VXD error, need help

[Fruss Tray Ted]

This error began after capturing a few Hi-8 tapes so I'm posting this thread here for reasons you'll see below:

Asus A7N8X
768 megs pc2700
WD800JB
Asus 64mb8xAGP

Memtest running as I type no errors yet.

I had 98SE and XP-Pro set up as a dual boot with several partitions. Captured video to Divx, converted to DVD, then shrunk to fit and burned to DVD. 4 movies total. One of family Christmas, 3 of music performances by various local bands.

All was well until the next day I went to continue the work of capturing the 3 tapes I had left. Leadtek WinFast TV2000 XP Deluxe used as the capture device. Clicked on the PVR program and got BSOD. I'm not sure if the error is the same but I have totally wiped the drive, written zeros and repartitioned the entire 80 gigs and so far have only installed Win98.

I had noticed that CakeWalk would hang near the end of installation and blue screen as well as the Leadtek software when opening to begin capture.

A fatal exception 00 has occured at 0028:C194CB39 in VXD NVCORE(01) + 003EA29

Could hot swapping any of the connections on the capture card have ruined anything on the mobo? Processor? The capture card was not installed when I tried CakeWalk studio and was on a fresh install of 98SE.

I installed CakeWalk with no problems on my 750Duron and 376 +8 megs RAM and AZZA Socket A mobo.

Google shows nothing so far on my particular error report.

One odd clue is that I installed, then tried recording with MusicMatch JukeBox to record some cassette tapes and it appears to record, the files seem to accumulate their size normally but there is no sound on playback. I copied a small sample and then put it to floppy, placed floppy in AZZA board w/98SE, copied file to desktop and tried to play from there. No sound would play.

So my assumption is something to do with the onboard sound or some pathway related to it. I have some old soundcards around that I will try and disable or uninstall the onboard sound on the ASUS sometime later but thought I would pose these questions to the forums first.

So the three things are: One program cannot complete installation, another refuses to open and the third does not work properly.

Memtest has made one complete set of tests with no problems, I just hope I don't have to replace the motherboard just to remedy this as projects such as these was the sole purpose of that build... :(

Anyone with a shoulder I can cry on? :confused:

[ski]

nvcore.vxd is an Nvidia file, so it's possible that the video card software got corrupted during the reinstallation.
See if uninstalling and reinstalling it helps.

If no luck, then see if a reformat and reinstall fixes it.

If still no good, then it's possible that hot swapping the video card connections may have damaged either the card or the MB.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Thanks Ski.
I wiped the entire drive and reinstalled eveything, still no go.

Took the video card out and installed a pci video card, no luck.
Removed the nVidia sound drivers and installed another pci sound card, still no improvement.

Went to Sound Recorder and tried recording through that with Line In and no sound was captured but sound does go through the line in to the line out as I can hear the music I am trying to record as it 'records' :rolleyes:

Literally e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g on that mobo works except the ability to 'hear' Line In. And because of this I am getting all the other problems.

It makes me wonder if the cable tv hooked to it may have had a spike or something similar. I'll probably never know.

My solution? Ordered a refurb AOpen AK77-600N from NewEgg that will use all my other hardware and fit perfectly in place of the ASUS. All the drivers, manuals etc available at the AOpen site (already checked B-4 ordering), get this, for $27!! Along with some Arctic Silver and shipping, it comes to $40 and change.

I just hope it doesn't happen again. :crossed fingers:

[ski]

You're welcome, FTT.
Nice price on the stuff, and good luck with everything.

[david eaton]

I don't know if this has anything to do with your problems, but it might.

768 megs pc2700 RAM, and Win98SE!

The Win9x cannot really handle more than 512 megs of RAM, and all sorts of errors can happen.
Try reducing your RAM and see if that helps/

[Fruss Tray Ted]

I will lose the dual RAM feature with my chosen solution. I wasn't paying attention to that detail when I ordered the replacement mobo. :o If it fixes my prob, I can live with that.

Davey,
I was smart enough to remove one of the 3 RAM sticks in order to stay within the 9x max level of 512&1/2 in 98... It's not like I sleep through the forums... :D When I would boot into XP I added the extra RAM for better performance.

When I ran Memtest in 98 along the way recently, there was 512 installed. All sticks pass anyway regardless of which ones I use during the test.

