Unique lockup problem; any help/advice from the experts?

Sibby · 01-20-2002, 08:02 PM

Hey everyone,

I'm having a PC lockup problem (yippee!)...the results of the lockup are always the same, however I have no idea the reason for them! (hence "problem") That's where I'm hoping some of you HW experts can help me out. Initially I thought these symptoms were related to my heat issue I was having, http://www.hardcoreware.net/forum/sh...threadid=1849. But I fixed that problem, but still get this one!

When playing games like Half-Life, Soldier of Fortune & Return to Castle Wolfenstein I get the following problem. Game is playing fine when (at the same time) my mouse becomes disabled, and all sound is replaced by a "lovely" high-pitched buzzing noise. My keyboard however will still work for another 30 seconds before everything is locked up and I'm forced to reset. No error messages, no BSOD, just a lockup.

Now this problem happens to a different degree with the 3 games listed above. HL it barely ever happens.....SOF probably 2 out of every 10 times I play it, and RTCW it happens every damn time, in about the first 10 minutes. Here are my system stats below.

MB: FIC AZ11EA KT133A
AMD 1.4GHz Athlon
Toshiba 16x DVD, 48x CD-ROM
Kingston 512MB PC133
CD-Burner
SB Live 5.1 Platinum w/ LiveDrive
Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra 64
WinTV Tuner Card
Netgear NIC
Studio DV Firewire
20 GB IBM Deskstar
45 GB IBM Deskstar
Vantec Copper Heatsink
W2K SP2

I've updated every Driver/BIOS ver/Patch I can think of. I've played around with the BIOS settings a bit but still get the crash. I've check out the Hercules and Creative sites for any clues (I'm thinking it's something with the video/sound card) but found nuttin'.

Has anyone had a similar problem like this in the past? Is anyone running a similar system without any problems? If so, what is your setup? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll try anything at this point.

Thanks in advance!

Sibby

rstarr · 01-20-2002, 08:36 PM

Does this problem only happen with these games?
In otherwords, other games and applications work fine?

If so, it sounds like a video card problem, but I can't pin-point it just yet until you respond back.

Raven262 · 01-20-2002, 09:26 PM

Damn, I hate the KT133A chipset. I really hate it...

Anyway, what IRQ's are being shared? I found that my Soundblaster didn't like particular slots when I was also using a USB mouse. I recall the exact same symptoms you are describing. I had to move my soundblaster to a different slot before things started working like they should.

I had to scoot my cards around like such.

AGP - Vid
PCI1 - Empty
PCI2 - NIC
PCI3 - Empty
PCI4 - Sounblaster Audigy
PCI5 - Empty
PCI6 - Empty

Essentially what I did was get the USB and SBLive to share IRQ5 and things have been great ever since.

Not sure if this will help you, but just thought I'd add my 2 cents.

rstarr · 01-20-2002, 10:44 PM

Raven, the KT133A chipset is a good chipset. I believe your problem and maybe Sibby's had something to do with IRQ sharing between the AGP slot and either PCI# 3 or 5. (the video card plus what's in those two slots).

But this holds true only on certain M/B's and based upon Sibby's reply to my above question, we shall investagate further!

BPizzuti · 01-21-2002, 09:33 AM

Guys, I know you remember fondly when moving IRQs around solved everything but get over it. IRQs don't exist anymore. OR at least, they're not supposed to if you install 2K or XP properly, and have ACPI enabled.

Soundblaster LIVE cards and earlier VIA chipsets tend not to get along, and probably never will. Yank the sucker and see what happens.

Raven262 · 01-21-2002, 11:26 AM

Win2k, XP? Windows 98 will never die!

d3r3k · 01-21-2002, 11:53 AM

As Bryan said, the older VIA chipsets don't get along with SB Live!'s....

Try a different sound card, or just try moving it around.

rstarr · 01-21-2002, 02:59 PM

Yes, move the sound card to the very bottom PCI slot or right next to
the AGP video card.

Georules · 01-21-2002, 05:50 PM

Yea IRQs don't seem to matter as much anymore with new hardware, but this may be IRQ related, I agree.

Are all of your cards start from top to bottom or bottom to top? Sometimes if you leave one open like this:

|----
|----
|----
|
|----

some mobos go crazy.

BPizzuti · 01-21-2002, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Georules
Yea IRQs don't seem to matter as much anymore with new hardware, but this may be IRQ related, I agree.

Are all of your cards start from top to bottom or bottom to top? Sometimes if you leave one open like this:

|----
|----
|----
|
|----

some mobos go crazy.

That's actually dependent on the distribution of PCI interrupts...there's 4 of them Each manufacturer does it differently...sometimes PCI1 and AGP share an interrupt (usually A) and sometimes AGP shares with PCI 5 or 6. THing is, unless someone somewhaere didn't follow the PCI 2.2 standard, PCI interrupts are supposed to be shared flawlessly.

P.S. PCI Interrupts are NOT the same as IRQs.

