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COMPUTERS: Do-it-yourself & learn A PC TO DIE FOR Part 3: squashing some more bugs and updating the BIOS & drivers By GREG SWAIN Computer lock-ups and system crashes are annoying. Don’t put up with them. If you’ve been tearing your hair out over stability problems, this article will show you how to squash the bugs. It describes how we solved the problems in our new PC but applies to lots of other PCs as well. A CTUALLY, WE TORE out quite a bit of our own hair recent­ly, battling instability in our new 1GHz Athlon PC. And although this article describes how we solved the problems, the basic approach described here applies to lots of other PCs as well. That’s because there’s nothing unique about our hardware. Lots of motherboards use the Via chipset, while video cards based on the nVidia GeForce2 and TNT chips are commonplace. And of course, lots of PCs are fitted with sound cards, network cards and other devices. So although your particular machine mightn’t exactly match ours, a lot of the advice given here still applies. It’s common practice for the AGP (video card) slot to share its IRQ with the first PCI slot (arrowed). However, many AGP video cards don’t like sharing an IRQ, so it’s standard practice to leave the first PCI slot empty. 24  Silicon Chip Our problems with our new PC really started when we decided to convert it for use as a desktop publishing machine. There were several things we had to do to: (1) convert the operating system to Windows NT; (2) install a 250MB ZIP drive; and (3) install a network card so that the new machine could be plugged into the SILICON CHIP network. We cheated when it came to the Windows NT conversion by using Power Quest’s “Drive Image” to clone the installation from my old machine (the old machine was later converted to Windows Me). Before doing that though, we changed over to a standard VGA driver so that there would be no problems with the new video card. The 250MB ZIP drive was also pinched from the old machine and slaved with the DVD-ROM drive on the primary IDE port. Did it work? Umm, no – it wouldn’t boot initially because it couldn’t find the drive (no driver for the on-board Promise Ultra ATA100 controller, you see). That was solved by temporarily transferring the hard drive to one of the “normal” IDE ports. This then allowed us to install the Promise driver from the motherboard CD-ROM, before swapping the drive back to the Primary Ultra ATA100 IDE port. www.siliconchip.com.au Go To These Websites For The Drivers & BIOS Upgrade Device Website Download Asus A7V133 BIOS Upgrade www.asus.com.tw/index.html avu1005a.awd (BIOS); afl ash.exe (Fl ash Memory Wri ter) Geforce2 MX Graphi cs Card www.nvidi a.com 12.41-W9x.exe or Win98_Me(12.41).exe for Win98/Me 12.41-W2K.exe or Win2000(12.41).exe for Windows 2000 12.41-NT.exe or WinNT4(12.41).exe for Windows NT4 Via 4-In-1 Dri vers www.viatech.com 4in1432v.zip Promi se Ul tra ATA100 Controll er www.support.promise.com/status.asp ul tra100b35.zip (beta build 35 driver) Note: final dri ver may now be available Iomega ZIP250 www.iomega.com/software/ioware28pc.html ioware-w32-x86-28.exe SoundBlaster Li ve Soundcard www.soundblaster.com/drivers/ Driver to sui t your soundcard Note: download the correct BIOS for your motherboard and the correct drivers for your hardware (sound cards, network cards, etc). You don’t have to do this with a new NT install, by the way. You just connect the hard disk to the primary Ultra ATA100 port from the beginning and install the “SCSI” driver when prompted to do so during the installation procedure (Windows NT labels all disk drives as SCSI devices). Next, the Via 4-In-1 drivers were installed, followed by the video card driver. These all went without a hitch, so the machine was powered down and the network card installed in the first PCI slot (ie, the slot adjacent to the video card AGP slot). Initially, the network card wasn’t recognised, despite being exactly the same as in the old machine – that would make things too easy, wouldn’t it? This problem was solved by deleting and reinstalling the driver. The network then came up OK after we had re-entered the network settings and it appeared to be all systems go. The lockup bug Well, it was all systems go for the first few hours – then the machine “locked up” and would not respond to either the keyboard or mouse. Even the customary three-fingered salute (Ctrl-Alt-Del) brought no joy and there was nothing for it but to press the Reset button. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a one-off event and the machine subsequently continued to lock up, seemingly at random. There just didn’t seem to be any pattern to it. Sometimes it would go for hours before locking up; at other times it would lock up again after just a few minutes. So just where do you start in tracking down a problem like this? Well, www.siliconchip.com.au it’s really just a matter of eliminating the likely suspects one-by-one until you nail the culprit. But what are the most likely possibilities? On the hardware front, it could be a crook memory module, a faulty video card or motherboard, a compatibility problem or something as simple as a resource conflict. Alternatively, it could be a software problem; eg, a buggy device driver, an incor­rect BIOS setting or even the BIOS itself. The memory was quickly cleared by swapping over memory from another machine. Choosing conservative performance settings in the BIOS didn’t help matters either and nor did turning off the Norton AntiVirus Auto-Detect utility that normally ran in the background. That left either a resource conflict or a buggy device driver – possibly involving the video card – as the most likely suspects. Why the video card? Well, buggy video drivers are a common source of problems and in this case the machine appeared to sometimes “trip” over the splash screens that are commonly displayed when an application is launched. As a result, we decided to download and install the latest drivers for the video card. While we were at it, we visited the Viatech website and grabbed the latest Via 4-In-1 drivers and installed these as well. These drivers are necessary to support the Via chipset on the motherboard and include an AGP VxD driver, so it’s important to use the latest version. By the way, don’t go to the Prolink website for video card drivers. You’ll find the most up-to-date drivers for GeForce2 MX cards on the nVidia website (www.nvidia.com). Just click the download driver button when you get there, select your operating system and grab the Detonator2 v12.41 drivers. In common with many other AGP video cards, this Prolink GeForce2 MX card doesn’t like sharing an IRQ. August 2001  25 Fig.22: the Systems Properties dialog box is opened by double-clicking its icon in Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties from the drop-down list. Fig.23: double-clicking the computer entry in Fig.22 lets you check the system resources. Make sure that the video card doesn’t share an IRQ with any other device (IRQ Holder For PCI Steering excepted). You have a choice here – you can either download the self-extracting installer or you can download a self-extracting zip file. If you have self-extracting installer, you just double-click the file to begin the driver installation and choose “GeForce2 MX/MX 400” as the display adapter when prompted – assuming, of course, you are using the PixelView GeForce2 MX video card. Unfortunately, the new video card and Via 4-In-1 drivers didn’t cure the lock-up problem, although they did appear to alleviate it somewhat (or perhaps that was just our imagination). OK, what next? Read the manual, dummy It turns out that the answer is in the FAQ section in the video card manual. 26  Silicon Chip That’s right, when all else fails read the <at>#%^&<at>! manual. According to the manual, this particular video card doesn’t like sharing its IRQ (interrupt request setting) with any other device. However, the Asus A7V133 motherboard forces the AGP slot (which accommodates the video card) to share its IRQ with the first PCI slot – a feature that’s common to many other mother­boards as well. So what was in the first PCI slot? Answer – the network card that we had installed earlier. This meant that the video card and network card were both grabbing IRQ11 (as indicated by the on-screen boot messages) and it was this that was causing our lock-up problems. The cure was simple – move the network card to the second PCI slot and leave the first PCI slot free (this also improves the airflow around the video card). The network card now happily shares its IRQ with the mass storage controller (IRQ10), leaving the video card with exclusive use of IRQ11. In case you are wondering, manually assigning a different IRQ to the first PCI slot doesn’t help matters. If you do manual­ly assign an IRQ to the first PCI slot, the AGP slot follows and grabs the same IRQ. So that’s not a solution – at least not in this case. The easiest way out is to leave the first PCI slot free if you are using the Prolink GeForce2 MX video card. Also, don’t allow any other expansion cards in any other slots to share the video card’s IRQ. If you are using Windows 98 or Windows Me, you can check the IRQ assignments in the System Properties dialog box (right click My Computer, click Properties, click the Device Manager tab and double-click Computer). Many other video cards, especially those using GeForce2 and TNT chips, are just as fussy. So, if you strike this sort of problem, make sure that the video card has exclusive use of an IRQ (the only exception here being the “IRQ Holder For PCI Steering”). Kick in head time Normally, my advice to anyone who strikes this sort of problem is to strip the machine down to its bare minimum (ie, eliminate unnecessary expansion cards) and troubleshoot from there. If only I’d followed my own advice – I’d have solved the problem Fig.24: the latest video card drivers (Detonator 2 v12.41) can be down-loaded from the nVidia website. much sooner than I did. That said, it’s still a good idea to download and install the latest drivers. Sometimes there can be more than one factor that’s contributing to system instability and you really have to cover all the bases. Upgrading