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Archive-name: pc-hardware-faq/gateway2000/part2 Last-modified: March 1, 2000 Last-Posted: Febuary 1, 2000 Next-Posting: April 1, 2000 Posting-Frequency: the first of every month URL: http://come.to/alt.sys.pc-clone.gateway2000.faq Maintainer: Timothy S. Brannan (Tbrannan@usa.net) Section 2: Hardware Information 2.1) Motherboard - CPU Questions 2.1.1) What Motherboard do I have? 2.1.1.1) What Kind of Memory do I have? 2.1.2) How do I get into the CMOS setup? 2.1.3) How do I upgrade my BIOS? 2.1.4) My system doesn't recognize more than 16M of RAM 2.1.5) How can I upgrade my 486 to a Pentium? 2.1.5.1) I bought my 486 when it was advertised as Pentium ready. What does/did that mean? 2.1.6) How can I upgrade my Pentium to a Pentium Pro? 2.1.6.1) How can I upgrade my Pentium to a MMX Pentium? 2.1.6.2) How can I upgrade my Pentium or Pro to a Pentium II? +2.1.7) Is my Gw2k Y2k ready? 2.1.9) What are some other sources of information? 2.2) CD-ROM/DVD Questions 2.2.1) Why does my system "pause" when playing CDs? 2.2.2) How do I get Windows 95 to access all drives on the Sanyo 3-CD CD- ROM? 2.2.2.1) Is there support for the Sanyo 3-CD CD-ROM in Windows NT? 2.2.3) My CD-ROM light blinks every few seconds under Windows 95 - Why? 2.2.4) Why does the Mitsumi FX-400 CD-ROM make grinding noises? 2.2.4.1) Where can I get Mitsumi CD-ROM drivers and information? 2.2.4.2) Is there a problem with the Mitsumi 12x CD-ROM? 2.2.5) What can I do about the Wearnes CD-ROM pauses? 2.2.5.1) What other information is there about the Wearnes CD-ROM? 2.2.6) Will my NEC 260 CD-ROM run with Windows NT? 2.2.9) What are some other sources of information? 2.3) Keyboard and Mice Questions 2.3.1) How can I disable the programmability of the Anykey keyboard? 2.3.2) My Anykey keyboard produces incorrect characters. How can I fix it? 2.3.3) How can I program my AnyKey keyboard to act like a Windows95 Keyboard? 2.3.4) How can I change the repeat rate of my AnyKey keyboard? 2.4) Modem Questions 2.4.1) Why can't I connect with my (older) Telepath modem? 2.4.2) Why won't the 28.8 Telepath work with Delrina's Commsuite 95? 2.4.3) Why does my 28.8 Telepath insist on always answering? 2.4.4) Why can't I use a modem at COM4:? 2.4.5) How do I connect at 56k with my X2 Telepath? 2.4.6) Why I can't use my Telepath WinModem on NT/DOS/Linux? 2.4.9) What are some other sources of information? 2.5) Monitor and Video Questions 2.5.1) What about the missing 3 pixels on the left of my screen? 2.5.2) What are some common monitor problems? 2.5.3) Who makes the CrystalScan monitors? 2.5.4) What are the custom settings for the CS1572FS monitor? 2.5.5) Where can I get the latest drivers for my video card? 2.5.5.1) Can I use the regular Matrox drivers with Gateway's Matrox? 2.5.5.2) Where can I get Matrox BIOS and driver updates? 2.5.6) Who makes the Vivitron monitors? 2.5.6.1) What are the specs for the SONY Vivitron monitor made by SONY? 2.5.6.2) What's the right way to set up a Vivitron 21 under Windows 95? 2.5.6.3) What are those horizontal black lines on my Sony monitor? 2.5.7) How can I use the capture features on my STB TV Pro card? 2.5.8) Why do I have video problems with my tower system and not my desktop? 2.5.9) What are some other sources of information? 2.6) Soundcard and Speaker Questions 2.6.1) Why won't my SoundBlaster card work? 2.6.2) Why won't my Ensoniq card work with DOS games? 2.6.3) How do I setup my Aztech soundcard under Windows95? 2.6.4) Why can't I use two Sidewinder joysticks on my Ensoniq card? 2.6.5) Why do my Altec Lansing 450 speakers hiss so much? 2.6.9) What are some other sources of information? 2.7) Hard Drive Questions 2.7.1) How can I get my WD 540 hard drive to work correctly? 2.7.2) What is the problem with the Western Digital 1.6 Gig drive? 2.7.3) My Hard Drive/CD-ROM/IDE Controller is gone! 2.7.9) What are some other sources of information? 2.8) Other Hardware Questions 2.8.1) Why does my P5-60/P5-66/PCI486 machine lock up? (UART fix) 2.8.2) I can't access my COM 3 or COM 4 port? 2.8.3) How do I get my Bernoulli to work on the parallel port (P90 Tower)? 2.8.4) Why is there a 20-second delay during booting? Section 2: Hardware Questions 2.1) Motherboard - CPU Questions 2.1.1) What Motherboard do I have? Gateway has used a variety of motherboards over the years. Knowing what motherboard you have is helpfull when you are trying to upgrade things like memory, cache and CPUs or overdrives. The first thing to know is what CPU do you have now and what kind of socket it is set in. Gateway uses Intel CPU's exclusively, so this makes CPU identification easier. Here are the sockets for the 486 and Pentium motherboards. Socket Pins Layout Volts CPUs LIF 168 17x17 PGA 5 v SX, SX2, DX, DX2* ZIF 1 169 17x17 PGA 5 v SX, SX2, DX, DX2* ZIF 2 238 19x19 PGA 5 v SX, SX2, DX, DX2*, POD63 ZIF 3 237 19x19 PGA 5/3.3 SX, SX2, DX, DX2, DX4, POD 60/63 ZIF 4 273 21x21 PGA 5 v Pentium 60/66, POD60/66 ZIF 5 320 37x37 SPGA 3.3 v Pentium 75/90/100/120, POD90/100 ZIF 6 235 19x19 PGA 3.3 v DX4, DX4 Pentium Overdrive ZIF 7 321 21x21 SPGA VRM Pentium 75/90/100/120/133/150/166/200 *DX4 also can be supported by an aftermarket voltage regulator. PGA = Pin Grid Array SPGA = Staggered Pin Grid Array VRM = Voltage Regulator Module POD = Pentium Overdrive According to Ben Myers and to several posts to the newsgroup, all 486 motherboards made by Micronics are 5 volt only. This restricts them to LIF, ZIF 1, 2, and 3 sockets only. This rules out the 3.3 volt DX4 or Pentium overdrive for many users. Gateway has used the following 486 Micronics motherboards. (Thanks to Ben Myers for filling the blanks for me.) Micronics Other ID Typical Gw2k Phoenix BIOS TYPE 3 25/33 MHz Bus Board# Info Part# ID# ZIF? Switch? 09-00192 JX30WB (none) JX30WB-02 Y N 09-00189 JX30G MBDLOC001Ax US JX30G-12 Y Y 09-00189 JX30GP JX30GPS2 JX30GP-04 Y Y 09-00183 JX30 MLB-P24T JX30-06 Y Y 09-00169 GeminiVL/ZIF 486DXLBP24TR GLB05 Y Y 09-00144 GeminiVL/LIF 486DXLB GLB05 N Y 09-00054 80486ASICISA (unknown) G14 N 33 MHz fixed 09-00081 BabyGeminiISA (unknown) G22-2 N N (25 or 33 MHz) 09-00117 EISAASIC (none) 1.01.22.2 N N 09-00173 EISAVL EISA486LBW G24-2 Y Y For Pentium based computers Gateway has used Intel motherboards. The following Pentium boards can be checked against the BIOS revision number at boot-up. (Once again, thanks to Ben Myers.) The BIOS revision numbers listed are the LATEST ones available from Intel as of it's release date. Intel keeps revising and updating the various BIOSes. It is always best to check directly with Gateway or Intel. Note: All Gateway BIOS versions have the suffix of "T". For example, an Intel Plato BIOS from Gateway might be 1.00.12.AX1T. Bios Rev Official Intelname Codename/CPU Socket 1.00.19.R0 XpressServers 1.00.19.V0 XpressServers 1.00.19.AK0 XpressServers 1.00.19.AM0 XpressServers 1.00.07.S0 ProfessionalWorkstation 1.00.09.W0 ClassicS-Series 1.00.08.Y3 Professional/GX 1.00.05.AB0 ClassicE-Series 1.00.09.AC0 ClassicR/R-Plus (LPX486) 1.00.08.AF1 Premiere/PCIExpandableDesktop Batman(Baby-ATSocket4) 1.00.13.AF2 Premiere/PCIED Batman'sRevenge(Baby-ATSocket4) 