Urgent! Need help..... Can't enter bios!!

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard drive,
WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me. Everything was
working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't change it, so I changed the
PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.) At the same time, I changed the CD Rom
drive out for a CD-RW. Now I can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a
Drive A and Drive B error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key, it shows
"entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me

"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard drive,
WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me. Everything was
working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't change it, so I changed the
PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.) At the same time, I changed the CD Rom
drive out for a CD-RW. Now I can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a
Drive A and Drive B error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key, it shows
"entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is with
the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the diskette drive
cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or partially
dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from the
motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into the
setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."

Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me.
Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't
change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.) At
the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out for a CD-RW. Now I
can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a Drive A and Drive B
error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key, it
shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is with
the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the diskette drive
cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or partially
dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from the
motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into the
setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error. Unplugged the
floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the floppy
drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to insert the boot
disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me

"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me.
Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't
change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.) At
the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out for a CD-RW. Now I
can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a Drive A and Drive B
error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key, it
shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is with
the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the diskette drive
cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or partially
dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from the
motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into the
setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error. Unplugged the
floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the floppy
drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to insert the boot
disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper somewhere on the
motherboard for that purpose or remove the battery for at least 15 minutes.

Steve

Crazy Aizy wrote:
"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me.
Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't
change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.) At
the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out for a CD-RW. Now I
can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a Drive A and Drive B
error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key, it
shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive
errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is
with the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the
diskette drive cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or
partially dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from
the motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into
the setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error. Unplugged
the floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the
floppy drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to
insert the boot disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper somewhere
on the motherboard for that purpose or remove the battery for at
least 15 minutes.

Steve

I took the battery out for 30 minutes but it didn't fix anything. Help??

Thanks, Steve
Just Me

On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:07:43 GMT,"Just Me"
penned this whopper in microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware


Crazy Aizy wrote:
"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me.
Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't
change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.) At
the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out for a CD-RW. Now I
can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a Drive A and Drive B
error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key, it
shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive
errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is
with the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the
diskette drive cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or
partially dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from
the motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into
the setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error. Unplugged
the floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the
floppy drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to
insert the boot disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper somewhere
on the motherboard for that purpose or remove the battery for at
least 15 minutes.

Steve

I took the battery out for 30 minutes but it didn't fix anything. Help??

Thanks, Steve
Just Me




1. Make sure the floppy cable is unplugged at the mainboard.
2. If no luck, suspect memory problems or a bad board. Are you getting the
normal one beep at boot time or none or more than one?

--
"Time will bring to light whatever is hidden;
it will cover up and conceal what is now shining in splendor."
Horace (65 - 8 BC); Roman poet.

Mike

B.J.Honeycut wrote:
On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:07:43 GMT,"Just Me"
penned this whopper in
microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware


Crazy Aizy wrote:
"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me.
Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't
change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.)
At the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out for a CD-RW.
Now I can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a Drive A and
Drive B error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key,
it shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive
errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is
with the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the
diskette drive cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or
partially dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM
drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from
the motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into
the setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error. Unplugged
the floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the
floppy drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to
insert the boot disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper somewhere
on the motherboard for that purpose or remove the battery for at
least 15 minutes.

Steve

I took the battery out for 30 minutes but it didn't fix anything.
Help??

Thanks, Steve
Just Me




1. Make sure the floppy cable is unplugged at the mainboard.
2. If no luck, suspect memory problems or a bad board. Are you
getting the normal one beep at boot time or none or more than one?

I'm getting 2 beeps, pause, 1 beep just before the floppy drive error. Since
I can't get into the bios, I am suspecting the bios needs to be replaced??

Thanks again,
Just Me

that beep pattern sounds like a Video problem - check that your video card
is properly seated.
(what is the make/model of your motherboard?)
If that doesn't fix it, then you really need to try swapping out the card,
or taking the box to a shop for diagnosis.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Just Me" wrote in message
news
B.J.Honeycut wrote:
On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:07:43 GMT,"Just Me"
penned this whopper in
microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware


Crazy Aizy wrote:
"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win Me.
Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad, couldn't
change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and shows fine.)
At the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out for a CD-RW.
Now I can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows a Drive A and
Drive B error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem exists.

What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1 key,
it shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two drive
errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is
with the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the
diskette drive cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged or
partially dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM
drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable from
the motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to get into
the setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error. Unplugged
the floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the
floppy drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to
insert the boot disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper somewhere
on the motherboard for that purpose or remove the battery for at
least 15 minutes.

Steve

I took the battery out for 30 minutes but it didn't fix anything.
Help??

Thanks, Steve
Just Me




1. Make sure the floppy cable is unplugged at the mainboard.
2. If no luck, suspect memory problems or a bad board. Are you
getting the normal one beep at boot time or none or more than one?

