BIOS Upgrade?

[MsMaria]

I know nothing about BIOS, except that it is the basic input output system. I need some advice.

I have been having problems with my computer rebooting itself at odd times; usually at night while I have the game paused. I find a notice that the system has recovered from a serious error and when I click the "more details" link; Microsoft has no answer to my problem other than I may want to upgrade my BIOS. Is this a chipset on the motherboard? Do I need a new Motherboard instead?

I have had the computer since 6/11/04 and have updated the RAM about a year or so ago to 1024. There are slots for more, but the MB can't seem to handle any more.

Oh, also at times I do something as simple as opening a new window or clicking on a link in a thread and my desktop icons as well as my taskbar completely disappear. I have to do a hard reboot.

I get weird things with the game also. Sometimes it is like someone is holding my monitor and quickly moving it toward my face and away again. Sims get stuck doing things like starting up stairs then one foot up, same foot back down, over and over. It's hard to describe. All of this with the usual freezing while giving birth, etc.

If in fact I do need to upgrade BIOS, is it free? esupport website wants to charge 50 dolloars to send me the file via email. They say American Megatrends no longer supports upgrades.

I have a 6600GT video card and I recently updated the drivers in hopes this might improve things, but I have noticed no changes.

Thanks.

[dizzy]

Random reboots suggest hardware troubles, so a new BIOS would be like slapping paint on a car with flat tires.

Your compy needs a professional inspection, would be my diagnosis.

[MsMaria]

Thanks Dizzy, I was hoping it would be something I could fix myself. Guess not.

 Would have replied sooner but my desktop icons and my taskbar disappeared again. 

[ZiggyDoodle]

Fifty bucks for a bios upgrade is ridiculous.  I've downloaded BIOS updates for free through Dell - when my older system needed it.

Don't know what make your system is, or the OS, but the major brands usually have FAQ/trouble shooting forums to read through.  But your local computer geeks will be of more help.

Gads, that has to really be frustrating!

[MsMaria]

It's made by American Megatrends and I have WindowsXP Home Edition. Since moving to Vegas I haven't needed a local geek and I don't know how to go about finding one that won't rip me off. Darn.

[J. M. Pescado]

I think it's time to reformat and reinstall. It may be hardware, but more likely it's XP home, which is an unreliable piece of buggy spyware.

[MsMaria]

Thanks Pes. I've never reformatted or reinstalled so this should be interesting. 

[Hegelian]

Spontaneous reboots are usually the result of inadequate power and may be indicative of a failing power supply. They can also be caused by overheating.

TS2 runs the CPU at 100% even when paused, hence drawing maximum power from the power supply and generating lots of heat, so your problem could be power or heat (or both). Leaving the game paused for extended periods of time is a bad idea. In fact, leaving a PC on all the time in a home environment is a bad idea generally, not just because of the waste of electricity, but because a power-supply failure—which can a happen without warning—can set your PC on fire (literally) and burn down your house. I used to know a Web site that had photos of burned-out PCs, but I can't find it now.   

BIOS updates generally add or extend hardware support for components like RAM or the CPU (allowing for the voltage and clocking requirements of new CPUs, for example). If you have recently developed this problem, it is highly unlikely a BIOS update will fix it. It is more likely that the root of the problem is leaving the game running all night.

If you must leave the PC on and the game loaded, at least ALT-TAB to the desktop to take the load off the CPU.

I get weird things with the game also. Sometimes it is like someone is holding my monitor and quickly moving it toward my face and away again. Sims get stuck doing things like starting up stairs then one foot up, same foot back down, over and over. It's hard to describe. All of this with the usual freezing while giving birth, etc.

These are probably unrelated problems. The sims on the stairs thing sounds like a problem with your game installation or corruption in your neighborhood or lot. The stuff with Explorer (the Windows interface) disappearing sounds like a problem with your Windows installation. The problem with your monitor sounds like a voltage regulator going bad; if the monitor is still under warranty (three years is typical), you should get an RMA from the manufacturer and return it for repair/replacement (been there, done that).

