What happened that suddenly caused my harddrive to not be recognized by BIOS? [more inside]
posted by comradestu on Nov 11, 2009 - 3 answers

I need a page of bios integrated into a WordPress site. I would like to give each person the ability to update his own bio without letting him mess with other people's bios. It would be awesome if the list was alphabetized. [more inside]
posted by grumblebee on Nov 5, 2009 - 5 answers

Did I just brick this computer? [more inside]
posted by flabdablet on Nov 2, 2009 - 19 answers

How can I get XP onto my laptop... if I only have a 3.5inch drive, and my BIOS is one version away from letting me boot by USB? [more inside]
posted by ZackTM on Oct 1, 2009 - 14 answers

Why can't I boot my computer (even past BIOS) with a USB hard drive attached? [more inside]
posted by xmutex on Apr 27, 2009 - 11 answers

Double whammy! Persistent "ghost" floppy drive, and slow, halting performance, all on my parents' PC. [more inside]
posted by curagea on Dec 27, 2008 - 8 answers

My laptop (Compal IFL90/Sager 2090) wont boot up! Blank screen, HD, CD drive still whirring. DESPERATE help needed! More details inside... [more inside]
posted by Javed_Ahamed on Dec 27, 2008 - 12 answers

My friend's only Admin account on Windows has been ripped to shreds by a virus, an uninstaller program, or both; his CD drawer won't open or shut manually at all; and his BIOS settings, which are protected by a password we don't know, are to boot from a CD in the drive before anything else. Help me to not destroy his computer with an axe. [more inside]
posted by Acheman on Nov 14, 2008 - 20 answers

I just cobbled together a computer for the first time, and while it powers up OK (fans and drives awhirring) I get nothing on the screen. No signal input. What did I mess up? Did I kill my CPU? [more inside]
posted by saguaro on Oct 17, 2008 - 12 answers

My PC was working fine until tonight. I rebooted to fix a BIOS setting (to enable the onboard Ethernet port) and since then it won't boot properly anymore. The PC POSTs fine, keyboard is initialized, I can enter the BIOS setup fine and make any changes I like, then save them. After that, the screen blanks and I'm left staring at a blinking cursor in the upper left corner. Nothing happens. How can I troubleshoot this and fix it? [more inside]
posted by dudeman on Aug 7, 2008 - 6 answers

Dell Inspiron 5100 BIOS password reset? [more inside]
posted by doomtop on Jun 18, 2008 - 9 answers

A little advice required about flashing the BIOS on a new Gigabyte motherboard, and reducing the chances of killing it. [more inside]
posted by malpractice on May 11, 2008 - 5 answers

How can I flash my BIOS without paying HPs exhorbitant tech support fee? Details down under ... [more inside]
posted by Crotalus on Mar 30, 2008 - 4 answers

Help me guess which part of my homebrew PC is causing my POST video failure. [more inside]
posted by mindsound on Mar 12, 2008 - 12 answers

NoIWillNotFixYourComputerFilter: I've got a 500 gig that won't show up in Windows XP. Help! [more inside]
posted by Lockeownzj00 on Jan 29, 2008 - 7 answers

How do I upgrade from Win 2k to XP on a laptop with no CD or floppy and no option in the bios to boot from USB? [more inside]
posted by monkeystronghold on Jan 29, 2008 - 8 answers

I've recently purchased a new external USB DVD drive, as I do not have a floppy drive or internal CD/DVD drive on this windows PC. I am trying to set it up now for dual-booting Solaris+Ubuntu but, even after updating the BIOS (Phoenix 6.00) I cannot boot a USB drive. First, does anyone have a way I could somehow add USB drivers as a boot option (along with XP), so that I can then add Solaris and Ubuntu (making it four options at boot)? [more inside]
posted by christopherbdnk on Dec 26, 2007 - 9 answers

Mrs. mysterious1der's laptop (M55-S331) won't keep time accurately. I've torn apart and repaired (board swaps, not actual board level repair) dozens of Dell laptops, but this is my first Toshiba. Lo and behold, the CMOS battery is soldered to the motherboard. Do I either have to unsolder it and resolder a new one, or get a new motherboard? [more inside]
posted by mysterious1der on Dec 9, 2007 - 5 answers

I need help changing BIOS settings in a headless laptop to make it boot in VGA-out mode. [more inside]
posted by kureshii on Nov 28, 2007 - 5 answers

I am not able to flash my BIOS on my gigabyte K8NF-9 motherboard using current @BIOS utility. Why do I keep getting write errors? [more inside]
posted by ijoyner on Nov 1, 2007 - 9 answers

I tried updating my computer's BIOS the other night. The update didn't work, and now neither does my computer. [more inside]
posted by cog_nate on Oct 3, 2007 - 6 answers

