Help!! Modified DRAM clock speed, now cannot edit BIOS!

I was making some minor adjustments in the BIOS today since I'm a newbie at overclocking. Here's what I did:

1. I decided to take the CPU clock up to 210 from 200 which put my 2.4 ghz CPU at 2.5 ghz. I then rebooted and went in to play BF 1942 to see if the system was stable. It was not, as the game froze as the "EA Games" intro was playing.

2. I reboot, go back into BIOS. I notice that when I upped the CPU clock, the DRAM clock got moved to 420 somehow and I have DDR 400 RAM. Soooo... I searched for the next lowest option, which was 378, and applied that instead. Re-tested, still not stable.

3. I got back into BIOS to change to all original settings. 3 seconds into the BIOS, it FREEZES!!

Through all of this, the only changes I made were noted above. I did not change any voltages, etc.

First of all, what are my options? I cannot play the coolest game ever until I figure this problem out.

Secondly, why won't my CPU overclock just 100 mhz?

I think your RAM couldnt take the extra 10 mhz FSB and thats why it wasnt stable... its highly unlikely that your CPU wont be able to OC 100MHz....i think it could well do 400MHz even on stock cooler...
now, considering it was the RAM that coused the problem, i cant find any other explanation why it wasnt stable even with RAM underclocked, other than the fatc that some mobos have glitches with some dividers....so maybe the 5/4 divider you chose to run, was not working well on your mobo....

Now , about the random lock up in bios I dont know anything and seems weird...I'll let the PROs handle this...

hope I helped...

Does your computer POST at all now? If not, look in your motherboard's manual and find out where your CMOS jumper is. Short it out in accordance with your mobo's instructions and restart your rig, your BIOS settings should all be reset to their defaults.

I'd need to know more about your system to be able to diagnose your OC problems; i.e. - motherboard, ram, vDIMM, etc. However, before overclocking nearly any system nearly any ammount, you need to lock the AGP/PCI bus at 66/33. AGP/PCI cards, as well as anything that runs off the PCI bus, (hard drives, optical drives, etc.) don't overclock well, if at all, they need to be fixed at spec speeds. If your motherboard can't do this, it's not an overclocking platform.

kestrel said:

Does your computer POST at all now? If not, look in your motherboard's manual and find out where your CMOS jumper is. Short it out in accordance with your mobo's instructions and restart your rig, your BIOS settings should all be reset to their defaults.

I'd need to know more about your system to be able to diagnose your OC problems; i.e. - motherboard, ram, vDIMM, etc. However, before overclocking nearly any system nearly any ammount, you need to lock the AGP/PCI bus at 66/33. AGP/PCI cards, as well as anything that runs off the PCI bus, (hard drives, optical drives, etc.) don't overclock well, if at all, they need to be fixed at spec speeds. If your motherboard can't do this, it's not an overclocking platform.

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It starts up normal and runs fine, its just that when I go into the BIOS it freezes. The CMOS jumper solution sounds like it would work though because all I really need to do is get everything back to the original settings.

I can set the AGP speed and the mobo came with an overclocking utility (good ol' Easy Tune 4) so I'm sure it can be OC'd to an extent. I know Easy Tune isn't that great though so I'm just doing it the old fashioned way.

Everything I know about my setup is in my sig.

Could be your RAM, Kingston isn't known for its overclockability. It was probably doing its best just to stay in spec. If your motherboard has GAT, or PAT settings set them to this: Auto, Normal, Auto, Disabled, Disabled. And try increasing your vDIMM voltage a notch or 2. Don't expect to get too much out of that Kingston 3200, though. There is some 3200 that will run at 3700 or even 4000 levels, and there is some that just barely cuts it at 3200. Kingston being of the "value" variety, I would be amazed to see it at over 220 FSB 1:1.

Best of luck.

Reset Cmos and start over. Once you start over you can go through the overclocking process step by step and keep track of what you did, so that you know exactly what causes the problem if one should arise. That is how I do it and although it might take a bit longer it saves time in the end because you will not have to spend time figuring out whats holding you back. The reset cmos jumper is usually near the battery. Hope that helps.
Good Luck.

Matt

I looked for the reset CMOS jumper and here's all I could find, circled in red: http://www.subatomicdesign.com/newpc/mobo2.jpg

It is labeled "CLR CMOS" and below it are what appear to be the 2 settings for it. There is no current jumper on it though so I'm unsure if this is what I'm looking for. There are no other jumpers anywwhere near the battery

Looks as though they left the jumper off. Easy enough to do it anyway though.

Power down. Turn off the rocker switch on your PSU, or pull the plug if there isn't one. Pop out the round CMOS battery, and just to be sure, hit the power switch. I believe that turning on the power switch with no power to the computer will drain the capacitors. The CMOS memory may be totally isolated, and hitting the power switch may make no difference at all. But it can't hurt.

That should clear CMOS, and get you back to normal. If it doesn't, pull the battery again, and give it ten minutes or so.

With most bioses you can hold the 'ins' key on the k/b while you power up the machine and it will revert to cmos defaults. You can then enter the bios and set things right. If it doesn't work you will have to clear the cmos manually. Easiest way to do this is to disconnect the power supply and short the + side of the battery to ground with a screwdriver or other metal object, assuming you don't have the cmos clear jumper on the board.

It is a miracle your 648FX is stable at 200fsb, it is no surprise at all it goes to pieces at 210. The earlier plain-648 chipset went all silly past 150MHz. These aren't Intel chipsets here, and as such are doing good to get to 200fsb in the first place.

If overclocking is a big interest you need to move on to something with an Intel 865pe or 875 chipset, like the Abit IS7/IC7 or the Asus P4P800/P4C800. They will outrun the 648 at any particular clock speed, and will exceed 300fsb in the right circumstances.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll give it a shot today and post the results.

I'm aware that I have somewhat of a "bargain" board and it may not be the best for OC-ing. Its weird that you say its a miracle that its stable at 200 mhz FSB though. That's a factory P4 2.4 right there, which is what I have. So it looks like you're basically telling me mine is pretty much maxed out as it is? Oh well. Good thing I didn't get a faster processor I guess, heh.

Maybe I'll upgrade the mobo next year. I think my RAM is a bigger problem right now. That 256 MB just isn't cutting it.

Ok, fixed the problem.

First, I tried larva's suggestion, but the computer froze when I held down the Ins key on bootup... go figure. I'm guessing that would've worked in any other situation.

So... I tried repoman 111's advice and just took out the battery for a few seconds, drained the power, re-installed the battery, and powered up. The first time, the monitor didn't come on, so I powered off and back on again and everything is dandy and back to normal, woo hoo!

As plain as it is, that POST screen is lovely at times isn't it?

Glad you got it fixed.

i have kingston pc2100 and i can clock it at 210 in the bios so i doubt its the make of ur ram

[BBE]Jimbob said:

i have kingston pc2100 and i can clock it at 210 in the bios so i doubt its the make of ur ram

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Is that standard or HyperX?

I wouldn't doubt its my mobo. I just orded 256MB more RAM so hopefully that will diminish my need to overclock... in the immediate future anyway.