HD Overheating?

[ExCyber]

I've used this before when I suspected a bad stick. It didn't really seem to do anything, at least not that I understood. I ran the test (which took forever) and it never reported anything. It just started over again when it was done. Maybe I did something wrong.

That just means no errors were detected. If an error is detected it will be reported in the bottom window. The reason the test takes forever is that it's testing for a lot of subtle problems that might only show up under unusual circumstances.

There is an update available, but it doesn't say anything about AGP fixes. I know there's a misidentification issue with this board that it would fix (my 1700+ is reported as an 1800+).

This could mean that the board is overclocking your processor... 1700+ -> 1800+ isn't exactly a huge jump though (something like 60MHz).

Eh? I'm not sure what this would mean, or what drivers I should try. I've only tried nVIDIA detonator drivers up until now. I'm not sure what you're telling me to do. (sorry... me slow)

Actually, just booting in Safe Mode should have the same effect. IIRC the preferred way to get into Safe Mode on Win98 is to hold the left Control key at boot.

Also, when you go into Device Manager, what name does it show for your hard disk controller?

 

[Quadriflax]

This could mean that the board is overclocking your processor... 1700+ -> 1800+ isn't exactly a huge jump though (something like 60MHz).

I checked, it's not. I did adjust the FSB from 133 to 134 since FuzzyLogic4 was reporting 132.x MHz and the clock speed wasn't as fast as it should have been. I think the multiplier and everything else is locked on the chip itself since upping it in the BIOS has no effect.

Actually, just booting in Safe Mode should have the same effect. IIRC the preferred way to get into Safe Mode on Win98 is to hold the left Control key at boot.

You mean boot into safe mode and see if the problem occurs in there? That's kinda hard to do since the problem is intermittent. I wouldn't know if it was fixing the problem or not.

Also, when you go into Device Manager, what name does it show for your hard disk controller?

Device manager reports under hard disk controller:

Primary IDE Controller (duel fifo)

Secondary IDE Controller (duel fifo)

VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller

Is this what you're looking for?

I also got a reply from BFG Tech support after resending the email describing my problem. Here's what they said:

The fact that the card is sharing an IRQ with your USB host controller could very well be the cause of the problem you are having. Generally graphics cards, especially the more powerful cards like the GeForce 4 line do require it's own interupt (IRQ) to operate correctly.

What I would suggest doing is either trying to get the graphics card to another IRQ like 11 or moving the USB host controllers off of 5. Due to the type of bios you have on your machine it would most likely be easier to move the USB host controllers off of 5. There should be a setting in the bios that will allow you to change the IRQ of the USB host controllers to another available IRQ. In the Award Bios' generally this setting for the USB Host controllers is found under PCI configuration.

Does this make any sense to you? Could this be a likely cause, or is it just a typical scripted reply from tech support that isn't relevant? (It does sound more personalized though). I posted my IRQ config on here and in multiple newsgroups and no one seemed to think it was a big deal. I was first alerted to the possiblity of IRQ problems when I read an FAQ on the BFG Tech website. I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Thanks again for helping!

 

[Taelon]

Ack...

I was just half done whipping up a reply when I realized they were talking about the USB controller whereas your problem must have something to do with the IDE controller. Actually it's OK for two devices to share the same IRQ ... a system called PCI IRQ Steering takes care for this under Windows, in combination with PCI bus mastering (a hardware feature enabled in the BIOS).

You have two drives right? Are they on the SAME IDE port (master/slave), or is each drive a master on its own port?

 

[Quadriflax]

I was just half done whipping up a reply when I realized they were talking about the USB controller whereas your problem must have something to do with the IDE controller. Actually it's OK for two devices to share the same IRQ ... a system called PCI IRQ Steering takes care for this under Windows, in combination with PCI bus mastering (a hardware feature enabled in the BIOS).

So it isn't a problem then? Initially I did think this could be the problem. Before my reinstall of Win98, my new printer used to cause the same thing to happen when I turned it on (again, not every time). The difference between my new and old printer being the new one now uses a USB cable, not the old school printer cable. Actually, another difference is that the printer is the only USB device plugged into the D-Bracket USB ports. Everything else is plugged into the motherboard.

I haven't had the printer issue come up since my reinstall, but it was identical to the problem I'm having now. I thought reinstalling Windows would have fixed the problem. Seems to have just relocated it instead. ???

You have two drives right? Are they on the SAME IDE port (master/slave), or is each drive a master on its own port?

Yep, two drives, one cable. My IDE setup is as follows:

Primary Cable: 15 GB Western Digital 7200 RPM (Master)

40 GB Maxtor 7200 RPM (Slave)

Secondary Cable: Plextor 8/4/32x Plexwriter (Master)

I/O Magic 40x CDROM (Slave)

Both obviously plugged directly into the board, not an IDE card.