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Hey Everyon,
i recently have built myself a computer with a Pentium 3 Processor (550B Mhz) and i bought 192MB SDRAM (PC133) and took a 40GB hdd to put inside,
my problem is that my memory isnt working, when i boot up the system i get no error messages nor any beep codes, and ive been told to get the mobo manual but it's a Intel E139761 and i cant find it on intel's website or anything.
I have a feeling that somehow it wont take single sided memory cuz i have a stick of 32MB:( and i dont know the speed but its double sided and it works any help is greatly appreciated!!!
P.S: isnt all memory backward's compatible???Thx in advance!!!:
Go to www.crucial.com. It's a great site for memory issues.
When all is said and done
More is said than done..
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"P.S: isnt all memory backward's compatible???"
No, it's not.
Older machines used PC100 RAM which was built using low density chips...they were usually 32, 64, & 128MB modules. But as technology progressed, chip density had to increase to be able to provide more total RAM per stick. Almost all PC133 RAM produced these days is based on high density chips & they are not backwards compatible with older PC100 boards.
The usual symptom of incompatible RAM density is the system won't boot, or the RAM will be recognized at 1/2 it's capacity (for instance: 128MB seen as 64MB).
The only thing you can do is get the proper RAM for your board
http://support.gateway.com/s/tutorials/Tu_851378.shtml
Asus A7N8X-X
1800+ @ 8 x 210MHz
512MB PC3200
Asus Ti4200 128MB
WinME/WinXP Pro
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You probably have an SE440BX-2 motherboard. Most older intel P-II/III boards were that model. The E139761 isn't the model number and I don't think you can find any info using it as a search term.
The high density chips that are probably on the memory sticks will usually be recognized partially by the bios. For example, if you put in a 128 meg stick, the bios may see it as 64 meg. I can't say that would be true for all the possible types but it's usually the case.
Are you sure it's the memory that's the problem? Try disconnecting all the drives and pulling all the cards except video. Then see if it'll at least post.
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hey guys thx for all the help i fixed the prob but my enw prob is this:
my bios recognizes my p3 533mhz as a pentium pro
whats up with this....
however windows sees it as a pentium 3 but i dont understand and i can only put win 98se on my comp because when i install xp the screen turns black and nothing boots up but it wirks wit my celeron 300a???
im confused plz helpThx in advance!!!:
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That mobo was used in a lot of proprietary systems, Gateway, Dell, etc. My grandson and I just installed one, with a PIII 500, to revive a dead compter we were given. It worked! Guess our board came from a Gateway, that's what shows up on the splash screen.
The manual I found by googling the number you gave was for a WS440BX. That's definitely the right manual for mine, so if you still want a manual you might try searching for that. There were two files, the manual and an update. You will need the update, since the original of this board only supported PII, not PII. Sorry, I don't remember where I found them.
Might try googling the filenames:
70258701.pdf
72585505.pdfMarrtha
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The cpu misidentification may be cured with a bios update. On those intel boards there'll be a bios string in the upper left corner when it posts. Googling that may find the system manufacturer since as Marrtha mentions, it was used by others. That would be where you would look for the upgrade. Or if it came straight from intel the upgrade will be there.
I don't know about the problem with XP installing unless it's seeing the P-Pro bios ID and that's causing the problem.
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hey marrtha
thx a million but mine is also a gateway 2000 and it says the bios sting in the left hand top corner and i found an update from intel but mine states 15a and the bios update states 80a which is intels' mobo not the gateway
can i still use this update or do i need one from gateway ive had some bad experiences wit bios updating (three mobo's fried:()
any ideas plzThx in advance!!!:
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hey guys bad news :(
my mobo isnt the same marrtha mine is an al440lx mobo from intel (the bios says gateway 200???)
but i did find the update and it's from intel and the id numders dont match i also searched google for the manual and found that my bios only supports p2 and celeron and not a p3 but i am wondering if i can get a bios update will i be able to se the p3 because i know if i run 98se it'll say its a p3 in sys properties and the bios says its a pentium pro 266Mhz but mine is 533Mhz and i want to get this straightened out and i dont wanna go get a new mobo :( thx guysThx in advance!!!:
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Sorry Darin, I can't answer your question about the bios flashing. I've only done one myself in all the years I've been repairing and upgrading older computers. This computer already had 98 first edition on it and seems to be working fine.
Since I'm not planning to upgrade the os beyond 98SE I shouldn't need a bios upgrade for this one either.
Marrtha
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What is the exact bios string that displays on the posting screen?
Oh, and don't use the intel update. You'll need one from gateway.
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thx davencaps the exact bios string that i get is $A$LL0X0.15A.0017.P14 the date on it is 5\98 on the bios screen and it says Gatewa 2000 and ive googled for a few answers
ive discovered that the 15A means Gateway and Intel uses 86A
anyone know where is can get the bios update from???Thx in advance!!!:
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Darin,
Here are some things to read/use. Might be useful, then again, maybe not.
And just FYI. gat3way, does have an updated BIOS, at it's support site.
Good luck,
S.T.A.R.
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Darin,
"...anyone know where is can get the bios update from???"
See if these hyperlinks, are of any use/help. I must of started typing, when you were posting your follow up ;-)
Good luck,
S.T.A.R.Gat3way Support2 Which basic input-output system (BIOS) is relevant to this motherboard
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hey guys i also wanna add the fact that ive had some bad experiencing wit updating my mobo and i wanna know:
"if i do manage to successfully update my bios can i use my p3 533B Mhz properly???"
i dont wanna go through all this trouble for nothing if it wont help for sure???
any ideas?Thx in advance!!!:
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Gateway 4A4LL0X0.xxx.xxxx.Pxx bios upgrade
When you run the downloaded file, it will extract its contents to a folder with the same name as the downloaded file--7502621. That folder will be in the c:\cabs folder.
The easiest way to do the upgrade is, after running the downloaded file, reboot the computer. Before the OS starts to load, start tapping the F8 key. A menu should come up. Choose 'safe mode command prompt only'. At the c:\> prompt type cd cabs\7502621 and enter. Then at the c:\cabs\7502621> prompt type autoexec and enter. That should start the upgrade process.
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hey davencaps,
thx but i already downloaded the folder and the biosinstr.txt file (readme kinda) so its saying the safest way is to create a boot floppy by copying all the files from the cabs folder into the floppy file and booting from that any other methods because im scared of killin my bios
is it possible to screw up even with the RIGHT bios update???
thx guys appreciate all ur hepl and i hope im not a little painThx in advance!!!:
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Yeah, they have more generic instructions. They had to allow that the system to be upgraded had no OS or HD.
I like to run the upgrade from the HD whenever possible. I had a problem once where the the floppy drive or disk (don't know which it was) failed during an upgrade.
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hey guys i wanna thank all of u for all ur hepl and advice but i have decided to buy a new mobo off ebay that supports pc133 bus speed and pc133 mem and all but do i need to have a special agp slot to use my raxdeon 7000 64MB video card cuz it says on the box agp 2x 4x 2x/4x so how can i tell if my system is using 2x or 4x agp???
Thx in advance!!!:
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