some help. I'm talking emergency services with flashing blue lights.
Tried to get the thing to start from the XP disc but it is just stuck in this cycle of going straight to shutdown and freezing.
Hit delete and it goes to BIOS but can't work out how to get it to reformat and install OS?
Haven't had any joy on google so really appreciate some input.:(
 
you boot from the CD (literly) you will have to change your boot sequence if not done already so it don't try and boot from HDD , when it reads it it should say 2boot from CD press enter" you only have a few seconds, than you can format your drive via that or use lunix CD :P as I noticed they often have windows partitions
 
Calm down soft lad! ":D"

I had an Asus m2n-sli deluxe that I was trying to overclock on and I couldn't get anywhere until i flashed the BIOS and that was with an Athlon 4200+ X2.

If it just refuses to boot in that loop reset your bios, you can do does via a jumper, or you can just take out your bios battery for about 15 seconds and place it back in
 
Thank you AMG and ETNiES.

OK, calm, water boiling and towels available.

Tomorrow, after burying our old cat Norman:(, I will have the time to try out your suggestions. Emotional rollercoaster isn't in it, init. Dead puter, dead cat - it was the vet wot done it:mad:.

Just a little clarification. Flashing the BIOS - sounds like something done in public toilets. Heard of it but not sure if I would like to try it! A few details would be a massive help.

Hey, Im older than my poor old cat and a jumper is something that I start wearing in autumn. :confused: Sound like a screwdriver might be required?
 
That's a jumper (below), there could be a few different ones on your motherboard so try look at your manual if you do decide to reset your bios this way, alternatively you can just take out your bios battery for a few seconds and it will do the same job.

cmos_jumper.jpg



Flashing your BIOS, Theres a few ways you can do this also, you can do it through windows which is easier but most will tell you not to do this and to flash the BIOS using EZ-flash and a USB stick (its safer so you should probably use this way)

here is a guide on how to do this : http://www.clunk.org.uk/forums/hardware/55-several-ways-flash-your-bios-asus-motherboards.html
 
Fully fledged geek

Ok chaps, I feel that some congrats are in order. Managed to flash my first bios, reformat and install os, get the ageing creative sound card and speaker system working, install sp3, make the wireless card detect the modem by sheer brute force and ignorance, and even managed to screw the side panel back on. Does this make me a geek or a nerd at 54 years old?

The only boring thing I have to sort out now is this Windows Genuine Advantage ******** that keeps jumping up. I have paid the license for my xp pro but doubtless will have to spend half an hour contacting a call centre to get rid of the nag message. Maybe time to look into the freeware alternatives?

Thanks for everyone who helped!:cool:
 
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