01-20-2002, 08:02 PM	#1
Sibby softcore Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 21	Unique lockup problem; any help/advice from the experts? Hey everyone, I'm having a PC lockup problem (yippee!)...the results of the lockup are always the same, however I have no idea the reason for them! (hence "problem") That's where I'm hoping some of you HW experts can help me out. Initially I thought these symptoms were related to my heat issue I was having, http://www.hardcoreware.net/forum/sh...threadid=1849. But I fixed that problem, but still get this one! When playing games like Half-Life, Soldier of Fortune & Return to Castle Wolfenstein I get the following problem. Game is playing fine when (at the same time) my mouse becomes disabled, and all sound is replaced by a "lovely" high-pitched buzzing noise. My keyboard however will still work for another 30 seconds before everything is locked up and I'm forced to reset. No error messages, no BSOD, just a lockup. Now this problem happens to a different degree with the 3 games listed above. HL it barely ever happens.....SOF probably 2 out of every 10 times I play it, and RTCW it happens every damn time, in about the first 10 minutes. Here are my system stats below. MB: FIC AZ11EA KT133A AMD 1.4GHz Athlon Toshiba 16x DVD, 48x CD-ROM Kingston 512MB PC133 CD-Burner SB Live 5.1 Platinum w/ LiveDrive Hercules 3D Prophet II Ultra 64 WinTV Tuner Card Netgear NIC Studio DV Firewire 20 GB IBM Deskstar 45 GB IBM Deskstar Vantec Copper Heatsink W2K SP2 I've updated every Driver/BIOS ver/Patch I can think of. I've played around with the BIOS settings a bit but still get the crash. I've check out the Hercules and Creative sites for any clues (I'm thinking it's something with the video/sound card) but found nuttin'. Has anyone had a similar problem like this in the past? Is anyone running a similar system without any problems? If so, what is your setup? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'll try anything at this point. Thanks in advance! Sibby

01-20-2002, 08:36 PM	#2
rstarr Still cruising Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Radcliff, KY Posts: 12,012	Does this problem only happen with these games? In otherwords, other games and applications work fine? If so, it sounds like a video card problem, but I can't pin-point it just yet until you respond back. __________________ HCW F@H Member Stats • F@H Home • F@H FAQ• Stats site•

01-20-2002, 10:44 PM	#4
rstarr Still cruising Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Radcliff, KY Posts: 12,012	Raven, the KT133A chipset is a good chipset. I believe your problem and maybe Sibby's had something to do with IRQ sharing between the AGP slot and either PCI# 3 or 5. (the video card plus what's in those two slots). But this holds true only on certain M/B's and based upon Sibby's reply to my above question, we shall investagate further! __________________ HCW F@H Member Stats • F@H Home • F@H FAQ• Stats site•

01-21-2002, 11:53 AM	#7
d3r3k I always get my man! Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Edmonton, AB Posts: 694	As Bryan said, the older VIA chipsets don't get along with SB Live!'s.... Try a different sound card, or just try moving it around. __________________ Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. The ways of God and government and girls are all mysterious, and it is not given to mortal man to understand them. -MrJoelieC ...I find myself transfixed by a shadow on the wall, or the splashing of water against a stone. I stare at it, the hours pass, the world around me drops away, replaced by worlds being created and destroyed by my imagination. A way to focus the mind. -Leonardo DaVinci

01-21-2002, 02:59 PM	#8
rstarr Still cruising Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Radcliff, KY Posts: 12,012	Yes, move the sound card to the very bottom PCI slot or right next to the AGP video card. __________________ HCW F@H Member Stats • F@H Home • F@H FAQ• Stats site•

01-20-2002, 09:26 PM	#3
Raven262 Hard2theCORE Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Out there. Posts: 429	Damn, I hate the KT133A chipset. I really hate it... Anyway, what IRQ's are being shared? I found that my Soundblaster didn't like particular slots when I was also using a USB mouse. I recall the exact same symptoms you are describing. I had to move my soundblaster to a different slot before things started working like they should. I had to scoot my cards around like such. AGP - Vid PCI1 - Empty PCI2 - NIC PCI3 - Empty PCI4 - Sounblaster Audigy PCI5 - Empty PCI6 - Empty Essentially what I did was get the USB and SBLive to share IRQ5 and things have been great ever since. Not sure if this will help you, but just thought I'd add my 2 cents.

01-21-2002, 09:33 AM	#5
BPizzuti Truly HARDCORE Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Poughkeepsie, NY Posts: 1,016	Guys, I know you remember fondly when moving IRQs around solved everything but get over it. IRQs don't exist anymore. OR at least, they're not supposed to if you install 2K or XP properly, and have ACPI enabled. Soundblaster LIVE cards and earlier VIA chipsets tend not to get along, and probably never will. Yank the sucker and see what happens.

01-21-2002, 11:26 AM	#6
Raven262 Hard2theCORE Join Date: Mar 2000 Location: Out there. Posts: 429	Win2k, XP? Windows 98 will never die!

01-21-2002, 05:50 PM	#9
Georules Serpens Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Tallahassee, Florida Posts: 8,550	Yea IRQs don't seem to matter as much anymore with new hardware, but this may be IRQ related, I agree. Are all of your cards start from top to bottom or bottom to top? Sometimes if you leave one open like this: \|---- \|---- \|---- \| \|---- some mobos go crazy.