Which Is The 'best' Motherboard Available In Thailand?

[CosmicSurfer]

Believe it or not, I'm still having problems with my Computer.. and I'm pretty sure that it's my ASUS P5KR Motherboard that is the source.

I brought it back to JEDI in Pantip, as it was still under warrenty, and they told me that it would take about 2 weeks to send it to service and get it back. Well, 3 weeks later I picked up my computer again... and loaded the O/S again (5th or 6th time in one year) and brought it home.... (I have an original OEM XP Pro from the USA)

I asked them what happened at ASUS, and they said at first that they didn't know, then he poked his face into the computer and said that they had given my a new Motherboard... Sure !!! Of course, I checked the serial number of the Board in the computer against the S/N on the Mobo box that I still had... Same Same.. no Change.. A lie.. Or just uninformed Thai customer service... Same Same.

Time to reinstall everything and get back to work...

I got as far as downloading all the WinXP Pro updates (BUT NOT SP3, I'm still on the fence about it), installed Zone Alarm, Avast and MS Office... Updated MS Office including Office SP3.... Rebooting as I did the upgrades and installs.

Went to wash the dishes and my computer rebooted.... Itself !!!!!

OK.. after that everything looked normal... watched some TV with my wife.. went to bed.... and my computer Rebooted... again by itself... Nothing running besides for IE with a few tabs open, and Live Messenger.

Which leads me to believe that Jedi did nothing in 2 weeks, except string me along... or that Synnex the ASUS distributor did nothing and sent back the same board when they couldn't find the problem.... Or Just that the ASUS Board was BAD and I should replace it with another brand, which is a pity as I haven't had any joy in the year of owning my "Dream Computer", and the existing board still has a month left on it's Warrenty.

But what are my options... There is NO ONE at Jedi to talk with, or get a straight answer from... I wish I had never gone there to begin with, but They looked reputable... What Pantip needs is a good Farang run computer shop, with western level customer service and some Fully bilingual knowledgeable service people to talk with.

SO, I may be in the market for a new MotherBoard.

Which brand is the most stable and problem free??? I know every Brand has many choices and different specs, so I'm sure they will have the Specs I want... Right now I'm just looking for QUALITY.

Speaking of which, has anyone seen an INTEL motherboard being sold here, at Pantip or Fortune? I can't recall ever seeing one.

Frustration is boiling over,

CS

Edited September 8, 2008 by CosmicSurfer

[ajarnmark]

Asus motherboards are probably one of the best in the world. I have been using asus for many years now and never had any problems.

If your computer reboots itself, it may be due to a faulty RAM or being overheated. Check you computer temperature in BIOS and see if it is more than 50c.

To check RAM, you can download a software or alternatively, make a zip file of more than the size of your RAM and verify it. For example, if you have 1GB RAM, make a file of 1.2GB and when it is done, you can verify the file, if file has error then in 99% cases it is due to a faulty RAM.

Intel motherboards are available in Panthip and Fortune but they are slower and more expensive than Asus.

[Crushdepth]

Went to wash the dishes and my computer rebooted.... Itself !!!!!

This was happening to me recently as a result of a faulty power supply. For a list of hardware things to test see 'The Devil is Inside My Computer :-)

[Florin]

First of all, don't shop in Pantip...it's the same as shopping in Patpong. Customer service is non-existent except for a couple of shops and it's just not worth the hassle...shop in Fortune Town.

Second, the problem could very likely be the RAM or the power supply (most cases here come with crap ones unless you brought a name-brand case). If it's the RAM, you likely have lifetime warranty, so it's easy to replace...the power supply, not so easy, you might just have to buy a new one and put it in your case.

I also agree about ASUS, they are pretty much as good as it gets...and if you were able to install Windows and everything went OK, I very much doubt it's the board that's causing the problem.

What other components do you have? Video card? Sound card? TV tuner? Try diagnosing the problem by starting the PC only with the bare minimum components and seeing if it resets.

[Tywais]

Also make sure you have installed all the mainboard drivers. I had an ASUS system recently that was also rebooting randomly, maybe once or twice a day. After trying everything I rechecked my installed drivers. After installing the RAID driver (which I felt wasn't necessary) it no longer had the issue. Strange one I admit.

PS. I have heard of an issue with that particular board and the audio drivers, so recheck them. Also, ASUS is all I buy for myself and the laboratory.

[jeffer]

Did you ever take a look at the Asus forum and try asking there?

http://vip.asus.com/forum/topic.aspx?board...SLanguage=en-us

Check you have the latest BIOS and drivers.

