[AccessD] Windows can be so much fun

LOL, I don't sell that kind of service (for a reason!)

I absolutely understand the frustration but I guess my point is that "I'm done with AMD" is kind of 
mis-directed.  Each motherboard manufacturer is responsible for their web site (which you are having 
problems with) and providing updates for the bios, drivers and utilities.  I can tell you from 
similar experiences that all the manufacturer web sites pretty much suck.  I have done this ASUS for 
the last build and had the same experience - and ASUS is one of the big boys!

But if you had bought an older Intel MB you probably would have hit that exact same brick wall.

I do feel your pain though.  If we don't have a lot of money to spend it is beyond frustrating to 
carefully research stuff only to hit these kinds of issues.  And it is extremely disconcerting to be 
placed in such a situation.  One of the things that is always recommended is to do the build as 
quickly as you can and within the 30 day period where you can send stuff back if it doesn't work.

If this build were me I would be sending the MB back and moving to another mb.  Maybe a different 
manufacturer, but definitely newer mb.

My build experience is long and varied.  The last non-laptop computer I purchased was 1989.  I have 
built every single computer since then, and I have probably averaged at least one every couple of 
years.  Or at least a major upgrade.

As an example I built two "servers" back in 2004 for handling the SQL Server database client.  The 
technology I could afford at the time was AMD 3800 (single core), 4 gigs RAM, Windows 2003 X32 and 
SQL Server 2000 X32.  From there I upgraded the processor to dual core.  I then replaced the 
motherboard and moved to a quad core, upgraded to Windows 2003 X64 and upgraded my memory to 8 gigs. 
  Then I upgraded to 16 gigs.  Last year I built an entirely new system with a dual socket AMD with 
only one 8 core processor (one socket populated) and 16 gigs of memory.  Then 32 gigs of memory. 
Then populated the other socket with another 8 core chip and 32 gigs of memory.

So I kind of do things piece meal as I can afford them.  But clear in all of this is the concept of 
a modern AMD motherboard.  The modern (at the time of build) motherboard allows me to upgrade the 
other pieces for several years.  My experience over the years is that no system will last more than 
about 5 years *for our purposes*, after which I have needed to upgrade the power supply and 
motherboard, usually keeping the old processor and memory then upgrading those pieces later.

This latest build was for my VM server, and I made the switch from DDR2 to DDR3 memory which 
required a new motherboard, but the AMD processor had a controller that "just worked" with the new 
DDR3 ram.  The old processor "just worked" placing it into a brand new AM3+ motherboard.

I just gave away my old AM2+ motherboard to Paul (my programmer) who built an Unraid server with it 
for his house.  I tend to be able to "repurpose" my AMD systems for a long time handing them down to 
systems with lower requirements than my dev machines and servers.

I like AMD for that reason.  Intel (and I admit I don't have a ton of experience) seems to require 
more frequent motherboard / cpu changes.  It feels like if you change the (Intel) processor you 
probably have to change the mb and if you change the mb you will probably have to change the processor.

Anyway, all I can offer is my condolences.  You seem to be stuck now.  If you have any friends close 
by perhaps they could help you get your SSD updated?

John W. Colby
Colby Consulting

Reality is what refuses to go away
when you do not believe in it

On 11/4/2011 10:30 AM, Mark Simms wrote:
> Sorry John, but my experience with MSI and AMD were really quite different.
> They've got this Live Update function for BIOS and Driver updates....you
> click on a button and the stuff downloads and tells you what needs to be
> updated.
> Get this: It has no "Run now" feature...and no link to even tell you or take
> you to where the downloaded update file is located...I can't find it !
> There's nothing to "click on".
> After my initial frustration, I had to laugh about this.....
> This is the kind of stuff that occurs with poor technical management and
> poor beta testing.
>
> I researched that motherboard and it got good reviews. I have not been able
> to update the BIOS because of the above, and I cannot update the SSD
> firmware either as this motherboard does not behave well with SSD
> drives...and I am NOT going to reinstall Win7 all over again just to
> accommodate AHCI mode of operation when in fact, no one has been able to
> tell me how much advantage over IDE it would achieve.
>
> I guess I am the "poster child" for a software guy trying to do hardware
> stuff.
> Heck, I should have hired you instead !
>
>
>