Windows 2000 (fresh install, won't save drivers) - Tech Support Forums

Xorcist · September 8th, 2004, 05:57 AM

I've got a machine here which Windows 2000 installs on just fine, and for the devices it has built in drivers for, sets them up fine. However any drivers I have to install myself, only work during the current session (if a reboot is not required). As soon as I reboot, the system seems to revert to it's previous state.

Here is a list of devices not setup by Windows:
Linksys LNE100TX v5.1
NVidia GeForce MX400
US Robotics Data Fax Pro

This entire matter is baffling... right now I'm connected to my ISP and typing this message from the machine in question. So I know the NIC driver is good, but once I reboot it'll be gone...

Note that both Windows 98 SE and SuSE 8.0 Linux ran absolutely fine and could see all the attached devices. I've tried two completely seperate Windows 2000 installation CDs, one SP2 another SP3, both result in the same problems.

anyone have any ideas?

AgentCrypto · September 8th, 2004, 12:48 PM

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Xorcist · September 8th, 2004, 04:10 PM

Could you explain what exactly in service pack 4 will fix this issue?
Is this a known problem with certain components or motherboards?

I just updated my BIOS to see if that would correct the issue, now every time I reboot it refinds a "new" floppy drive and asks me to reboot. Obviously something is not getting saved here or is reverting to a previous state upon boot.

P.S. My Motherboad is a Soyo 6VBA133.

Xorcist · September 8th, 2004, 06:55 PM

Okay I just reinstalled, again... this time with a network adapter and video card I knew 2000 had built in drivers for. Both devices come up fine, and they work like they should. However, Windows is still not saving my information. I changed my video settings from 16bit (640x480) to 32bit (1024x768) and that was fine until I rebooted! Then it went back to the default setting as if Windows had just been installed!

Why would Windows not be saving info? I've run tests on the systems memory and hard drive and things seem to be okay. What else could it be?

I noticed that the Device Manager won't let me change any resource settings for any device. The option to de-select use automatic settings is greyed out.

Could this be an issue with having SuSE previously installed?

P.S. Installing Service Pack 4 killed the machine. It gets as far as loading up the Windows screen with the blue progress bar, once it reaches the end it shoots up an error and reboots.

Xorcist · September 8th, 2004, 08:38 PM

Okay... well hows this for backasswards...

After reading through many posts on various newsgroups. It turns out that newer Soyo AwardBIOS revisions are the culprit. So I reverted to an older one, VBA-2BA5 to be exact, and now my settings are getting saved properly. I'm going to attempt the rebuild the machine now with the original hardware I had in it.

Chuckiechan · September 9th, 2004, 12:41 PM

The fact that sp 4 killed the machine means you (probably) have a hardware issue.

I would do the following:

Take everything out except the video card.

Re format and re load win2k, running at "fail safe defaults" in bios.
next, install your board drivers from the CD that came from your board
then sp 4

see where you are there...

I kind of wonder if your CD rom is throwing bad files. You have a problem I've never seen before, so it is likely to be a corrupt OS load, IMO...

Xorcist · September 11th, 2004, 01:54 AM

Chuckie... did you read the very last post I made? It was the BIOS. In fact any BIOS newer than VBA-2BA5 will cause the same issue with Soyo SY-6VBA133 motherboards (I tested it out). The reason SP4 killed the machine was because it overwrote system files, yet was unable to save the necessary registry settings etc. Windows 2000 is working flawlessly now. It was just weird that I had to go backwards to fix the problem...

PresterJohn · September 11th, 2004, 01:58 AM

i'm glad you got your problem resolved.

reading your post however, only reinforces my opinion that soyo boards should be avoided. IMO, soyo has seen their market share drop in the last couple of years...i don't have any hard numbers to back it up. just that i see fewer and fewer posts of people doing builds with their boards. that and fewer and fewer reviews from many tech sites as well.

it isn't that soyo makes bad boards...just that if you want a bargain board, there are others brands doing a much better job in that niche. and for those looking for a mid or high end board, there are other choices as well.

cheers.

John Prophet · September 11th, 2004, 02:32 AM

2 bad...cuz soyo was rockin there for a while....hope their QC hasnt declined