Jurosem

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Feb 18, 2007
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I just got my build up and running again after being down for two weeks. (Was told it was mobo, got a new one, that turned out to be not the problem, got a new GPU).
The new GPU is an XFX HD 4870 512Mb, a beast of a thing to plug into my X2 4600+ 550W Antec Truepower Trio 2Gbs RAM MSI K9A2 CF-F machine, but I needed a new one, so thought I may as well upgrade now and let the rest follow in time.
So when I started up I got a display, which was very nice to see, but immediately got a warning message in red saying something like "Overclocking failed. Press any key but del to enter setup." Unfortunately at this stage I had spent two weeks trying to figure out what was wrong and get my comp running again, and I was so happy just to be seeing SOMETHING and in such a hurry to get things started that I didn't think to take down the details of that message or the settings in the BIOS. Though truth be told, when I enter the BIOS I'm kind of walking blind. I know how to change the boot device and that's about it.
I got it to start up by reverting to default settings.
I have never attempted any overclocking, and this GPU is not one that has been factory overclocked, so I looked up the error and found some post saying the overclocking failure message basically just means there was a boot error.
I have restarted the computer a few times now, and things are definately running a little slow during start-up and maybe shut down too. When I turn the power on the GPU fan (at least I'm pretty sure it's the GPU) comes on very strong, then slows down a bit, then comes back strong, then slows down a bit. All this time there is nothing on the monitor. Then the motherboard beeps once, then twice in a softer tone. Then my mobo start-up graphic flashes for a second, and then I get a blank screen with a blinking command prompt and the computer is quiet for a few seconds before it finally starts to boot up windows.
It never used to do this. Before the new mobo and GPU it used to take less than ten seconds (I think well under) before I saw the windows loading screen. It still goes pretty quick once it hits that point, but something is clearly not right and I would like advice on how to diagnose and fix it, please.

The other funny little glitch is that when I open my computer folder I see now that I have an A drive, which stands in stark contrast to the fact that I do not have an A drive. Never had a floppy plugged into this build in any of its incarnations.
Again, not really a problem, but I'd like to know why this happened, and remove the icon from my system. If I click on it it even says "insert floppy disk" and if I go to properties it says the device is functioning properly and its drivers are up to date.
My computer is suffering from delusions of obsolescence, I think.
 

jonpaul37

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May 29, 2008
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I agree, i would just completely wipe the hard drive and do a fresh install of windows, this will at least let you start from scratch. From there you should be ok, or you'll at least be able to troubleshoot from there.
 

Jurosem

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Feb 18, 2007
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Got rid of the A drive in the BIOS, and when I did I noticed that it was set as my primary boot option, which when removed got rid of the delay with the command prompt. Stupid I didn't try that myself, guess I was just a little mentally dead after my previous ordeals.
I guess that most solves my issues, but the running of the GPU makes still worries me a little (though it may be perfectly normal), as does the original message about the overclocking failure. I'll ask about the GPU elsewhere I suppose, so can anyone tell me more about what the overclocking failure message may have been caused by and what I should check to make sure things are in order?

And thanks for the help so far