This is fantastic. Finally the one issue preventing me from recommending this board is laid to rest 
Is there any control for the chipset fan? Or does the temperature setting in BIOS affect fan speed?
Thanks!
Thanks!
Had to post when I read that the problems appear fixed with the Beta BIOS. Thanks to everyone who irritated EPOX enough to make a change. I'm 50/50 on flashing to a Beta, especially since I have been living with USB 2.0 disabled on the board. We'll see...
This brings me to a useful piece of information for those of you without floppy drives, like me. There is an HP application that will make a flash drive bootable. Go to this link:
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html
Download the application and install it. Even though it says it's for HP flash drives, it has worked for me with two non-HP drives and many others on the web have had no problems with other drives either.
Make sure you have a bootable floppy - a Windows 98 boot disk is ideal (or other source of boot files). I was lucky enough to have another machine with a floppy drive. If you don't have any access to a floppy drive, you can download boot files from the web - just do a google search. Run the application. You'll have to choose your flash drive from a pull down menu, then select FAT for the file system, then select "quick format" and "make bootable disk" (or something like that). There will be a final option to select the source of the bootable files (select your floppy or other source). Click start, and your flash drive is bootable. I had to thereafter physically pull the files off the floppy onto the flash drive as a final step as no files were actually copied in the procedure.
After completing this step, make sure the flash drive is plugged in. Hit "ESC" during POST and choose "hard drive." The flash drive will be listed as one of the options. Select it and viola, you are at a C:/ prompt. Note here that the flash drive is the C:/ drive. You can put the BIOS flash utility on the flash drive, or whatever application you want to run, and then run if from the DOS prompt. Works like a charm for me.
Hope this helps some of you out.
This brings me to a useful piece of information for those of you without floppy drives, like me. There is an HP application that will make a flash drive bootable. Go to this link:
http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html
Download the application and install it. Even though it says it's for HP flash drives, it has worked for me with two non-HP drives and many others on the web have had no problems with other drives either.
Make sure you have a bootable floppy - a Windows 98 boot disk is ideal (or other source of boot files). I was lucky enough to have another machine with a floppy drive. If you don't have any access to a floppy drive, you can download boot files from the web - just do a google search. Run the application. You'll have to choose your flash drive from a pull down menu, then select FAT for the file system, then select "quick format" and "make bootable disk" (or something like that). There will be a final option to select the source of the bootable files (select your floppy or other source). Click start, and your flash drive is bootable. I had to thereafter physically pull the files off the floppy onto the flash drive as a final step as no files were actually copied in the procedure.
After completing this step, make sure the flash drive is plugged in. Hit "ESC" during POST and choose "hard drive." The flash drive will be listed as one of the options. Select it and viola, you are at a C:/ prompt. Note here that the flash drive is the C:/ drive. You can put the BIOS flash utility on the flash drive, or whatever application you want to run, and then run if from the DOS prompt. Works like a charm for me.
Hope this helps some of you out.
Nice to finally be appreciated for calling USA Epox and pleading with Tony to tell his guys in TW to ask Shuttle TW what they did! It wasn't just a coincidence that they fixed it after I bugged them so much.
And if you don't have this freeze issue there will be no point in using the BETA, but if you want to try it, and don't want to wait for the final edition, this BETA will NOT harm your system in anyway assuming you flash properly and the power doesn't shutoff in the middle of flashing!
My method is to use a CD-RW so I can keep using the same disc for each successive BIOS and then burn the .bin file on there. Then I start the computer up with the CD and as soon as I see it say hit "alt + F2", I do so, and the AWDflash moves automatically towards flashing! Couldn't be easier and no Floppy drive required! I believe the first time I flashed with this method, it looked for a floppy drive, and once it couldn't find one, it went to my CD-rom drive and I didn't have to intervene at all. Since then, it immediately looks toward my CD-rom drive, and is much faster, but I should mention that you should only have ONE .bin file on the disc because I think it just looks for a .bin file regardless of what you name it and flashes with that. I do happen to have a copy of Awdflash.exe on the CDRW, but I don't think that is necessary.
