question about add'l agp card setting n irq steering in win2k

[ubamous3]

hi,

ihave windows 2000 pro. i have a jetway mobo that has onboard video and sound but i use a separate soundcard so i dissabled the sound from the mainboard in bios; the video adapter onboard is

S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR (32 MB)
3D Accelerator S3 SuperSavageDDR


i have recently bought a new agp video card and have already disabled the onboard video driver (But ihave not actually uninstalled the onboard driver (should i do that???)i hve set the initial vga to come from agp slot and the aperture size of the vga to be 128MB, the same size as that of the agp card; i also disable the video ram cach according to the video card 's instructions;but when i play video, it gives me bsod or just freezes; i know my motherboard can only go up to 4x agp and the card cn go up to 8x, but i thoughti already adjusted that limit in the bios



CPU Type AMD Athlon XP, 2000 MHz (7.5 x 267) 2400+

Motherboard Name Jetway 866AS(E)/866AS ULTRA (RAID)/866ASR RAID/868AS (PRO)/V333DA/V333PRO/V333U

Motherboard Chipset VIA VT8375 ProSavageDDR KM266

System Memory 992 MB (DDR SDRAM)

BIOS Type Award (04/18/03)

Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR (32 MB)
3D Accelerator S3 SuperSavageDDR
--------------

aside from that, i notice in the irq list, irq 11 is shared by many things; i know that in win2k, irq sharing is common but this seems excessive and wonder why it wouldnt use other irq's aswell; i hope u guys hv some insight on this; thanks a lot

9 Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System

11 NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000
11 Creative EMU10K1 Audio Processor (WDM)
11 Win2000 Promise Ultra133 TX2 (tm) IDE Controller
11 VIA USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA USB Enhanced Host Controller
11 VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter

14 Primary IDE Channel
15 Secondary IDE Channel
8 System CMOS/real time clock
13 Numeric data processor
6 Standard floppy disk controller
4 Communications Port (COM1)
3 Communications Port (COM2)
12 PS/2 Compatible Mouse
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard

this amd motherboard basically only has 4 expansion cards:1 agp, and 3 pci;one of the pci is used for soundcard andone is for ultra ata pci card (which incidentally, i's called scsi instead of ata in aida32; i dont know why????)


thanks for your help

 

[ski]

How did you disable the onboard video adapter?
What is the exact text of the BSOD error message?

Also, make sure that the video card is fully inserted. Sometimes these cards need a healthy push to fully seat.

If ok, then see if enabling the video RAM cache helps.

If no luck, then uninstall the onboard video adapter's software. But before doing this, make sure that you can reinstall it either from the MB driver CD, or from the Jetway site.

 

[felixc]

Do you need the two serials and the parallel port? Try disabling these that you do not use in the BIOS (even the PS/2 mouse if you use a USB one.) It will reshuffle the system IRQ assignments and maybe get back on its feet. IRQ sharing by multiple devices can bring random results. This is a big problem with the 20-year old PC-AT architecture.
If your motherboard supports the IOAPIC mode, you can try it too. This was an attempt by Intel to bring a new interrupt controller device to support more inputs and get clear of the limitation in IRQ lines. Most modern motherboards have it. Just remember that some OSes like Win98 do not support it, if you use multiple OSes on your machine.

 

[ubamous3]

thanks u guys for responding

to ski,

i have uninstalled the onboard video driver/software but still have same problem; actually,i had the problem before when the onboard video was shared (not from the beginning tho;just in the last few months); so i thought by getting a sep. video card would solve my problem but i doesnt seem to btw, my video card can go up to 8x agp but my board can only go up to 4x; is there a setting that i can set so that it wont go past 4x (besides in the bios; i did that already)

to felixc
well, i had a modem card installed before,and i took it out since i'm on cable now; so does that mean i can safely disable the 2 com port devices? i do have a laserjet 3100 that i used to hook up to it directly so i dont nwant to disable that one ; may be i can disable the second parallel port? but they dont share the same irq tho

about the ps2 keyboard and mouse, i still keep them connected b/c for some reason the newer usb keyboard and usb mouse are not recognized consistently before windows is booted up; that's why i'm stuck with 2 keyboards n 2 mice

 

[ski]

Once again, what is the exact text of the BSOD message?(if you can get it to appear)

Also, if the problem happened without the video card installed and just the onboard video adapter being used, then D/L and run Memtest-86 to check the memory.

If the memory is ok, then make sure that only default settings are being used in BIOS.

If those are ok, then remove the computer's cover, and clean out any dust built up inside the case, and on any of the heatsinks, especially the one on the CPU.

If that's ok or does not help, then run an external fan.
If that fixes things, then your system needs additional cooling fans.