So, I used the wrong BIOS flash on a HP laptop ze5375us. It is now bricked. My girlfriend is rather pissed...... [more inside]
posted by lattiboy on Aug 14, 2007 - 11 answers

Help me get past the BIOS password on a Dell Latitude. [more inside]
posted by EarBucket on Jul 6, 2007 - 12 answers

Overheating PC problems - is my sensor lying? [more inside]
posted by twine42 on Jun 18, 2007 - 4 answers

Why won't my BIOS recognize a SATA drive? [more inside]
posted by malaprohibita on Dec 15, 2006 - 8 answers

I have a Thinkpad G41. About an hour ago, I (shut it off) packed it in a backpack-style case, and rode my bicycle to the radio station where I work. Upon arriving, I turn it on and the screen does not do anything at all. Everything else about bootup appears normal, except the total deadness of the screen (the light behind the TFT does not appear to come on). Also, there are (what I presume to be) BIOS beeps, one long two short. Googling produces this which informs me I have a "video adapter error". What do I do now? (This laptop is about a year old, I think it's out of warranty now... is it just doomed to become a server?)
posted by phrontist on Oct 27, 2006 - 14 answers

What's the most sensible way to add redundant storage to an existing Linux system using LVM? [more inside]
posted by odinsdream on Oct 19, 2006 - 7 answers

Help! My computer freezes almost instantly after power-on! [more inside]
posted by callmejay on Sep 29, 2006 - 6 answers

I'm experiencing the following BIOS error: "CPU Fan Error!" Please help me figure out how to solve the problem. [more inside]
posted by SteveFlamingo on Jul 6, 2006 - 5 answers

I have a desktop that is located in a semi-public place. I have a bios password and a windows password on it. Sometimes I leave it logged out of windows so that I can leave in the middle of a project without restarting everything again. I was wondering how hard it would be to get my data? Short of stealing the actual hardware, is there a way to get past a bios password and access my data without me knowing? (From what I understand, resetting the cmos would clear the password so I would know if someone got in.) Also, is it possible to get in if I leave it logged out of windows with a password? How safe is my data?
posted by D Wiz on Jun 5, 2006 - 28 answers

I've got a tower (AMD 3000+ with a gigabyte motherboard, 3/4ths of a gig of ram, etc.) that I'm trying to set up for a media center. The thing is, the first screen (where it's checking the ram) the keyboard works fine. I can go and edit my bios settings, save and exit, etc. However, on the next screen (where I have the option of booting from CD and such) keyboard input ceases to be. [more inside]
posted by TrueVox on Apr 22, 2006 - 10 answers

My desktop PC, which has been working happily for a year, has suddenly refused to boot - I get prompted to insert boot media. The two SATA hard drives aren't detected in the BIOS (as they used to be). What should I do to work out the problem and fix it? [more inside]
posted by wilberforce on Mar 5, 2006 - 14 answers

Can I download something that allows me to raise the upper limit for CPU speed in my motherboard? Not talking overclocking, just something that allows me to put a 3.4GHz chip in a mobo originally spec'd to only go up to 3.2GHz (might have been 3.0). [more inside]
posted by BruceL on Mar 3, 2006 - 6 answers

IT problem brainstorm: I have a PC that stalls during boot. Help. [more inside]
posted by krisjohn on Sep 19, 2005 - 21 answers

My laptop is getting lazy: it readily goes to sleep, but refuses to wake up again. Help! [more inside]
posted by kickingtheground on Jul 1, 2005 - 7 answers

My roommate's Sony Vaio PCG-F590 notebook, has had a peculiar problem for a couple of years now. In short, BIOS doesn't recognise the HDD, but only for the purposes of booting. [more inside]
posted by daksya on May 23, 2005 - 2 answers

I've just install a new 120 gig hard disk as a slave on my Windows 98 PC, replacing an old 2 gig disk. The BIOS recognises the real size, but when I format the disk it only recognises 8 gigs of it. What happened to the rest of it?
posted by feelinglistless on Nov 1, 2004 - 11 answers

Here's a weird one: my computer has been turning back on two or three minutes after I power down for the night. It only stays off after I shut it down for a second time. What's strange is that it is undeniably off during those three minutes; no lights, no fans, nothing. The machine just rises from the dead.

This has only been happening for the past week or so. It's an XP computer running an Athlon 2500 on an MSI motherboard with the factory power supply. Any ideas?
posted by pheideaux on Aug 19, 2004 - 6 answers

My SO's computer has seen better days; It won't turn on anymore. I think it's the motherboard/BIOS that's fried. [more inside]
posted by soplerfo on Apr 13, 2004 - 6 answers