1.00.10.AQ0 Classic/PCIExpandableDesktop Alfredo(Baby-AT486) 1.00.10.AU0 Premiere/PCILowProfile 1.00.16.AX1 Premiere/PCIIIExpandable Plato(Baby-ATSocket5) 1.00.08.AY0 Classic/PCIED Ninja 1.00.08.AZ0 Classic/PCILP Entrada 1.00.08.BB0 Premiere/PCILXLowProfile Socrates 1.00.05.BC0 Premiere/PCILCLowProfile RobinLC 1.00.07.BG0 XtendedXpressServers 1.00.18.BI0 ALTServer/CS Columbus(DualSocket5) 1.00.03.BJ0 LANDesk(r) ServerMonitorModule 1.00.06.BR0 Advanced/ZE Aladdin 1.00.04.BS0 Advanced/ZP Zappa(Baby-ATSocket5) 1.00.09.BT0 Advanced/MN Morrison(LPXSocket5) 1.00.07.BU0 Advanced/MA Monaco 1.00.05.CB0 Advanced/EV Endeavor(Baby-ATSocket5/7) 1.00.08.CG0 Performance/AU Aurora(ATXSocket8) 1.00.07.CL0 Advanced/AS Atlantis(Baby-ATSocket7) 1.00.06.CN0 Advanced/ATX Thor(ATXSocket7) 1.00.09.CS1 VS440FX Venus(ATXSocket8) 1.00.05.CT1 AP440FX Apollo/Krakatoa(LPXSocket8) 1.00.09.CV2 Advanced/RH Rhinestone(LPXSocket7) 1.00.07.DB0 Advanced/ML Marl(ATXSocket7) 1.00.04.DH0 TC430HX Tuscon(ATXSocket7) 1.00.02.DI0 PR440FX Providence(ATXSocket8) 1.00.0x.CY E430VX 1.00.0x.CW0 RU430H Ruby(LPXSocket7) 1.00.0x.DE0 NP430HX Newport(APXSocket7) 1.00.0x.DK0 CU430HX Cumberland(LPXSocket7) 1.00.0x.DD0 AG430HX Agate(ATXSocket7) ???? NV430VX Orlando/Tampa(LPXSocket7) 2.1.1.1) What Kind of Memory do I have? What memory you need to buy will be dependent on your motherboard. Gateway has a listing on their website by BIOS number at, http://www.gw2k.com/home/support/cs_techdocs/mbref/ Kingston Memory also has a site for finding what memory you need for your computer at, http://kyra.pcorder.com/Kepler/Asp/FrameKepler.asp Sky-Line Engineering also has parts, including memory for Gateway Computers. They are at http://skyline-eng.com/products.htm and http://skyline-eng.com/memory.htm for memory. Another good source is BuyingGuide.com. There memory section is at http://www.buyinguide.com/memory/. Most Gateway models are listed there as well. And finally, R&J Technology also has a memory finder for you Gateway computer, try http://www.rjtech.com/gw2000.htm. 2.1.2) How do I get into the CMOS Setup? After the system is booted to DOS, typing CTRL-ALT-ESC will bring up the CMOS screens for Micronics motherboards with the original Gateway or Micronics BIOS. On Anigma motherboards (some mini-desktops and all 486-PCI systems) use CTRL-ALT-S. What you see on the screens varies with the motherboard you have but most of the general settings are on the first page. You can use the "page up" and "page down" keys to move between CMOS pages. (Thanks to Albert Crosby and Ben Myers) One common problem with the CMOS setup is that if you are using the "highscan" option to emm386, you will not be able to enter the CMOS setup (you will lock up the system). If this happens, you should boot clean (i.e. hit F5 after you see the "starting MS-DOS" or "Starting Windows95" prompt). Then you can enter the CMOS setup normally. If you have a newer Phoenix or Microfirmware BIOS then pressing F2 will bring up the CMOS setup screens, but only prior to booting into the operating system. On Microfirmware BIOS, pressing F3 will also bring up extra information. American Megatrends, or AMI, BIOSes on older 486 computers may be entered by pressing DEL after booting. 2.1.3) How do I upgrade my BIOS? Generally speaking you will not be updating your BIOS very often. Usually it will be for a specific purpose, such as gaining access to larger hard drives or correcting a Year2000 problem. First you need to find out what motherboard you have. All older 286 and 386 and some 486 motherboards require you to replace the ROM BIOS chip. You will need to purchase the chip from MicroFirmware. Most 486es and all Pentiums (Normal, MMX, II, Pro) you can "flash" a new BIOS. The Flash BIOS can be downloaded from the net or purchased on disk. Either way you will follow the same steps. 1. Backup your computer! Very important. NOTE: If you received your BIOS on floppy you can ignore steps 2 to 4. 2. Create a bootable diskette. 3. Download BIOS and BIOS recovery program off web. 4. Unzip BIOS file and copy files to bootable diskette. 5. Shut down machine. 6. Put floppy in A drive, boot up, and BIOS upgrade will happen. Check the web site for updates to your BIOS. Gateway's page for BIOS updates: http://www.gw2k.com/home/support/hardware/8/ Micro FirmWare's Page for BIOS updates: http://www.firmware.com 2.1.4) My system doesn't recognize more than 16M of RAM. This is probably the most frequently asked question in the newsgroup! In order to use more than 16M of RAM, you need to disable shadowing in the BIOS. Go into your CMOS setup and disable the BIOS shadowing option. When you reboot, your system should see all the RAM. Note that disabling the shadow RAM may slow down your system somewhat. You may also notice that the initial "beep" at startup sounds funny. This is normal when shadowing is disabled. 2.1.5) How can I upgrade my 486 to a Pentium? I think this should qualify as the second most asked question in the newsgroup. Make sure you know which motherboard you have and which Pentium upgrade, or motherboard replacement will be needed. Gateway only supports the Intel Overdrive chips for their computers. These are the only ones they have tested. To get more information on the Intel Pentium Overdrives, see Intel's page, http://www.intel.com. There are also 5x86 CPUs out there that provide Pentium power for 486 users. Check out these companies, - AMD: http://www.amd.com/products/cpg/5x86/5x86.html, - Cyrix: http://www.cyrix.com/process/prodinfo/legacy/legacy.htm, - Evergreen: http://www.evertech.com, - ICS: http://www.interwb.com/memory.html (847) 823-2779 sells processors and complete upgrade kits featuring the Cyrix 5x86. - Kingston Turbo Chip: http://www.kingston.com/prod/procesor/tc133wpa.htm. Different Gateway users have also worked with this problem and have shared their results on the net. - John Navas has an information page for 5v motherboard users upgrading to a 5x86. - An article in PCWeek about two types of Cyrix 5x86s. - There are files and drivers that support the Cyrix 5x86. Courtesy of Peter Moss. - Other places to get the Cyrix driver files. - Cyrix 5x86 drivers for DOS. - Cyrix 5x86 drivers for Windows. - My Benchmarks after my Evergreen 586 upgrade. - To see some other benchmarks of 5x86 style chips click here, 486bench.txt. - Ben Myers' FAQs for Gateway Motherboards. 