If in fact I do need to upgrade BIOS, is it free? esupport website wants to charge 50 dolloars to send me the file via email. They say American Megatrends no longer supports upgrades.

The BIOS is an EPROM (programmable ROM) on the motherboard that contains the code that allows the computer to boot, run the memory test, initialize attached hardware, etc. When you enter Setup at boot you are in the BIOS settings. There used to be companies that sold BIOS upgrades that were physical replacements for the EPROM on the motherboard; are they still doing that?

The sort of BIOS upgrade that most people have in mind is a "flash" upgrade that reprograms the EPROM on your motherboard. Because these are specific for each motherboard, and the brand-name vendors use customized BIOSes, it is essential that you get the BIOS update from the company that made your computer if it is pre-built (such as a Dell, Gateway, or HP), or from the motherboard manufacturer if you build your own or have replaced the motherboards. BIOS updates are free downloads.

[MsMaria]

Thank you, Hegelian! I tried to find the power supply by peeking into the side of the box(fan-shaped clear acrylic? openings.) ; but can't find it. I guess I need to remove the cover?

The computer is always cold to the touch and I air it out with canned air on occasion. It has several big fans.

I'll make sure I turn the game and computer off at night; that was my short-term solution anyway. I will check out my monitor as well.

Thanks again!

[Hegelian]

The power supply can be seen from the back; it's the box with the power-cord connector and a fan blowing out the back. Some have switches, but since with ATX motherboards the power button on the case connects to the motherboard, which turns on the power supply (there is always a small voltage feed to the motherboard as long as the PC is plugged in), many PSUs do not have separate switches.

The power supply is accessed by removing the left side panel of the case (when looking from the front), or the entire case cover if it is one piece. I suppose technically it's the right side panel in the same way the passenger side of a car is the right side.   

Note that I added some comments re: BIOS to my previous post. 

[MsMaria]

Sorry again for replying so late, I had to reboot again. Not to mention everything I just typed didn't "take"? Also forgot to mention my mouse seems to work only when it feels like it. For instance, I click on reply and it takes 45 seconds to show the reply box. Same thing with scrolling. I have to wait for the page to scroll when it is good and ready.

I can't see any power info from behind, so I will check the inside tomorrow. I'm beginning to think everything is breaking at once. Appreciate your info regarding the BIOS.

Thanks again. I was just thinking how many times a day I have to do a hard reboot and it is like 4-6 times a day; either because of icons disappearing or pages just getting stuck. Bleh.

[nectere]

I had a computer that did reboots and it turned out to be a battery issue. But that was a pretty old box.

I would follow Pescado's advice and simply reformat and reinstall, its the cheapest solution (free is a very good price) and its really not that painful. I realize it can be a little scary the first time you do it, but its really not that bad - because to me, this sounds like what is needed here - you have more than one thing going on that really isnt consistent with needing a bios upgrade....more like an operating environment problem thats crapping out. Make a recovery disk and or find all your drivers and back them up on cd or disks and then reformat and reinstall.

[J. M. Pescado]

I'll make sure I turn the game and computer off at night; that was my short-term solution anyway. I will check out my monitor as well.

Turning the computer off is bad for it: The constant cooling and reheating produced by shutting off and restarting the computer causes thermal stress to the parts. The computer should thus be left on. Most computers die when you attempt to turn them back on after having turned them off.

[Brynne]

Reformatting and reinstalling really is pretty easy. I learned how to do it on my old Thinkpad years ago. Not difficult at all.

[Paperbladder]

Turning the computer off is bad for it: The constant cooling and reheating produced by shutting off and restarting the computer causes thermal stress to the parts. The computer should thus be left on. Most computers die when you attempt to turn them back on after having turned them off.

By the time this happens though, the computer is pretty much obselete anyway.  Then again, I may just be incredibly lucky that I haven't had a computer crap out completely yet.

I believe if you screw up the BIOS flashing for anything, the device that has the flash on it is toast.  I believe I screwed up a modem in this way, but I can still access it so it could just be bad firmware.

[MsMaria]

Where would I find the best info on reformatting/re-install?

