"Have you checked that the serial no and Asset Tag are the same as the coputer label?"

No they are different.

"Did ou get the support people to check verify your machine from the serial no.?"

No, but that's because they didn't ask. I can try again, but it takes up to 48 hours (and ignores weekends) to get a reply.

"Did you try option 4 on the Bios flash utility?"

No, because it refused to install. As per the screen shots above. Said I did not have an Asus board.

"I assume that you're not using Win2K "

No. XP Pro.

"It appears from the ASUS site that BIOS V 0213A did address some USB issues if you could install it."

Yes, I saw the reference to booting from a USB. If I could install? I am not sure (a) how you do install a new BIOS - and (b) even more importantly how you protect the old one in case the new one does more harm than good.

Yes, it is confusing. Belarc seems to be saying that the motherboard is Asus and the BIOS is American Megatrends. But I think that is the same with my big studio PC - an Asus board and Am Meg BIOS.

TP

TP

If the Serial No and Asset tags on the label are different to those reported by Belarc then that points to an error in manufacturing or possibly your machine was produced at the time of a design change so they used a different MB.

You should be able to install the new BIOS using the utility that did not work for you or the equivalent DOS utility. I see that one of the options is to save the existing BIOS which you should do first, but your problem is that you may have a different MB (the update utility certainly thinks so). If you try to force an update with the wrong BIOS, then you may not be able to recover the motherboard.

I think your best way forward is to get ASUS to verify your machine ID from the info that Belarc provides.

Sorry that I can't be of more help.

Opt,

I am coming to the conclusion to leave well alone now.

The machine talks to the bits of kit that are essential. My wife's camera and the Satnav work with my studio PC and probably work with the Samsung Q1 Ultra that I'd take on hols if I needed a travel computer.

There's too big a chance that I mess up the Asus and it's far from critical that it has this oddity.

Thanks for your interest and help - but now's the time to quit methinks.

Have a good weekend.

TP

Hi TP,

OK, download both files below and unzip them to separate directories. The first file is the actual bios, the second is the flashing program. Install the flashing program by running the setup.exe file.

Once you've done that, try and disable things like antivirus and other programs running in the background (usually these are things with icons in the bottom right tray area) and close any open programs like Internet Explorer. Don't worry too much if this isn't possible or a bit tricky, as long as you haven't got loads of other programs interferring in things.

Now run Winflash (the flashing program), there should be a start menu or desktop link created, and then you will probably be asked where the bios file is. Point it to the file 0213a.s5n bios file that you unzipped from S5N0213A.zip and follow the program's instructions. Flashing should take a minute or two, so don't touch anything. You'll probably be asked to shut down, poweroff or reboot when the program has finished. Then after your laptop has restarted try and identify the bios version and you should find it's been updated to 213A, 2.13A or whatever.

Bios file http://dlsvr02.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/S5N/S5N0213A.zip

Bios Flash Program http://dlsvr02.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/S5N/WinFlash_XP_2K_041228.zip

As long as you're sure of your laptop model, you should be OK. A lot of these identification utilities are inaccurate and laptop motherboards are often OEM ones eg made by Intel especially for Asus which confuses a lot of these programs.

The bios update for the S5N is the same for the S5NP anyway and if it's the wrong model the flasher usually refuses to run. If you are worried then double check your laptop model. Usually it's printed on the bottom of your laptop and go with that instead of Belarc. It's unlikely in the extreme to be a manufacturing error.

miner,

You are very kind but if you look at the few messages between myself and Optimist we came to the conclusion that the machine might not have an Asus motherboard. The serial number on the bottom of the machine is not the same as that found by Belarc.

It would be a total disaster if this exercise to make connection with a couple of non essential devices screwed up the whole machine.

Do take a look at that Belarc and Sandra report thread by all means and tell me what you think it is saying. I am no computer wizz but I can't see why I have an Asus board and an American Megatrends bios - but at least most of the computer works and I am inclined to let things be....

But thanks yet again. I have had more help from this thread in the last couple of days than in two weeks spent with other forums connected with cameras and GPS.

TP

TP there are only two major writers of BIOS programs, AMI is one of them and for instance my Asus desktop uses AMI BIOS. The BIOS may be tailored to a particular manufacturer but it is not written by them.

