EPoX "EP-9NPA+Ultra" NVIDIA nForce4 ULTRA Chipset Motherboard

[Orcishhuman]

Originally posted by: rsf5w
Just a breif update to the ongoing USB 2.0 issue. I originally posted at the end of December at which time I was able to elliminate the random freezes with an add-in PCI USB 2.0 card and disabling USB 2.0 function in the BIOS (not actually disabling USB totally, just setting the speed to v1.1). Over a period of a month now, there has not been one lock up. I realize that that doesn't help anyone, so I decided to re-visit this issue with Epox. Through their online support (accessible via the Epox USA website - you have to register to be able to use this) it was suggested by some tech to make the following changes in the BIOS:

USB Park Mode - disabled
USB - base memory 640k (I'm not sure of the exact wording here, but this is the USB item that is normally set to 'shadow' by default)

I re-enabled USB 2.0 function and have been experimenting with USB 2.0 devices with the on-board controllers - thus far I have only tested two different USB 2.0 flash drives. Nonetheless, no freezes in almost 2 days now. Perhaps others with the freezing issue could try these BIOS settings to verify.

For those who have recently posted about the noisy northbridge fan, I use a Zalman passive heatsink (the blue one) and temps have never risen above 34 deg C., even in the Virginia summer. I personally was concerned about what would happen when that fan on the Epox stock HSF failed and all I was left with was that crappy wafer of metal over the northbridge. The Zalman works VERY well and is dead silent.

Could you please give me the exact reference for the Zalman chipset cooler??


Oh, and you can disable the LEDs in the BIOS (in some menu).

 

[sgtdic]

here's the link lazy one: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371030

and if you're so sure that you can disable the leds, then provide some facts (besides in some menu).

 

[Allio]

Is the 9NPA+SLI affected by the X2/USB2.0 issues? This kind of thing is impossible to search for.

 

[DarkShark]

I have the Epox EP-9NPA+ Ultra (with the latest BIOS), a 3200+ Venice (E6) and 2x512 DDR500 A-data Vitesta but I CAN"T OC !!! What's the problem ? I tried almost everything in BIOS so the POST screen is showing the new speed of the CPU but in CPU-z (or any diagnostic program) the HTT and memory frequency is the same 200MHz. I also tried OC in Windows with CPUcool and it worked but after a few seconds it reverted to 2000MHz (I mention that Cool'n'Quiet is disabled from BIOS). Those of you who have the same board how did you managed to OC ??? Exactly what settings did you choose ???

 

[curran]

Allio,

I am using the 9npa+sli board now & it too is affected by the freezing issues.

 

[DarkShark]

Solved it !

 

[Orcishhuman]

Originally posted by: sgtdic
here's the link lazy one: http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=371030

and if you're so sure that you can disable the leds, then provide some facts (besides in some menu).

Thanks for the link, but are you sure it's really compatible with this mobo? And is it easy to take off the original chipset cooler or put this one.

For the LEDs, In the Menu "Integrated Peripherals",then "Onboard Devices" there's an option Debug LED: Enabled/Disabled. But I just tried disabling them, and it didn't seem to work ...

 

[rsf5w]

Originally posted by: IlluminiX
Ridefree - As others have mentioned, this freezing problem is exclusively for X2 processor users, and people with regular Athlon 64's have never reported any problems.

I have also tried disabling park mode and switching off from Shadow to base, but froze later on. I have mentioned this to Tony Lee at Epox, and he knows now that changing the current BIOS options have not worked for people who had this problem to begin with.

In my original posts on this issue, I indicated that the freezing preceded an upgrade to a dual core processor. That is, it was ocurring with a SINGLE core Athlon 64 3000+. That argues fairly strongly against an "exclusive" X2 processor issue.

 

[RideFree]

I had the issue on a 148 Opteron.
Not sure if the same "fix" would work on the X2 as I do not have an X2 in an EPoX.

 

[IlluminiX]

rsf5w: I daresay that you may have had such freezings, but since I did not see your earlier posts, I cannot comment. I am willing to bet though that your freezings were due to some other hardware issue, different than what everyone on the Net with X2 processors, USB 2.0 and certain NF4 motherboards were reporting. I have not heard ANYONE without an X2 comment on this with the same EXACT symptoms, ie, high-speed USB 2.0 device crashing during data transfer. You may have had similar symptoms but I believe it is just a coincidence, I am afraid to say. There is just too much evidence on the net that says this SPECIFIC issue is due to X2 processors. The company Shuttle fixed their BIOS for SN25P users and everyone reported X2 processors with the issue and the fix was designed for X2 processors in mind. If you can find 5 other people with the same problems and an Athlon 64, then I might be convinced it's not exclusive, but just one outlier does not change the conclusion.

What the reasoning is, I do not know as of yet, but I shall continue researching.

 

[rsf5w]

A sure fire way to go down the wrong path is to become so convinced of something that you start discounting valuable data that might argue to the contrary. I really only care so much about other people's opinions on this matter, however, because I found enough information in this thread to solve the freezing problem on my machine, I thought I'd post about it to offer others some help in return.

I, for one, have read almost every post in the 55 pages of this thread, as well as in other forums elsewhere, and I certainly haven't come to any definite conclusions as to the cause, other than a relationship to USB implementation. In my case (and in others), the hard locks or freezes were entirely random (not just on USB 2.0 device usage.) And no, it's not just coincidental that the problem occured with a single core processor. The single core to X2 processor upgrade occured AFTER I had replaced EVERY piece of hardware in my system (except the motherboard) in an attempt to elliminate the freezes - and the problem persisted, unchanged, after that upgrade. Subsequent to reading this thread, USB 2.0 was disabled and a USB 2.0 pci card installed and poof: not one freeze in a month.

The bottom line is the freezing issue on my board is not specific to the X2 processor. It might not be an X2 issue in other people's systems either. Take it for what you will, but as in any data set, one outlier MIGHT change the conclusion...

 

[sgtdic]

here's a good question: are the intel equivalents having the same issues?

 

[curran]

rsf5wm,
have you been able to solve the freezing besides using a usb pci card? Have you had the trouble since you built your system w/ the single core athlon? I too have changed every piece of hardware, software, bios version, bios setting, etc. The only thing that works is editing the boot.ini file or of course disabling USB 2.0. However, a PCI card is not an option for me since I need lots of internal headers & also don't have the room for another PCI card.

-curran

 

[IlluminiX]

rsf5w - There is no need for the attitude. I merely speak according to data that I have encountered, and companies that have solved the issue for their customers relating to the same issue that 99.99999% of the people on the forums describe: using an X2 processor with USB 2.0 high-speed device with specific NF4 motherboards causes random freezing.

I don't believe you are making this up, but at the same time I am suggesting that your issue with the single core processor is different from the one that the majority of X2 processor owners have. While driver issues are still a possible culprit for us X2 users, I see the BIOS as a good place to look for issues. But it could have been driver-related for the single core processor while BIOS related for the X2 processor. This is all speculation, since I didn't see what happened, but since you are the FIRST person I have seen to describe such issues with the single core processor, it sounds more like user-specific issues rather than what the others experience which appears to be motherboard-specific issues.

Here is a quote from a Shuttle SN25P site describing the same issue with the X2:

Q: My computer is randomly freezing and I have a X2 CPU.

A: This is still under investigation. Supposedly, there is some bandwidth issues concerning the Dual Cores and the USB devices. There are workarounds for this. You can either go into your BIOS and disable USB 2.0 support which means your USB 2.0 devices will run a lot slower or you can edit the boot.ini file and add /onecpu to the entry but this would mean to negate the whole purpose of having Dual Cores. I have personally never had this problem.

Update: There has been a newly released BETA BIOS version Y. Some people has had success in which the BIOS solved their USB headaches. Use anything that is labeled BETA, especially BIOS at your own risk!

Update2: Shuttle has finally moved the BIOS version Y to final release. You can find it here.

Since I have personally done the /onecpu in my boot.ini and the USB2 problems went away, and since this is essentially like having an Athlon 64, I am still not dissuaded from the belief that what most people describe is X2-related.

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs and that was mine.

 

[Orcishhuman]

Could a USB wireless adapter freeze my computer? I have one, and sometimes when I'm surfing the net I crash (although I do have a single Athlon 64).

 

[MHZmaster]

Yes, I and several other people on this thread have experienced crashing primarily because of a USB wifi adaptor. However, there could be many other explanations. You might want to try using an ethernet connection instead (if possible) to see if that is the problem

 

[Mem]

Those with USB 2.0 issues with x2 CPU,are you using X2 driver,did you install the Microsoft hotfix,and last are you using Cool and Quiet?


I'm trying to find out if there is a common cause to the problem,FYI as most of you know I have only installed the X2 AMD driver and my system is working great,no USB problems that I'm aware of.

 

[rsf5w]

Originally posted by: curran
rsf5wm,
have you been able to solve the freezing besides using a usb pci card? Have you had the trouble since you built your system w/ the single core athlon? I too have changed every piece of hardware, software, bios version, bios setting, etc. The only thing that works is editing the boot.ini file or of course disabling USB 2.0. However, a PCI card is not an option for me since I need lots of internal headers & also don't have the room for another PCI card.

