Need VIA and AMD m/b tips...

[Learnin]

I just can't seem to get a Via or AMD chipset motherboard to be stable like my older BX and 815 motherboards. What am I doing wrong? I use 98, 2000, XP, and I am familiar with 4 in 1's and AMD AGP drivers. What order do I install these things, and do I need them all with each OS? I realize you only use the AMD AGP with an AMD northbridge, etc.... What am I missing here? I seemed to have some luck with Win2000 on an AMD 760 by using just the AMD AGP and Win2000 service pack2. I need some advice here.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Please list your hardware specs as well as a better description of your instabilities...

Welcome to Anand.

 

[pillage2001]

<< Please list your hardware specs as well as a better description of your instabilities...

Welcome to Anand. >>

 

[Learnin]

I use all the usual hardware. Some flavor of Nvidia Geforce 2 or 3, Soundblaster Live or Audigy's, Netgear NIC, etc. Simple games like UT will lock up on occasion. Most of these systems are built by a friend of mine, and I end up having to tune them up. I would like a rule of thumb or list of what is needed with each OS, as far as motherboard specific drivers are concerned.

 

[Yossarian]

You would get better results by listing your exact hardware. Not knowing whether you have a Geforce2 or 3 is a bit worrisome There may be something specific about the config you're running that causes a problem.

This is the order I do things in and my system is quite stable:

1. Setup BIOS.
2. FDISK and FORMAT hd.
2a.Install Win2k.
3. Copy driver cd to hd.
4. VIA 4in1 4.37
5. VIA USB filter driver.
6. Keyboard & mouse drivers.
7. Setup internet connection.
8. Reset cable modem if needed.
9. Set RWIN (Dr. TCP--DSL Reports).
10. Set all IDE channels to DMA.
11. Windows Update, DX 8.1, other updates.
12. CD-ROM driver.
13. Disable cd rom auto insert notification: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\CDRom\Autorun?set to 0.
14. NUMLOCK on: HKEY_USERS\.Default\Control Panel\Keyboard--change InitialKeyboardIndicators from 0 to 2.
15. IE options->programs-> uncheck default browser check.
16. Video card driver (21.83), monitor driver.
17. Install sound card
18. Install applications
20. Install tools-- WinAmp, SiSoft Sandra, 3dMark, Motherboard Monitor, TweakUI, Winzip Adobe Acrobat, AdAware, Startup Control.
21. Restore: address book, emails, IE favorites, etc.
22. Norton Ghost.

See sig for hardware.

 

[Lorne]

Are you OC'ing FSB or multiplyer, Overdriving the pci slots could be a possibility without any other info.

 

[Learnin]

Nice list. I am going to print it out for use tonight. I am going to start over, from scratch, to eliminate any problems my friend may have created. I don't OC these systems.

 

[Mem]

With WinXP you don`t really need to install the VIA drivers(for VIA boards) since it has native VIA support so don`t bother unless you think it might help with stability or like me & like to have the latest drivers installed,I always disable all video shadowing and disable "system bios cacheable" in Bios as well on all my boards.

 

[AA0]

VIA is easy to get stable, if you are installing AMD AGP drivers for a VIA board, then I see a problem there...

 

[azkiwi]

<< It's a waste of time trying to get a VIA board stable. You'd better change the board to ALi chipset-based one. >>



How very helpful. We're all awaiting your next syllable with great anticipation.

 

[LanEvoVI]

You should also look out for some weird motherboard incompatibilities that sometimes happend. You mentioned having a Netgear NIC. I remember reading somewhere that some Epox boards have problems w/ those particular NIC's.

 

[Learnin]

No, I am not installing AMD drivers on the VIA motherboard. I thought I made that clear. You use what is appropriate for the motherboard. It is appearing that the problem now is WinXP. There are a bunch of people having the same error using Nvidia video cards. The error is with nv4_disp.dll, and it is happening on Intel and AMD systems. The system just locks up, then it automatically reboots, always while in a game. No driver has fixed the problem (Im up to 27.10 now). Via says to use just the inf in the 4 in 1's, when using XP, so that is what I did. Nothing I have tried has fixed it yet. I am just going down the list of suggestions, and I have tried most all of them. No luck yet. The system is a MSI KT266 Pro with a Duron 950, GF2 GTS-V, onboard sound, Realtek NIC. XP is not making me happy at this point. Will try Win2000 tomorrow and see if the same error occurs.

 

[Mem]

<< It's a waste of time trying to get a VIA board stable. You'd better change the board to ALi chipset-based one. They are just as stable as Intel ones, only a bit slower than VIA. >>




Funny I went from Intel to VIA infact I`ve two VIA boards(MSI & Epox) with no problems with stability and I do a lot of gaming,if I had problems I would of went back to Intel.


Learnin the Nvidia loop error is happening on all chipsets, all I can suggest is have you tried the 23.12 WHQL drivers they fixed it for me (had it happen once with my Epox board when I was using 23.11 drivers)and you may want to play around with some of your bios settings like try AGP 2x, change to slower memory speed etc,this has worked for some people.

 

[Learnin]

I tried the 23.12 before anything else. It was available on the WinXP update page (auto-update through windows). I tweaked the irq settings the best I could. One thing I did not fully understand in the bios is the Pin assignment for IRQ's. When I highlite Interupt 1 or interupt A, cant remember what they called it, it showed on the right that my display controller and two serial controllers were using that interupt. One of them was empty, and one had the network controller, and one had the sound controller list, I think, all in bios. The manual did not make it clear as to how to change this stuff. The choices were 3-15 or auto, and I am not sure what it really meant if I put Interupt pin 1 on the 11 setting. Does this mean now the display controller is on irq11? Not really, or at least not with XP, as it does not even show a IRQ11, but it does show an IRQ 16 and a 17. Now that is strange, considering the bios thinks I only have 0-15. I dislike XP! If it ran games well, I would switch. But right now, it just seems to be a big pain in the neck.