DOS Doctor Tales

Recently I was asked to look at a newly upgraded Computer which was now unable to connect to the Internet. Nothing special about that sort of service call, I would get at least five of those or more a month. The owner was waiting with the Computer already turned fired up eager to get on with the job in the shortest time possible.

I always restart the Computer when I attend to any fault as it gives me the opportunity to study any error messages or other start-up problems. You would be amazed how many owners will say when I point out some error message on the screen “Oh I just ignore that! “

The Computer started without any sign of error until the loading of Windows commenced. Then there were various messages concerning missing programs and drivers. A quick look at the "Device Manager" confirmed my suspicions that some devices were not functioning correctly. The owner also now informed me that his USB scanner appeared not to function either. It appeared that the old Hard Drive had been simply copied to the new one without any attempt to update drivers and more importantly the chipset of the new motherboard.

What many people who "upgrade" Computers fail to understand is that the Operating System must be made aware of the chipset and other devices on the motherboard if the machine is to run smoothly. In this case we had a Computer with a 2002 motherboard running a 4 year old Operating system (Windows 98SE) which could not possibly understand about devices and chipsets invented after itself.

The first software to install after installing the Operating system is the Chipset drivers which are found on the CD ROM that accompanies the Motherboard. In this case there was no new installation of Windows and the owner was unaware of how to, or in fact there was, a procedure to complete the software portion of the upgrade.. This is not unusual as most people just focus on Hardware items and neglect the Software.. Easier to blame "Microsoft"

The simple way to install the Chipset Divers is just to run the CD ROM and install the software however this leaves registry entries for the old Motherboard and devices not now installed. A more professional approach is to delete the "ENUM" key which a major registry entry and let Windows "discover" the devices again.

A detailed explanation of this procedure is given in my "Ask the DOS Doctor section" in the article..

How to successfully upgrade (Look at the Software section)

I deleted this key and let Windows discover all the devices (after numerous "reboots" and requests for CD ROM's). Now we finally had no errors in the device manager, USB was correct for the new Motherboard and the modem was now detected and software reinstalled so it would function correctly. The Video display however was still not functioning correctly. An error I had not informed the owner about as yet. The display was only 256 colours and I could not adjust it from the "Display / Properties / Settings".

I asked the owner for the VGA Driver CD ROM and he said he did not have one for this upgrade only from the old computer. Upon closer inspection of the Motherboard CD ROM I discovered that there was a section for VGA drivers and in fact the correct driver was available and once loaded the display was able to be set to the normal colours and 800 x 600 resolution.What the owner had not been made aware of when he had the Computer upgraded was that the VGA was not a card but an "on-board" Integrated circuit which used some of the system RAM for its own. As he had 256mB RAM I set the VGA to use 32mB leaving 224mB for Windows and the various applications.

He was disappointed to learn that he had a situation which would mean he could not "upgrade" the VGA without replacing the Motherboard. I did no dare tell him also he had been supplied with a 5400 RPM Hard Disk Drive rather than the more modern 7200 RPM Drive. It really does pay to engage someone who you can trust and who is honest with you about what you are getting for your money.

If you are interested in some suggestions on how to upgrade Hardware please see the following article. How to successfully upgrade

The owner was now happy with the end result but a little wiser regarding what you actually get for your money when going for the cheaper price..



		The Hardware upgrade from Hell


	In the normal course of my work I get to see some interesting situations regarding Computer configurations and equipment. Many of these have been recommended by friends who many times have not much more knowledge than the end user but feel they are "experts" until something goes wrong. Recently I was asked to look at a newly upgraded Computer which was now unable to connect to the Internet. Nothing special about that sort of service call, I would get at least five of those or more a month. The owner was waiting with the Computer already turned fired up eager to get on with the job in the shortest time possible. I always restart the Computer when I attend to any fault as it gives me the opportunity to study any error messages or other start-up problems. You would be amazed how many owners will say when I point out some error message on the screen “Oh I just ignore that! “ The Computer started without any sign of error until the loading of Windows commenced. Then there were various messages concerning missing programs and drivers. A quick look at the "Device Manager" confirmed my suspicions that some devices were not functioning correctly. The owner also now informed me that his USB scanner appeared not to function either. It appeared that the old Hard Drive had been simply copied to the new one without any attempt to update drivers and more importantly the chipset of the new motherboard. What many people who "upgrade" Computers fail to understand is that the Operating System must be made aware of the chipset and other devices on the motherboard if the machine is to run smoothly. In this case we had a Computer with a 2002 motherboard running a 4 year old Operating system (Windows 98SE) which could not possibly understand about devices and chipsets invented after itself. The first software to install after installing the Operating system is the Chipset drivers which are found on the CD ROM that accompanies the Motherboard. In this case there was no new installation of Windows and the owner was unaware of how to, or in fact there was, a procedure to complete the software portion of the upgrade.. This is not unusual as most people just focus on Hardware items and neglect the Software.. Easier to blame "Microsoft" The simple way to install the Chipset Divers is just to run the CD ROM and install the software however this leaves registry entries for the old Motherboard and devices not now installed. A more professional approach is to delete the "ENUM" key which a major registry entry and let Windows "discover" the devices again. A detailed explanation of this procedure is given in my "Ask the DOS Doctor section" in the article.. How to successfully upgrade (Look at the Software section) I deleted this key and let Windows discover all the devices (after numerous "reboots" and requests for CD ROM's). Now we finally had no errors in the device manager, USB was correct for the new Motherboard and the modem was now detected and software reinstalled so it would function correctly. The Video display however was still not functioning correctly. An error I had not informed the owner about as yet. The display was only 256 colours and I could not adjust it from the "Display / Properties / Settings". I asked the owner for the VGA Driver CD ROM and he said he did not have one for this upgrade only from the old computer. Upon closer inspection of the Motherboard CD ROM I discovered that there was a section for VGA drivers and in fact the correct driver was available and once loaded the display was able to be set to the normal colours and 800 x 600 resolution.What the owner had not been made aware of when he had the Computer upgraded was that the VGA was not a card but an "on-board" Integrated circuit which used some of the system RAM for its own. As he had 256mB RAM I set the VGA to use 32mB leaving 224mB for Windows and the various applications. He was disappointed to learn that he had a situation which would mean he could not "upgrade" the VGA without replacing the Motherboard. I did no dare tell him also he had been supplied with a 5400 RPM Hard Disk Drive rather than the more modern 7200 RPM Drive. It really does pay to engage someone who you can trust and who is honest with you about what you are getting for your money. If you are interested in some suggestions on how to upgrade Hardware please see the following article. How to successfully upgrade The owner was now happy with the end result but a little wiser regarding what you actually get for your money when going for the cheaper price..