VIA 133A rookie needs help! Can't enable fast writes in the bios without system locking up.

[Quick1]

I just purchased an ASUS P3V4X M/B and an ASUS GeForce 2 V7700. I have flashed the M/B bios, installed the lastest VIA drivers for the M/B and the 5.30 drivers for the GeForce2. I also installed the VIA 133a hack to enable AGP4x but when I try to enable "Fast Writes" in the bios my system locks up just as Windows starts to boot up. I am using the dip switches to manually setup the CPU/AGP settings. I did notice a slight improvement in my 3DMark2000 scores with the hack installed.

Does Fast Writes have to be enabled for AGP 4x to work? How can I verify if AGP is running at 1x, 2x or 4x? Any suggestions?

 

[koeizen]

use powerstrip to see if everything is working. I've never gotten AGP4x to work stable and I can never get Fastwrites on. The BIOS setting says its on but powerstrip tells the truth.

 

[Mr Pepper]

Same here, fastwrites on the Soyo 7VCA = trouble. I think that I remember reading somewhere that (in most cases, if not all) even if you can get fastwrites to function on the VIA, it actually degrades 3D performance. Maybe it's something that VIA is still working on & will improve in later chipsets.

[edit] no, fastwrites do not have to be enabled for 4x AGP. Do make sure & set your AGP apature (in BIOS) to at least 1/2 of your total system memory. That has been known to help. Use WCPUID to verify your AGP settings. http://cgi2.tky.3web.ne.jp/~nrklv/cgi-bin/softdl.cgi?wcpu27eb6.exe

 

[bluezebra1098]

No Fastwrites does not have to be "on" to get 4X AGP. I specifically turned fastwrites off for two reasons: 1.It doesn't improve the performance of the GeForce since it is a mini processor and some seem to suggest that fast writes will actually slow your video card down if it is a GeForce.
To run 4X AGP. First of all upgrade to VIA AGP 4.03. Be sure to install it using "turbo" mode (this enables 4X drivers). Go into C:\Windows\System and find a file called: viagart.vxd.
right click it to get to properties and click on the version tab. If it is 4.03 version you should be in business. How do you know if it is running at 4X? Download SisSandra and click on motherboard and it will tell you everything about your system and then some.

 

[Quick1]

Thanks for the info and links Guys! "Mr. Pepper" my AGP memory is set to 64mb, which is half of my total memory. "Bluezebra1098" I did install the new 4.03 drivers but I didn't look to see they were installed using "Turbo mode". So if the properties/version tab indicate version 4.03, does that mean "Turbo" is enabled? Or, if SisSandra indicates a 4x status then I guess "Turbo mode" is enabled. Right?!

 

[Quick1]

Hey, someone "pleeeeease" throw me a link for the SisSandra utility! Couldn't find it at Anand's site or by a web search. Thanks!

 

[Quick1]

Found it under "SANDRA" at CNET.

 

[Quick1]

OK, I reinstalled the 4.03 drivers but this time I selected "Turbo Mode" and AGPx4 is now enabled according to WCPUID. Like the others I can't get AGP4x to run in 3D apps. All my 3D apps lock up almost immediately 3DMark2000, UT, etc..... If I go into the bios and change to AGP2x everything runs fine and WCPUID shows AGP2x mode.

Any suggestions on getting this M/B and card to run at x4 or should I just be happy with x2? If I could get it to run at x4, how much of an improvement would I see?

 

[bluezebra1098]

A couple of things:
Post your machine specs so we don't have to guess at what you have or can eliminate possibilities.
For example:What wattage is your power supply?
GeForce cards tend to suck up a lot of power and could cause a lockup especially when running 3D applications.
Make sure you memory settings are OK. If you are overclocking, tweak it back a little to see if this will unlock everything.
Go into BIOS and set Video Memory Cache Mode to (UC).
See how these work!