I have always been told to leave my computer on, but maybe if I turn the game off, it will help matters somewhat.

I've never had to "work" on a computer; I've always just bought a new one, but I would like to learn how to fix mine if possible.

[Hegelian]

If you have Windows XP, you would boot from the CD. The Setup utility should ask into which partition you want to install, and you have the option to delete any existing partitions. You would choose to delete the partition, and then tell Setup to install in the unpartitioned space. Windows will then partition and format the drive and install.

In the old days it was often best to divide a large hard drive into several smaller partitions (due to the limitations of earlier file systems), but with NTFS it is generally considered best to format large drives as a single partition. Your drive must be partitioned before it can be formatted with the file system.

[Ancient Sim]

This is interesting insofar as the age-old question is concerned:  should you turn your computer off every night or leave it on?  Wherever I go, whoever I ask, I get a 50-50 reply ratio, as we've had here.

I remember speaking to someone at my old ISP once (about a different issue) and he just happened to mention in passing that their office computers had never been switched off since they were bought - THREE YEARS BEFORE.  He insisted that it was very bad to turn them off, for the same reasons JM has given (and this was a professional tech guy talking, computer maintenance was his job).  Yet I've had similar people tell me the same thing Hegelian has said.

According to the specs for my pc, it describes it as a home pc "designed to be left on permanently", but I never do.  Fires apart, I always think a reboot is good to get the RAM and stuff back up to optimum level.  This really is a VERY confusing issue and I wish there was a definitive answer for it.  My previous pc is around 3 years old now and I always turned that off every night, or whenever I went out.  My daughter has it now and it's started spontaneously rebooting for no apparent reason, although personally I think it's probably a virus or spyware.  She's an MSN freak and whenever I check she has a whole bucketload of viruses and spyware programs on the thing.  It never behaved like that when I used it.

[dizzy]

Ancient, I leave my compy on all the time, but I run folding@home on it so I'm helping cure cancer etc. 

[Hegelian]

It's a trade-off either way. Heat is the enemy of integrated circuits, hence J.M.'s caution about thermal stress. OTOH, running 24/7 also introduces heat issues of its own, and one could argue that being powered up continuously could shorten the lifespan of the parts. The same argument could be made regarding keeping your hard drives spinning all the time, but this is largely theoretical, since most HDDs will outlive the computers in which they are installed—"consumer" drives are warranted for three years, and server drives for five years.

As a general proposition, if an integrated circuit is going to fail, it will occur in the first 24-48 hours of operation. This is why reputable PC builders "burn in" new machines for 72 hours prior to shipping. This doesn't mean motherboard components can't fail, but such failures are unlikely to be the result of turning the PC off at night. For example, I had an ASUS P2B-S motherboard that was burning out graphics boards. It turned out that the AGP voltage was over spec, and I needed to switch to a brand that was more tolerant of non-standard voltages. Tech support from 3Dlabs was excellent—they sent me a replacement board in retail packaging on the understanding that I would not install it in my PC (having burned out two already) but would sell it and use the proceeds to buy a different board; I ended up with a Matrox G400 Max.

Subsequently, I began experiencing hard lock-ups when running Photoshop, which migrated to Word and eventually to Netscape. It turned out this was due to a different, known design defect identified by Adobe tech support, a problem with the implementation of the data paths between the CPU and North Bridge that was only apparent when the system was stressed (as Photoshop does). I was able to RMA the motherboard to the vendor for a replacement under warranty.

Some time ago the US magazine Maximum PC printed a short Q&A regarding the 24/7 debate. The respondents from the major vendors like HP and Dell were in agreement that the PC should be turned off at night or any time you aren't going to use it for an extended period of time. I did not keep most of my back-issues when I moved, so I can't give a reference.     More personally, I have a close friend who is an electrical engineer and he does not leave his PCs on at night.