2.1.5.1) I bought my 486 when it was advertised as Pentium ready. What does/did that mean? This is also an issue with quite a few Gateway owners. Here is what I know. The design specifications vary between the various versions of the 486 chip. It mostly because of the design difference between the LIF, ZIF 1, ZIF 2 and ZIF 3 sockets. Check item 2.1.1. to find out which mother board and socket you have. The design changes resulted in changes in the proposed P24T chip that became the Pentium Overdrive. So if you have an older 486 with a LIF or ZIF 1 or 2 socket, then you are out of luck. The 83 MHz Pentium Overdrive, will not work. If you have a 25 or 50 MHz 486 with a ZIF 2, then you can upgrade to the 63 MHz Pentium Overdrive. Now if you have a 33/66 MHz 486 with a ZIF 3 Socket, then you can use the Pentium Overdrives. Of course the big question is, "Whose fault is this?" To receive Gateway's legal disclosure on the matter then call 1-800-555-2070. You can also write to Gateway's Legal Department at: Gateway Legal Department P.O. Box 2000 610 Gateway Dr. North Sioux City, SD 57049-2000 Don't call Technical Support, unless you enjoy exercises in futility. I personally believe the problem lies with Intel, for changing the design of the P24T Overdrive and not supporting the existing 486 design, AND to Gateway for advertising "Vapor-Ware", when no such product existed. Here is what happened according to Ben Myers, One of Intel's dirty little secrets is the Pentium OverDrive (POD) for the Type 3 ZIF socket. The story goes as follows, more or less, confirmed by several unofficial sources inside Intel and at least one motherboard manufacturer that I can remember... Chapter I. Intel issues a preliminary spec for the POD and makes up sample prototype chips for motherboard manufacturers. The manufacturers design and manufacture millions of boards with Type 3 ZIF sockets required for the POD. And the boards adhere to the preliminary spec, and run just fine with the proto chips. Chapter II. Intel decides to change the POD spec, issues a final one, and begins manufacturing PODs that meet the FINAL spec. The final spec adds a write-back internal cache for better performance, and maybe some other things. Chapter III. All heck breaks loose because the POD is incompatible with millions of boards, very few consumers know which boards are and aren't compatible. So lots of PODs don't work right, or don't work at all. Chapter IV. Motherboard manufacturers revise designs to be compatible with final POD specification, and produce more boards. In the meantime, the POD has gotten a bad rep. It's amazing that Intel continues to use the name for other Pentium-class chips! 2.1.6) How can I upgrade my Pentium to a Pentium Pro? In a word or two, you can't. Neither Gateway nor Intel has ever made this claim. But don't let that stop you. Now you can upgrade your Pentium to a 6x86. This is similar to the above procedures for 486 owners, save I know less about it. Currently the only 6x86's on the market are by Cyrix, http://www.cyrix.com and AMD, http://www.amd.com. Gandalf's upgrading your Pentium to a 6x86 page, http://www.together.net/~gandalf/index.htm. Keep in mind that Gateway does support any other CPU than Intel. Cyrix, in fact, is now in direct competition with Gateway for the home PC market. If this is something you decide on doing, you could find yourself without any tech support from Gateway. 2.1.6.1) How can I upgrade my Pentium to a MMX Pentium? I got this information from some tech support people at Intel. Intel plans to introduce a family of Pentium(R) OverDrive(R) processors with MMX(TM) technology in 1997 for upgradiale Pentium processor-based systems. There will be Pentium OverDrive processors with MMX technology available for Pentium processor based - systems with Socket 5 or 7 available in speeds up to 166 MHz in the first half of 1997. There will be Pentium OverDrive processors with MMX technology available for Pentium processor based - systems with Socket 7 available in speeds up to 200 MHz in the second half of 1997. There will not be a Pentium OverDrive processor with MMX technology for 60 or 66 MHz Pentium processor - based systems. More specific product detail or compatibility information is not available until product introduction. For now, see Intel's website at http://www.intel.com/overdrive/mmx.htm or http://cs.intel.com/Intel/microprocessors/overdrive_processors/ Also a company called Powerleap sells upgrades for Gateway (an other) Pentium computers. Their URL is http://www.powerleap.com/gateway.htm. 2.1.6.2) How can I upgrade my Pentium or Pro to a Pentium II? This one is going to be a real pain in the neck. The motherboards for the new Pentium II are completely different. The Pentium II uses a slot configuration instead of the Pentium's socket style. Currently you can only do a motherboard swap. Although it is much more desirable to get a new Pentium II system. +2.1.7) Is my Gw2k Y2k ready? To check if you computer's BIOS and motherboard is Year 2000 ready go through these steps. 1. Change your system clock to 11:50 pm, December 31, 1999. Use the DATE command or Right-Click on the system tray. 2. Shut down and turn off your computer. 3. Wait about 15 minutes. 4. Turn on your computer and check the system date and time. 5. If it says anything besides Sunday, Jan 1, 2000, you will have Y2K problems. Also you should created a new file, doesn't matter what, and save it. Check it's properties. It should read "Last Modified Sunday, Jan 1, 2000." Remember this only checks your system's BIOS and the Operating System's Y2k compliance. You will need to test other software as well. Check the companies web pages for details; check Microsoft for Access or Excel problems. You can also test your PC's Y2K compliance and get more information from, - http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/special/y2k/index.html - http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pctech/download/swcol.y2k.html - http://www.y2k.com/ - http://www.zdnet.com/vlabs/y2k/testy2k.html - http://www.microsoft.com/technet/topics/year2k/default.htm - - http://www.gateway.com/frameset2.asp?s=corp&p=support&a=&url=/corp/y2k/y2k/default.html - http://www.runser.com/2000/compliance.htm *Remember, 2000 is a LEAP year. Normally years that are divisible by 100 are not, but 2000 is an exception. * You also need to check 1/1/11 and 9/9/99. Some programmers used 1111 and 9999 as place holders for anything. You can also get Microsoft's Y2k tester at http//microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/wurecommended/s_wufeatured/win95y2k/default.asp Another important site for Y2k concerns is http//www.microsoft.com/y2k/hoax/y2khoax.htm 2.1.9) What are some other sources of information? There are plenty sources of information for motherboards, chips and their problems. Try the following resources. Newsgroups, - news://comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.chips - news://comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.systems - news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.motherboards Web pages, - http://www.computercraft.com/docs/old486.html - http://www.intel.com/ - http://www.randomc.com/~dperr/pc_hdwe.htm - http://www.sysopt.com/ 2.2) CD-ROM/DVD Questions 2.2.1) Why does my system "pause" when playing CDs? Some people have noticed that when they are playing CD's there system will pause every time the HD light blinks. This is usually found on P5-90 systems with the NEC IDE CD-ROM drives. The answer is: The NEC is connected to the IDE interface and this will cause the drive light to blink. If you are doing any hard drive accesses or reads at the same time as the NEC is being accessed, this can cause the "jumps." What you can do to check this is to make sure the CD drive and the hard drive are on separate interfaces. With your system, the hard drives should be connected to the PCI IDE interface which is the farthest toward the back of the system. The CD drive should be on the ISA IDE interface which is just behind the floppy drive interface on the motherboard. Also, some people have noted that the AudioStation CD audio player that comes with the Ensoniq sound card can cause these kinds of system problems -- you can try the CD audio player from the Corel CD-ROM sampler or get one of the shareware players from one of the many anonymous FTP sites and try it. (Thanks to Seth Tisue for this additional note!) 2.2.2) How do I get Windows 95 to access all drives on the Sanyo 3-CD CD- ROM? From Lori Nagel, Gateway tech support: Here's the steps you need to get access to all three drives with the 3-disk changer under Windows 95: 1. Right click on the MY COMPUTER icon. Then on PROPERTIES. 