Asus is considered a top tier brand so I'd spend a little more time on it before giving up. Only time I've had real problems with an Asus board in the last couple of years was due to onboard RAID issues.

Did you ever try a different power supply or RAM as they would be prime suspects. You have checked that your RAM is rated for that board? If not then it might need some tweaking in the BIOS. (what are the exact specs of the RAM you are using?) Try running with only one stick of RAM to eliminate the possibility that one might be faulty, assuming you are using more than one...

Intel boards I've seen in Bangkok have been pretty basic. DFI could be worth a look if you want something upmarket.

[CosmicSurfer]

First of all, don't shop in Pantip...it's the same as shopping in Patpong. Customer service is non-existent except for a couple of shops and it's just not worth the hassle...shop in Fortune Town.

Second, the problem could very likely be the RAM or the power supply (most cases here come with crap ones unless you brought a name-brand case). If it's the RAM, you likely have lifetime warranty, so it's easy to replace...the power supply, not so easy, you might just have to buy a new one and put it in your case.

I also agree about ASUS, they are pretty much as good as it gets...and if you were able to install Windows and everything went OK, I very much doubt it's the board that's causing the problem.

What other components do you have? Video card? Sound card? TV tuner? Try diagnosing the problem by starting the PC only with the bare minimum components and seeing if it resets.

I cruised Fortune before choosing Pantip.. I didn't see anyone that could build the computer I wanted... I do know Fortune.. I buy most of my Movies and Software there.

SPECS - Purchased Oct. 5, '07

CPU - Intel Core2Duo E6750

Cooler - Thermaltake Ultra 120 Plus Fan TT LED 120MM

MotherBoard - ASUS P5KR

Case - Thermaltake Kandalf VA9000SWA - This case is 100% Aluminum and has 7 Fans

> Click here for Case Specs <

Power Supply - Enermax 460W

4x Hard Drives - Seagate Sata2 > 80GB (O/S), 250GB (Apps), 2x320 (RAID 1 - Data)

RAM - 3GB - Geil/800 DDR2 - 2x 1GB, 2x 512MB - Total 3GB RAM

VGA - Galaxy Nvidia GeForce 7300 GT 256MB DDR3

Creative Sound Blaster - X-Fi Extreme Audio

DVD - ASUS DRW-2014LIT LiteScribe

DVD - Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-115

3.5" Floppy Drive

TT Black Light

Monitor - Samsung SyncMaster 2232GW

Speakers - Altec Lansing 2.1 - ATP-3

O/S - XP-Pro OEM Legit Version from USA

TOTAL Cost - Approx. 67,000 Baht

The Case has a total of "7" fans.. and is so quiet that my Room A/C makes more noise.

I'm using 2 UPSs - Leonics OA extra & Syndome Extreme

I've a previous thread on this problem > HERE <

At that time I ran RAM test using 2 different Memory Check programs from the Hiren's Boot CD Disc.

Ran 2 tests to check RAM... Used both Memtest86+ and GoldMemory...

Both reported PASSES on all 4 of my RAM Chips, ... totalling 3GB. NO ERRORS

QUESTION: How many times should I run the RAM Memory tests? How many sequential passes????

Plus Jedi told me that they had tested the RAM while they had the computer last week.

Plus before bringing it to Jedi I had all the hardware tested by a PC Doctor at Legend PC Solutions....

all hardware passed all tests... Ram and Harddrives

But even th PC Doc had it rebooting constantly with him... He suggested a Motherboard problem.

Today I did a GOOGLE and came up with the possibility of a BIOS problem.... specifically that the EHCI USB Handoff Setting may be set to Disable, But I checked this evening and the setting was "Enabled"... So no answer there.... AND... while i was tabbing through the BIOS settings to check how things were configured My machine Froze... I had to Hot Boot to get it back...

But so far this evening no problems.

This is the Error Log from the last reBoot:

BCCode : 1000008e BCP1 : C0000005 BCP2 : 8060BFE1 BCP3 : B542EB18

BCP4 : 00000000 OSVer : 5_1_2600 SP : 2_0 Product : 256_1

CPU TEMP for both cores is 22C

BIOS Report:

Property Value

BIOS Version A_M_I_ - 7000731

BIOS Date: 07/31/07 16:26:24 Ver: 08.00.12

BIOS Date: 07/31/07 16:26:24 Ver: 08.00.12

BIOS Date 07/31/07

BIOS Vendor American Megatrends Inc.