The second method you could use if you don't have a floppy is to make a bootable CD and put the AWDFlash.exe and .bin files on there. Then bootup and hit "esc" and select your CD-rom drive to bootup from. Run the awdflash and manually enter the name of the .bin file, and you should be on your way. To make a bootable CD, I recommend FlashCD (http://www.bootdisk.com/tennessee/flashcd.zip) and UltraISO, but obviously this method is much more complicated and the end result should be the same.
Of course you could use MagicBIOS to flash, but I believe that's only possible with finalized BIOSes, and I don't trust flashing from Windows anyway.
The final BIOS should be out pretty soon anyway, and I am guessing it will be identical to this BETA one at every level except the date!
IlluminiX
And if you don't have this freeze issue there will be no point in using the BETA, but if you want to try it, and don't want to wait for the final edition, this BETA will NOT harm your system in anyway assuming you flash properly and the power doesn't shutoff in the middle of flashing!
My method is to use a CD-RW so I can keep using the same disc for each successive BIOS and then burn the .bin file on there. Then I start the computer up with the CD and as soon as I see it say hit "alt + F2", I do so, and the AWDflash moves automatically towards flashing! Couldn't be easier and no Floppy drive required! I believe the first time I flashed with this method, it looked for a floppy drive, and once it couldn't find one, it went to my CD-rom drive and I didn't have to intervene at all. Since then, it immediately looks toward my CD-rom drive, and is much faster, but I should mention that you should only have ONE .bin file on the disc because I think it just looks for a .bin file regardless of what you name it and flashes with that. I do happen to have a copy of Awdflash.exe on the CDRW, but I don't think that is necessary.
The second method you could use if you don't have a floppy is to make a bootable CD and put the AWDFlash.exe and .bin files on there. Then bootup and hit "esc" and select your CD-rom drive to bootup from. Run the awdflash and manually enter the name of the .bin file, and you should be on your way. To make a bootable CD, I recommend FlashCD (http://www.bootdisk.com/tennessee/flashcd.zip) and UltraISO, but obviously this method is much more complicated and the end result should be the same.
Of course you could use MagicBIOS to flash, but I believe that's only possible with finalized BIOSes, and I don't trust flashing from Windows anyway.
The final BIOS should be out pretty soon anyway, and I am guessing it will be identical to this BETA one at every level except the date!
IlluminiX
Sorry to break up the current subject, but I am havng problems with my Epox. When I change the memory timings from Cas 3.0 ( its auto setting) to Cas 2.0, the next time I boot-up I get an error at bootup stating the computer config is in safe mode and according to sissoft sandra, my memory goes back to CAS 3.0.
Any ideas how to fix this? I am using Muskin value ram, 2 1gb sticks.
Thanks
Uh... is your memory capable of running CAS 2 at the frequency it's at? Most or all value RAM isn't. Try setting the lowest divider and trying again to see if it's a problem with the board or with your memory.
My RAM does CAS 2 at 185mhz, CAS 2.5 at 200mhz and CAS 3 at 215mhz if you want a sense of scale.
My RAM does CAS 2 at 185mhz, CAS 2.5 at 200mhz and CAS 3 at 215mhz if you want a sense of scale.
I'd have to agree with Allio. Your memory probably, more than likely, isnt rated to run Cas 2 @ 200 Mhz (400Mhz effective). Is this the memory you have?
http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/memory_detail.asp?ID=85
If so, its only rated to run Cas 3 @ 200 Mhz (400Mhz effective) so you're pretty much stuck.
http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/memory_detail.asp?ID=85
If so, its only rated to run Cas 3 @ 200 Mhz (400Mhz effective) so you're pretty much stuck.
Mem
Lifer
- Apr 23, 2000
- 21,476
- 13
- 81
IlluminiX:I know it can't fix mine ,since my board has been perfect since day one
.I have done loads of full(4.7GB) DVD burns with my external USB 2.0 Lite-On drive,perfect burns with zero problems,same goes for my other USB 2.0 devices.
