Need help!! Abit KT7 (none raid) and Maxtor DiamondMax40 problem

[Allen7]

Hi guys,

My system will lockup whenever it is transfering large files/data (actually only about 3~5mB), I must press the reset buttom and get it restarted. But if I only do that without shut down the system completely, KT7 can't find the HD until I power off completely and turn it back on. But if I break it down then no problem.

Same problem also occurs when I do defrag.

I have all the via updates installed, Via 4.24 4-in-1, usb updates etc...

Currently it consists of following:
Aopen HX08 case with 300W PS, AMD approved
Duron 700 @ 950 /1.85V
KT7 - UL bios
ATI AIW128 PRO (Driver build 4.12.6292)
SB Live! Value in PCI4
Dimm1 - 128mB Mushkin PC133/CAS3
IDE1 Primary - Maxtor DiamondMax40 40GB on 80pin cable
IDE1 Secondary - Toshia 6X DVD (unplugged now)
IDE2 Primary - Sony CRX-140E (Disconnect off, DMA off, DMA was on but same problem)
IDE2 Secondary - Zip 250 (Disconnect off, DMA off)

Same problem exist running the cpu at default speed/voltage.

Also, in Sandra2k, when I ran Memory Benchmark, San16 will fail:General protection falut in module <unknown> at 0000:00006871
And ran Dos Memory Info: System resource may be low or the system configuration may be incompatible with is module.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

 

[Navi]

EEP --> Duron 700 @ 950 /1.85V

First of all, turn down that voltage my dear boy. You should be able to hit 950 @ 1.75 at the most.

Second...format &amp; reinstall windows at your DEFAULT processor speed. I have seen windows hose itself during install many a time when the machine was overclocked.

Third of all, make sure you install things in the correct order. This can make all the hte difference in te world

And most importantly make sure you are running the latest &quot;OFFICIAL&quot; rev of your bios. IE 1.0.3

-Navi

 

[Allen7]

Navi, thanks for the inputs.

First, your were right, my 700 Duron will run 950 at 1.75V, but I want to gave it some more juice to burn it in.

Second, I did installed W98SE at default speed with very conservative memory timing. AGP was set at 2x.

Third, after the installation of W98SE was completely with only the VGA card in the system, I installed Via 4-in-1 Service pack V4.24 and MS USB patch then my AIW128 PRO driver and installed SB Live! Value and its driver. At this time the HD is already having problems, because the system will freeze completely when I try to install Live!ware 3.0 for the SB Live! Value.

Lastly, I did noticed the IE 1.0.3 BIOS posted in some websites other than Abit's, so thought it was a beta release. How much different was it comparing to Rev. UL??

Allen

 

[Navi]

night &amp; day from UL to 1.0.3...It might everything that is aching your disappear.

-Navi

 

[DaddyG]

Allen7,

Which drivers are installed for you IDE Bus Mastering. The VIA drivers are not that good. When you installed the 4-in-1 only the .inf file and the AGP port drivers are required, USB stuff maybe.

 

[Allen7]

DaddyG,

I was just using the one included with VIA V4.24 4-in-1.

I am planning to reinstall Win98SE tonight (Again) with updated BIOS suggest by Navi, and skip the VIA Bus Mastering you suggested and see what happens.

Thanks again,

Allen

 

[billyjak]

Get the VIA 4.25a drivers I forgot the sight, maybe some could send a link

 

[Frosty192]

www.viahardware.com

It's on the left frame about halfway down.

 

[Allen7]

Guys, thanks for the inputs.

BTW, in regards to my devices, if I connect my DVD-ROM with the HD on the same 80-pin cable, how much performance hit will I suffer? I read somewhere about putting the UDMA33 device on the same chain with UDMA66 device will limit its bandwidth to 33.

 

[Fumiup]

Alot of people have problems using Maxtor drives on the KT-7 including me. I had to use a regular IDE cable instead of an Ultra IDE cable, effectively reducing it to ATA 33 instead of ATA 66. Now it works fine.



<< I read somewhere about putting the UDMA33 device on the same chain with UDMA66 device will limit its bandwidth to 33. >>



No. If your using an Ultra cable it will not slow down your ATA66 drives to ATA33.




From KT7FAQ:


<< Why does my system freeze, mouse jump or soundcard loop during heavy disk access with an ATA/66 or ATA/100 disk?

This problem can sometimes be solved by forcing the use of ATA/33 by using a 40-way cable instead of an 80-way cable >>

 

[Technonut]

I do not have any problems with running Maxtors on my KT7. I have both 40 and 27GB DiamondMax+ 7200 RPM drives. They do very well in both the Sandra and HD Tach benchmarks. I use the 80 pin ATA66 cables.

DaddyG is correct about not using the VIA busmastering drivers from the 4 in 1's and using the ones that Win98SE installs instead and checking the DMA box. I have setup many VIA chipset mobos, and the only VIA driver that I install is the AGP in turbo mode. I have no problems with USB, and never installed the VIA USB patch. I run a USB modem, 4 port USB hub with 2 USB, one serial and 1 printer port. I have a scanner connected to one of the USB ports on the hub, and also a serial camera, and printer. The modem is connected to the other USB port on the KT7.

The most stable setup (Very stable) that I have ever enjoyed on any VIA chipset mobos, either with an AMD or P3 CPU has been only to install the AGP driver. I cannot remember the last time I had a BSOD on my system, or had any of my customer's complain to me about a system that I built and configured for them.