Version 0201

Release 07/31/2007

BIOS Size 1024 KB

Characteristics - supports booting from ATAPI ZIP drive

- supports booting from LS-120

- supports legacy USB

- supports ACPI

- Multi Processor supported by BIOS

- supports INT 10 CGA/Mono video services

- supports INT 17 printer services

- supports INT 14 serial services

- supports INT 09 and 8042 keyboard services

- supports INT 05 print-screen

- supports INT 13 3.5-inch/2.88M floppy services

- supports INT 13 3.5-inch/720K floppy services

- supports INT 13 5.25-inch/1.2M floppy services

- supports Enhanced Disk Drive specification

- BIOS ROM is socketed

- supports selectable boot

- supports booting from CD-ROM

- ESCD support is available

- allows BIOS shadowing

- upgradeable (Flash) BIOS

- supports APM

- supports Plug-and-Play

- supports PCI

- supports ISA

DMI Version 2.4 @000FC4F0

RAM Memory Report - SIS Sys Info

Property Value

Memory Summary

Location System board or motherboard

Maximum Capacity 2048 MBytes

Memory Slots 4

Error Correction None

Use System memory

Maximum Memory Module Size 2048 MBytes

Device Locator Slot 1

Manufacturer Golden Empire

Part Number CL5-5-5DDR2-800

Serial Number 00000000

Capacity 512 MBytes

Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM

Speed DDR2-800 (400 MHz)

Data Width 64 bits

Voltage SSTL 1.8V

Error Correction None

Refresh Reduced (.5x)...7.8 µs

Manufacturing Date 2007, Week 27

Module Height 30.0 mm

EPP SPD Support No

Device Locator Slot 2

Manufacturer Golden Empire

Part Number CL5-5-5DDR2-800

Serial Number 00000000

Capacity 1024 MBytes

Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM

Speed DDR2-800 (400 MHz)

Data Width 64 bits

Voltage SSTL 1.8V

Error Correction None

Refresh Reduced (.5x)...7.8 µs

Manufacturing Date 2007, Week 27

Module Height 30.0 mm

EPP SPD Support No

Device Locator Slot 3

Manufacturer Golden Empire

Part Number CL5-5-5DDR2-800

Serial Number 00000000

Capacity 512 MBytes

Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM

Speed DDR2-800 (400 MHz)

Data Width 64 bits

Voltage SSTL 1.8V

Error Correction None

Refresh Reduced (.5x)...7.8 µs

Manufacturing Date 2007, Week 27

Module Height 30.0 mm

EPP SPD Support No

Device Locator Slot 4

Manufacturer Golden Empire

Part Number CL5-5-5DDR2-800

Serial Number 00000008

Capacity 1024 MBytes

Memory Type DDR2 SDRAM

Speed DDR2-800 (400 MHz)

Data Width 64 bits

Voltage SSTL 1.8V

Error Correction None

Refresh Reduced (.5x)...7.8 µs

Manufacturing Date 2007, Week 27

Module Height 30.0 mm

EPP SPD Support No

Warning! Accuracy of DMI data cannot be guaranteed

If anyone has any ideas, I'm listening....

Thanks,

CS

[Prasert]

I also think it's the power supply.

Had the same problem a few weeks ago with a brand new system. Changed everything, memory modules, processor, fans.

In the end, I had my old computer built into the new case, and still the dam_n thing rebooted unexpectedly. Connected all the new stuff to the old power supply - problems gone!

[CosmicSurfer]

Also make sure you have installed all the mainboard drivers. I had an ASUS system recently that was also rebooting randomly, maybe once or twice a day. After trying everything I rechecked my installed drivers. After installing the RAID driver (which I felt wasn't necessary) it no longer had the issue. Strange one I admit.

PS. I have heard of an issue with that particular board and the audio drivers, so recheck them. Also, ASUS is all I buy for myself and the laboratory.

I watched the Tech install all the drivers straight from the ASUS disk I gave him.

I'm running RAID 1 on my 2 Data drives.

The Audio driver is the Creative one.. straight from the Disk... The Realtec driver that came with the board is loaded, but not operational...

The updated Creative driver on-line is corrupted and Crashes XP.. it was designed for Vista... Warning to all.. Stay away from it.

I tried it and had major problems until I got rid of it and reverted back to older version.

Thanks for your suggestions

CS

[CosmicSurfer]

I also think it's the power supply.

Had the same problem a few weeks ago with a brand new system. Changed everything, memory modules, processor, fans.

