Back up to cd

your stuck at the boot from DVD, you must boot form C to finish installation.

What happens when you turn the computer on?

If the bios is working enough to enable you to boot from a CD download the new bios from asus along with there AFUDOS.exe flash utility and make a bootable CD and copy both to it.

If the bios is completly none functional you should be getting this msg when you turn the computer on,
Boot Block Compatible Version Ver .010
Bad BIOS checksum. Starting BIOS Recovery
Checking for floppy . .
Floppy not found
Checking for CD rom . . .
CD not found
Checking for floppy . .
Floppy not found
Checking for CD rom . . .
CD not found

Repeat adinfinitum.
If this is the case you need download the most recent BIOS from compaq and either copy it to a bootable CD if you have this capability or buy a floppy drive for $5 and make a bootable floppy on a working computer and copy this BIOS file to it. Then rename the bios file to A8N32SLI.ROM.

You may not even need make the floppy bootable but I would just in case.

Stick the floppy in the drive turn the computer on and you will see

Boot Block Compatible Version Ver .010
Bad BIOS checksum. Starting BIOS Recovery
Checking for floppy . . .
Floppy found.
Reading file "A8N32SLI.ROM" . Completed.
Start Erasing...
Start programing . . ./
Please turn off your system and power on again to get system back.

and happy days will be here.

anaging and updating your BIOS
The following utilities allow you to manage and update the motherboard
Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) setup.
1.
ASUS EZ Flash
(Updates the BIOS using a floppy disk during POST.)
2.
ASUS AFUDOS
(Updates the BIOS in DOS mode using a bootable floppy
disk.)
3.
ASUS CrashFree BIOS 2
(Updates the BIOS using a bootable floppy
disk or the motherboard support CD when the BIOS file fails or gets
corrupted.)
4.
ASUS Update
(Updates the BIOS in Windows
®
environment.)
Refer to the corresponding sections for details on these utilities.


prepare the motherboard support CD or the floppy disk containing the updated motherboard BIOS before using this utility.
• Make sure that you rename the original or updated BIOS file in the
floppy disk to K8NVM.ROM.

Recovering the BIOS from the support CD
To recover the BIOS from the support CD:
1. Remove any floppy disk from the floppy disk drive, then turn on the
system.
2. Insert the support CD to the optical drive.
3. The utility displays the following message and automatically checks
the floppy disk for the original or updated BIOS file.
4. Restart the system after the utility completes the updating process.
DO NOT shut down or reset the system while updating the BIOS! Doing
so can cause system boot failure!

more details read http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/sock754/K8N-VM/e2537_k8n-vm.pdf

Is there a floppy in your floppy drive ... or a cd in your cd drive?

The hard disk on your laptop is a SATA, which a generic XP install disk doesn't support. You will either have to create a custom XP install disk by adding to it the required drivers as explained here
http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install-Windows-XP-On-SATA-Without-a-Floppy-F6-47807.shtml
or you could load them to an USB stick and when prompted by the install to load external drivers from A you could reassign the A to the USB and load them from there.

Dear i have send some instruction of need a password.
please follow the instructions.
and you receive a password.
Thanks.

1. Download a free demo version of Windows Key (to reset a "Demo12345" password for a trial) or buy an instant download online (to reset an unknown password)
2. Run the downloaded file to install Windows Key. You can install Windows Key on any PC you have access to
3. At the end of the installation process enable the "Run Windows Key" check-box and click the "Finish" button. Windows Key will be launched automatically
4. Create a password reset CD, USB Flash drive or a driver floppy following the instructions below:
Using a Windows Key bootable CD 1. Click the "CD image" link
2. Insert Windows Setup CD and browse for the TXTSETUP.SIF file. The file is usually located in the 'I386' folder of the Windows Setup CD. Click "Next" (Don't have any Windows Setup CD? Request a Windows Key .ISO download)
3. Enter you name and set your own password for the bootable CD (you may set an empty password). Click "Next"
4. WindowsKey.iso file is created
5. Insert a blank CD, specify your burning drive from the list and click "Next"
6. Windows Key password reset CD is ready
What should I do next?
7. Reboot your system with this CD
8. Windows Setup process starts
9. After all the required files are loaded from the bootable CD, Windows Key starts working. It displays your license info and asks to enter the password that you set for the bootable CD
Continue to step 14*
Using a Windows Key bootable USB Flash Drive 1. Click the "USB Flash Drive" link
2. Connect a blank USB Flash Drive. Click "Next"
3. Insert Windows Setup CD and browse for the TXTSETUP.SIF file. Click "Next" (Don't have any Windows Setup CD? Request { /iso-request.htm } a Windows Key .ISO download)
4. Enter you name and set your own password for the bootable USB Flash Drive (you may set an empty password). Click "Next"
5. Windows Key password reset USB Drive is ready

