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I just bought the pieces for a Novatech computer. It is an Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/HDMI AM2 Motherboard - DDR2 - Nforce 780a Sli. G.Skill PK 4GB (2×2GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066 MHz Dual Channel Kit. The motherboard information says it supports 1066 MHz ddr2 RAM, but it won’t run stable at 1066mhz, so I put it on 800mhz and it runs. Because it does say it will run at 1066 MHz I sent it back to Novatech and they sent it back supposedly repaired, but it still runs at 800 MHz and they say they have changed the motherboard. I don’t want to deal with Novatech - how do I sort this out?

I’ve edited down your questions to just the details - if I have missed anything important, please let me know. Even if your motherboard can support 1066 MHz of RAM, there may be other reasons why it is still showing 800 MHz.

Often, when you put in 1066 MHz RAM, your computer will automatically see it as 800 MHz rather than defaulting right to 1066. You often have to go into the BIOS and tweak around to get it working the way you want. Is there anything on your system that you can disable - things like energy savings features or things in the BIOS that might be down-clocking the CPU? How does the BIOS list the normal operating frequency? What happens when you try to adjust it to 1066? Does it just stay at 800, or does the system crash?  Have you set up the timing and voltage as recommended - others have set it at 5-5-5-18 2.2v?

Flash BIOS

It seems that you have just gotten this motherboard - if so, then the BIOS should be updated. If this is an older motherboard, updating the BIOS may help you increase it to 1066 MHz.  Flashing the BIOS is not without its perils, so be sure that you have everything you need and your system backed up before you try. We have an article that will show you how to flash the BIOS here on our site.

RAM Timing

Have you checked the RAM timing one by one? Try taking one stick out and booting with one stick of RAM. Check the RAM timing - you may have to set the timing manually. If that RAM works, put the other one in and see what the timing says. Doing it one by one will let you troubleshoot any issues individually.

Is this a deal breaker for you? You may find that 800 is working fine for your needs. If you do want to get the full 1066 out of your system, to know exactly what you may need to tweak in the BIOS you might need to contact the manufacturer and explain your problem. It sounds as if they have given your system the ability to support 1066, and now you just need to figure out how to get there.

Which virus scanner scans the BIOS?

Viruses that attack the BIO are possible, but they are very rare. Are you having issues with the BIOS, or are you just trying to protect your system? BIOS viruses were much more common in the early days of DOS and Win 1. With Windows 95 and later systems, BIOS viruses became harder to develop, although they can still be made by having the virus piggyback on another system and can become harmful if you flash the BIOS to a more recent copy without getting rid of it on the hard drive first.

Fixmbr

If you think that you might have a boot sector virus, you can use the fixmbr command in the Recovery Console in Windows XP. You will usually see symptoms of a boot sector virus - you will probably unable to start the operating system and will usually see error messages. If you want to use the fixmbr command, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows Setup CD in the CD ROM.
2. Make sure that your computer starts from the CD.
3. Press R to start the Recovery Console.
4. You will need to select the installation that you want to repair - usually it is 1 if you only have one installation on your machine.
5. Enter the Administrative Password. If you don’t have one, leave it blank and press Enter.
6. At the prompt, type in: fixmbr. The program will run and fix your master boot record.

Flash the BIOS

You can flash the BIOS to an updated version and that should get rid of any nasties that are residing in your BIOS. This is a rather involved process that requires that you reinstall your operating system, so don’t do this if you only suspect you have a problem. If you need information about your BIOS system, you can download BIOS Agent from the web. You want to make sure that you disconnect your hard drive when you do this so that it doesn’t simply overwrite any viruses onto the new BIOS version. Follow these steps:

1. Scan your system for viruses using your standard antivirus procedures.
2. Back up your data to a disk or USB drive.
3. Shut down the affected computer.
4. Find a clean computer and go to the website for the motherboard for a desktop, or the laptop manufacturer and find the BIOS update on the site. Download this to the disk or USB drive.
5. On the affected computer, open the case and disconnect the hard drive. You don’t have to remove it completely.
6. Insert the CD or flash drive and make sure it is booting from that device.
7. Reboot the system and wait for the reboot to finish completely - interrupting the process can be deadly for your computer.
8. Once the computer has finished the process, you can reconnect the hard drive and reboot the computer.
9. You can then reformat the hard drive and reinstall your operating system.
10. It should now run normally once again.

Unless you are experiencing major computer problems, you are probably not infected with a BIOS virus. Running your normal virus scans and antimalware programs should keep you well protected.