I'm getting 2 beeps, pause, 1 beep just before the floppy drive error.
Since I can't get into the bios, I am suspecting the bios needs to be
replaced??

Thanks again,
Just Me

Noel Paton wrote:
that beep pattern sounds like a Video problem - check that your video
card is properly seated.
(what is the make/model of your motherboard?)
If that doesn't fix it, then you really need to try swapping out the
card, or taking the box to a shop for diagnosis.


"Just Me" wrote in message
news
B.J.Honeycut wrote:
On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:07:43 GMT,"Just Me"
penned this whopper in
microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware


Crazy Aizy wrote:
"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win
Me. Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad,
couldn't change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and
shows fine.) At the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out
for a CD-RW. Now I can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows
a Drive A and Drive B error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem
exists. What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the F1
key, it shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two
drive errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is
with the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the
diskette drive cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged
or partially dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM
drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable
from the motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to
get into the setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error.
Unplugged the floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the
floppy drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to
insert the boot disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper
somewhere on the motherboard for that purpose or remove the
battery for at least 15 minutes.

Steve

I took the battery out for 30 minutes but it didn't fix anything.
Help??

Thanks, Steve
Just Me




1. Make sure the floppy cable is unplugged at the mainboard.
2. If no luck, suspect memory problems or a bad board. Are you
getting the normal one beep at boot time or none or more than one?

I'm getting 2 beeps, pause, 1 beep just before the floppy drive
error. Since I can't get into the bios, I am suspecting the bios
needs to be replaced??

Thanks again,
Just Me

Reconnected the video cable, checked pins, etc. All seems okay.

I feel so helpless because nothing makes any sense. I've never run into this
problem before....

Thanks and I welcome any other suggestions....
Just Me

I've had a very similar problem on a PC beside me here - and nothing I can
do will solve it except replacing the motherboard.

If you can give a better description of your beep sequence, and the
motherboard manufacturer, then we may find out a little more.

--
Noel Paton (MS-MVP 2002-2005, Windows)

Nil Carborundum Illegitemi
http://www.btinternet.com/~winnoel/millsrpch.htm
http://tinyurl.com/6oztj

Please read http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm on how to post messages to NG's

"Just Me" wrote in message
...
Noel Paton wrote:
that beep pattern sounds like a Video problem - check that your video
card is properly seated.
(what is the make/model of your motherboard?)
If that doesn't fix it, then you really need to try swapping out the
card, or taking the box to a shop for diagnosis.


"Just Me" wrote in message
news
B.J.Honeycut wrote:
On Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:07:43 GMT,"Just Me"
penned this whopper in
microsoft.public.windowsme.hardware


Crazy Aizy wrote:
"Just Me" wrote in message
nk.net...
Ron Martell wrote:
"Just Me" wrote:

I am working with a Gateway Essentials 433C, 64mb ram, 80G hard
drive, WinME, 433mhz PC. I reformatted the drive, loaded Win
Me. Everything was working fine. Noticed the date was bad,
couldn't change it, so I changed the PC battery. (Tested and
shows fine.) At the same time, I changed the CD Rom drive out
for a CD-RW. Now I can't bootup, enter bios or anything! Shows
a Drive A and Drive B error. What is going on?

I have since taken all CD Rom's out. But the same problem
exists. What makes me unable to enter the Bios? When I press the
F1
key, it shows "entering setup", but then comes up with the two
drive errors.

Appreciate any help.....

Thanks in advance,
Just Me


A error involving drives A: and B: indicates that the problem is
with the diskette drive configuration or cables. Check the
diskette drive cable at both ends, It may have become dislodged
or partially dislodged while you were changing around the CDROM
drives.

If the problem persists unplug the diskette drive data cable
from the motherboard and see if that allows you to boot or to
get into the setup.

Good luck



Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada

I checked the connections- all are tight but same error.
Unplugged the floppy drive but it
still acts the same way. It's as though it thinks the HD is the
floppy drive. If I press F1 to bypass the error, it wants me to
insert the boot disk into the "floppy drive". Is the HD dead?

Thanks for your suggestions. Now what??
Just Me


You could try resetting the BIOS. There should be a jumper
somewhere on the motherboard for that purpose or remove the
battery for at least 15 minutes.

Steve

I took the battery out for 30 minutes but it didn't fix anything.
Help??

Thanks, Steve
Just Me




1. Make sure the floppy cable is unplugged at the mainboard.
2. If no luck, suspect memory problems or a bad board. Are you
getting the normal one beep at boot time or none or more than one?

I'm getting 2 beeps, pause, 1 beep just before the floppy drive
error. Since I can't get into the bios, I am suspecting the bios
needs to be replaced??

Thanks again,
Just Me

Reconnected the video cable, checked pins, etc. All seems okay.

I feel so helpless because nothing makes any sense. I've never run into
this problem before....

Thanks and I welcome any other suggestions....
Just Me