 

[Quick1]

O.K. Hers's my specs:

300a@450 2.3v
ASUS P3V4X m/b
128mb Samsung G8
ASUS V7700 GF2
Maxtor 10gb 7200
Acer 36x CD-ROM
Diamond MX 300
USR/3com Winfax
MS Explorer USB mouse
5 Radio Shack power supply fans used for ventilation
full tower w/250 p/s
Win98SE 4.10.2222 A

My memory settings are currently Cas2 2-2-2. This memory is rated Cas3@ 133 so I don't think it's the memory. Video Cache Mode I think is set to (UC) but I'll check it today.

 

[Quick1]

^

 

[bluezebra1098]

Quick 1
If 4.03 shows in the Version tab all that means is that the drivers are there. Only SisSandra or equivalent will tell you if you are at 4X AGP. Turbo mode usually comes up when you install the drivers.
You have a lot of fans going there. If you keep gettings crashes start un plugging some of the fans and take the load off of the power supply and see if they are pulling too much juice from the AGP.
Some people have cleared up AGP problems by setting the AGP aperture to 128mb, regardless of how much is installed.
I did not install the AGP hack so I'm not familiar with the results or problems.

 

[Muadib]

Quick question:

Is SisSandra and Sandra 2000 the same thing?

 

[KGB]

Are you running the DiamondMM drivers for your MX300?
If so, they SUCK! Get the reference A3D drivers.
Which reg hacks are you using for AGP4X?

 

[Quick1]

bluezebra1098:
Downloaded but didn't install Sandra 2000 cause I thought WCPUID would give me the same info. OK, I just disabled all five R/S fans and reduced my memory settings to Cas3@100mhz. No change, still getting lockups when I enable 4x in the bios shortly after starting 3D app, such as 3DMark2000, NFS/Porshe. Oddly enough the Q3A "timedemo 1" will run most of the time all the way thourgh. Can anyone explain that one?! I will try the 128mb setting for AGP in the bios, it's worth a shot!

Muadib:
I hope they are the same. I could never find SisSandra. Maybe bluezebra could answer that one!

KGBMAN:
No, I'm running the reference drivers from Aureal. Your right, the Diamond drivers sux! I had so many problems when I used to play HalfLife. Diamond's driver support is about the worst I've seen.

 

[Quick1]

KGBMAN:
Missed your question earlier. I've read on several boards that the VIA drivers can sometimes disable AGP 2x or 4x. I added:
EnableVia4x=01 to this key in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\NVIDIA Corporation\Global\System

 

[bluezebra1098]

Install SisSandra ASAP.
It could help you to a resolution as this program gives you tons of information and benchmarks about everything about your computer and offers tips and suggestions on how to tweak your computer.
Some of the features of the program are not available unless you buy the full version but the one you got will impress you.
You cannot change any settings but you'll get a good feel about what's going on in your puter.
I'm starting to run out of ideas. I don't like messing with the registry when you are installing drivers that are trying to do the same thing. Put your registry entry back where it was if SisSandra tells you that you are in 4X.
As far as the names...I think they are two different versions with 2000 being the latest.
What BIOS did you flash your board to?
Can you borrow a stick of RAM from someone to isolate that idea?
Try under clocking everything back to spec and see if the board stabilizes. Once that happens you can start tweaking back up until you go unstable.
Try putting your sound card in PCI slot 5. This seems to be a sweet spot for the Soundblaster cards.
Being able to run one game could mean that it is not as taxing on the graphics as the other games or you are getting closer to a resolution.

 

[Quick1]

bluezebra1098:
Thanks for all the help! OK, I'll install SANDRA 2000. But I did try the different AGP memory settings of 128mb and 256mb. No change with 128mb, but with 256 I was able to run the apps much longer I even completed a 3DMark2000 benchmark at 1280x1024x32. The score was not much better than the X2 score 2654/2608. Right now my Diamond MX300 is in the 4th PCI slot down from the AGP. It was in the 3rd but I had a IRQ conflict the vid card. I just recently flashed the board to version 1.05. I'll let you know how the rest goes.