EDIT: I suggest that you download DocMemory and test your RAM. It runs from a bootdisk, and does a very good job in testing RAM.

 

[Allen7]

Thank you guys for the inputs, after four clean install I think it is running stable now.

I have every device installed:

IDE1: Maxtor DiamondMax40 40G (Master) and Toshiba 6X DVD-Rom (slave) on 80-pin cable
IDE2: Sony CRX-140E CD-RW (Master) and Zip250 (slave) on 40-pin cable

This is what I did:

1. Clear CMOS so MB is running at default setting, using UL bios.
2. Install Win98SE
3. Install Via 4-in-1 4.25a service pack w/o the IDE and IRQ mini port driver
4. Install Via USB filter patch 1.08 (this is before Technonut's reply, don't know what will happen since I have try any USB devices yet)
5. Install MS Via USB patch
6. Turn off disconnect on all drives, and turn on DMA for HD, DVD-ROM and CD-RW.
7. Install ATI driver V.6263
8. Install SB Live! Value card and install Live!Ware software.

It turns out KT7 is not compatible with ATI driver V.6269 (the latest release), got the info from Abit KT7 faq, and even V.6263 will cause the system to freeze with the IRQ mini port driver installed.

However, V.6263 driver incorrectly identify my AIW128Pro as RageFuryPro/Xpert2000Pro, but what the heck, they all based on the same chip and all the extras in AIW show up under Sound, video and game controllers in Device Manager.

Will do some more testing tomorrow, and maybe try the beta release bios IE 1.0.3. Hopefully I won't be needing anymore help and post positive results.

Thanks again for everyone's help.

Allen

 

[Technonut]

It is good that you have everything going well now. I don't think that you will have any problem with the USB patch that you installed. My point was that out of the many VIA chipset systems that I have built with 98SE as the OS, I have had no need for any VIA 4 in 1's other than the AGP to have a very stable setup. Good luck with your system

 

[Allen7]

Help guys,
Just tried transfer a large file, 5mB+, from my zip250 to HD, system still froze on me.
Turned off DMA support and change it to PIO3 in bios still no help.
Any suggestions?

 

[Technonut]

Have you run the DocMemory utility yet to check your RAM? I have never seen the Sandra memory benchmark give an error message such as that before. Run DocMemory and check your RAM.

 

[Allen7]

Technonut,

Just ran DocMemory, standard test turns out fine.
I am doing the burn-in test now and doesn't seem to have any problems yet.

Maybe I should try the 40-pin cable route later.

Or since I have an extra Promise Ultra66 controller, should I use it with the Maxtor HD and leave all slower devices with Via controller?

Allen

 

[Technonut]

Yes, I would try the Promise card if all else fails. The only other thing that I could think of is some problem with the Zip drive. If I remember correctly there was some problem with them setup a certain way on the KX133 boards in some cases. I have not heard of it on the KT133's though.

Regardless, the Promise card sounds like a good thing to try, and will perform well.

EDIT: I have a Promise Ultra66 card in my system. I originally had my Acer 50X IDE CDROM connected to it. It worked fine in 98SE, but in 2000 there was a problem with it being seen as an SCSI device, and would access all of the time whether there was a CD in the drive or not, and drag down the system. I could not change it, so I moved my primary hard drive to the Promise card instead of the CDROM, and that fixed the trouble.

I have my second hard drive, DVD player, CDROM, and Plexwriter on my IDE channels, and just my primary hard drive on the Promise card. Works very well.

 

[Allen7]

Just replace my 80-pin cable with a brand new one and it seems to be working fine, but still has the error with San16 (dos module) test. Any suggestions?

Will run DocMemory's Burn-in Test all night tonight to see if there are any errors.

 

[Allen7]

Still needs help guys.

I still get lock-ups when I trys to transfer large files from my Zip250 to HD, and the San16 error during memory benchmark using Sandra2000 still exist.

Technonut, what PCI slot did you put the Promise66 controller in? I think I will try tomorrow.

BTW, DocMemory burn-in test ran without error for 280 loops.

 

[Technonut]

Sorry you are still having troubles. I have my Promise card in the 6th PCI slot. It has been awhile since I've heard about the Zip drive problem in the KX133 boards. If I remember where I saw it, I will look into it, and try to find out what the solution was. It may be the same with the KT133's.

 

[Allen7]

Got the Promise Ultr66 controller installed and had no HD problem since with Zip250.

But the San16 error still exist. Any inputs.

BTW, thanks technonut, you've been great help.

 

[htown]

Change the ide cable, I had the same problem but everything went away when I bought a new ide cable.

Post your results with your new setup when everything is working.
Post'm here

 

[OzzieGT]

Not to rain on Allen's parade, but how do I get rid of the VIA IDE drivers? And is there a newer version of the KT7 BIOS than UL?

Thanks,

Ozy

 

[kind-of-blue]

Slightly off topic, but why does the VIA 4-1 drivers cause so many problems? I have a friend running a K62 on a FIC mobo that periodicaly forgets what drivers are installed and causes many headaches for both he and I.

 

[SkyDiver]

Ozymandias: There is a UZ.1.03b1 beta BIOS out there. I am trying to get rid of a &quot;freeze-up&quot; bug similar to Allen7's, so I tried the new BIOS. I've had no problems other than my freezing takes longer to occur now.

Make sure to get the latest 1.03b1 Highpoint drivers if you go for the newest BIOS.

SkyDiver