Shuttle AN35N Ultra problem?

[sulfurbob]

I purchased the AN35N due to the positive reviews of the board in this forum. The problem I'm having is that my computer is acting funny with this upgrade. I used a new 2500+ on it and a new HD for the fresh install of XP. The posting process with the MB was going very slow. After installing the OS, I installed the chipset driver on the disc that came with the MB and then rebooted, just like it requested. But the OS wouldn't load after that. I tried reformatting the HD and trying again, but the second time I didn't get past the point in the OS install that requires the restart.

Since the posting process is very, very slow with this setup, I was wondering if the MB was the problem. By posting process, I mean the initial things that happen upon startup, such as the detecting of the IDE drives, and the DMI process (what ever that is).

I've never had a bad MB before, so I don't know what one would act like. Do I have a bad MB in this case?

Any answers or suggestions?

 

[mechBgon]

Welcome to the Forums Go ahead and post the full system specs so we have the complete picture. Include the brands and models of all the parts including the power supply.

Here are my initial shots in the dark for you:

• If you have a Western Digital hard drive, check its jumper settings. If it features a Single Drive jumper setting, and it is the only drive on its cable, then use the Single Drive setting. That usually means just taking the jumper cap off the pins altogether. The symptoms you described do sound like classic WD Single-Drive Syndrome.
• Make sure your Shuttle's got its ATX12V cable plugged in.
• Read my first couple paragraphs about defending against creepy Internet worms here, and see if your system has been put in a compromising position (plugged into a network cable with no firewall to keep the worms out). If so, start over with the game plan I described there.
• And one more. If you bought PC3200 memory, you'll want to force it to run 166MHz, a.k.a. DDR333 or PC2700, so it's sync'ed to the CPU's bus speed. Also, if you have PC3200, also referred to as DDR400, raise the memory voltage to 2.6 volts in the motherboard's BIOS menus. I can help you with more detail tomorrow if you need it.

Good luck!

 

[sulfurbob]

Thank you so much, it's as if you are psychic.

I do have WD drive that was set to master, so I just took the jumper out. And sure enough, I didn't have the ATX12V connector plugged in. My last board was a 266A, so of course, I wasn't familiar with that connector. Luckily my Ernemax PSU had that connector available. Once those two things were done, it booted right up, no more hesitation wiht the POSTing. I'm sure the 12V connector fixed that problem.

I'm currently running PC2100, but I just received 2 sticks of 256meg of Geil PC3200 RAM. So, let me get this straight. I'm to run it at 166MHz and raise the voltage to 2.6 volts, right?

You mentioned that you had more details for me, anything else I should know?

Again, thanks for the help.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: sulfurbob
Thank you so much, it's as if you are psychic.

No, I'm just spying on you through your optical mouse :Q




Yeah, you want the CPU and memory to use the same frequency. I did a UT2003 Demo benchmark and the performance loss of using the RAM at 200MHz (DDR400) while the CPU was at 166MHz (DDR333) was pretty steep: about a 20% loss of framerate in the Botmatch framerates. The flip side is that you can lock the RAM to 100% of the CPU frequency so they stay synchronous, but then raise the CPU frequency. If you can bring the CPU up to 200MHz bus speed, now your memory's running at its full rated speed and your CPU is OC'ed. But study up on that a little, since it may take a bump in CPU voltage.

As for the new RAM, for DDR400 from Geil, you might want even more than 2.6V, possibly 2.7V. If it gives you instability, then try 2.7.

 

[terrybuda]

I am new to this "forum thing" and just getting started with my new AN35N Ultra. In addition to getting a couple of problems fixed, I need some good info on how to get the most out of it from someone who knows. I will use it for some games, lots 'o office/data management. Can you give me some recommendations to make this machine faster and better? I have built a few machines, but I have not seen a BIOS that was this flexible and I don't want to mess it up.
Here is my sysinfo:
OS: Win2k (Win XP Pro could not install because of BSOD after the files copied. The stop errror says something about disabling memory cache. I don't know what that means or how to do it, but Windows 2k installed ok so I am using it. If you can help me figure out why XP Pro would not install I would appreciate it...)
Mobo: AN35N Ultra V1.1
BIOS Version: AN35S00L (I have reflashed the BIOS to the latest version from Shuttle for this board)
CPU: AMD 2500 Barton
Memory: APACER PC 3200 512 Mb in slot 1
HDD: SEAGATE 80gb IDE
Video Card: Chaintech GeForce 5200 (I installed the latest drivers from Chaintech)
DVD: Nutech DVDW 082
Network: Onboard
Sound: Onboard. (There are only 3 jacks for sound on this board, but the book says it is 5.1. Where do you plug in the SPDIF and subwoofer? I installed the nVidia sound/nvmixer, but I don't know if I should install the Realtech drivers for the 6 channel sound. Can you tell me if I should do that or not? )
Power Supply: Chiefmax 450W P4

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

 

[someone16]

terry: The nvidia sound drivers are fine, no need to install realtek ones. I actually prefer nvidia ones because of cloning. And yes, the sound IS 5.1, but it's plugged into the 3 jacks with each jack supplying 2 channels. If you have something that needs more than that, probably just get a CHaintech envy soundcard.

 

[terrybuda]

Thanks very much for the great answers and quick response! If anyone knows what my Windows XP problem is, that would also be helpful. I just tried to load it on a different hdd and got the same BSOD.
Also still looking for some help understanding the cpu/memory overclocking process for this board.

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: terrybuda
Thanks very much for the great answers and quick response! If anyone knows what my Windows XP problem is, that would also be helpful. I just tried to load it on a different hdd and got the same BSOD.
Also still looking for some help understanding the cpu/memory overclocking process for this board.

If you didn't already, do this:

And one more. If you bought PC3200 memory, you'll want to force it to run 166MHz, a.k.a. DDR333 or PC2700, so it's sync'ed to the CPU's bus speed. Also, if you have PC3200, also referred to as DDR400, raise the memory voltage to 2.6 volts in the motherboard's BIOS menus. I can help you with more detail tomorrow if you need it.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
No, I'm just spying on you through your optical mouse :Q

You made Beer shoot out of my nose!

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn

Originally posted by: mechBgon
No, I'm just spying on you through your optical mouse :Q

You made Beer shoot out of my nose!

Hehe!