What should I do next?
6. Reboot your system with this USB Drive. To reboot your PC with USB Flash Drive you may need to set the following options for the BIOS Setup Utility: after rebooting your PC please press "Del" or "F2" to run BIOS Setup Utility, go to the "Boot" section and press "F6" to move the "Hard Drive" device up, press "Enter" on the "Hard Drive" option and press "F6" to move the "USB Drive" device up. After all the changes are set please press "F10" to exit and save the settings
7. Windows Setup process starts
8. After all the required files are loaded from the USB Drive, Windows Key starts working. It displays your license info and asks to enter the password that you set for the bootable USB Flash Drive
Continue to step 14*
Using a Windows Key driver floppy 1. Click the "driver floppy" link
2. Insert a blank floppy into the floppy drive and click "Next"
3. Enter you name and set your own password for the driver floppy (you may set an empty password). Click "Next"
4. Windows Key creates three files on the floppy: winkey.sys, winkey.inf and textsetup.oem. The driver floppy is ready What should I do next?
5. Insert Windows Setup CD or bootable floppy and reboot your PC
6. Windows Setup blue screen appears
7. Press "F6" when Windows Setup prompts for additional drivers at the bottom line of the blue screen
8. Windows Setup continues loading required files from the bootable CD or floppies
9. Windows Setup prompts you to press "S" to specify additional drivers. Press "S" and insert the Windows Key driver floppy
10. Press "Enter" to specify the "Windows Key" driver
11. Windows Setup loads the files from the floppy drive
12. Windows Setup continues loading the files from the Setup CD or prompts you to continue with the rest of the bootable floppies
13. After all the required files are loaded from the Setup CD or bootable floppies, Windows Key starts working. It displays your license info and asks to enter the password that you set for the driver floppy
Continue to step 14*
Boot Mode 14. Please enter the password that you have set for the Windows Key bootable media
15. Select the Windows installation to be unlocked
16. Windows Key asks: "Undo Windows Key changes? (Y/N)". Press "N" if you want to reset the password or "Y" if you want to leave the original passwords and cancel the program changes
17. Select the account to reset the password for
18. Windows Key asks: "Reset 'account_name' password? (Y/N)". Press "Y" to reset the password or "N" to leave the original password
19. Windows Key asks: "Reset password for another account? (Y/N)". Press "Y" to reset password for another account or "N" to quit Windows Key
20. Remove the Windows Key bootable media and restart your PC.

Hi, your Windows XP install CD doesn't have SATA drivers for the hard drive included, so it's not able to address your hard drive. You can't disable SATA in the BIOS to make it work since your hard drive is still SATA. You'll need to get a 3.5" floppy disk and drive if your laptop doesn't have one. They make external 3.5" USB floppy drives that will work.

1. download the SATA drivers for your laptop (iastor.sys and inf)
2. copy the drivers to your floppy disk (about 6-7 files)
3. plug the floppy drive into your laptop
4. boot to the Windows XP CD
5. as soon as the installation starts, it asks you to "Press F6 to specify RAID or controller drivers" - Press F6 now
6. When setup asks for it, point it to the floppy drive
7. Installation will continue and find your SATA hard drive

Ta-da! Rock on with your bad self.

Under normal circumstances you do not need to boot into a drive to flash your BIOS. Normally you would take a dos boot floppy and the latest BIOS firmware and put them on a floppy, which is then inserted into the floppy drive before turning the computer on, and if the bios boot priority is set to boot from floppy before the harddrive, it will ask to boot from the floppy, which allows you to flash the bios from a command line or text graphical interface.

*Note that you may be able to use a cd, but floppy is the oldschool way - if you could boot into an operating system you could use the modern methods which flash the bios while running an OS.

Your board comes with Q-Flash in the BIOS, which means you are able to log into the bios and flash it using this utility and by putting the BIOS firmware on a floppy and inserting it into the computer.

Please see Here for instructions and Here for the latest firmware.

If you cannot access the BIOS, meaning the BIOS is completely bricked, then you will need to buy a new motherboard. Unfortunately there is no way to fix a BIOS which is completely bricked.

Here goes, first download the A12 BIOS from this page or others,

http://drivers.softpedia.com/get/BIOS/Dell/index5.shtml

Then, Run this file to make a bootable bios floppy disk. Reboot the laptop floppy will start dos mode, the updater will detect any bios newer then A12 and say finished without changing anything and come to an a: prompt.

type dir for a list of files on the floppy. If your typing gets you wierd symbols try holding the Fn key (lower left) lookfor the filename C600_A12.exe or somthing like this. type it at the a prompt exact. The bios flash will check system bios and ask your permission to revert back to A12. say Y.

Computer will reboot. take floppy out.

My batteries charge grat now, but I don't get all ythe settings pages in Bios that I should, It seems to hang when i enter Bios. Laptop works fine though. i have installed and tries all bios from A12 yo A23, the A12 seems to be the best. No problems from winXP.