In the end, I had my old computer built into the new case, and still the dam_n thing rebooted unexpectedly. Connected all the new stuff to the old power supply - problems gone!

The power supply was recommended by Jedi - Power Supply - Enermax 460W

How do I check it.. I don't have another one.

Hmmm...

CS

[Prasert]

The power supply was recommended by Jedi - Power Supply - Enermax 460W

How do I check it.. I don't have another one.

Hmmm...

CS

I wouldn't know actually, as I thought a power supply simply works or not. Anyway, I asked my Thai collegue. He smiled, amused about all the hours I wasted and gave me a new power supply.

[CosmicSurfer]

I wouldn't know actually, as I thought a power supply simply works or not. Anyway, I asked my Thai collegue. He smiled, amused about all the hours I wasted and gave me a new power supply.

I'll ask around... maybe my Computer Doc has one... probably...

Next issue... Is how do I exchange them... Well time to get out the manuals.

Thanks

CS

[jeffer]

You can always check the power supply by swapping it with a similar powered one from a system known to be working well.

Why the two UPS? Try running with only one. If problems persist then try running only with the other one.

I know you have a lot of fans but 22c seems very cool for your CPU temperature.

Just to be sure, check if your RAM is listed here

[CosmicSurfer]

You can always check the power supply by swapping it with a similar powered one from a system known to be working well.

Why the two UPS? Try running with only one. If problems persist then try running only with the other one.

I know you have a lot of fans but 22c seems very cool for your CPU temperature.

Just to be sure, check if your RAM is listed here

I have 2 UPSs becuse my first one (Syndome Extreme) went bad after a Power failure...

Took a week to fix, so I bought another one to use until the Syndome was repaired... It was that or chance burning out another External Harddrive, or WORSE,.... which already happened to me before I bought any UPS at all. I almsot lost a lifetime of data... Lucky most was recovered.

(I went years without one, but now I'm totally paranoid and I won't turn on my computer without one now.)

Also, when shopping for the second UPS I had to list all connected items for the salesman (which includes my old Sony Viao laptop) and he told me that the Syndome Extreme wasn't powerful enough on it's own... So now with 2, I can split the load... and have a back-up if one fails again.

Mr. Redundant... My NEW Middle Name

CS

P.S. I didn't have time to check the RAM this morning.. But I'll pull the chips tonight to get the model number and verify them.

Thanks for the Link... Could be the answer???

Edited September 9, 2008 by CosmicSurfer

[Gary A]

My desk top has been having problems on and off for the past six months. I was going to buy a new HP off the shelf but wondered what I was going to do with the one I had. You about have to give old computers away especially if they are having problems. The dealer didn't want my trade in. I have a good Antec case so I decided to put new brains in the existing box. I replaced and upgraded everything. New power supply, new Asus main board, new duo core CPU and two gig of 667 ddr2 RAM. I am quite happy so far. No glitches at all. It's definitely not a super computer but it runs nice and cool with the side panel on and no big fan blowing dust and dirt into the open box like before. My total bill for everything was 8,600 baht. Actually it's not noticeably faster than my single core 2.26 ghz laptop with a gig of RAM.

My laptop now has a new main board and my desktop is all new except for the case, hard drives and disk drives. I hope I don't have to be fiddling with either computer for a couple of years. The DVD r/w is less than 6 months old and one hard drive less than a year old.

My poor broke Thai friend was REALLY happy to get my old 2.66 Celeron CPU, the video board and the gig of DDR Ram for his antique desk top.

[CosmicSurfer]

Just to be sure, check if your RAM is listed here

I check my RAM at the GEIL website and it is definately compatible with my ASUS Motherboard.

So that is not a contributing factor.

But, shortly after booting up I had another self-initiated reboot...

After sending the Errror Report to Microsoft they reurned a page diagnosing my problem as probably RAM related....

They suggested I run this Diagnostic tool which they sent me the Link to...

Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool

Maybe this tool will pick up something that the other 2 I tried didn't.

Also I only ran one pass with each of them.

I'll let it Run all night and see what the report says. Maybe multi passes will turn up something.

Fingers Crossed

CS

[CosmicSurfer]

3 Passes of the Memory Diagnostic Tool last night... Passes ALL.

So, I'm still stymied about my problem.

Any suggestions?????

CS

[Tywais]

Any suggestions?????

Have you looked at the system Event Viewer yet? It's under Control Panel > Administrative Tools. Look under the Application and the System logs and see if it shows any warnings (yellow) or errors (red) around the time the crash occurred. I located a problem on another system recently doing that.