When you downloaded Asusupdate, did you download a version specifically for your laptop? I expect that its error messages are simply saying that it is finding a motherboard and BIOS that it does not recognise, not that they are not made by Asus. BTW I have never got Asusupdate to work properly downloading straight from the internet.

Since the information from Sandra appears correct (after all it gives your laptop model numbers) I would not think it would be dangerous to use miner's links since they are obviously specific to your laptop.

K,

I never got Asusupdate to install as it did not recognise the board. Yes, I downloaded the one for my laptop.

You say the info from Sandra. My confusion it is the Sandra stuff that comes first and the Belarc one that follows. It gives the laptop model number - it is the serial numbers that differ from those on the underneath of the case.

I'll have another look for an Asusupdate download as I like the fact that it saves the old Bios - and makes me feel a bit more capable of recovering!!

TP

Min,

Interestingly I see that Winflash is already on this machine in the Asus progs folder.

So presumably they expect people to use it.

TP

TP

In that case, run that program and use options 4, 3, 1-save BIOS and then if the BIOS information looks OK try 1-update BIOS from file.

Make sure the laptop is runing on mains power when you update.

BTW TP, in terms of the laptop recognising devices, have you been testing with no other USB devices connected. Some USB implementations have historically suffered from being unable to provide sufficient power to high drainage devices, particularly if multiple devices are connected.

Thanks guys,

K. Yes I have tried removing all the other USB devices - no luck.

Opt, Thanks I'll see what happens. I have got no further than the initial warning message.

TP

TP

First update your bios as described earlier as it deals with a USB storage issue and your camera sort of works like a storage device.

Now try updating the software for your Ricoh camera because on the download page under the revision history it says the following -

"2007/12/26 Add the GR DIGITAL II into compatible models of Caplio software"

Your software is probably old and hence your camera will not be supported.


Uninstall the current software by going to the add/remove programs section of the control panel.

Run the CaplioSoftware_En.exe file at the link below which I believe extracts the installer, then run the Setup.exe file. (This file installs the camera drivers too which is probably why Windows isn't recognising it).

http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/sw/win/dl/CaplioSoftware_En.exe

This should work if you follow all the instructions.


Finally the firmware update (all sorts of things are fixed), it's revision history and instructions for updating are here -

http://www.ricoh.com/r_dc/download/firmware/grd2/


Hope this helps.

Thanks miner,

A bit too occupied with more mundane things today to risk trying.

But will certainly revisit the recommendations.

You have been very kind and thorough in your suggestions.

TP

I've got something called Greybird virus, Norton finds it but cant get rid of it, which I think is starting to slow up my PC up a lot after 2 or 3 hours

I have a AMD SEMPRON 3100+ PC

I am looking for another PC mainly to handly 4+ DVI monitors and very hungry games ie F.E.A.R and Unreal Tornement 2004 and UT3 etc with out the crashing video cards.

1) Are AMD still as powerful and good as Intel??

2) Do I need Duo core or Quad core, whats the difference??

3) which CPU one should I get?

4) AGP or PCI-E X16 and how many slots? for either

Richgit

There is an article comparing processors in the June edidion of PC Pro which is well worth reading.

According to their tests, nearly all of the AMD processors were slower than nearly all the Intel ones although the AMD may be cheaper. Of the Intel ones, the Core 2 Duo E8000 series apear to be the best performance at a reasonable price. Some Core 2 Quad's are faster but very expensive.

Do not confuse the Core 2 Duo with the now obsolete Core Duo which was never very good.

PCI-E expansion slots are the future.

Optimist, thanks I'll see if I can find a copy ;-)

rich,some major parts for you to look at.

Product Name Qty Price Line Total
Seasonic X900 SS-900HP 900w PSU 109.99

Lian Li PC-A71B Aluminium Tower Case - Black 119.99

OcUK GeForce 8800 GT 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail 93.99

Abit IP35 Pro (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard 86.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Pro Q6600 "Energy Efficient SLACR 95W Edition" 2.40GHz (1066FSB) - Retail 119.99

Corsair 4GB DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC2-8500C5 TwinX (2x2GB) Supplied with Airflow Fan (TWIN2X4096-8500C5DF) 99.99

Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) 83.99

Sub Total : 808.92
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
City Link Parcel Next Day (Delivered Mon-Fri)
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : 12.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : 143.83
Total : 965.70

rich,or something like THIS