Pretty weird if it is a BIOS problem,maybe it is with certain USB 2.0 devices and IRQs?
Two things we can say from this thread,some have USB 2.0 problems while others don't.
If you look at Abit forums and other nforce 4 boards,they also have reported some USB issues.
Abit USB problems . (23 pages long).
Illuminix:
I went ahead and flashed to the new Beta BIOS, and it is stable as you suggested. Out of curiosity, what are your BIOS settings for USB devices (park mode, etc..)? Have you left these at default?
Thanks in advance.
I went ahead and flashed to the new Beta BIOS, and it is stable as you suggested. Out of curiosity, what are your BIOS settings for USB devices (park mode, etc..)? Have you left these at default?
Thanks in advance.
Mem - I have never heard of a USB DVD burner that caused freezing, and I think you said that you bought a USB Wireless adapter but your Net connection was slow so that was why you thought you were never affected. If you buy a USB HD and you can successfully transfer 15 Gb, then I say your board's settings are fine. But until then I say you are as vulnerable as anyone else since we see that it was a BIOS problem (which I said all along!) so it stands to reason that since you use the same BIOS as everyone else, you should also be affected by USB HD's and wireless adapters (on high-speed networks). I have seen those Abit forums, and while I can't explain why some people don't have problems since I don't know the exact root of the problem, I know their issue is the same as most of ours and the same as the Shuttles and can be fixed by whatever Epox did for us. It definitely is only with certain high-speed devices as I said all along, but I don't believe it is IRQ dependent since I have never had IRQ sharing with my USB enhanced controller and USB 2.0 worked just fine with one core disabled for people with IRQ sharing. It was just something in the chipset BIOS (Nvidia) that wasn't programmed right; and EIGHT months later we have a fix from Epox!
rsf5w - AWESOME to hear that your system is STABLE finally! Since I have been dealing with this issue for so long, I have tried every setting in the BIOS possible, and nothing worked (other than USB 1.1, but that doesn't count!). "Disabling Park mode" was just a failed attempt for Epox at a solution back in December. Since I know they had trouble simulating this in Taiwan (because apparently there are no USB HD's!), my guess is they decided to just implement ALL possible USB options in ths setup, and figured park mode was related to the issue. But since they couldn't simulate it, they wouldn't know when it was fixed, and when I tested it, it was a no-go for me. Thus, it really doesn't matter what you put for your USB options (if you use the latest Beta) because it was some core chipset issue that was fixed at the level of the code (like I said it was going to be!).
IlluminiX
rsf5w - AWESOME to hear that your system is STABLE finally! Since I have been dealing with this issue for so long, I have tried every setting in the BIOS possible, and nothing worked (other than USB 1.1, but that doesn't count!). "Disabling Park mode" was just a failed attempt for Epox at a solution back in December. Since I know they had trouble simulating this in Taiwan (because apparently there are no USB HD's!), my guess is they decided to just implement ALL possible USB options in ths setup, and figured park mode was related to the issue. But since they couldn't simulate it, they wouldn't know when it was fixed, and when I tested it, it was a no-go for me. Thus, it really doesn't matter what you put for your USB options (if you use the latest Beta) because it was some core chipset issue that was fixed at the level of the code (like I said it was going to be!).
IlluminiX
Have flashed to new Ultra beta bios (using Winflash), and my freezing problem is gone and my USB is flying. My USB bios settings are at default.
Huge thanks for those who hassled Epox into sorting this out.
Pete
Huge thanks for those who hassled Epox into sorting this out.
Pete
I haven't done thorough testing (as in heavy copying to my external drives), but I will say that all my USB devices are now plugged in to the motherboard ports, USB BIOS settings at default (with USB2.0 enabled), and my computer has been on since my last post (so about 4 days now), downloading through my USB2.0 wireless adapter, and obviously, no crashes in that time frame.
Adding in my 2 cents as well.
