Got mine in Danvers, MA Staples... last one, for $19.90.
If anyone wants, I can scan the package (not yet opened) and/or receipt... I'm always happy to help anyone use these for pricematching at other stores...
FWIW, I just had a system come through with a Centon 256MB stick, PC2100. Computer would bluescreen randomly and would not install windows XP from the CD. Replaced the memory and everything is fine now. I'll stick to Crucial...
Well, it turns out that it was bad memory after all. DAMNIT! I replaced the RAM with the known-good set from my computer (it's the only DDR stick I had around). Sure enough, I went through 5 installations of XP without a hitch. In fact, I was able to reconnect the sound card to the board, and it...
I, too have never installed XP with an addon card. Not sure how that works, but I don't think an F6 is needed.
I don't think I will try that install method anyway, as I think my plan to use the old MB will be just as thorough of a comparison of board-to-board. Heck, if I see that the CDRW...
nebula:
The Acer drive did work once. I then reconnected the slave HD to the mix, and then the Acer did not work. Throughout the testing yesterday, I got some installs that went through (after a copy-retry) and some that didn't. I don't consider a retry event as a success, as it implies there...
So, I am testing more tonight. Left the sound card out and did some investigating, changing only one item at a time, and here's what I find:
- Used the same IDE cable from the DVDROM drive on the CDRW and reattempted to install WinXP. Got another SESSION3 error, so I think this CDRW is toast...
I could easily accept the sound card driver explanation in most cases, but in this case the drivers weren't even being installed or activated in any way. The lockup would happen during the file-copy that setup performs before the first reboot. So, I don't see how this would affect that function...
Ok, so I have some success to report. Nebula was right on - removing the sound card allowed the windows install to go through without a hitch. I have never seen this happen before, as I have sucessfully installed WinXP on many machines without having to go through a system strip-down to get it...
birdpup:
Yeah, I am through BIOS now... on to installing windows. However, your answer about APIC... if I leave it disabled, then I am without it on the windows installation. I cannot enable it later, as it's part of the HAL that windows chooses during setup. This is why I am wondering if it's...
birdpup:
The NIC is onboard, and is disabled in BIOS. There is no separate NIC card installed.
The only non-essential board in there now is the sound card, which I plan to remove for my future operation attempts.
You mentioned that the "one DVDROM should also be removed"... I have to...
A few more questions:
1) What about APIC - should I enable this in BIOS for WinXP? I have heard (in the past) about issues with APIC... should I be worried?
2) Should I setup XP under "Standard PC" HAL on this board?
3) What about the CPU - is it possible to have a CPU that works (POSTs)...
nebula:
Good advice on the remove all other hardware. I figured this wasn't the issue, since I am not dealing with anything "fancy" here - just a file-copy process during windows setup. Still, I will add that to my list - probably the first thing to try.
CPU temps in BIOS are reading about...
Ok, so here's the story on this computer that I have been having tons of issues with over the past month:
Athlon XP 1800+ (133FSB)
Spire WhisperRock IV CPU cooler
MSI KT4AV-L (MS-6712) board (VIA KT400A)
Antec Trupower 430 (I think that's the power level... I know it's an Antec)
PNY Verto...
Yes, I have installed it, and it DOES have the startup menu item.
I will admit, it's faster than 6, but 4.x was the fastest, period. 7.x is tolerable with AR-speedup, though.
Part of the reason that 7.x is faster is because they preload the software at each reboot (check your start menu). So, you are simply keeping part of the software preloaded all the time - taking up memory and such.
So, it's not really "faster"... they are just "cheating" to make it seem...
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