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ASUS P5A-B + Matrox G200

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  • #1

    ASUS P5A-B + Matrox G200

    I recently helped a friend reinstall Windows98 on his computer. The following is a list of updates that were performed (in order):

    - updated P5A-B BIOS to 1007.A
    - updated G200 BIOS to 1.04
    - installed ALiAGP 1.62
    - installed PowerDesk 5.25
    - installed DirectX 7.0
    - applied Windows98 service pack

    Despite these updates, it seems Windows is unstable compared to before the re-install. The crashes are seemingly random. Sometimes the computer will be fine for hours, but at another time, it might crash five minutes after loading the desktop.

    I noticed that in the BIOS, the motherboard temperature probe sometimes report a reading of up to 35 degrees Celcius. I thought this was a bit high so I took off the case, but it has made no detectable difference in system stability.

    This was the system configuration before the above updates:
    - P5A-B BIOS 1004
    - G200 BIOS unknown
    - ALiAGP 1.60e
    - PowerDesk 4.xx (from installation CD)
    - DirectX 6.0

    Any help would be appreciated.
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Current BIOS is 2.6-20. Might try that. The Asus board was one of the few that worked well with the G200, so something is amiss. I DO recall people having problems flashing the G200 BIOS in Asus boards, though. But if you have done it before, sounds like you got that deal licked.

    Comment

    • #3
      "- installed AliAGP 1.62"

      That sounds like a beta driver. Last time I checked( which was just 2 days ago) the latest non beta driver was 1.60. Try that instead. Thats what I'm using and my system is stable. Also, if the CPU is oc'd, try setting it back to default for a while.

      HedsSpaz
      Primary System:
      MSI 745 Ultra, AMD 2400+ XP, 1024 MB Crucial PC2100 DDR SDRAM, Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro, 3Com 3c905C NIC,
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      "Any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic." --Arthur C. Clarke

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      • #4
        Sorry for the late reply!

        I went to my friend's house yesterday and after accepting the fact the machine was too unstable to use (Windows would boot into the desktop and spontaineously reboot), we re-installed Windows98 yet again.

        This time, the Windows installation went without any problems. One abnormality was that on about the second reboot (after installing ALiAGP 1.60e, the video driver was still Standard VGA, 16-color low res), I got a BSOD while using Windows Explorer. I rebooted and the system seemed to be fine, should this be a concern?

        I proceeded to install PowerDesk 5.20 (the latest certified driver). However, the setup program could not detect any Matrox hardware in the machine and would not install. This gave me a little scare, because the only other G200 driver I had available was from the installation CD --PD 4.xx Luckily, it installed fine. However, on the odd chance that I wanted to play Solitaire, I noticed it was impossible to drag a card --if I hold down the mouse button on a card and move it around the screen, I would get long trail of cards. Not at all impressed with this behaviour, I am happy to say that installing PowerDesk 5.30 (just released) solved this problem and I have so far witnessed no problems.

        To make a long story short, the combination of Win98/ALiAGP1.6/MatroxPD5.3 seems quite stable. However, I do have a G200 question:

        My friend mostly uses his computer for 2-D: Office applications, internet, C++ and RPG. The Matrox card is currently running at AGP 1x. Is there any need to force AGP 2x and if so, how is this done and how stable is this setup? Is SetK6 necessary?

        Thanks in advance!

        Comment

        • #5
          IMO, AGP2x seems rather unnecessary for your friend's modest needs for 3D. Enabling AGP2x may cause system to behave more unstable.
          Anyway, if you really need to enable AGP2x for G400, here's how and it's exclusive for ALi V mobos only:

          Goto:
          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Class\Display\0000\Settings\CPU\AGPFlags set to "-1" (same as AGP2x registry hack from MURC)

          and

          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ALi\ALi AGP Driver\AGPDataRate and set value from "0" to "2"

          This will enable AGP2X. Not too many know that although the registry hack is already making the G400 itself running at AGP2X, but its the mobo that is stopping it from running at AGP2X due to the ALi AGP registry settings.

          Not too sure about case on SetK6 but i personally don't use it.

          Hope that helps!!

          ------------------
          AsusP5A rev1007, K6-400 o/c to 448 (112*4), 128Mb Micron PC100 -8E SDRAM, G400 OEM 16Mb AGP, IBM 16GP 8.4, Quantum ST 3.2A, Toshiba 32X CDROM, HP CDWriter 7570i, SBLive! Value, Intel EtherXpress Pro 100TX NIC, Motorola CableModem, RIC 17" Monitor, HP Deskjet 710C, Altec Lansing ACS45 & Cambridge PCWorks
          Abit KT7A-RAID, TBird AVIA 1ghz o/c 1.3ghz, 256Mb Infineon PC133 SDRAM, G400 32Mb DH, Maxtor DM+60 30G, Quantum Fireball ST 3.2, Toshiba 32X, HP CDWriter 9100i, Samsung 700IFT, HP Deskjet 710C, Philips Acoustic Edge, Sirocco Crossfire

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          • #6
            I think you should have applied the Service Pack before the other software updates. Installing them (including DX7) again could help.

            _
            B

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            • #7
              I believe the aliagp driver needs to be installed after the pd drivers (saw it on a tv show vonce )
              jim

              ------------------
              PIII-500mhz @ 620!
              Abit BE6 mobo
              128mb pc-100
              Mill G400(YAHOO!!!) 32mb @ 120%)
              PD 5.30
              Maxtor 13.2 gb Uata66 hdd
              SB Live!
              Winblows 98se
              DX7
              THREE BIG FANS, six little ones and a case that sounds like a turbine engine...doh!


              System 1:
              AMD 1.4 AYJHA-Y factory unlocked @ 1656 with Thermalright SK6 and 7k Delta fan
              Epox 8K7A
              2x256mb Micron pc-2100 DDR
              an AGP port all warmed up and ready to be stuffed full of Parhelia II+
              SBLIVE 5.1
              Maxtor 40g 7,200 @ ATA-100
              IBM 40GB 7,200 @ ATA-100
              Pinnacle DV Plus firewire
              3Com Hardware Modem
              Teac 20/10/40 burner
              Antec 350w power supply in a Colorcase 303usb Stainless

              New system: Under development

              Comment

              • #8
                Always remember that it is very important to disable Fram Buffer Posted Write in your BIOS settings for a P5A... else you will idneed have an unstable system.

                Z

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