the BIOS Moving the network card proved to be a complete cure for our instability problems – well, almost. System lockups were now quite infrequent but they still happened so we weren’t quite out of the woods. Adelong Computer’s advice was to upgrade the system BIOS, as there have been several revisions since our motherboard was made – some of them apparently involving issues with the AGP slot. Our Asus A7V133 motherboard came with Award Bios version avu1002a.awd, whereas the latest version (at the time of writing) is now avu1005a.awd. Upgrading the BIOS is a simple enough procedure. First, you need to go to the Asus website and download the latest BIOS file (avu1005a.zip for the A7V133). You also need to grab the Award Flash Memory Writer Utility (aflash.exe) and print out the instructions. Next, you need to make a bootable floppy disk (type format a:/s at a DOS prompt) and copy the aflash.exe file across to this disk. You also need to unzip and copy across the new BIOS file (avu1005a.awd). It’s a good idea to write down the name of this file, since www.siliconchip.com.au Squashing The Bugs – Follow These Steps The following steps are necessary to ensure a stable sys­tem. Carry out the steps in the order listed but before you do, make sure that any critical data is backed up. The Tiger comes to Australia (1) Leave the first PCI slot vacant to avoid IRQ conflicts with the video card. If you have a sound card, plug it into PCI slot 3. The network card can then go into slot 4. (2) Upgrade the motherboard BIOS to the latest version (to avu1005a. awd in the case of the Asus A7V133). Note: BIOS upgrades carry some risk – see text. (3) Download and install the latest video card driver from the nVidia website. (4) Download and install the latest Via 4-In-1 drivers from the Via Technology website. Install any service packs first if you are running Windows NT4 or Windows 2000. (5) Download and install the Beta Build 35 driver for the Promise ATA100 controller if you are running Windows 98 (this step is optional for other operating systems). (6) Download and install the latest drivers and utilities for any other devices that you have – sound cards, network cards, ZIP drives, scanners, etc. (7) Don’t install DOS emulation for the sound card if you don’t intend on running DOS games. If you do require DOS emulation, in­stall the sound card in PCI slot 3 and assign IRQ5 to this slot in the system BIOS (under PCI/ PNP IRQ Resource Exclusion). It may also be necessary to reserve IRQ5 for a legacy device. Note: you cannot run DOS emulation under Windows NT4. you have to type it in later. This done, it’s simply a matter of booting from the floppy and typing aflash <Enter> at the A:\ prompt to run the Flash Memory Writer Utility. You then follow the on-screen prompts to save the motherboard’s current BIOS to a file (eg, oldbios.awd) and update to the new BIOS. You don’t really have to save the current BIOS to a file but it’s a good idea to do so. That way, you can reinstall the old BIOS if you get error messages when you attempt to flash the latest version. When it’s finished programming, the message “Flashed Suc­cessfully” will be displayed and you hit Esc twice to exit the Flash Memory Writer. You then remove the floppy disk, restart the computer, enter the BIOS setup and choose Load Setup Defaults at the Exit Menu. After that, it’s just a matter of going back over the BIOS settings before saving the changes and exiting. If you get an error message when you attempt to flash the new BIOS, go back to the Main Menu and try writing it www.siliconchip.com.au again. If this doesn’t work, it’s possible that the new file is corrupt and you should reinstall the old BIOS. What ever you do, DON’T turn the computer off if you get an error message – it may no longer boot if you do and you will need to go back to the dealer to get the BIOS re-flashed. Similarly, if the power fails while you’re flashing the BIOS, you’re right up that proverbial creek. Re-flashing the BIOS is a simple enough procedure but it does carry some risk – don’t blame me if it all goes pearshaped. In our case, the BIOS upgrade put an end to our instability problems. We haven’t experienced a single lock-up (or any other crash) in four weeks now, so the problem is finally cured. Just one more thing here – when you go to the Boot Menu in the BIOS setup, the default for the “Other Boot Device” entry will now be “[INT18 Device (Network)]” (ie, a network drive). All you have to do here is select this device, press <Enter> and then select “[Onboard ATA100 Boot]” The BASIC, Tiny and Economy Tigers are sold in Australia by JED, with W98/NT software and local single board systems. Tigers are modules running true compiled multitasking BASIC in a 16/32 bit core, with typically 512K bytes of FLASH (program and data) memory and 32/128/512 K bytes of RAM. The Tiny Tiger has four, 10 bit analog ins, lots of digital I/O, two 2 UARTs, SPI, I C, 1-wire, RTC and has low cost W98/NT compile, debug and download software. JED makes four Australian boards with up to 64 screw-terminal I/O, more UARTs & LCD/keyboard support. See JED's www site