[Crushdepth]

I wasted a week trying to figure out what was wrong with my computer. Eventually I took it down to Pantip and asked a shop to check the hardware. They tested it, found the faulty power supply, replaced it and cleaned everything for 200 baht (plus 500 for a new and better power supply unit).

If its driving you nuts, just take it to a decent shop!

[Tywais]

I wasted a week trying to figure out what was wrong with my computer. Eventually I took it down to Pantip and asked a shop to check the hardware. They tested it, found the faulty power supply, replaced it and cleaned everything for 200 baht (plus 500 for a new and better power supply unit).

If its driving you nuts, just take it to a decent shop!

Bit surprised because Enermax are generally considered good supplies. I personally use CoolerMaster RealPower supplies. Curious about the 500 baht though, that usually only gets you an off-brand (Thai/Chinese) PSU.

[wxpwzrd]

Bit surprised because Enermax are generally considered good supplies. I personally use CoolerMaster RealPower supplies. Curious about the 500 baht though, that usually only gets you an off-brand (Thai/Chinese) PSU.

Shocked was more of a word I would use. If components in Thailand are so much more than the US, I couldn't get a decent PS anywhere close to that price in the US.

[CosmicSurfer]

Any suggestions?????

Have you looked at the system Event Viewer yet? It's under Control Panel > Administrative Tools. Look under the Application and the System logs and see if it shows any warnings (yellow) or errors (red) around the time the crash occurred. I located a problem on another system recently doing that.

Thanks for the GREAT suggestion.... I tried it and located the Crashes in the Systems Log... When I clicked on Properties that led me to a Page that identified my Error codes as

• The HaxDoor virus may cause a "STOP 0x00000050" or "STOP 0x0000008e" error message

Explains that the HaxDoor virus may generate a Stop error message or restart your computer in Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP. You can manually remove the variant of the HaxDoor virus to resolve this issue.

I have BOTH these Error Codes on the ReBoot Crashes... They Alternate.

There was a link to THIS SITE

The question is now... How did I get this Virus??? Where did it come From?

The system is clean with an OEM O/S install bought in USA... All Drivers are from Manufacturer's Disks.... All software which at this time is limited to Eudora, KMPLayer, FastStone Image Viewer, Zone Alarm, and Avast came directly from the Software Publisher's Websites... Except for Office, which is from a disk I have used previously on other computers... & never a hint of this Virus on any previous Installs.

The Eudora is an Old file that I keep for Installations... It has been scanned numurous times by a variety of Anti-Virus scanners...

If this Virus is actually the problem, I have no Idea how I got it.

Zone Alarm & Then Avast were both installed BEFORE Office and all other software, except for KMPlayer which I installed at the shop in Pantip, so we could check that The DVD was working?

Can I get a Virus from a Movie DVD ??? Hmmm... Never heard of that happening.

I'll run the MS Recovery Consol to try and repair it on Saturday... I don't have time to play with it until then.

Wish me Luck.

CS

[katana]

Look on your computer for any of the files and registry entries listed in that Microsoft site to see if you're infected.

[onethailand]

I had three Enermax power supplies, installed into similar computers which were not often used - 1 at home, 2 at the office.

All three of them failed within a month after the warranty expired - if I didn't know better I'd think that was a perfect setup by the supplier - except I know who he is (my former partner in the computer business) and he is usually on top of what equipment is fastest, most reliable etc.

Needless to say, while I might've gotten stuck with a bad batch, I am not planning on buying Enermax power supplies any time in the near future.

Haxdoor is a nasty trojan - must admit I didn't think of that. It's not really a virus - but a backdoor to your computer - and it's a surprise that your virus program didn't catch it - but on the other hand, how often do you run a full scan, and is your software up to date? Haxdoor is quite old so it should've been picked up by any AV program.

Just do a search on "haxdoor virus" in Google and you'll find plenty of solutions.

[CosmicSurfer]

Look on your computer for any of the files and registry entries listed in that Microsoft site to see if you're infected.

I did this last night before bed...

I COULDN"T FIND ANY !!!!!!!

I'll run a Free Symantic Scan tonight when I get home from work.... But I'm not feeling so positive anymore.

Back to square one??

CS

[CosmicSurfer]

I had three Enermax power supplies, installed into similar computers which were not often used - 1 at home, 2 at the office.

All three of them failed within a month after the warranty expired - if I didn't know better I'd think that was a perfect setup by the supplier - except I know who he is (my former partner in the computer business) and he is usually on top of what equipment is fastest, most reliable etc.