 

[ubamous3]

the bsods hav not alwys been consistent ranging from irql not less than or equal, some other typical messages, and sometimes it just freezes without showing any sign of error so i had to do a reboot

since last night, i took out the soundcard and used the ac97 sound driver onboard instead;it seemed towork for a short while and then it bsod'd on me; i think it's

stop:0x0000007F: UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP

i rebooted fine and then woke up this morning with a same bsod on its own

the case itself is pretty clean as i have learned to clean/maintain my computer inside more diligently; i use a shopvac, painter's brush, canned air duster to get rid of dust ( u dont believe the amount of dust that i found when i first opened up my older prebuilt system); the only thing ihavent done is take out the cpu fan/heatsink (b/c i dont know how and whether i should) but i poke the paintbrush on the outside to dislodge caked dust and then vaccuum it out

 

[ski]

Kudos on keeping a clean and dust-free system. A neglected system filled with dust can cause a plethora of problems.

The last part of this link points out possible 4 causes for your BSOD error message:

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/...Windows/XP/all/reskit/en-us/prmd_stp_ukdq.asp

Make sure the video card is using the latest drivers.
If it is, then try earlier drivers, like the ones that come with the video card's CD.
If no good, then try a different(borrowed?) AGP video card.
If it does the same thing, then see if a PCI video card works.

If no luck, then the memory may be faulty. Recommend that you d/l and run Memtest-86 to check yours.

If it tests ok, then make sure the CPU is not overclocked in BIOS.
If that does not help or it's not O/C'd, then remove the CPU's fan(normally held in place with 4 screws), and give the heatsink a good cleaning.

If no luck, then a faulty MB may be the cause. Either try a different one or have yours tested at a shop.

 

[ubamous3]

my video card NVIDIA GeForce4 MX 4000 is using the latest driver i dl from their website
nvidia driver 61.77_win2kxp_english.exe (btw, is that a decent video card? i dont want super duper use out of it; just nice experience watching videos on it and see decent graphics); your suggestion to go to pci video card, snt that a step down in performance compared to agp?

i have memtest86 v1.25 burned on a bootable cd; iran for a few long hours but no results and to be honst, i dont undertand what settings to configure and the log of results and what it does since i'm very new at this pc debugging/diagnostic thing. i also tried windiag (i think) which is a windows memory testing, ran for 5 hours but found no errors

i dont know how to overclock so as far as i know, my computer is not overclocked unless it was done at the manufacturer

Your suggestion about the cleaning of the heatsink n the cpu fan just hit the spot;i have been wondering how to do it safely (or even possible to take it out b/c it might have been soldered in; it's athlon xp

btw, i currently have 3 case fans, 1 on bottom front, and 2 on top at the back 80MM each;i have read that 92MM or 120MM fans do much more wonders to cooling than the 80MM ones, so i m tempted to switch but are they swappable; this case doesnt have the fan enclosure so it might be doable, but the new chieftec case thati recently bought came with 80MM screwless case housings so that kinda rules that option out

oh ,btw,thanks a lot for taking the time to help out a fellow in need! appreciate n respect that!!

 

[ski]

You are welcome.
I'm glad to lend a helping hand.

Sometimes the latest driver can cause problems.
Did the video card come with a driver CD?
If so, then try that driver.
That card is ok if you're not a hardcore gamer, which appears not to be the case.
I suggested using another AGP card to see if yours is defective, and a PCI card to see if the AGP slot may have a problem. For your use, you will probably not see any difference between a PCI card and an AGP card.

Configure Memtest-86 for the standard tests(I think they're tests 1-7), and run it with only one memory stick installed at a time(assuming your system has multiple sticks).
If no errors show up, then remove the tested stick, insert another one, and test it. Repeat this until all of the sticks are tested.

If the CPU fan does not have any screw heads showing, then you may want to leave it in place, clean between the heatsink fins with a small pipe cleaner, and then blow it out with compressed air.

 

[ubamous3]

ok,i'll try verting back to the driver found in the cdrom; it's kinda confusing to read diff. opinions/sources from the net telling u to always update your video and sound drivers (b/c the versioon that came with the cdrom is alwys a few versions older)adn then there r another group telling u to be cautious with updating drivers b/c "if it aint broke, dont fix it" kinda thing. So im still not absorbing which one is the recommended method; but i hve nothing to lose now so i will reinstall the driver on the cd

on the similar note, i recently bought a sony lcd and it came with a cdrom with setup, driver, etc...; i thought monitor is plug n pray so it should detect the correct info, so what does the cdrom do for u actually?

about testing ram, i have used memtest86 v1.5 iso cd to test them separately ( i have 2 512 PC2700 DDR sticks from kingston
as well as used windiag (mem tester from MS); they ran for a few hours but no errors found and i didnt know how long thy would lsat or they 'd go forever until u stop

i have also used prime95 but it gave me hardware error message and freezes so idont know how to proceed from there

oh, i noticed too that the problems with video seem to happen wih divx/xvid avi's more than mpegs; i hve ffdshow as well as the k lite codec pack installed; i wonder if that might mean anything
plus, having an 8x agp card on a mobo that only goes up to 4x agp wont cause prblem , right; and i notice that it's strange that the vid card doesnt have any power connector or attached fan like the ati aiw 9600 pro i have on another computer (but the manual says that some models dont have power supply connector - odd for the fact that video is memory intensive)

 

[ski]

Is Prime95 configured to test a lot of the RAM or just a little?

