problem with my FIC AZll based PC

[ghins]

I built a PC from a FIC AZ 11 mobo and an Duron 750 MHz cpu. I have a ATA 100 based WDD. Since the mobo supports only a max of ATA 66, I have enabled the same in the OS (linux 2.2). My main problem is that my PC usually freezes after 1-2 hrs of usage. I have no other option but to powercycle it to get it back to work !!!

The other day I found that when I try setting the FSB to 133 MHz, I get a "Check Signal Cable" message on the monitor !!!

I have a PC 133, 128 MB Corsair RAM and a Kaser S3 Virge Trio 3D/2x video card.


any suggestions on where I could be goofing up ?


Thanks for any help ...

[bassvax]

How does the sytem operate after you have re-booted...still go down after an hour or so or do you have problems immediately? I was thinking it could be a heat issue, but if it starts right up and works for a while that may not be the problem. Also could be a memory problem. Try re-seating the memory modules and the video card. Do you have fluctuating power problems in the house? I'm not familiar with Linux so I can't rule out an OS problem either. Power supply could be an issue. When you mounted the mobo did you check to ensure no areas were susceptible to shorting? I see where the mobo http://www.aberdeeninc.com/abcatg/MB7402.htm is setup for a 200MHZ FSB and does support PC100 & PC133 RAM...not sure why you would get an error message about the RAM though. In the BIOS have you made sure the HD is correctly detected? Hang around a while...some of the other folks may have experienced this problem and can offer some insight.

Edit: Can't forget to welcome you to the best help forum on the web The PC Guide...Charles has spent a great deal of time shoring up an excellent 'guide' if you click over to the home page...weeks of reading there laying out the pc for you http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Tango down!

[This message has been edited by bassvax (edited 06-13-2001).]

[mjc]

There is the possibility that when you set the bus speed to 133 that the video card cannot handle that speed, therefore the "check signal cable" message.

Also, do you have the BIOS setup options set for using a non-Windows OS?

I believe that there is a downloadable utility that will allow to set the speed of the drive (if Samung and Seagate have one then WD surely should), that way you can limit the drive to ATA66, that shouldn't make a difference, but it might....

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mjc
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[yawningdog]

I own the exact same board and I have never experienced such problems, but I can tell you a bit about the bus setting,

If I understand it correctly, the bus is set for 100Mhz and uses DDR technology (yup, there it is, page 1-4)to achieve a 200 Mhz FSB which is why setting the bus jumper to 133 screws things up.

Other than that, I cannot improve on what bassvax has already said. Good luck, and welcome. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

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Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.

[tjaymadison]

If WDD means Western Digital, their ATA-100 drives ship with that speed enabled by default.
Pretty sure you have to run their utility to use the HD at a lower spec.

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"I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."
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-- (Question: 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?')

"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand."
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[ghins]

Yesterday, the PC seized twice. The first time, it was abt 2 hrs after a cold start, the second time it was abt 2 hrs after a warm reboot.

Then I just installed a different version of the kernel. It did not crash for the next 6 hrs. I am not saying that it means that the problem was with the kernel, just that I don't know where the problem is.

Thanks to all of you for ur suggestions and help.

I do have some questions :

1) I assumed that if a could set FSB speed to 133 MHz, then I would be able to do that without that stopping something else from working !!! In my case, as I have already stated, the moment I set the FSB speed to 133 MHz, the AGP video card just stopped working and I got a "Check the Signal cable" message on the monitor !!! How do I know whether a video card can continue working at 133 MHz ? Is there any definitive way by which I can be sure that a peripheral on the PCI or AGP slots wont stop working when the FSB speed is changed ?

2) This is for someone who has this board. What does the voltage tuner do ? I believe that I can use it to make the CPU run at a higher speed. How exactly do I do that ? What precautions need to be taken ?

I know that my questions appear to be pretty naive. That is because they are http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif I am a first timer. I could find a lot of use for any tips + suggestions.

Thanks


Originally posted by tjaymadison:
If WDD means Western Digital, their ATA-100 drives ship with that speed enabled by default.
Pretty sure you have to run their utility to use the HD at a lower spec.

[yawningdog]

The reason you cannot use the 133 setting for your bus speed is that you are effectively setting it for 266 after DDR gets done with it, which the rest of your hardware cannot handle. Maybe someone else can explain the error message itself and why it doesn't say something along the lines of "bus speed wrong".

You can go to www.motherboards.org (http://www.motherboards.org) for information on how to overclock your processor. (Set it for a higher speed than it was originally intended to run at) If you do this, you may need to set the voltage tuner to a different value to eliminate stability problems.

I personally do not overclock because its a long run for a short slide in my opinion with not-so-negligable risks.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.