Now I am wondering if a BIOS flash may repair the problem that I am almost sure is mobo related. Onboard this, pathway that,,,

Just what did I fry??? :confused:

[Fruss Tray Ted]

New capture card arrived ahead of new mobo. It is slightly different in cabling. Instead of a stereo 1/8" by stereo 1/8" cable to go from the exterior connectors between the audio card and capture card, this one has an internal cable identical to the audio cable for optical devices to go from card to card/mobo. Installing it went without a hitch (in XP) finally!

I hooked this to 'auxiliary in' internal 4 pin (3 used) connector, and voila! Back in business! I still have no 'Line In' on the mobo even if I use an add on soundcard but 'not is all lost' or something like that... :rolleyes:

Currently in the middle of a go-round with LeadTek via email and I'm not sure what will boil out of this, but what I DO know is, both the mobo and original capture card are damaged. Where, when, how and why are eluding me but at least I have a way to circumvent the problem and get on with my projects.

Hopefully, if Leadtek is as reputable as they seem to be, we can reach at least, some facsimile' of middle ground. They didn't make that card very long AFAIK and maybe there was a reason.

Edit:
Still no sound on playback :(

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Sorry to revive an old thread but this one needs closure.

The AOpen board is all installed. The newer capturing card is installed and working perfectly (famous last words :rolleyes: ). I have completed all the video capturing needed to date.

Now on to the audio tape to digital format work. This, I know doesn't need any fancy card and that Sound Recorder could do it just fine but with the ASUS, it did not work due to the damage to the circuitry.

I am tempted to do one or both of two things:
Try the original capture card in the newer board.
Try a flash of the BIOS to the ASUS to see if it will repair the sound problem. Does anyone know just how deep a reflash goes? Northbridge/Southbridge? The onboard nVidia chipset as well? Saph???

If it is down to component failures such as transistors or capacitors etc, I don't think I will go that deeply finding, testing, replacing, etc. I will not just throw them away either, just in case I'm not as lazy as I usually am for a spell... The mobo is not a total loss. It will do anything the normal user would want to do. It's just gathering data from the external sound jack that cannot be accomplished. It can easily still be somewhat a gamers board (albeit a bit outdated by now,).

One odd thing I found along the way is that I cannot find a way to use the new capture device in Win98SE. With the older version, I was able to cancel the autoinstall and install manually through 'exploring' the cd and finding the .exe's for the specific os. Hmmm, I still have the original card's software because the package has not been sent back yet... :cool:

[saphalline]

A fatal exception 00 has occured at 0028:C194CB39 in VXD NVCORE(01) + 003EA29This part worries me. If the RAM checks out and all the other hardware is still good, this error message indicates damage to the chipset itself. Remember, that was an Asus A7N8X, which uses NVidia's NForce2 Ultra/400 chipset. This was not a vid card error, this is a chipset "NVCORE(01)" error, which probably refers to the Southbridge. Or perhaps the Southbridge chip is fine, but your audio codec chip is done for. Or perhaps the connection between the Southbridge and audio chip is damaged. I can't tell from just that error message.

Go ahead and try reflashing the BIOS, but I'm not sure how much success you'll find. If it works, great! If not, do not use that mobo again! If the warranty on the mobo from Asus is still good (usually 3 years on retail boxed mobo's) call them up and have them replace it for you. Damage to the chipset is too much to try and fix.

Reflashing the BIOS replaces just the BIOS and the default CMOS settings. It doesn't change anything else. But the BIOS is important because it's the program that loads up and runs when you first turn on the computer. It's responsible for detecting and setting all hardware parameters, completing the POST, and passing on boot control to the OS. Once you flash the BIOS (I recommend doing the manual boot-floppy method, see the Asus website for specific instructions) just reset the CMOS jumper, reboot, and see what happens.

[Fruss Tray Ted]

do not use that mobo again!
Yessir!! :D

Saphalline,
You just made my day! Thankyouberrymuch! I dug out the receipt and found I am still in the warranty period. I emailed ASUS as soon as I read your post and attached a copy of the receipt to it. If they RMA it, that's a chunk of change I'll have recovered for sure! If I get a replacement mobo, my son is about to build a system and I could sell it to him if he wants it. :cool: