Dr. M: Fasttrak question.

[KRSESQ]

Dr. Mordrid:

Picked up a Fasttrak 66 RAID controller and a second harddrive. Installed, they work perfectly under DOS, and the fasttrak driver installs with no problems and seems to work in Win98, no apparent IRQ conflicts that I can see...

But I get a memory resource conflict with my Marvel G200 that I haven't been able to resolve, rendering the Marvel inoperable.

I presume it's because of poor PCI implimentation on the VIA chipset mobo I'm using, and I'd do better finding a P3B-F somewhere.

If you can offer any suggestions for a fix it would be a tremendous help.

AMD K6-2 300
FIC VA503+ VIA Apollo MVP3 chipset :P
Marvel G200
PCI PnP modem
ISA soundcard
128 MB RAM
Win98 FE
PD 5.41
VT 1.52

Thanx

Kevin

[Dr Mordrid]

What version of the 4-in-1 are you using? The miniport and GART drivers are critical. If it's 4.25 then start looking for an update. The latest is 4.31.

Also: do you have the write cache pipeline disabled in the BIOS? If not then do so.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 02 June 2001).]

[KRSESQ]

DR:

Installed the lastest 4 in 1's with some trepidation but apparently VIA has fixed the bus master driver so it no longer kills my hard drive performance. Also confirmed that write cache pipeline was indeed disabled.

Unfortunately the problem persists. Specifically, the system appears to assign IRQs properly, but the Fasttrak grabs the memory I-O range 0000 0000 - 00ff-ffff away from the Marvel. The Marvel then reports that no I-O range can be found. Efforts to assign new I-O ranges have met with failure.

What's next?

Kevin

[Dr Mordrid]

Have you tried going into the device manager and changing the memory assignments? With most VIA boards you can do this, or at least I could with my old FIC PA-2013 rev. 2.

Dr. Mordrid

[KRSESQ]

The few memory options I'm permitted to alter for either the fasttrak or the marvel cause the system to hang during boot. I then have to go into safe mode to switch them back so I can at least get running.

Kevin

[SwAmPy]

Have you tried a different slot for your promise?

------------------
SwAmPy

[KRSESQ]

Affirmative. My board has only 3 PCI, including the one adjacent to the AGP slot, which I usually avoid. No luck.

Overclocking my processor wouldn't cause this mess, would it? I have my bus speed set to 66 MHz and my multiplier set to 5, to bump the cpu from 300 to 333 MHz, which is the best I can do without crashing all over the place. I can try resetting things to stock, but would that really cause this big a prob?

I still think my mobo is squirrelly as hell.

Kevin

[This message has been edited by KRSESQ (edited 04 June 2001).]

[Dr Mordrid]

1. a 3 PCI mainboard usually means it's a cheap POS (pardon the term, but it fits)

2. YES, overclocking could very well cause this big a problem!! Overclocking is NOT the best way to get stability out of an editing system, particularly with one with a Fastrrak (or any other RAID card for that matter) onboard.

3. I believe you're right on the squirrelly as hell part.

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 05 June 2001).]

[KRSESQ]

The mobo had the virtue of being relatively inexpensive, a big consideration for a churchmouse operation like mine.

Actually it hasn't been ALL bad. It's taken most everything I've thrown at it, within the limitations of the CPU speed. Charting and working around the bugs, however, has been a pain. And obviously it doesn't overclock well.

I've come to the conclusion that overclocking is overrated, anyway. Apart from the challenge of squeezing those extra MHz out of a system, it's more of a hazardous thrill, like rock climbing or having an affair: something you shouldn't do if you have any sense.

It might be a day or two before I get a chance to re-clock my system and work with it again, as my wife has me remodelling the bedroom. I'll keep you posted.

Kevin

[Dr Mordrid]

You're lucky.

Mine has me firing up the wood shop to make her a new vanity, a hutch for the dining room and a corner cabinet.

About a weeks worth of sawdust there, and then she wants a hand rubbed tung oil finish.

Sheesshh.....whatthehell's wrong with polyurethane?

Dr. Mordrid


[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 06 June 2001).]

[KRSESQ]

Not so lucky: I had to build 2 gigantic corner cabinets to replace our nightstands and dresser and chest of drawers. Tiny bedroom and I had to build in place because the hall is too narrow to get the finished units in. Then she paints everything "Copper Kettle" (terra cotta) and "Santa Fe" (pink).

Where do they come up with this stuff? I blame HGTV.

Kevin

[AndrewDV]

LOL!

I just got done all new FF cabinets for the kitchen. Complete with raised panel doors and maple dovetailed drawers ($$$$$!). I thought I'd never get back to video fun.

I hear you with Tung oil. Too much work, but it sure looks nice! Ever try using a 2-step oil/poly?

Maybe we can add a "woodworking" section on this forum .

[Dr Mordrid]

Yup, HGTV is Husband Hell!!

2 step is what I'd prefer to use, but the wife like that tung oil finish. Sigh....

I guess I should be glad she doesn't want me paint them pink too. Had enough of pink with the stucco in the KITCHEN (!). Jeezzzz....

I did the kitchen myself about 5 years ago. 28 feet of lowers, 25 feet of uppers and I made the whole shegang out of VERY HARD red oak. I definitely wore out some saw blades & router bits on that stuff. Surfaced the whole thing in 12.25" black granite tiles.

Dr. Mordrid




[This message has been edited by Dr Mordrid (edited 06 June 2001).]

[KRSESQ]

Jeez...

Better not let MY wife see that!

Kevin

[KRSESQ]

Finally got to play with the 'puter. reset clock speed. The memory conflict persists. Just for fun I stuck the fasttrak in another machine, an old Pentium 100 with an intel chipset. the controller was immediately recognized by Win95, I installed the drivers, and it seems to be perfectly at home, except for a "missing driver" error in device manager, which I presume is because I don't have a drive plugged into it.

Just for s&g I plugged that computer's old PCI video card into Eleanor and had the dual monitors working within minutes, no conflicts, and I must say it rocks. I'm using the same PCI slot for the video card that I did for the fasttrak. At this point I think I'll try flashing the fasttrak's bios, and maybe the Marvel's as well for good measure and a cheap thrill. Looking for a P3B-F to eventually upgrade the old girl, but there's no rush.

Kevin