2. Click on the DEVICE MANAGER tab. 3. Double-click on HARD DISK CONTROLLERS. 4. Then double-click on the SECOND listing for "Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller." 5. Uncheck Original Configuration (current). 6. Click OK until it closes and then restart Win 95. You should now be able to use all three of the drives. The Sanyo 3-CD Changer driver for Windows95 can be found on Frank's Driver Page, http://windows.rust.net/sanyo.zip. 2.2.2.1) Is there support for the Sanyo 3-CD CD-ROM in Windows NT? Using atapi.sys, you can use it as a single drive. Windows NT 4.0 does support the drive also using atapi.sys. 2.2.3) My CD-ROM light blinks every few seconds under Windows 95 - Why? This is due to the Windows 95 automatic CD-ROM detection. This allows you to put in a CD and Windows 95 will automatically mount it (if it is a data CD) or start the music player (if it is an audio CD). If the blinking annoys you (or causes your system to pause or stutter) you can turn it off by opening the System control panel. Open the Device Manager tab and select your CD-ROM device. Click Properties and under the Settings tab turn off Auto insert notification. That will take care of it! 2.2.4) Why does the Mitsumi FX-400 CD-ROM make grinding noises? There have been reports of this drive making grinding noises while accessing CDs. Some users have also reported that several key presses were needed to eject the disks and that they sometimes came out spinning. The fix is to contact Gateway and ask for a replacement model FX-400D. There have been several postings that this replacement drive does not have these problems. (Thanks to Alan Briggs!) 2.2.4.1) Where can I get Mitsumi CD-ROM drivers and information? http://www.eciusa.com/cdrom.html has drivers for Mitsumi CD-ROMs, a FAQ, jumper settings, tech support (via a form) and guidance on determining what driver you need. (Thanks to Ken Salerno!) Here are some other sites, - Mitsumi's official site, ECI,http://www.eciusa.com/mitsumiproducts.html. - David Elfstrom excellent site on Mitsumi information, http://qlink.queensu.ca/~3dre/mitsumi.html. - The OS/2 fix at ftp://ftp.sei.cmu.edu/pub/gateway2000/Mitsumi/MITFIX.EXE. - and a Windows NT 3.x fix, ftp://ftp.sei.cmu.edu/pub/gateway2000/Mitsumi/MITSU.EXE. 2.2.4.2) Is there a problem with the Mitsumi 12x CD-ROM? There has been some discussion of late of problems with the Mitsumi 12x CD-ROM drive. The drives do make a loud vibrating sound. The Gateway tech person I spoke to said that while the drives are loud (she compared it to a blow dryer) they have not had any reported problems. Any more information on this subject would be very helpful. 2.2.5) What can I do about the Wearnes CD-ROM pauses? Many have reported irritating pauses with this CD-ROM. There have been three models vended by Gateway, AAWW, ABWW, and ACWW. The last one will show a great deal of improvement but will not eliminate the problem for everybody. Call tech support at Gateway and get a replacement and be sure to specify the ACWW. There is no ADWW -- that's just a rumor at this time, per Lori Nagel of Gateway. The whole part number for the ACWW is CDRIDE011ACWW. 2.2.5.1) What other information is there about the Wearnes CD-ROM? If you have problems with the Wearnes CD-ROM drive then contact Gateway 2000. Customers that call in for problems with a Wearnes CD ROM will receive a replacement Toshiba. The Wearnes are not shipped due to multiple replacement issues. 2.2.6) Will my NEC 260 CD-ROM run with Windows NT? The 260 is not compatible; the 260R is. The 260, which was sold by Gateway for a while, ended up not compliant with the emerging ATAPI 1.2 standard. For a while, Gateway replaced the 260s with 260Rs for those customers using Windows NT. You can install NT from an unsupported CD (use winnt.exe from the install disk, type winnt /? for the list of options). Or you can install NT from your hard drive (see the NT installation documentation for details). (Thanks to Walter Arnold and Edmond Underwood!) 2.2.9) What are some other sources of information? There are plenty sources of information for CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs. Try the following resources. Newsgroups, - news://alt.video.dvd - news://comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.cd-rom - news://rec.video.dvd.* - news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.multimedia Web pages, - Hitachi Download, http://www.hitachi.com/Specs/Cdrom/Docs/download.html. - Hitachi Data Systems, http://www.hdshq.com/. - Sony's web page, http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/storage/drivers.html. - DVD FAQ, http://www.videodiscovery.com/vdyweb/dvd/dvdfaq.html. 2.3) Keyboard and Mice Questions 2.3.1) How can I disable the programmability of the Anykey keyboard? Sometimes (especially if you have young children who like to play with your computer) you can get the Anykey keyboard programmed into a strange state. While you can reset the keyboard to the default configuration by pressing the Control and Alt keys and the pressing Suspend Macro, a better way to "fix" the problem is by disabling the program feature. You can do this by using the command ANYKEY T ANYKEY in your autoexec.bat, adding the path if needed. (Thanks to Dave Grabowski for this information!) 2.3.2) My Anykey keyboard produces incorrect characters. How can I fix it? It may have been accidentally remapped. First try the key combination: [Ctrl-Alt-SuspndMacro]. If that doesn't work, try this, which will destroy all macros you have stored: [Remap] - [Ctrl] - [Ctrl] - [Alt] - [Alt] - [Remap] then, as before, [Ctrl-Alt-SuspndMacro]. Note: on newer models, it may be [Ctrl-Remap] in the above sequence instead of just [Remap]. 2.3.3) How can I program my AnyKey keyboard to act like a Windows95 Keyboard? To make your Anykey Keyboard into a Windows95 keyboard. Program a blank key as the Windows logo key. The windows logo key is <CTRL><ESC> " " and e to run explorer " " and r for run " " and f for find The other key is rightclick. Which can be programmed as <SHIFT><F10> 2.3.4) How can I change the repeat rate of my AnyKey keyboard? To change the refesh rate of your Gateway Anykey keyboard do the following in DOS mode or a DOS shell. 1. Press the Repeat Rate Key (found in the upper-right corner of the keyboard). The Program LED should begin to flash. 