PLUG AND PLAY CONFIGURATION ERROR AND CAN'T ACCESS F2 SETUP

Question

have dimension 8100 with windows ME. turned off the intergrated NIC because it stopped working and installed a d-link nic card a while ago.  d-link worked poorly, so I connected my cable modem with USB.  This worked well.  Now I just bought a Dell laptop and router.  The router needs to be connected to the desktop via the nic card for both dektop and laptop to work thru the router.  I atttempted to see if I could get the intergrated card working.  I entered setup and put the setting to ON for the intergrated NIC card.  I save and exited and the screen went black and stated 'Plug and Play Configuration Error' 3x's.  I rebooted and hit F2 to get into setup, but it won't let me and just goes right to the 'plug and play configuration error' 3x's....anyone know how to fix this? please help!!!

x_lab rat · Answer

Remove the PCI NIC card.  The conflict you apparently invoked is that you can't have 2 NICs both enabled.   Then it should F2 and let you turn off or test the onboard NIC.  Before you put the PCI NIC back in, turn the onboard one off.   Not saying that will work unconditionally, it's just the path I would take at this point.

soul10 · Answer

thanks for the repsonse.  I took the pci nic card out, but still getting the same thing.  Still just lists plug and play configuration error 3x's, and will not allow me to enter setup.  Anything else I could try.  I am not opposed to losing any data on my hard drive.  I just want to be able to get this desktop up and running so I can access the internet.  Any addtional input would be greatly appreciated.

NVRambo · Answer

-Unplug the tower.
-PCI NIC out.
-Hard drive, CDROMs, Floppy ribbon cables unplugged from system board.
-Network cable disconnected.

This should force a boot error and give the system nothing to do but enter BIOS with F2. Once in BIOS:

-ALT+F to reset BIOS to defaults.

-CAPS/NUM/SCROLL lock keys ALL enabled, then ALT+E to clear the mb NVRAM.

-ESC then enter to exit saving changes.

(expect various error messages upon exit)

-Unplug tower

-Reconnect all drive ribbon cables. Attempt boot to Windows.

-If successful, reconnect network cable to tower and attempt reboot.

Good luck.

Message Edited by NVRambo on 12-04-200610:26 AM

soul10 · Answer

thanks for the help NVRambo.  I will try it tonight and see how it goes.  Hopefully this will work.  I pitched this problem at my IT guy at work and he was stumped.

NVRambo · Answer

The Intel 850 board in the 8100 is, well, "temperamental" in my experience. Any AGP or PCI card could cause that error, or even the onboard NIC if it were going bad.

Or, inserting a card can sometimes cause BIOS POST errors like you're seeing, and the system simply doesn't want to let go of the problem or be cleared.

Good luck.

soul10 · Answer

Well I tried what you said but no go.  Still getting the same message and will not let me get into setup.  Is there anyway to get the pc to read the floppy drive prior to the pc seeing the configuration issue?  If so, could I use my pc at work, goto dell and get updated bios saved onto a floppy then plug the floppy into my pc?  Not sure what else to try...any aditional suggestions would be great.

NVRambo · Answer

At this point I'd just remove the CMOS battery on the motherboard for, say, 10 minutes or more. Then return it to the board and try again.   No, you won't be able to boot to a floppy because the system isn't clearing POST, which has to occur before *any* drives can be accessed/read.

soul10 · Answer

I did take the CMOS battery out the other day when I was messing with it, but not for more then a minute or so.  I will leave it out for at least 10 minutes and give it a whirl....thanks again.

paolo66uk · Answer

open your pc remove all the memory cards except for one and reboot if it boots ok if not remove the card you left in it is the one that is faulty and replace the other onr ones there you go ole remember boot up with only one memory card in it and interchange ok it will solve your problem then replace the faulty memory card with a new one ....

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PLUG AND PLAY CONFIGURATION ERROR AND CAN'T ACCESS F2 SETUP

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