Graphics card?

[The Wise Monkey]

I think zburns has the right idea about clearing/updating the BIOS, so give that a try first, but you could always see if you can run a repair on XP after booting from the CD - this repairs the core OS files without deleting any files or applications.

[Justin1121]

Okay I am going to try clearing the bios and I could not find anything in my manual about flashing the bios. I will take another look.

[Justin1121]

Well clearing my bios didnt do anything.

[zburns]

After you used the jumper to clear the BIOS, what did you do next?

[Justin1121]

Well I actually just took the battery out for a little while. But after I did that I just turned the computer back on and everything was the same.

[zburns]

According to your build list, your mobo is Gbyte GA P55 UD3R. The mobo manual available from the web site gives specific instructions for clearing the CMOS. The pertinent page on this version of the manual is page 30 and here is what it says to do:

-------------------------------------- beginning of instruction.
CLR_CMOS (Clearing CMOS Jumper) --Title of the page.

Use this jumper to clear the CMOS values (e.g. date information and BIOS configurations) and reset the CMOS values to factory defaults. To clear the CMOS values, place a jumper cap on the two pins to temporarily short the two pins or use a metal object like a screwdriver to touch the two pins for a few seconds.
Open: Normal
Short: Clear CMOS Values
• Always turn off your computer and unplug the power cord from the power outlet before clearing the CMOS values.
• After clearing the CMOS values and before turning on your computer, be sure to remove the jumper cap from the jumper. Failure to do so may cause damage to the motherboard.
• After system restart, go to BIOS Setup to
load factory defaults (select Load Optimized Defaults) or
manually configure the BIOS settings (refer to Chapter 2, "BIOS
Setup," for BIOS configurations).
------------------------------------------------ end of instruction.

The above instructions should be in your manual that came with the mobo. I do not know how you removed the battery, put it back in and had the same thing.

I suggest you find the above instructions in your manual, and, redo the process according to the instructions. See if that helps.

The manual has a separate section on BIOS Updates, Sect 4-2. I have skimmed it quickly. I will read thru it several times and make some comments in the morning.

Everything I have read about BIOS updates warns you to be very careful; if not bad things can happen to your computer or the mobo.

[Justin1121]

Hmm I missed those intructions in the intruction manual. I just read something that removing the battery would do the same thing. Tomorrow I will look through the manual some more and try those intructions and see if they work.

[zburns]

In all these pages I never asked what kind of anti virus program, malware and firewall software are you using? A virus or malware could be causing the split letters and / or the crashing.

Sect 4-2 BIOS Update Utilities from Gigabyte manual for GA P55 UD3R mobo has three topics:

1. Dual Bios, simply put means two separate Bios chips, one of them a backup which is not accessible manually (whatever that means). The backup automatically replaces the main bios on the next boot after a "corrupt" event is detected. This means that "clearing the Bios" is replaced by the backup Bios since "clearing and refreshing" the bios is esentially what the backup does.

2. Q-Flash. As long as you can enter the BIOS on your mobo and manipulate options on the menus and submenus, you can use Q-Flash to do an update. The instructions are written assuming a floppy drive installed which I doubt you have. Use a USB flash drive (a removable drive) instead but probably it has to be first in boot order in the Bios boot menu.

The instructions on using Q-Flash seem straight forward, less than two pages long.

3. @BIOS. Here is what the manual says: "@BIOS allows you to update the system BIOS while in the Windows environment. @BIOS will download the latest BIOS file from the nearest @BIOS server site and update the BIOS."

There is one page of instructions for @BIOS.

My comment: Not sure you can use @BIOS because your computer is not operable. You had asked about Windows downloading this update automatically. Presumably, if anyone downloaded it and made a mistake, it would cause a problem of some kind, for example "crashing".

Summary: I am not sure I would update the BIOS with the Oct 30 update just yet. Wise Monkey suggested a "repair" of Windows XP; that sounds like a good idea and should be done. The breaking up of your letters in BIOS sounds like a Video problem; so trying another video card makes sense (process of elimination).

The Oct 30 update explanation refers to "memory enhancement" --whatever it means. If it means your RAM is dropping data, that might mean crashing. So it would be helpful for you to know more about the update.

More about the BIOS update. Most anything you read about bios updates says something like "do not do it unless you have to--too risky".

Conclusion: The letters being split in half are the obvious thing to clear up; when it is cleared up, you can actually "see it". If you have access to a compatible and simple video card that you know worked, that would be real easy to install. I do not think the letters being split are a Windows software problem.

The crashing is another story. If something was downloaded just before the crashing, an hour before, even a day before, I would tend to look in that direction. Repairing XP is a good idea.

If you do the BIOS update, really read the manual instructions repeatedly until you are certain you understand them; talk to Gigabyte techsupport and ask them specifically what the update does for your mobo.

[Justin1121]

Well I must thank you for all of your help. I will try everything you say and hopefully it fixes it. But once again thank you seem to have spent a lot of time on it.

[Justin1121]

Well I got some good news and some bad news. I just turned on my computer and it decided to work. But I don't know what I did to fix it and I am afraid it will happen again though I will keep my fingers crossed.