I might have a BIOS virus??

[enzorockstar]

I am not sure if I should post this here.

I have been having a problem for a while:

I got this computer, acerx3200, with an AMD phenom x4 64 bits, 3gb ram and a 320GB sata disk and no OS

it was really cheap, so I bought it and thought, I'll just instyall XP on it.


Alright, first thing that happened when I booted the xp cd:

http://i37.tinypic.com/2lo6vdc.jpg

OK, so I thought I could have a hard drive problem, so I grabbed another hard drive that I had and the same thing happened!

tried the CD on a different computer and it worked fine.

Then I tried installing ubuntu. and it worked perfectly!

I downloaded an XP with sata compatibility, and it did not work either.

You think it could be a Bios virus??? or something weird like that??


Thank you for sharing your wisdom!

Enzo

 

[captaincharisma]

its rare but possible. it could be that the bios write protect jumper is enabled on the mobo that is causing the issue too

was the pc so cheap because you bought it used?

 

[enzorockstar]

its rare but possible. it could be that the bios write protect jumper is enabled on the mobo that is causing the issue too

was the pc so cheap because you bought it used?

Yeah, it was used and it was sold as "hard drive wipped off" so I figured I would only have to install an OS or put a new hard drive in.

I guess I'll have to stick to Ubuntu!

Anyone up for game of Gnome-solitaire???

 

[RetiredChief]

With XP, you may net to load the specify driver (F6 option) for XP to see the drive. Also you may net to "Wipr" the boot sector on the hard drive, use utility form Disk manuf.

 

[Mongox]

The most likely thing that's infected with a virus is the un-authorized (stolen) copies of Windows XP you're using.

If you suspect the BIOS, why not update it? The page for that Acer Aspire X3200 shows versions R01-A4 and R01.B0 available. Haven't read the manual, but most have the ability to update the BIOS without an OS.

Also as mentioned above, you may "need" to re-partition the hard drive manually - use a boot diskette and run the utility from the drive mfg. Or plug the drives in as secondaries to a working system, remove the partitions and reformat. The acer drive is likely to have had a non-DOS partition to hold the OS it was shipped with.

 

[kamel5547]

I've had that issue with certain disk modes and XP x64. See if you can change the disk mode in the bios (from AHCI to IDE or similar).

 

[Mongox]

That's a good point. Need to make sure the BIOS is set to IDE mode for the SATA - although it seems unlikely it supports the AHCI/RAID function as there are no RAID drivers on the website.

 

[vann]

Hi

I have similar Acer here and that what i ound in bios what might cause error 7B...

Check Advanced Bios Features for line:
"Installer OS Select"
Make sure its set to "Windows"

Also under
Advanced Chipset Features
check setiing of
"SATA Mode"
"nVida SATA Raid"


Vann

 

[mikey5802]

See if you can find some help here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103