2. Function keys F1 through F8 produce the following repeat rates: Press Characters per Second (CPS) F1 2 F2 3 F3 5 F4 7 F5 10 F6 15 F7 20 F8 30 3. Press the function key that produces the rate you want, then press the Repeat Rate key again. The Program LED stops flashing and the new repeat rate is set. This setting overides anything in the Control Panel or the DOS MODE setting. Note: This will also work for the MaxiSwitch MaxiKey keyboard. I have tested this on both. 2.4) Modem Questions 2.4.1) Why can't I connect with my (older) Telepath modem? There have been many reported problems with the older Telepath modems shipped with Gateway systems. So many, in fact, that Gateway is now shipping modems made by US Robotics which are much better than the old ones. These modems are still called Telepath (the new ones are model 550), so you have to check the exact model numbers to see if your model is a problem one. In general, the older Telepath modems have problems in connecting. Some people have few problems, while other people have lots. The problem doesn't have an easy fix, but you can often connect by fiddling with the modem init strings. One set of strings that has been successful in connecting to many systems is this: AT&FW1&C1&D2S7=60S11=55S95=3 (This string was provided by Tom Grelinger.) If this doesn't work, turn off compression using AT%C0 and if the connection still fails, turn off both error correction and compression using AT&Q6. If the modems still fail to connect, try reducing the speed of the connection by setting the N code to 0 (ATN0) and setting S37 to one of the following values: Speed S37 value 12000 10 9600 9 7200 12 4800 8 2400 6 1200 5 300 3 Obviously, you want to start at the highest speed and work down until you find a value that allows you to connect. If you are forced to connect at slower speeds, this indicates that you may have a noisy phone line. You may want to contact your local telephone company to have them check your line. One good hint to try when using Crosstalk for Windows (the software shipped with the modems from Gateway 2000) is to set the box to show modem commands, and also set the S95 value to 44 on the modem (ATS95=44). This will display the DCE speed (the actual speed the modem connected at), the protocol (either LAPM or alt), compression (v.42bis or MNP5) and the DTE speed (speed between the modem and computer). Gateway also recommends that you check the voltage between your neutral and ground wires on the outlet you plug the system into. Apparently the older Telepath modems need a very good ground to work correctly. (If anyone has more ideas, I'll include them in the FAQ - editor) 2.4.2) Why won't the 28.8 Telepath work with Delrina's Commsuite? The 28.8 Telepath is an OEM version of the US Robotics Sportster and as such uses the TI chipset. Delrina's Commsuite supports only with the Rockwell chipset. Also, the 28.8 Telepath uses fax class 2.0 (different from just "2") and this is also not supported by WinFax 7.0. Talkworks will not work reliably with the Telepath, although there is now a patch at http://www.delrina.com/ for modems manufactured by US Robotics (USR). Note: Delrina has been purchased by Symantec. This link is still active though. 2.4.3) Why does my 28.8 Telepath insist on picking up the phone? Some of the earlier ones wouldn't accept an S0=0 command (two zeroes there). The workaround is to type these two lines to the modem: ATS0=255 then [Enter] (that's a zero after the "s") AT&W then [Enter] The first line tells the modem to answer on the 255th ring, the second to write the new setting to non- volatile RAM (NVRAM). 2.4.4) Why can't I use a modem at COM4:? Most video boards, including the ATI, use the address space for COM4:. You can't get around it, sorry. 2.4.5) How do I connect at 56k with my X2 Telepath? Some users have reported problems connecting or maintaining a 56k connection. This of course is dependent on your phone lines. John Navas, of the Navas Group, suggests turning off V.42. For more information please see his FAQ, http://web.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.html. 2.4.6) Why I can't use my Telepath WinModem on NT/DOS/Linux? The Telepath WinModem (or any USR/3Com Winmodem) cannot be used under operating systems other than Windows. This means Windows NT, DOS, OS/2 or Linux cannot use the Winmodem. The modem works by moving what had been hardware components to software, namely to Windows virtural device drivers, VxDs. The advantages are upgradebilty of the modems and cheaper hardware costs. There have been some patches to use Winmodems under Windows NT. I have not used any of these files myself. Gateway's pages of drivers for Telepath winmodems is at, http://www.gateway.com/support/product/drivers/modem/ and for V90 upgrades, http://www.gateway.com/support/product/drivers/modem/v90.html. 2.4.9) What are some other sources of information? There are plenty sources of information for Modems. Try the following resources. Newsgroups, - news://comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.comm - news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.telecomm Web Pages, - Modem information about Gateway modems in Mike Lewis' most helpful Telepath-IIv and Windows 95 FAQ http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/ModemFAQ.html. - General modem information in John Navas' excellent 28800 Modem FAQ, http://web.aimnet.com/~jnavas/modem/faq.html. 2.5) Monitor and Video Questions 2.5.1) What about the missing 3 pixels on the left of my screen? (This is the Georgh Mah memorial question) Several people have reported that with certain versions of the ATI Graphics Ultra Pro video board they are experiencing a condition where 3 pixels are missing from the left side of their screen. The conditions appear to be: ATI GUP boards with 1MB of video memory and a certain BIOS Windows 640x480 video mode with 65K colors. Any applications run at full screen will be missing the three pixels from the left side of the screen. If you have this configuration and experience this problem, you can request a fix for your ATI board at no cost (regardless of the age of your system) through Gateway. The best bet is to send an e-mail message to gwjohn@gw2kbbs.com with the request - he is handling most of these reports on the Internet. ATI has admitted this condition exists on versions of their GUP board, and is providing support through Gateway 2000. 