Epox MVP3G2 / Marvel G200 / DirectX 7.0a

[acobra]

Haven't posted here in a while... I'm at my wit's end on this one though.

What should the current install procedure be for this configuration?? Should I be using DX7.0a at all?

Basically this is my problem: I kept crashing when running any directx application (including the tests in DXDiag) so I decided to trash my system and start over.

I installed W98 then W98 S.E. then VIA 4in1 4.20... including PaulCS's busmastering trick:
http://forums.murc.ws/ubb/Forum3/HTML/001780.html

then I installed Maxtrox driver version 5.52 (not for Marvel, but they should work without the Video Tools) then LiveWare 3.0 for the SBLIVE... and finally Directx 7.0a.

When rebooting for the direct x install the system crashed w/ a BSOD (don't remember what it said) I rebooted again and tried DX diag. When running the Direct 3d tests, the system goes to a black screen that says "Windows Protection Error, you must restart your machine" and shuts down.

I'm in the process of starting over again.. I am going to flash the MB bios first, but I wanted to know what the current suggested install order is for this configuration? What version of the VIA drivers / Matrox Drivers / and even Direct X should I be running?? Is there a problem with 7.0a?

According to EPOX, all I should use is the AGP driver from the 4.18a version of the 4in1 drivers. But if i don't install busmastering, I get a VXD BSOD everytime I try to reboot or shut down. I'm so aggravated w/ VIA!!!

Any suggestions welcome. Thanks!!

[acobra]

Oh, my system specs are:

EPOX MVP3G2
K62-450
Marvel G200
SBLive! Value
3com 10/100 PCI NIC
IBM 18gig 7200RPM UDMA66 HDD
(1) 128 Meg PC100 Dimm
Compaq DVD-Rom drive
Teac 40x CD-Rom drive

I did mention most of this above, but this makes it easier to read.

I don't have an IRQ listing with me cause the system is at home, but I don't think I have any conflicts.



[This message has been edited by acobra (edited 26 April 2000).]

[Jon P. Inghram]

My system is very similar to what you've got, and I've had the same problem with 5.5x drivers. My advice is to use 5.41 or 5.25.

[anid]

The most stable set-up I've found so far with an Epox g-M rev 0.4, G200 SD 16MB - Via GART 3.59 (if you need it - http://www.comingup.org/agp359.zip ) - install in turbo mode, then force 1X transfers (with the reghacks or PDResManager). The Matrox drivers over 5.41 will NOT work on Via boards with the G200. Using 5.41, PDesk may eat the CPU, so either hybridize the drivers (use Pdesk.ex_ and pdkernel.dl_ from 5.25 with all the other files from 5.41) or just use the 5.25 drivers.

------------------
"I wrestled with reality for 27 years and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it."

[acobra]

Well, this is what I did, and for now it's kinda stable... I'm not gonna bother with trying to get it perfect anymore, cause I've already started to accumulate the parts for a new Athlon system (which will be built on a MSI-6195 cause I'm sick of VIA's driver issues)

I installed W98, then all my drivers in this order:
VIA 4in1 4.18a, everything (what version of VIA Gart is in this package??)
LiveWare 3.0
Matrox version 5.41
Direct X 7.0 (not A)
Then W98 SE

Seems pretty stable for now, and in 2 weeks this will just be a second machine anyway. The weird thing was, W98 SE setup failed (registry error, then explorer crashed everytime I started) 3 times when I tried to install it before installing the VIA drivers.

Thanks for the tips... I'll still take 'em if there are any more!!

[tony]

I haven't visited for a while, so I came to see if any better system configs existed for my MVP3-based system. I can see that not much has changed. My system configuration is extremely stable, so I'll post it here:

Video: Matrox Marvel G200-AGP w/ 16 MB
Matrox BIOS: 2.6-20
Matrox Powerdesk: 5.25
Matrox Video Tools: 1.51
MB: FIC PA-2013 v. 2.0 w/ 2MB Cache
Chipset: VIA MVP3
VIA Drivers: 4in1420
BIOS: JI438
Processor: AMD K6-2 450
Memory: 128 MB PC-100
OS: Windows 98 SE
Direct X: 7.0a
BIOS Settings:
Video BIOS Shadow: Enable
Video BIOS Cacheable: Enable
System BIOS Cacheable: Enable
Write Cache Pipeline: Disabled
Memory Timing: Turbo
SDRAM Cycle Length: 2
SDRAM Interleave: 4
SDRAM MD-to-HD Pop + 1T: Disabled
SDRAM Sustain 4T Cycle: Disabled
AGP Aperture: 64 MB
AGP-2X Mode Support: Enabled
All Power Management Disabled
PNP OS: Yes
Onboard Serial Port 1: Disabled
Onboard Serial Port 2: Disabled
USB Controller: Enabled

Peripherals:
IRQ9: Matrox Marvel G200 AGP
IRQ11: Promise Ultra66 with 2-7200 RPM drives (each on their own IDE channel), shared IRQ with Onboard USB Controller
IRQ10: USR 56K Voice PCI Hardware Modem
IRQ5: SoundBlaster PCI512
IRQ3: SMC Ultra16 10base2 ISA Ethernet
NO IRQ: UMAX ISA SCSI card for scanner
Toshiba 40x CD on Onboard IDE1
Mitsumi CDR on Onboard IDE2

Advice: Get the latest driver/bios updates for all peripherals. Especially important is BIOS update for MB. With BIOS JI437 and better for PA-2013 v2.0 and VIA 4in1420 drivers, Win98SE uses ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) and my sound card uses the right IRQ (5). Get the latest drivers for your Sound Card. With my Sound Blaster PCI-512, the new driver eliminated an IRQ conflict that I had with IRQ 7 and my printer port.