for data. RS232RS485 Converter This small plastic case (100mm by 55mm by 25mm) is an Australian-made RS232-RS485 opto-isolated converter. It connects a PC or PLC RS232 serial port to a multi-drop RS485 network up to 4000 ft in length. Several models are available with RTS or automatic control. The J995X uses an internal microprocessor to turn the TX on byte-by-byte. $176 plus $22 for plug pack. $330 PC-PROM Programmer This programmer plugs into a PC printer port and reads, writes and edits any 28 or 32-pin PROM. Comes with plug-pack, cable and software. Also available is a multi-PROM UV eraser with timer, and a 32/32 PLCC converter. JED Microprocessors Pty Ltd 173 Boronia Rd, Boronia, Victoria, 3155 Ph. 03 9762 3588, Fax 03 9762 5499 www.jedmicro.com.au August 2001  27 Fig.25: Windows NT4 labels all disk drives as SCSI devices. Fig.26: clicking the “Drivers” tab lets you check which drivers are installed and confirm that they are started. from the drop-down list. This device can then be moved to the top of the boot order. www.softsynth.com/jsyn/support/ removed_error.html The Promise controller bug If you’ve already upgraded the system BIOS and/or installed the latest VIA 4-In-1 drivers, you won’t have to worry about this problem. The 686B data corruption bug only occurs with VIA chipset motherboards using the 686B Southbridge chip (eg, the Asus A7V133) and usually only if there is also a SoundBlaster Live soundcard installed. Basically, it prevents you from copying more than 100MB of data from one IDE drive to another and also causes problems when burning disks on CD writers. If you have an Asus A7V133 motherboard, it would appear that this problem is only possible if you have one or more drives connected to a conventional IDE port. Apparently, it’s caused by an incorrect BIOS registry setting that was made by many motherboard manufacturers in an attempt to fix a conflict with the SBLive card. This problem has since been corrected by motherboard manu­facturers and it’s probable that the latest BIOS upgrade for the A7V133 fixes the problem. If not, the fix is to install the latest Via 4-In-1 4.32 drivers. No harm will result if you up­grade both the BIOS and the VIA drivers – in fact, it’s a good idea to do both. If you want to find out more, take a look at: www.viahardware.com/686bfaq.shtm This particular bug only occurs if are using the Promise Ultra ATA100 controller and you are running Windows 98. When present, it sometimes causes a fatal error during boot up with a blue-screen message that says: “The volume that was removed had open files on it. Next time please check first to see that the volume can really be removed”. The user then has no option but to do a hard reset, which is hardly the way to go. This problem apparently occurs when using version 1.60 Build 34 (or earlier) of the Ultra ATA100 driver. Promise Tech­nology’s recommended cure is to download and install the latest Beta Build 35 driver – called Ultra100b35.zip from their website. Note that this driver is only a beta version (we tested it without problems) but Promise will probably have a final version on their website by the time you read this. In Windows 98/Me, you can update the driver via Device Manager in the System Properties dialog box. Windows NT users should double-click the SCSI Adapters icon in Control Panel, then click the Drivers tab to bring up the dialog box shown in Fig.26. The old Promise Ultra ATA100 controller can then be deleted and the new one installed. For further information on this problem, point your web browser to: 28  Silicon Chip The 686B data corruption bug Installing an IDE ZIP drive If you have an internal IDE ZIP, the best approach is to slave it with the CD-ROM drive (or DVD-ROM drive) on the conven­ tional primary IDE port. Alternatively, you can configure it as a master and run it by itself on the secondary IDE port, although this involves running an extra cable. Don’t choose auto detect for the ZIP drive in the system BIOS, as this can cause problems. Instead, choose “None” in the BIOS setting if you have a ZIP250 or select the ZIP100 option if you have a ZIP100 drive. Finally, don’t forget to install the Iomegaware software that was supplied with your ZIP drive. Even better, download the latest version from the Iomega website (see table). If you don’t do this, you won’t have any of the Iomegaware utilities; nor will you be able to read 100MB ZIP disks if you have a ZIP250 drive. Do it logically If you’ve feeling confused by now, the accompanying panel sets out all the things that you have to do in a logical order, so that your machine behaves the way it should. Apart from re­flashing the motherboard BIOS, the job simply involves download­ing and installing the latest drivers for your motherboard, video card and any other devices that you may have. This advice not only applies to our particular hardware combination but to any other hardware combination as well. The web is your weapon here – just be sure to get the correct drivers for your hardware and don’t upgrade the BIOS unless you have to. After all, SC why take unnecessary risks? www.siliconchip.com.au