Shuttle SN41G2B - a twisted tale

[Grimner]

Needed a portable PC, ditched the laptops due to price/performance and went with Shuttle. Found a SN41G2B. Everything integrated and it would take my old Athlon Thunderbird 1.4. And the "B" is for "black". Smooth sale - apart from the salesman warning me about the integrated graphics - "known to cause problems". Set it up with the Thunderbird and:

IBM Deskstar 60Gb
Samsung SM-352BEAB DVD/CD-R combo (in black )
512 Mb of old memory I had sitting around
For the rest - integrated

I'll cut it short and say I got trouble.

After cruising Anandtech and Sudhian I followed the list:

1) Got the latest drivers from nVidia - no solution
2) Updated BIOS - ns
3) Installed an ATI 9600 card - nice, but ns
4) Replaced my generic memory with 512 Mb of Corsair XMS TwinX 3200LL - ns

On my own: messed with the BIOS settings. Turning every integrated off makes no difference - I had a strong feeling about IRQs but that seems to be false.
Not even the most docile memory settings gives anything.

The problem you ask? Simple: From the very beginning the PC has locked up. It freezes. It stops doing anything but showing what seems to be a perfectly good picture. This is not a Microsoft issue - the same happens during installation of Red Hat 9.0
It may take anything from 10 seconds to 5 minutes, but lock it will.

Windows reports everything as OK. Red Had 9.0 also seems happy, but it will lock up sooner or later, as far as I've got is 33% of file installation.

I'm writing this on the Shuttle. And it has taken more than 5 minutes. What's the secret?
I run games on it - once installed. There is no problem with gaming. Likewise watching a DVD is OK.
If I leave the system doing nothing - like reading these forums, writing some text or running a screensaver or just showing the desktop it will lock.

So it goes: it is happy running Seti@home.
First computer I ever had that NEEDED hard work to run
Except for the locks, the system runs very smooth. It seems it is on excellent terms with anything IDE related. Long is Seti is running, it does everything I can throw at it - looking good while doing it . Turn Seti off...

Given that nVidia has made such a huge inroad with their nForce and nForce2 chipsets, I'm starting to wonder about the BIOS - is it giving straight dope?
Maybe running keyboard & mouse from USB one day...

Any thoughts?

And yes, I'd enjoy a conversation with the quality inspectors of Shuttle. At the very least they could provide us with a bit of information.

 

[JetBlack69]

Have you tried placing the memory in the other slot?

I tell you, that is weird that the system "needs work to run." At first it sounded like a heating problem or a PSU issue, but if it can run SETI fine, then it's most likely not a heating or PSU problem.

 

[funko]

the psu's n those shuttles are pretty robust, and others have stuffed much more demanding components, so i doubt its the PSU, and its hard to screw up the I.C.E. stuff shuttle designed.....so i agree

so seems that the memory is fine, graphics are fine, bios checked, and drivers.....

strange indeed...

i've built a couple shuttle xpc's with no problems, but i'm suspecting maybe a faulty mobo?

 

[Grimner]

Interestning suggestion - currently there are 2x256 sets in there of the Corsair TwinX. I'll give one a try tomorrow.

Weird is the word. Here I was sweating over the system for hours, then tried a DVD just to test the Samsung and found it ran all the way to The End.

Heating I doubt too. The fan/heatpipe is very effective and dumps the heat out the back. I have tried running the fan at max, but that did not solve anything.

PSU - hmm, well, some sort of "can handle steady current" but not "ups and downs"? The Thunderbird 1.4 has a reputation...

 

[Grimner]

Sorry, funko, writing while you did
If I have to, I'll return it to the shop, but (nothing personal), I disagree with the "faulty mobo" suggestion. Over the years I've come to believe that "faulty mobo" equals "dead mobo". And this one runs well if it gets something to do - appearently it doesn't think a Linux install is enough to do. But then again - they don't build mobos like they did before

 

[jhbball]

just get the sn45g. It's faster, and doesn't have that crappy integrated video

 

[Grimner]

Another night wasted on this stubborn piece of art. JetBlack69; gave it a try - no change. Even tried it with other mem chips.

The fault does not go away no matter what BIOS settings I try. Just for fun I timed time-to-lock at Windows logon: 10 seconds after the picture of the yellow duck arrives it is locked. If I click and type and Seti gets going everything is fine. Otherwise - lock in ten.

I'll swollow the bitter pill, utter "faulty mobo" and return the thing to the shop. Hopefully in return of a SN45G - I'm praying for a black verion of that as well

So far most frustrating, but it has conviced me of the concept - power and flexibility in one compact little box. No to whip out on the plane, but to rule the hotel when you arrive

It made my VIA 266 platform look sluggish - but I'd trade speed for stability any day...

 

[Tetsuo316]

you know that if you use can set up seti to run upon start? That would save you some trouble on beating the clock to get the program to run, right?

if you download Seti Driver you can set it up to start automatically as well as store extra work units. These are some great instructions on how to do it right. Anandtech also has a Seti team by the way. If you're not already a member of a team you should check us out in the Distributed Computing Forum.

 

[Grimner]

Tetsuo316: no, I didn't know. I'll take a look, but running Seti was a temporary fix. The permanent fix is return to store tomorrow.

Storing extra units sound good, though

 

[Psychosylph]

I'll bet you won't have any problems if you replace your chip. It has been reported many times that that Shuttle has trouble with that chip (1.4 TBird). Uncertain as to whether it is a heat or power issue, but if you were to replace it with a 1700+ TBredB, I would put $5 on you being a very happy man...

 

[Grimner]

Tam ta tam

A big thanks to you all! A big sorry to nVidia! And an onion to Shuttle for putting the Athlon Thunderbird 1.4 on their approved list.

And I owe Psychosylph a sigar, coco nut or teddy bear (take your pick).

Went to shop, asked them to try a new Athlon, and now I'm stuck with a Barton 1.833 running splendidly. And a good bit cooler
And yes, Red Hat 9.0 is up and hopping as well - now for a bit of configuration....


T H A N K Y O U !!!

 

[Psychosylph]

Tough choice; could I convince you to get me a beer?

Just happy to see another satisfied Shuttle owner!!!

 

[JetBlack69]

Glad to hear you got it working!!! :beer::beer:

 

[Grimner]

Teddy bears are better in numerous ways, but I shall not try and convince you otherwise
In the absense of a beer currency (now that's international), here goes: straight from the frigde: :beer:

Drop me a message when in Norway and I'll be happy to start the rounds


Yes, the Shuttle is ready and loaded to stomp a couple of Dells this weekend.


Thanks again!

 

[mrgoblin]

I would also look at ure hd. Have you seen the people complaining about the IBM deathstar as its been named because it crashes? They have a firmware flash that you can have now so it reduces the chances of a crash. Try it with another hd and see if it works.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: mrgoblin
I would also look at ure hd. Have you seen the people complaining about the IBM deathstar as its been named because it crashes? They have a firmware flash that you can have now so it reduces the chances of a crash. Try it with another hd and see if it works.

Mmm, FUD.

The only series to deserve the Deathstar handle was the 75GXP line. The 60, 120 and 180GXP lineups all kick ass.

Glad to hear you got your Shuttle working. :beer:

- M4H