msi k7t pro 2-a user in need of extreme HELP!!!!

[PhobiuS]

I have the following problem.
I cant figure out why my computer locks up in diffrent times and situations. It can be when I am copying a file or playing a game, even when the computer is inactive in Windows. When it freezes in a game the music is still playing (if that tells you anything).

Before I changed the motherboard to K7T I had a ASUS A7V. With the A7V I had many lockups but I got less of that when I changed MB (and the cpu-temperature lowered itselft with 10 degres.

My computerparts and drivers.

Motherboard: MSI K7T Pro-2A, BIOS 1.9, and the original 4in1 drivers that comes with the MB. Onboard audiocard and modem are disabled, modem doesnt realy exsist but i have disabaled it anyway).
Psu: Standard ATX 250Watt
Cpu: AMD Thunderbird 900Mhz, at 35 degres Celsius at full load(acording to Motherboard Monitor 5)
have a FOP38 to cool it down.
Memory: 2x128Mb (Samsung and Hyundai) at 133Mhz, orignal.
graphics: Nvidia GeForce 256 with 6.30 drivers.
HD: Deskstar 75GXp 30GB at ATA 100.
CD-rom: DVD-rom Toshiba, Cd-writer Sony, none of them have DMA activated.
Soundcard: SB Live! 1024 with Livwware 3.0 for Win98.
NIC: 3Com 10/100
OS: Windows 98se.

Please send some tips or solutions to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Boonesmi]

im no expert, but a 250w power supply is what i would suspect

 

[Boonesmi]

ohhh and by the way i used a a7v also, and the +10 degrees is only because of "asusprobe" it measures temp different then most motherboards (more accurate from what ive read)

so its kinda standard to have your cpu look like its 10 degrees higher when running on a a7v or a7v133 board

 

[Davegod75]

use the latest via 4in1's also...

 

[SpongeBob]

I also went from the A7V to the Pro2-A. I have heard of problems with the Pro2-A and 75GXP drives, that could be your problem. I have a 45 Gig 75GXP and also a 250watt PS and I have no problems though. You might try the latest bios(2.4), i'm using 2.2 right now but am gonna try the o/c's bios when I get a chance.

 

[drjefft]

I suggest you check 2 things...

1. Like 'Boonesmi' said check the power supply, go here to see list of AMD recommended power supplies for the AMD Thunderbird 900Mhz.

2. Check your IRQ resources and your use of Microsofts ACPI power management...As part of its drive to take control of computer resources and management away from the BIOS and into the Operating System, ACPI also takes over the allocation of resources such as IRQs. ACPI can appear to have a performance hit if too many peripherals are forced to share just one IRQ. One user, running Windows 2000 on an ABIT KA7, had six devices sharing IRQ 7 - including his video and network interface card. After disabling ACPI in the BIOS and reinstalling Windows 2000, his Quake III frame-rate increased from 55 fps to 135 fps (in low res) and from 65 to 87 fps at 1024x768! This may be an extreme example - video cards tend to need their own IRQ (hence the "reserve IRQ for VGA" option in the BIOS) - but it does illustrate the point.

My advice would be to leave ACPI enabled if possible, but if you have unacceptable IRQ sharing, resulting in instability or a performance hit, disable it. Note that disabling ACPI can cause a CPU temperature increase, but that disabling "Enhance Chip Performance" in SoftMenuIII of the BIOS can resolve this. Note that some people have found that disabling ACPI (in the BIOS if supported, else when installing Windows) can solve many intractable hardware problems. It is worth trying when all else fails.

To prevent Windows98 from enabling ACPI when you install it, you can install using the command "setup /p i".

To prevent Windows 2000 from enabling ACPI when you install it, you can hit F7 at the point in the installation process where it asks you to hit F6 to install SCSI drivers.

Before I spent money on a new PSU, I'd look into the ACPI issue!

Good luck!!!!!

 

[quirionz]

While installing Win98SE, do you still have to use the /p i switch even though you first disable ACPI in bios?

 

[drjefft]

<While installing Win98SE, do you still have to use the /p i switch even though you first disable ACPI in bios? >

YES

 

[quirionz]

Thanks, I'll give that a try. What power management will then Windows use? APM? Will the system still turn itself off or will it revert to the manual turn off without APCI?