New box does not load BIOS

[mailinglist at endosquid.com (Brendan)]

I usually run memtest and reptitive disk and CPU tests first, before I 
relegate anything to the trash bin.

On Monday 24 May 2004 19:39, sweetser at theworld.com wrote:
> Hello:
>
> It was not clear to me on Friday what was wrong the system.  It could
> have been the motherboard, it could have been the CPU, it could have
> been the memory.  The memory did work in a system that was flaky, so
> that was a partial endorsement.  Both the motherboard and CPU came
> from the same company in retail boxes.  I didn't want to risk money on
> either.  So I went to Micro Center to ponder a cheap test...
>
> All the motherboards were $60 and up.  I just wanted to know if I
> should get an RMA number for the board or the chip, so that was too
> much.  Wandering near the front of the store, I saw a Soyo board which
> after the rebate, would cost $10.  That was the ticket!
>
> Swapped out the old new motherboard with the Soyo, and it booted the
> first time.  Installed Debian with a few minor headaches.  Rebooted it
> a few times.  Then had to reboot on last time before bedtime, and
> ooof, no BIOS.  I had been working installing for a few hours, so the
> CPU couldn't be that bad.
>
> Saturday morning, it was the same deal, no BIOS.  I was going to go to
> Micro Center and get a new CPU, but thought I would first reset the
> BIOS memory, get back to the good old times on Friday when it worked.
> And it did work!  Since that time, I have rebooted maybe 20 times, and
> it has worked every time except when I left a non-bootable floppy in
> the drive.  The machine is quiet, and will see over the upcoming
> months how reliable it is.
>
> Makes me wonder if my first board is flawed after all.  Maybe the CPU
> just needed to be run a few times.  All new machines can be picky,
> perhaps even CPUs.  I have decided not to return the first board,
> since it may not be broken after all, so would cost both a mailing and
> restocking fee.
>
> If anyone wants a Socket A motherboard for half price ($35 payable
> only after it is proven to work), email me.  I will probably just keep
> it as a backup.
>
>
> doug
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