Dirtbike

My daughter (who did NOT update the protective programs!) got problem and asked me to fix it - preferably in 5 minutes… To do this I formatted the hard disk and tried to reinstall Windows. That will not happen. I boot with the Windows XP CD-ROM and it starts as supposed. Then it just starts rebooting. It says: "Press any key to boot from CD …" when I don't do anything (because if I do the same procedure starts again!) it tells me (in Swedish): "Invalid system-disc" "I/O-disc-error" "Change disc and press any key" "(two squared smiling faces) (the female icon) DIRTBIKE.BM_" "(one squared smiling face)" Press any disk to boot from CD …" and so forth. I have tried to clean the BIOS by taking the battery from the mainboard for a couple of minutes. Has the mainboard itself in some way been harmed or what has happened? AND WHAT CAN I DO???

Hmmm….Seems like someone has messed with your Windows CD…Try getting one from someone else and see what happens. Regards, Firecat

Duritzan, i feel what you went through with having to deal with the problem. I am currently in the same situation that you were in (getting the smiley face and female icon with DIRTBIKE.BM_). I suspect that the virus which caused me to reformat has somehow damaged my hardware… I cannot install windows and have yet to test if the hardware is the problem. Other than that, I dont know what to. Im thinking of buying a new computer (most likely a *mac*), but I would like to know how to resolve the problem - preferably without spending any more money or as little as possible, so if there is any information you have found out and could pass on to me, it would be greatly appreciated.

hmm.. thats one I have not seen. First off, is your copy of windows legit? Secondly, {{{{Write down your BIOS settings before doing this}}}} clearing CMOS by removing the battery is one way (however its usually 5 minutes atleast to reset by removing battery) . You might also check the board closely for a CMOS jumper. It will say something similar to this: CMOS 1-2 normal 2-3 reset/clear. To use this, move the jumper (just like on the back of a drive to set it to master/slave/CS) to the number 2-3 position (the number one pin will either show a small number 1 by it or have a small arrow pointing at it) Power up… it wont boot to anything at all.. screen will stay black. Then power down… move the jumper back to original setting and reboot. You will need to enter BIOS (setup) and make sure you set things back how you need them.

alright. so all of that has been done and i've tried using 3 ligitimate copies of windows. what im doing now is using someone elses motherboard and see if theres any change. if i can figure it out crow, ill let u know what the prooblem is, since it seems like a nasty virus that needs to be noticed.

king ton-

Switching mobo's will make you have to register your copy of Windows again. If you cleared CMOS yet to no avail, then update BIOS. Go to manufacturer of mobo (mother board) site and download and flash BIOS. I must warn you however, do not loose power during flash or you will have yourself a very expensive door stop. Same thing will happen if you do not download the correct update for your specific BIOS. To make sure you get the right update, open tower and write the version of board down along with any serial numbers you find. Or, right at first boot, it will show the BIOS version and date as shown here.

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