HELP! AH locks up, weird tone comes out of speakers

[Daniko]

Running a Duron 650 on  ASUS A7V MB, SB live value in pci 3, Geoforce 2 MX, Deer 250 watt Power supply, dvd, cd burner, 2 hard drives, zip disk, 56k modem, ...i only seem to be locking up in AH, nowhere else has it happened lately, .... .used to have many problems until i disabled the L2 cache in Bios,... now the system is stable, but in AH, while flying, it freezes, and this ominous tone, sometimes multitone screams from the speakers,. . .i have to hit the reset button, . .. i can go an hour or two, . .or even more without it happening, . .and then sometimes it just happens every 10 minutes, . ..only when i'm in the cockpit. .., ..Sound card problem??? . .  video Card problem??? ... .i can't figure it out...

[bloom25]

Why did you disable the L2 cache???    That sounds like your CPU is partially defective.

What bios version are you using?

DX 7a?

Soundcard sharing interupts?



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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS

[Lephturn]

Wow, with the number of devices you have attached to that system, you no doubt are having resource conflict problems.

Look in your mainboard manual and find out what else will use the same IRQ as PCI 3 does.  Something seems to be conflicting with your sound card.

And, enable your L2 cache!  Are you overclocking this thing?  If not, your mainboard may be defective, and that may be what is causing your problems.  Try stripping the system down to the bare essentials, and see if you can get it stable.  If not, I'd suspect a bad mobo.

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Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!

[Daniko]

PCI 3 is reserved for the Sound Card only, with no conflicts,  the only reason i have L2 cache turned off is that my computer is totally unstable without it.  I"m currently overclocked from 650 to 750, but i've had the exact same problems at 650 and my temps are always quite low from 40 to 45c.  With L2 cache off, i notice ABSOLUTELY NO difference in performance, in any of my benchmarks, or programs, ... i run a lot of 3d game applications, but currently, the only one that locks up/gives me problems is AH.  I'm not saying it AH fault,  i just wonder why it's pushing my system to lock, and what i might do.  Maybe i need to take the time to borrow my brothers CPU since he's got an identical duron 650, .. and see if it doesn't work with the L2 cache. . .i guess that would mean the MB fried?? .. .or is it possibly the CPU?

thanks for your help guys, . . .much appreciated!!

[bloom25]

I seriously doubt the L2 cache would impact stability if the processor was working correctly.  One thing is for sure, turning it off certainly negates any performance improvement you got by overclocking your CPU.

I've built several systems with the A7V, and all have been 100% stable with the L2 enabled (as it should be).  You are correct to have the sound card in PCI slot 3 though.

What I would do as a test is flash the bios to the newest 1.07 available at www.asus.com.   This bios not only improves memory performance, but is supposed to resolve IRQ conflicts between PCI slots 4 & 5.  If you choose to flash the bios, you do so at your own risk.  (Make SURE bios update is enabled in bios, and byte merge is disabled.  These are the defaults, but if either is wrong you are in BIG trouble.)  I'd also set your FSB back to default, flash the bios, and then try to re-overclock it.  The newer A7V bioses GREATLY improve performance, but as a result your memory may not be able to take as high of an overclock on the FSB as before.

Also, please post your problem to the following forum:
 http://pub26.ezboard.com/bjuggernautshardware

They WILL know how to procede from here.  (This is THE a7v forum that all a7v users should know about.)


   

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bloom25
THUNDERBIRDS

[Daniko]

Thanks Bloom!! i have gotten great info off the A7v page the last couple weeks.  I've flashed Several bios versions, and am currently using 1007.  Problem still exists.  Everything is still under warranty, so i'm going into more detailed trouble shooting today.  What A PAIN IN THE AS!@!@#

daniko

[bloom25]

I guess I should have stayed up with this thread...  

Sorry to hear you haven't got it fixed yet.  Regardless, try a different processor.  The Tbird 750s are around $80 right now if your 650 is not under warranty.

I've built 3 systems, 1 with a duron, on the Asus a7v.  None have ever had this problem.  (Yes, I did load AH on them for fun, then took it back off.  I had to see just how much faster a 1 gig was vs my 927.   )



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bloom25
(Formerly of the)
THUNDERBIRDS

[bloom25]

I just had another thought.  Try setting the AGP speed to 2x in the bios.  (This won't hurt performance one bit, no current cards can take any real advantage from agp 4x.)

If that doesn't help, try a newer version of the detonator drivers.  11.00 is the newest, though I have no experience with them.

You can get drivers for all vid cards at www.reactorcritical.com

Good Luck!  

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bloom25
(Formerly of the)
THUNDERBIRDS

[Daniko]

after 2 months of fiddling,  i replaced that 250 watt power supply with a Sparkle 300 watt, and ALL!!! my computer problems are solved, . . .even the weird AH thing where my desktop mouse pointer would appear while flying, . . no lockups, . .nothing now, . .... just wanted u all to know, . . .none of my diagnostic power monitoring stuff showed any problems with the power supply, but my wattage was obviously too low to do the job, . ..

lephturn, . do u build computers for a living?? . ... just curious, . .i've built 4 computers now, after i had this 1 of mine upgraded locally, and i realize how much i enjoy it, . . . .am thinking of starting a side business in computer repair/upgrade building etc.,  but it would take a lot of work to get started...  



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Daniko the madfish
3./JG2

[Lephturn]

Nah, I'm a networking geek Daniko.  I build my own for fun and to get what I want.  I did work for a clone builder for a while when I was starting out though.

It's a tough business.  There is very little margin in hardware.  Find a way to sell your service.  

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Sean "Lephturn" Conrad - Aces High Chief Trainer

A proud member of the mighty Flying Pigs
http://www.flyingpigs.com

Check out Lephturn's Aerodrome for AH articles and training info!