2.5.2) What are some common monitor problems? This is a common problem reported with ATI boards and many different monitors. It usually shows up as a bright line or band running along the left side of the monitor -- if you have a light or white background it is most visible. This problem is often caused by the monitor overscanning on the left side of the screen. The fix is to remove the overscanning. First you should use your normal monitor controls to try to center the image on the screen as best as you can. This will often help some, but not completely remove the problem. Next, you should use the ATI setup programs to center the board's idea of the screen. To do this, exit to DOS and cd to your ATI driver directory. Now run install and select Set Power-up configuration. Select your monitor type and the resolution you normally run at. Now you should be in the monitor adjustment mode, and should notice that the screen is (apparently) shifted way to the left. Use the controls to center the screen, and save the settings. This should fix the problem. Other people have stated that the video extension cable provided with the Gateway tower systems have caused this problem. You can test this by running the monitor with just the short cable provided with the monitor. If the bright line goes away, you've found the problem. You can either get a new cable from Gateway, or just run the system on the shorter one if it reaches. There are also reports that problems with wavy displays can be caused by the power supply of the computer. In this case, the user had replaced everything in the system without correcting the problem, and replacing the power supply fixed it. One way to isolate this would be to move the monitor away from the system as far as the video cable will allow and see if the problem goes away or changes. You can also try to put some shielding between the system and monitor to see if the problem is reduced. 2.5.3) Who makes the CrystalScan monitors? Gateway gets the CrystalScan monitors from Samsung. Gateway did get them from Mag Innovison. Look on the back for the letters "SAM" in the part number. The CrystalScan 1572 DG model, however, is made by GoldStar and has digital controls. Some of the larger (i.e., 17") CrystalScan monitors now have tubes made by Sony. Thanks to Rich Rauch! 2.5.4) What are the custom settings for the CS1572FS monitor? If you want to adjust the screen position and size, you can use the following settings in the ATI setup program: 640x480 72 Hz 800x600 72 Hz 1024x768 60 Hz 1280x1024 87 Hz 2.5.5) Where can I get the latest drivers for my video card? ATI Video Cards The best location for ATI drivers is ATI itself. You can connect to their internet sites or bulletin board system for drivers. You can also call ATI and the will send you floppies. WWW: http://www.atitech.ca/drivers/drivers.html FTP: ftp://ftp.atitech.ca/pub/support/ BBS: 905-764-9404 Fax: 905-882-2620 Sales: 905-882-2600 Tech Support: 905-882-2626 Diamond Video Cards ftp://ftp.diamondmm.com/pub/display/viper/ - Diamond BBS 2400/14400 baud: 408-325-7080 - Diamond BBS 9600/28800 baud: 408-325-7175 - Diamond Main number: 408-325-7000 - Diamond Tech Support: 408-325-7100 Also, if you have Internet access, the larger FTP sites such as ftp.winsite.com (formerly CICA) and wuarchive.wustl.edu generally have current drivers for many of the popular boards. For example, on ftp.winsite.com, you can look in /pub/pc/win3/drivers/video. The Diamond Viper is unsupported under Windows95. Diamond is offering a trade in program for Viper owners. 2.5.5.1) Can I use the regular Matrox drivers with Gateway's Matrox? According to Eanna Lennon, GW2k Sysop, Europe: "The Drivers are Exactly the same, there is no difference whatsoever." 2.5.5.2) Where can I get Matrox BIOS and driver updates? From the Matrox WWW site: http://www.matrox.com/mgaweb/ftp_mill.htm 2.5.6) Who makes Vivitron monitors? MAG Innovision and Sony. MAGs are made in Taiwan by MAG Innovision (of CrystalScan fame) using Sony Trinitron tubes Sonys are assembled by Sony and tested by Sony and the back panel says "Made by Sony" . You should also find a back-panel plate with something like "Model CPD - xxxxxx", in Sony tradition. Both the MAG and Sony products use a Trinitron tube, which has horizontal curvature -- but no vertical curvature. And the damper wires are visible with some backgrounds (see 2.5.9, below). (Thanks to John Lewis and Martin Basil for making this clear!) 2.5.6.1) What are the specs for the SONY Vivitron monitor made by SONY? From the SONY Vivitron 1776 CPD-17F13 user's guide: CRT - 17-inch diagonal (16 inches visual), 0.25mm aperture grille pitch, 90 deg deflection Resolution - 1280 dots max horizontal; 1024 lines max vertical Display colors - Unlimited Scanning frequency - Horizontal 31.5 to 64 kHz; Vertical 50 to 120 Hz. Display area - 328 x 242 mm (w/h) typical Standard picture size - Approx. 300 x 225 mm (w/h) Power input - 100 to 120 VAC, 50/60 Hz 1.8 A; 220 to 240 VAC, 50-60 Hz 1 A Dimensions - Approx. 406 x 426.5 x 453 mm (w/h/d) Weight - Approx. 19 Kg [about 42 pounds] Certifications - UL, CSA, DHHS, TUV, FCC Class B, BZT, MPR-II, VCCI Power Management - Meets Energy Star requirements. (Thanks to Bev =^.^= Parks!) 2.5.6.2) What's the right way to set up a Vivitron 21 under Windows 95? The Vivitron 21, under Windows 95, should be set up as a Mitsubishi DiamondScan Pro 21. So, under your Display, and Settings, click on Change Display Type, and then on Change under the monitor settings. Click on Show all devices and then choose Mitsubishi on the left, and DiamondScan Pro 21 on the right. (Thanks to Lori Nagel of Gateway 2000.) 2.5.6.3) What are those horizontal black lines on my Sony monitor? This is becoming a frequent question now that Gateway is using monitors with Sony tubes in them. Sony monitors (and OEM monitors that use Sony tubes) have a different way of setting up their phosphor masks. While most monitors use a metal sheet with holes in it, Sony uses a sheet with thin vertical slots. This allows Sony tubes to have a brighter and sharper picture, but this design forces them to put one (or two, depending on the size of the tube) reinforcing wires that run horizontally across the mask. The shadow from these wires are what you see as black lines across the screen. This behavior is most noticeable when you have a light background, and is totally normal for Sony monitors and tubes. 2.5.7) How can I use the capture features on my STB TV Pro card? OK, this program is not the best thing for capturing still images, but with a little work it can be done. If you bring up the remote and click the "capture" button, it will bring up an option to capture video or audio. Choose "video" and it should open an image of the screen. Then if you click "options" then "preview", the image will update and start moving the frames again. When you get to the frame you want, click the "capture a single frame" button, which is the 5th button from the left, or the 1st button in the group of four buttons. After that, click on "file" then "save single frame", which will pop up a box to allow you to give the frame a name and a location to save it to. The program will only save the file as a .dib file. You can then convert the .dib file to a .bmp file with the Windows Imaging program (simply open Windows Imaging, then open the .dib file, then click on "file" and "save as" and choose to save it as a .bmp file). Anyone with Windows can view a .bmp image, but it's not the best format around. If you want to convert the file to a .jpg, I don't know of anything in Windows that will do that, but there are several decent shareware programs available to convert images from almost any format to almost any other. Now, if you got all that and you happen to have the Intel Intercast Software (which came with my system and I imagine comes with all the systems with the TV card), capturing images with it is VERY EASY. If you just open the Intercast program it will have an icon of a camera to the left of the picture. To capture single frames, simply click that camera icon and it will get the frame, assign it a name (based on the channel and the time) and save it as a .bmp in an Intercast subdirectory. MUCH easier. Thanks to Darren <darrenc@crl.com> for writing the bulk of this information. 2.5.8) Why do I have video problems with my tower system and not my desktop? Users have reported that the extension video cable provided by Gateway with their tower systems can sometimes cause video problems such as a wavy display. If your system is close enough to your monitor, just take out the extension cable and use the regular one provided with the monitor. If this fixes the problem, call Gateway for a new cable. 2.5.9) What are some other sources of information? There are plenty sources of information for monitors and their problems. Try the following resources. First, a warning: There are potentially lethal voltages inside a monitor, even after it's been turned off for sometime. So, I am certainly not recommending anyone open up their monitor. Newsgroups, - news://comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.video - news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.video Web pages, - There is a monitor repair FAQ written by Chris Biow that is posted to the newsgroup from time to time and a permanent copy of which is available at http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/Gateway2000/MonitorFAQ.html (Thanks to Chris Biow!) - A more general but very thorough one is found at http://www.paranoia.com/~filipg/HTML/REPAIR/F_mon_repair.html (Thanks to Clint Winstead!) 2.6) Soundcard Questions 2.6.1) Why won't my SoundBlaster card work? The Gateway CD-ROM uses IRQ5 (interrupt 5) by default, and so does the SoundBlaster card. Thus, you need to configure your SoundBlaster card to use a different interrupt. Most people have had success using IRQ7 for their SoundBlaster card even though that is supposedly reserved for the printer. Set the jumpers on the card as shown in the SB manual, then use the sequence [Ctrl-Alt-Esc] to go into the CMOS setup and disable the LPT1 IRQ. Make sure you use interrupt 7 in your AUTOEXEC.BAT driver setup line for the SoundBlaster also. (Thanks to Mike Doel for this information!) Also note that if you are using a program such as LapLink, using IRQ7 for the SoundBlaster will force LapLink into polling mode. You can get around this problem by turning the IRQ on just before using LapLink and then turning it back off when you are done. Since you probably won't be using LapLink and the SoundBlaster at the same time, this shouldn't cause problems, but it is inconvenient. (Thanks to Chaim Frenkel for the information on disabling IRQ7 and LapLink!) Creative Labs also has an FTP site on the Internet which has information about SoundBlaster Cards and other Creative Labs products. The address is - ftp://ftp.creaf.com/ - ftp://creative.creaf.com/ There are also Web sites at, - http://www.creaf.com/. - http://www.soundblaster.com/. 2.6.2 Why won't my Ensoniq card work with DOS games? Win95 set up will REM the lines for the sound card in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Open the file with a text editor or Notepad and delete REM to activate them again. Thanks to Ed Pawlowski! 2.6.3) How do I setup my Aztech soundcard under Windows95? After you install the support software for a Gateway Aztech sound card, the installation program displays a message stating that it is restarting Windows 95. The installation program then reports that it can be installed only in Windows 3.1, and restarts the computer. You may also receive an error message concerning the DMA channel used by the sound card. The support software for this sound card was designed for Windows 3.1 and fails to correctly identify Windows 95. The drivers for the sound card should be installed correctly, even though you received the error message stated above. If you received an error message concerning the DMA channel, follow these steps to verify or adjust the DMA setting: 1. In Control Panel, double-click the System icon. 2. On the Device Manager tab, double-click the Sound, Video, And Game Controllers branch. 3. Click the Aztech sound card, and then click Properties. 4. On the Resources tab, check the DMA setting. If you think the setting may be incorrect for the sound card, consult the sound card's documentation for the correct setting. 2.6.4) Why can't I use two Sidewinder joysticks on my Ensoniq card? If you have a Gateway computer with an Ensoniq Soundscape VIVO sound card, and you're trying to connect two Microsoft Sidewinder 3D Pro joysticks with a Y-cable, you might have problems. Specifically, when you try to calibrate the joysticks, you may get the message in the Control Panel, Joystick Properties that the second joystick is not connected properly. Gateway says to change the Joystick 1 selection to 2-axis, 2-button joystick, and calibrate. Then do the same for Joystick 2. 2.6.5) Why do my Altec Lansing 450 speakers hiss so much? There is a known defect with some of the 450s. You can call Altec Lansing at 1-800-258-3288 and make arrangements for them to add more shielding which will help some or you can call Gateway and get a downgrade to other speakers plus a small rebate or get an RMA to return the speakers. 2.6.9) What are some other sources of information? There are plenty sources of information for sound cards and their problems. Try the following resources. Newsgroups, - comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.misc - news://comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard.tech - news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.multimedia Web pages, - http://www.soundblaster.com/ - http://www.ensoniq.com/ - http://www.faqs.org/faqs/games/incompatibility/cirrus-soundblaster/ 2.6) Hard Drive Questions 2.7.1) How can I get my WD 540 hard drive to work correctly? (This section mainly refers to people who have older (i.e., 486) systems with a BIOS that does not allow for disks with more than 1023 cylinders. If you have a later system (i.e. Pentium) you probably want to look into the section on setting up 32-bit disk access.) Many people with the new WD 540 Meg hard drives are experiencing problems when configuring their drives. The basic problem is that almost all pre-1994 BIOSs do not allow drives with a number of cylinders >= 1024. If you use the auto configure BIOS settings for a WD 540 drive, it will autoconfigure to a value > 1023 cylinders, which will cause format and other DOS programs to fail. The "solution" is to manually configure your drive as follows: Cyl = 1023 Hd = 16 Sec = 63 You will not be able to use the entire 540 meg capacity of your drive, but it will be usable under DOS and Windows. Note that OS/2 versions before Warp 3.0 probably ARE affected by this problem as well. Also, you probably won't run into this problem if your drive is preformatted and pre-configured (i.e., you don't need to run fdisk or format on the drive). You will, however, not be able to have 32bit disk and file access enabled in Windows if your drive is > 1023 Cylinders. Thanks to Richard Leonetti of Micro Firmware for pointing out that the problematic limitation is in the older BIOSs, not DOS itself! 