-curran

I am currently experimenting with the BIOS settings for USB items noted in the previous few pages (park mode item to disabled and USB shadow to base memory). I still have the PCI card installed, but USB 2.0 is enabled in the BIOS and I haven't had a crash in 3 days. I'll let you know if the problem re-occurs.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Are USB flash drives (you know, the portable little sticks that have made floppys obsolete) crashing the Epoxs? What about digital camera media readers?

 

[Mem]

Are USB flash drives (you know, the portable little sticks that have made floppys obsolete) crashing the Epoxs? What about digital camera media readers?

Both work fine on my Epox board.

 

[oceansong]

Hello all!
Im new here. Just want to say these forums kick arse!

I am having an issue with my new system(first build ever). My parts are in my sig. I got everything up and running at stock settings. It runs like a champ. I ran memtest overnight and all test pass. I ran 3dmark05 and scored a 7500+. I figured everything was good to go to start OC'ing. This is where my noobness is kicking in. I have prowled the forums looking for answers but I am having no luck so I figured I would go ahead and post my problem. Once again, sorry if my Oc'ing noobness annoys anyone.
I read the Oc'ing guide and did the following. I set the Htt to 3x and memory to 166 and started upping the cpu frequency. I also set the memory to 1t. I can get to 205 and anything above that will not post. It tells me that the system is operating in safe mode and that I need to change the cpu frequency. I have all other settings set to auto (cpu and mem volt also). Am I doing something wrong? Any pointers would be much appreciated.

**update** I have also tried 2t mem timing with htt set to 4x and mem at 166. still having the same problem**

Thanks a bunch

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: sgtdic
here's a good question: are the intel equivalents having the same issues?

Not a one of my Intel(ugh) builds have ever had this/these issues.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: IlluminiX
rsf5w - There is no need for the attitude. I merely speak according to data that I have encountered, and companies that have solved the issue for their customers relating to the same issue that 99.99999% of the people on the forums describe: using an X2 processor with USB 2.0 high-speed device with specific NF4 motherboards causes random freezing.

I don't believe you are making this up, but at the same time I am suggesting that your issue with the single core processor is different from the one that the majority of X2 processor owners have. While driver issues are still a possible culprit for us X2 users, I see the BIOS as a good place to look for issues. But it could have been driver-related for the single core processor while BIOS related for the X2 processor. This is all speculation, since I didn't see what happened, but since you are the FIRST person I have seen to describe such issues with the single core processor, it sounds more like user-specific issues rather than what the others experience which appears to be motherboard-specific issues...

, Ill...x
I did not read a speck of rancor into rsf5w's post, however, I understand that when your teeth are already on edge and grinding, it could be common to assume the worst.

Just for the record,
1. I had the USB 2.0 problem with a 148 proc.
2. It was cured in the BIOS.
3. I have other X2 (Opteron 165) operating flawlessly in an nForce4 board and it has done so from day one.
4. I personally do not believe that the X2 issues and the USB 2.0 issue(s) are anything but related in some fashion...and no, I think it's a closer relation than the fact that they are both computing problems.

I'm pretty sure that both these items will soon become a thing of the past.
(After all, look at the "brain trust" that is brought-to-bear on this...)

PS Ill...x, I did not mean to imply any impropriety in your post, either.

 

[RideFree]

Originally posted by: Mem

Are USB flash drives (you know, the portable little sticks that have made floppys obsolete) crashing the Epoxs? What about digital camera media readers?

Both work fine on my Epox board.

Ditto:

 

[IlluminiX]

That's fine. Believe what you will. But let me just point out that Epox is currently researching:

9NPA+ULTRA_UNSTABLE_G2474-1_problem with X2 processors and USB 2.0 high-speed devices_W

so I guess all other USB 2.0 issues will dealt with at other times. That was a direct quote from the subject line of an email to me from their tech department.

As I said, I am sure there could be other USB 2.0 issues with the board, but the fact remains that so many people out there with X2 processors, certain NF4 boards, and high-speed USB 2.0 devices report the same thing, that the evidence is overwhelming for the three aforementioned items to be related. The Shuttle quote from my previous post speaks for itself on "this" issue, although there are most likely other issues with other processor types, but I can only speak on my X2 processor and the reports of everyone who posts to forums like this.

And Ridefree, if you wouldn't mind, could you please post again regarding the BIOS changes you made to fix the USB 2.0 problems with your Opteron 148. Thanks.