I updated the BIOS on my board with the beta version over the weekend. A day or two later, I removed the PCI USB2 / FW card I had been using for USB and moved everything on to the motherboard ports. Since then, I have ran checkdisk on the USB2 drives as well as moving a bunch of stuff to/from them. Not one problem so far. Finally, I can use all of the 10 USB2 ports possible from this board. Thumbs up to Epox for listening to the customer (finally) and thanks to the forum members that "nudged" them in the right direction.
I updated the BIOS on my board with the beta version over the weekend. A day or two later, I removed the PCI USB2 / FW card I had been using for USB and moved everything on to the motherboard ports. Since then, I have ran checkdisk on the USB2 drives as well as moving a bunch of stuff to/from them. Not one problem so far. Finally, I can use all of the 10 USB2 ports possible from this board. Thumbs up to Epox for listening to the customer (finally) and thanks to the forum members that "nudged" them in the right direction.
for updating the bios, you simply just burn a data disc, not an image? just 1 .bin file? no awdflash.exe just 1 file on the disc? just wanted to confirm Also, is AWDFlash some upgrading utility built into the BIOS? Or do I have to install it? BTW, congrats to all who got their USB issues fixed.
Glad to hear everyone's successes, and just to follow suit (despite former personal issues), the USB freezing problem appears to be OVER! SWEET!
A word to all of you installing the latest BIOS...
Record the before and after IRQ assignments in System Properties, Hardware, Device Manager
In the View section under Connections by type, click on the + by Interrupt request (IRQ) and do a screen-dump of the IRQs for an analysis as to what is changed.
(You can do an <ALT-Prt Screen> and past the clipboard results in Wordpad.)
Let's see what changes
Record the before and after IRQ assignments in System Properties, Hardware, Device Manager
In the View section under Connections by type, click on the + by Interrupt request (IRQ) and do a screen-dump of the IRQs for an analysis as to what is changed.
(You can do an <ALT-Prt Screen> and past the clipboard results in Wordpad.)
Let's see what changes
You just burn a data disc with the bin file on it. Then on startup, the BIOS screen well tell you to hit (i believe) alt+f2 to enter awardflash. The flash program is loaded into memory and it scans for a image file to use. Its easy as cake.
I bought and installed 2GB (2x1GB) of Corsair TwinX2048-3200C2PT memory to replace some older value ram I picked up when I put the system together. I haven't done any serious tweaking and overclocking in about 3 years and my skills are at best rusty. I am baffled by the all the options in the BIOS these days.
I researched and then manually set the corresponding values to 2-3-3-6 (1T) which is what this memory is rated at. Now I'm left with a multitude of other options that have me turning my head sideways trying to decipher what each one means. Could someone clue me in or point me to the right Google search so I can tweak the other settings?
TIA,
techfuzz
I researched and then manually set the corresponding values to 2-3-3-6 (1T) which is what this memory is rated at. Now I'm left with a multitude of other options that have me turning my head sideways trying to decipher what each one means. Could someone clue me in or point me to the right Google search so I can tweak the other settings?
TIA,
techfuzz
Is anybody having issues with the fan on the motherboard, i bought mine on september 05 and now is very loud. Thanks for your time and suggestions. also has anyone used this ram with this board???
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146890
OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146890
hey guys i been deciding on this mobo or asus a8n-e, i been reading reviews and it seems like this mobo is better at OC-ing
i wanted to go with Asus cuz of my past experience but i wanna try OC-ing as a beginner, thanks
(put aside the fact that these 2 boards aren't the best OCers, but the fact that they fit my budget)
anyways, can anyone confirm that this mobo is better at OC-ing than the asus a8n-e
i wanted to go with Asus cuz of my past experience but i wanna try OC-ing as a beginner, thanks
(put aside the fact that these 2 boards aren't the best OCers, but the fact that they fit my budget)
anyways, can anyone confirm that this mobo is better at OC-ing than the asus a8n-e
now that the usb2 issue has been resolved, can we now tackle the severe vdroop and incorrect vcore/temp readings on these 9npa mobos?
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