The only time an 8x AGP card will cause problems with a 4X AGP slot is if the card is AGP 3.0, which is designed to run only on 0.8 volts, and the the slot is either AGP 1.5, which supplies only 1.5 volts, or Universal AGP, which supplies either 1.5 or 3.3 volts.

 

[ubamous3]

ski,

i'm sorry that i m not techy enough to understand what u meant exactly n i dont know the answer to your question about prime95; someone else suggested running prime95 under torture mode to test stress your system; i ran it, got errors and froze forcing me to reboot so i dont know what causes that
also, i'm confused about the memtest utility; i have seen different versions and some say memtest86 and some just say memtest, i dont know which one is better to use (or more importantly easier to use and understand)

 

[ski]

I was referring to the window in Prime95(2nd picture shown in this link) where you can check one of the four options, the 1st testing a little part of the RAM, and the 3rd testing a lot:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...ronpc.com/cti-kb/cache/210.html+prime95&hl=en

If the 1st option was selected when you got the hardware error message, then it's possible that the CPU may be the cause since only a little RAM is being tested.
Plus, memtest(or memtest-86, there's no difference) shows no RAM errors.

 

[ubamous3]

thanks ski; there'sa lot to learn for newbie me; that link is great; u said memtest and memtet86 show no ram errors, arent theysupposed to test the integrity of the RAM? if they show no errors, then how do u know if it's good or not?

 

[ski]

If memtest shows no errors, then chances are good, but not 100%, that the RAM is not the cause of a problem.
The only sure way to determine if the RAM is causing a problem is to replace it.
If the problem continues, the original RAM is ok.
If the problem goes away, the orig. RAM is suspect.

 

[ubamous3]

Yeah, i have done all that b/c luckily i have another computer that uses the same RAM sticks and kingston brand; i did exactly what u suggested, took out 1 stick, swap out 1 and even swapped in the 1 stick from the other computer that alwys had no trouble but still same problem

so i thought it might be the device errors but in device manager, there's no indication that the device is not working or things like that;

next i bought a new higher capacity psu 600W to replace an antec 350W (b/c i have a lot of IDE big size HD's installed) but i have removed half of them from the system during this debugging process

i will try to see if i can remove the fan and heatsink to clean it more thoroughly

btw, what do u use to play divx/xvid videos on your pc?i mean what codecs/codec packs do u use and which player? i have been using bsplayer n powerdvd with no prob. before and now bsplayer keeps giving me error or just freeze my system esp. when i play xvid/dvix files; mpgs not as much (or if at all, i cant remember); i have ffdshow and klite codec pack installed only

 

[felixc]

There may very well be a hardware compatibility problem between your mobo and the graphics card. Have you checked at the manufacturer's sites? They may mention such issues in the support sections. I remember that my old ATI Rage has special drivers for my motherboard because of hardware compatibility issues for the VIA chipset.
Have you tried the AIW in your mobo? If it fails too, it may mean a lot about your mobo.

The KM266 is in the first generation of DDR chipsets. It may have design limitations built-in (unfortunately). A new mobo isn't that expensive and you could reuse your CPU and memory in it.

About IRQs: In your list there are no resources that are making use of IRQ5, 7, or 10? This is a bit strange. 5 and 7 are usually for the LPT ports, so you can only keep the one that is used for your laserjet. IRQ10 is usually an interrupt of choice for adapter cards. It is strange that it is not in your list. If you have nothing connected to the COM1 and 2 ports, disable them. It will free IRQ 3 and 4 for the other resources.

Many drivers do not like sharing interrupts.

 

[ubamous3]

thanks felixc,

i dont think this is a compatibility issue b/w the mobo and video card bc the problem existed before when i used onboard video; the video card was just a way to possibly solve my video crashing; taking out puttin these components back in and out is a big chore for me (i know it's not for techies) but im unfortunately not a handyman by nature it has taken me over half hour just to screw the HD into its 5.25" mounting adapter b/c the darn screw would keep falling off!

about the irq loading on irq 11, it baffles me too b/c everything is steered there; the only expansion cards i hve on currently are
1. the new vid card (btw, it doesnt require/have a power connector; isnt that a bit strange or normal?)i didnt see a fan on it either; i wonder how it got its power from
2. the ultra ata pci card way down on the last pci slot

i think itmight be the mobo going bad or cpu (or could be the psu but it's brand new and has 3 yr ltd warranty)

last nigth i was just trying to play mp3's on my machine and twice it gave me a bsod, something 0x007F unexpected kernal trap

i have an extra 160 gig that i have used as primary HD ; i'll swap it in and try the new settings to see if i get teh same problems