Hello list, This message is lengthy - which is why it is OFF TOPIC. It pertains to hardware conflicts - which I'll get to in a minute - and why the plea for help. I'm looking for a hardware engineer to help me verify BIOS and to help me compose a letter to my reseller's engineer where I am trying to exchange this hardware, all of which is under warranty. I don't know how to talk to this guy; he doesn't read what I write, he sends stock "help desk" answers - which isn't as helpful as my ISP's customer support. To begin with I talked to the reseller's tech staff and customer support several times BEFORE I ordered anything. I was assured that the configuration would work and I would be happy; no hardware conflicts with what I wanted to order. I was warned that the K6-3 had problems with the tri-level cache processing certain types of mathematical computations - AMD wouldn't support it -, and it was suggested that I order the K6-2 instead. Armed with this information, I ordered the Tyan 1590s[VIA chipset], K62-500 and 2-64MB P-100. I requested that they assemble the board and burn it. They didn't. The board arrived with 1 DIMM, a noisy CPU fan and the heat sensor clip (power) installed between the CPU and fan. A friend who builds computers took the fan and CPU apart, installed the board and set the BIOS. The AMD CPU fan was replaced with a Pentium fan without a heat sensor. This machine has been a pain since I turned it on. I've replaced 4 new drives since February. I get black streaks across the desktop. I have trouble holding a net connection. The box locks, crashes and I see blue screens all too frequently. Linux isn't stable and neither is W98. Incidentally, the CPU/new fan now sounds like chattering squirrels . As I was concerned about heat because the heat sensor on the CPU is missing, I added a case cooler, slot cooler for the video card, and bay cooler for the 3-drives I would like to use. The temp stays around 40 degrees consistently regardless of how long the box runs. Finally out of utter frustration I started surfing AMD and TYAN looking for answers. Tyan supports the board. AMD does not recommend the 500 CPU on this board, and lists the boards that does support. this configuration. I went back to the hardware seller site and found a comment board for the motherboard. One of the messages posted talked specifically about the problems I am having. I contacted the author and explained the problem; sent him the reply from my hardware provider and he suggested he could try to help me. [He is the senior engineer for a large telco.] He indicated the problem is one that no one wants to talk about: the bridge on the the VIA chipset doesn't work with the speed of the P-100 correctly and causes the kind of problems I am having. [This explains why the same board with a 350CPU and EDO RAM runs flawlessly.] He first had me check the jumpers and straps on the board. They are correct, as is the multiplier and RAM speed. However, in checking I found one of my DIMMS was weak and removed it - which did help to stablize the system some - but I still have a long way to go. Before Labor Day he sent me a list of things to check on the BIOS. He said if the BIOS checked out he would help me write a reply to the reseller's engineer that he would understand. I sent the information about the BIOS back to him before the holiday. There has been no reply since. I am in limbo. I can't setup Mandrake and I can't keep Winslop running. I don't know anything about BIOS and I don't know what to tell the reseller. I have all the messages pertaining to hardware specs and the letter from the reseller's engineer. I want to exchange boards and upgrade RAM to a better quality. I would be very grateful for any help. If there ever was a testimonial to knowing your hardware before you purchase it, this is a perfect example. Thanks and sorry for the length, Pj