Aside from the theoretical downsides to turning off the PC at night, there are more practical concerns. In an office environment, there are usually safeguards against fire:  sprinkler systems, CCTV security, and the like. These are not present in most homes (J.M's excepted, of course). The potential consequences of leaving a PC on 24/7 outweigh by a considerable margin whatever reduction in lifespan that may occur from turning your PC on once a day, as it is more likely that a catastrophic failure of a power supply will occur while you are asleep than that the life of your PC will be noticeably reduced by thermal stress. Although not necessarily a common occurance, the potential for a fire in your PC from a power-supply failure or unchecked current spike is a real one, and we are talking real flames and stuff, not just smoke and sparks. I've been messing with this stuff for 20 years, and I have a box of PC parts that became obsolete long before they could fail due to thermal stress.     Saying you should leave your PC on all the time to extend its life (assuming this is even true, which it may not be) is a bit like saying you should leave your car running all the time to avoid the excess wear that occurs when you start it up after all the oil has drained into the pan. The reality is that, even if this excess wear is real, the engine is likely to last longer than the rest of the car even if you turn it off when you're not using it.

I leave you with this:

One computer left on 24 hours a day will cost you $115—160 in electricity costs a
year and dump 1,500 pounds of CO₂ into the atmosphere.
A tree absorbs between 3-15 lbs of CO₂ each year. That means that 100-500 trees
would be needed to offset the yearly emissions of one computer left on all the time.
http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/pdf/Computer%20brochures.PDF

The following statement is taken from: User Guide to Power Management for PCs and Monitors, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1997

"The belief that frequent shutdowns [of PCs] are harmful persists from the days when hard disks did not automatically park their heads when shut off; frequent on-off cycling could damage such hard disks. Conventional wisdom, however, has not kept pace with the rapid technological change in the computer industry. Modern hard disks are not significantly affected by frequent shut-downs.

Shutting down computers at night and on weekends saves significant energy without affecting the performance. Power-managed equipment also may actually last longer than conventional products. Because most such equipment will spend a large portion of time in a low-power sleep mode, mechanical wear on disk drives and heat stress on other components can be reduced."
http://www.tufts.edu/tie/tci/Computers.html

http://www.greencampus.harvard.edu/cerp/faq.php#isittrue
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/buyer/features/75717/pc-myths-exposed/page1.html

 

[Skaven]

One computer left on 24 hours a day will cost you $115—160 in electricity costs a
year and dump 1,500 pounds of CO₂ into the atmosphere.

I'm just curious, do they mean that the computer itself dumps CO₂ in to the atmosphere or do they mean that the generation of the power to run the computer dumps it?

Well, regaurdless, a human produces a lot more CO₂ than that and they get all angry when you turn one of them off.

[ZiggyDoodle]

I recall on our first office computer, I had to type in the instruction "park" before turning it off for the night.  Technology has improved.

I must be on my tenth home PC and always shut down the system when I'm not using it because I'm cheap.  And paranoid.  I once had an internal modem get fried during a thunderstorm so I also unplug my system during bad weather and disconnect the modem from the phone jack.  The fried modem has been the only hardware failure I've had since my first 286.

Keep in mind that when your system is constantly running, so is the fan - sucking in all the dust and other gunk into those once pristine circuits and doodads.

[MsMaria]

You're right. It is amazing how fast that dust can build up.

[Hegelian]

I'm just curious, do they mean that the computer itself dumps CO₂ in to the atmosphere or do they mean that the generation of the power to run the computer dumps it?

The latter, of course.

Keep in mind that when your system is constantly running, so is the fan - sucking in all the dust and other gunk into those once pristine circuits and doodads.

And those fans are cheap, and the thing in PC most likely to fail (including th PSU fan).

[MsMaria]

Well, today my address bar at the top disappeared and I can't get it back. Luckily? I can use Yahoo's bar. I got so frustrated trying to navigate the internet and various sites that I decided to play my game. I got it loaded and while waiting for a lot to load; the game dropped to the taskbar. I pulled it back up and played for about 30 seconds before the screen went black and I had to hard reboot again.

I have a friend that thinks it is video card related, but with things disappearing left and right and my game is clear as a bell, is it really?

Ah well, just wanted to vent before the darn thing quits completely.