 

[bluezebra1098]

Just out of curiousity try putting your stick of RAM in the next DIMM slot and the sound card into PCI slot 5.
Also, when you say you installed the VIA drivers did that include the 4 in 1 drivers. Although you don't really need the 4 in 1 drivers when using Win 98SE install them anyhow as I see that has sometimes cleared up problems for people. But be aware that the 4 in1 drivers include AGP 4.02. De select it during the install and if not install the 4 in1 and then re install AGP 4.03.
Also turn off Fastwrites in the BIOS.
I'm wondering about the stability of the ASUS GeForce 2 drivers...Are there any older or newer drivers you could try or reference drivers from the chip manufacturer.

 

[Quick1]

I have two sticks of 64mb in the 0 & 1 slots(nearest the cpu). I did install the 4 in 1 drivers a while back, and have aleady reinstalled the 4.03 patch. The file "viagart.vxd" shows ver. 4.03. Fast writes is disabled, system will not even boot up with it enabled. I'm using currently using vid drivers 5.30 which are the newest nVidia drivers, maybe I could blow those away and go back to the 5.22 drivers. I'll move some things around and let you know how it goes.

 

[Quick1]

Just deleted a double post!

 

[Quick1]

bluezebra1098:
Ok, disabled the AGPx4 hack in the registry as you requested. Appears it was not needed(as you thought) as the SANDRA 2000 report below shows. This is the AGP information from the mainboard report:

AGP Bus >

Version: 2.00
Bus Speed: 68MHz
Current Data Transfer Rate: 4x (272MHz)
Side Band Enabled: No
Side Band Support: Yes
Fast-Writes Enabled: No
Aperture Size: 256MB

Questions? Should side banding be disabled? Are there any other reports/benchmarks that would help us?

 

[Quick1]

Just tried the following with AGPx4 enabled per SANDRA 2000:

1. Moved MX300 from the 4th to the 5th PCI slot - no change.
2. Moved ram from slots 0 & 1 to slots 2 & 3, no change. Then moved memory back and swapped them, ditto.
3. Set CPU back to default 300a@66mhz, still get lockups. Sometimes audio will continue to play sometimes not.

The only thing left I can think of is the nVidia 5.30 driver. I don't know what else I can try to isolate the problem. I think we've exhausted all possibilities. Suggestions?

 

[bluezebra1098]

Yeah,
I'd look at the drivers for the video card right now. Go back to a version that is known to be stable and try those. I still have doubts about the power supply. I wish there could be a way for you to try a 300watt in that system.
4X AGP is definitely there and SisSandra should keep you busy for a while.
I'm wondering what would happen if you set the dip switches to jumperless and set the JEN jumper to enable (jumper free).
I got a feeling you're almost there.
Oh, one more thing...Did you have a video card previously installed in this system or did you format when you installed the new board? If not, go into Safe Mode and look around and see if there are no old drivers for the old video card or multiple installations of the video card drivers now. Be sure to look at the sound card drives also for multiple entries. Delete them all and reboot and let windows re install everything.
Don't worry about sidebanding..It's off on my system using the Geforce DDR and it's not hurting anything.
Specifically, What processor is that 300a? Pentium II?

 

[Quick1]

bluezebra1098:
Actually, I never used the 5.22 drivers on this card. I was running the 5.22 drivers on my Xentor 32 TNT2 Ultra card. I upgraded to the 5.30 drivers when I installed the new ASUS card. No, I did not format when I installed this card. But, I was very careful to uninstall the nVidia drivers in the control panel and install the generic svga driver. Then, I went back into the registry and deleted the nVidia key and also checked c:\windows\system for any straglers. The 300a is a P2 Celeron which I've been running at 450 since 06/98. I would love to run out and buy a new 300watt power supply, but I'm broke after buying this m/b and vid card!