2.7.2) What is the problem with the Western Digital 1.6 Gig drive? Western Digital has announced that there is a problem with some of the WDC AC31600H 1.6 Gig EIDE hard drives. They provide a test utility, WD31600.EXE, to test your drive, but it is currently not availible at their site. It still is (was) on AOL's Western Digital site and it can be found on David S. Eitelbach's FTP site. Just FTP to ftp.crl.com/users/ds/dseitel/gateway/wd_diag.exe, use at your own risk of course! It can also be found in England, courtesy of Michael Humberston at http://www.philomel.demon.co.uk/Diagnostic/wd31600.exe The official information can be found at http://www.wdc.com/products/ac31600-quality.html The technical specs for this drive are at http://www.wdc.com/products/drives/drive- specs/AC31600.html 2.7.3) My Hard Drive/CD-ROM/IDE Controller is gone! Many on the newsgroup will remember that this happened to me recently! This problem manifests itself in various ways, all of which end up with you IDE controller "disapearing" from your Windows system properties. Any IDE device such as a Hard Drive or CD-ROM attached to this device will also disappear. Common errors will occur, like a "blue-screen-of-death" saying, "An exception 0E has occurred at 0028:C100824C in VxD ---. This was called from 0028:C557D9DA in VxD CDVSD(01)+000001C6." Common solutions are a bad controller card, a bad hard drive, or even a bad IDE cable. In my case this was an on board IDE controller. The solution that worked came from (no surprise) Ben Myers. If your system has a MicroFirmware BIOS, then it's a PnP BIOS, no? As such, it is susceptible to incorrect updating of the ESCD by Windows 95. The Extended System Configuration Data is where all the PnP info is stored for use by an operating system. I don't recall whether the MFI BIOS has a function to clear the ESCD, but, if it does, use it. Things will get remarkably better real quick. If your version of BIOS does not have a function to clear the ESCD, then you need to download CLRESCSD.EXE from the gw2k website, and follow the instructions inside to make up a bootable diskette that executes the program that actually clears the ESCD. In any event, after clearing the ESCD and getting your Windows 95 hardware configuration stable again, go into Windows 95 Device Mangler (oops! That's Manager) and check the box that stops Win 95 from updating the ESCD. The Gateway website is at http://www.gateway2000.se/support/techsupt/fb/3100/3124.htm Thanks again to Ben Myers and Carol Horton (who sent me pretty much the same information a few minutes later.) Another solution can be found on Intel's site at http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd/ideinfup.htm 2.7.9) What are some other sources of information? There are plenty sources of information for hard drives and their problems. Try the following resources. Newsgroups, - comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage - news://customernews.gateway.com/gw.desktop-tower.storage-devices Web pages, Peter den Haan maintains the official Enhanced IDE/Fast ATA/ATA2 FAQ. It answers several questions about IDE drives, including IDE vs. SCSI and installing a hard drive in Windows95. This is a very useful resource. Information can be read online or downloaded in text, html, or Adobe format. It is located at, - http://come.to/eide or - http://thef-nym.sci.kun.nl/~pieterh/storage.html le of Contents 2.8) Other Hardware Questions 2.8.1) Why does my P5-60/P5-66/PCI486 machine lock up? (UART fix) Several people have reported this condition when using communications programs on their P5-60 or P5-66 machines (I have also received reports that this has happened on PCI bus 486 machines). This problem is caused by a defective chip provided by Intel on their motherboards. There is a software "fix" that works with Windows for Workgroups 3.11 (available from Microsoft and Gateway on their BBS), but this works only with WfWG. Bob Nick (bnick@HiWAAY.NET) has written a program (uart.com) which will prevent the machine from locking up under DOS, Windows, and OS/2, but it must be run between each communications session to be effective. This program is available from the Gateway BBS as uartfix.exe or by FTP on ftp.sei.cmu.edu along with an accompanying text file. Intel and SMC have admitted the problem exists and that it is generic to many P5 machines. Recent machines (after August, 1994) probably do not exhibit the problem. 2.8.2) I can't access my COM 3 or COM 4 port? Some Gateway computers do not release the IRQ when they are finished using COM1 or COM2. This prevents Windows95 from using COM3 or COM4. To fix this Microsoft suggests that you change the IRQ on the extended COM ports to 2, 5, or 7. In Windows95 use the Device Manager to change the COM port settings. 2.8.3) How do I get my Bernoulli to work on the parallel port (P90 Tower)? This applies to the Gateway P90 Tower and the Bernoulli 90 -- it may give clues to other systems. Go into CMOS at boot-up and change the parallel address to 378 under peripherals -- then go into System and change STARTUP CPU SPEED to Low. After you are finished return both settings to the original. (This hint is from Marilyn Shea - Thanks!) 2.8.4) Why is there a 20-second delay during booting? This is caused by a conflict between your hard drive and CD-ROM drive. Check the jumpers on your CD-ROM drive - your CD-ROM drive should be configured in CS (cable select) mode, rather than Master. Changing the jumper to CS should get rid of the delay. A couple other things to try as well: Reboot the computer and press F1 to enter setup. 1. Highlight Hard Disk C (the model number should be in the box). Choose it and see if the delay options for boot-up are there. It may be under "Boot Options", then "Hard Disk Pre-delay". If so, set to 5 seconds. 2. Go to boot options. Hit enter and you can now set parameters for boot-up of the machine. Make sure that boot options are set to Turbo. (Thanks to Ted Northrop and Bob Mitchell!) -- This Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is Copyright ⌐ 2000 Timothy S. Brannan. All rights reserved. Information has been checked to the best of my ability, but is not guarantied or warrantied in any manner. Unless specificly noted all information has been authored by Tod Pike, David S. Eitelbach, or Timothy S. Brannan. Gateway & Gateway 2000 are Copyright ⌐ 2000 Gateway Inc. All rights reserved. All other images are copyrights owned by their respective companies. This page does not represent the opinions of Gateway2000 or the University of Illinois at Chicago. - Timothy S. Brannan, MS. Ed., Ph.D (ABD) University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Medical Education tbrann1@uic.edu tbrannan@usa.net tbrannan@iname.com The alt.sys.pc-clone.Gateway2000 FAQ http://www.uic.edu/~tbrann1/gateway.html