A7M266 - I never installed Asus files

[jgutsell]

I built my A7M266 system last August and it generally has run great until the last month when it has started to hang up occasionally during shutdown. The next time I boot after a hang-up, I sometimes get a BIOS warning that a CPU cycle was missed in the previous session.

Today I just discovered that, when I built the system, I never installed any of the patches, drivers or utilities that come on a CD with the MB. I've determined that some of the software has been installed by Windows (C-Media audio driver, VIA chipset drivers). A few things I know I don't need. However, I am wondering if I need to install:
* AMD Miniport driver
* AGP patch file for AMD K7.

Since 7 months have passed since I built the PC and I've updated Windows 2000 and various peripheral drivers, I'm wondering what are the risks that too much time has gone by to install these things from the CD.

Jeff G,
Cincinnati

 

[Boonesmi]

using w2k you should install the motherboard drivers.... they really should be installed right after installing the OS, but late is probably better then never

you may end up needing to reinstall windows though if it doesnt solve your problem


all the stuff on the cd is a little outdated... you can head to asus and download newer versions of all the drives/etc

 

[Amplify]

If you move to Windows XP it will install all the drivers you need for that board.
But in 2000 i would install off the cd then look for the updates.

 

[jgutsell]

I found my problem! I had failed to install the Win2000 Registry patch for the AMD K7 chips. I installed that and have not had any problems since then.
Now I have a different problem: When I first set up this PC, I did not write down how I reconfigured the BIOS to run the FSB at 266 MHz. I think I just changed the Operating Frequency option to "User Defined," which let me set the value of "266."
I do not want to get into overclocking the system, but I certainly do want to run the RAM at the best speed possible.

What BIOS settings do you suggest for restoring the DDR speeds? (Reminder: When the BIOS went into "safe mode" when my problem first surfaced, it set the Operating Frequency Setting and System Frequency at 100 MHz.)