Needless to say, while I might've gotten stuck with a bad batch, I am not planning on buying Enermax power supplies any time in the near future.

Haxdoor is a nasty trojan - must admit I didn't think of that. It's not really a virus - but a backdoor to your computer - and it's a surprise that your virus program didn't catch it - but on the other hand, how often do you run a full scan, and is your software up to date? Haxdoor is quite old so it should've been picked up by any AV program.

Just do a search on "haxdoor virus" in Google and you'll find plenty of solutions.

If it's my Enermax power supply, it's a problem that has been going back from almost when I brought my "Dream Computer" home last August....

Which would mean that the Power supply has been bad from Day One.... (You can search for the various Threads I've started trying to understand my various problems.) Now almost a year Later wouldn't it have failed entirely??

Somehow it just doesn't feel like a Power supply problem.. But I'm trying to find a temporary replacement to test the theory...

or some way to test the one I have installed while it's in place.

Like I said... I installed Avast Ant-Virus immediately after installing all MS/ O/S Updates & Patches, only Zone Alarm and KM Player went on before Avast... and both came from Files directly downloaded from the Publisher websites... Avast has been running and Auto updating in the 4 days since then. The KMPlayer install file came out clean from an Avast scan.

But I haven't yet run a full system scan... Who would think that I got a Virus so quickly on a clean system without any downloading happenning.. Or even visiting any suspicious Webpages...

Unless I got it from the Bangkok Post or Nation websites... Possible.....

Tonight I'll run a Full Symantic On-Line scan.

Like I just posted, a Search of my Registry has turned up NO virus related entries... It feels like another "False Positive".. a road to nowhere...

Still perplexed,

CS

[CosmicSurfer]

BTW... I also have a Linksys Router.... I don't see how a Trojan like HaxDoor could get by my protections... and I've seen no Zone Alarm reports of anything unknown trying to Access either my computer or the Net.

[JSixpack]

BTW... I also have a Linksys Router.... I don't see how a Trojan like HaxDoor could get by my protections... and I've seen no Zone Alarm reports of anything unknown trying to Access either my computer or the Net.

Well, could be a false positive, as is common. If you've done a scan w/ good virus scanner, then it's gone, if it was ever there.

Since you don't have any hardware testers, I think you need to swap out parts and test. RAM, PSU, and graphics adapter are prime candidates. Then there's the HD and DVD and even floppy drive. Also, all the cables. Disconnect anything not immediately needed for a while, like the DVD, and test.

So you may need to borrow or buy some other parts. If you buy, maybe you can use them later. Everybody needs spare parts.

Now, could be the motherboard, but I have a lot of faith in ASUS. Much more likely the problem lies elsewhere.

But any part can be defective right out of the box and can fail at any time.

[Florin]

I would suggest going to www.kaspersky.com and downloading a trial version of their antivirus, in my experience it's been the most reliable in recent times, picking up viruses that other antivirus products didn't acknowledge at all.

As for how you got it (if you do have a virus), I would say through a USB drive. Most office computers in Thailand are crawling with USB-stick transmitted viruses and yeah, from the user's point of view, you do nothing wrong, all you have to do is plug in a drive and you're infected.

[CosmicSurfer]

I would suggest going to www.kaspersky.com and downloading a trial version of their antivirus, in my experience it's been the most reliable in recent times, picking up viruses that other antivirus products didn't acknowledge at all.

As for how you got it (if you do have a virus), I would say through a USB drive. Most office computers in Thailand are crawling with USB-stick transmitted viruses and yeah, from the user's point of view, you do nothing wrong, all you have to do is plug in a drive and you're infected.

One day it's Kapersky... the next it's Trend Micro, or Norton, or Egv.. it's hard to keep up...

But I'm sure that this virus, which has been around since 2003 or earlier will get picked up by any of the majors... which is what surprises me about Avast, which is also considered a Top rated Ant-Virus....

RE the USB... I would suspect it as a source too.... Except for the fact that NO USB has been anywhere near this computer since the last O/S install on Sept. 6.

That's why I asked about getting a virus from a Pantip Movie DVD... That is the only "Foreign" data source that has been accessed, besides Web pages.

At this time, I'm keeping an open minda about whether in fact I actually do have a virus.... Tonight will tell... But truthfully, I'm not feeling optimistic about it. (Funny that... How I would actually welcome knowing that I had a Virus.) At least then I would know what the source of my problems were and be able to deal with them.

I'll keep you posted,

CS