So here’s the situation. I recently helped to build a computer for my dad, with the expertise of my best friend J.M. We had some issues getting it up and running, one problem being with the mobo drivers for the SATA hard drive. It is an ASUS brand model P5S800-VM mobo. As far as I knew ASUS was reliable for making good products. We couldn’t get the SATA drivers to install, which incidentally came on a CD instead of a necessary floppy disk. I called their help line because after extracting the correct drivers from the CD and putting them on a floppy, they still did not work! Their employees passed me around from one department to the next, and eventually hung up on me. I felt loved (not!). So J.M., in his mastery, managed to figure out that the driver files and folders were IMPROPERLY NAMED. The exact name scheme was hard coded (which it should not have been), and ASUS programmers failed to follow the proper name scheme. Thus, their drivers wouldn’t work. Thankfully J.M. managed, and all went well for a while.
More problems arose with my dad’s machine, which upon return to J.M. were undoubtedly fixed, with one exception. The cooling fan to the processor, a P4 3.4 GHz Prescott, was running at around 5,000 rpms even though the temperature was at about 45-50 degrees. We had this problem at one other time and managed to fix it with a Bios update. Here’s where the fun begins. J.M. just couldn’t connect to the ASUS web server so he left that up to my dad. Dad called ASUS for instructions on the Bios update. They simply told him to take the file, unzip it, copy it to a floppy and install the update. He asked the guy on the phone to walk him through it, and the ASUS worker refused. Dad then just repeated the instructions he was told, just to be sure, and the employee said his instructions were correct. The install has destroyed his Bios, and the computer will not start. Thanks to ASUS in their infinite wisdom. Turns out, that my dad found bios update instructions all too late, and was supposed to have RENAMED THE FILES before the install !!! Sounds familiar doesn’t it.
So Dad called ASUS and told them about the problem. This employee said that he would have a new bios chip sent to him, and would e-mail the tracking # to him. Of course, this never happened. Dad called a few days later, and there was no record of a new chip getting sent to my dad. They just lied to him. Every time dad calls ASUS, he gets passed from one person to the next, with no results. Every time he gets to their “bios department” he gets voicemail, and never gets a returned call. Could they be giving him the “run-around”, I think so. Just like when we needed help for the SATA drivers. As you might expect, my dad is thoroughly frustrated with ASUS and their antics. With such a good name, we expect good service.
I originally chose the mobo because it was one of the few 775 chipsets with AGP support on the board. Most of the other mobos use the newer video card slot. I guess I’d like some advice or pointers for the best fix for this computer. In all sincerity, thank you for your time.
More problems arose with my dad’s machine, which upon return to J.M. were undoubtedly fixed, with one exception. The cooling fan to the processor, a P4 3.4 GHz Prescott, was running at around 5,000 rpms even though the temperature was at about 45-50 degrees. We had this problem at one other time and managed to fix it with a Bios update. Here’s where the fun begins. J.M. just couldn’t connect to the ASUS web server so he left that up to my dad. Dad called ASUS for instructions on the Bios update. They simply told him to take the file, unzip it, copy it to a floppy and install the update. He asked the guy on the phone to walk him through it, and the ASUS worker refused. Dad then just repeated the instructions he was told, just to be sure, and the employee said his instructions were correct. The install has destroyed his Bios, and the computer will not start. Thanks to ASUS in their infinite wisdom. Turns out, that my dad found bios update instructions all too late, and was supposed to have RENAMED THE FILES before the install !!! Sounds familiar doesn’t it.
So Dad called ASUS and told them about the problem. This employee said that he would have a new bios chip sent to him, and would e-mail the tracking # to him. Of course, this never happened. Dad called a few days later, and there was no record of a new chip getting sent to my dad. They just lied to him. Every time dad calls ASUS, he gets passed from one person to the next, with no results. Every time he gets to their “bios department” he gets voicemail, and never gets a returned call. Could they be giving him the “run-around”, I think so. Just like when we needed help for the SATA drivers. As you might expect, my dad is thoroughly frustrated with ASUS and their antics. With such a good name, we expect good service.
I originally chose the mobo because it was one of the few 775 chipsets with AGP support on the board. Most of the other mobos use the newer video card slot. I guess I’d like some advice or pointers for the best fix for this computer. In all sincerity, thank you for your time.
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