Marvel: lost DOS first, now machine won't boot

[Slugbait]

Kinda long...I'll try and keep it straight-forward and short as I can. I built this machine almost two years ago...never had a problem as severe as this.

I got a new 30G hard drive last week. I upgraded the BIOS of my Asus mobo to 1012, to make sure it could see such a big drive. I installed the drive. Then everything seemed to go wrong.

After a few reboots (because the BIOS couldn't see the drive), I suddenly lost DOS: no video signal during boot-up, and no video signal booting out to DOS from Windows...but I could at least get into Windows.

Then after a few more boots, I couldn't get into Windows anymore. After about 30 seconds after power up, the system powers down. Because it was an improper shutdown, the boot sequence wants to go into Safe Mode. Of course, i can't see this, since I have no video signal in DOS, but I can "feel" my way with keystrokes...as soon as I hit to either go Normal or Safe, it shuts down.

I popped in an old TNT card, and voila...I had a video signal during boot, the mobo BIOS immediately saw the new hard drive, and I haven't had a single problem since. Runs fantastic. And I can post on this forum

As soon as I thru the Marvel back in, the system was crippled again. I attempted reverting back to BIOS 1006 and unplugging everything but C:\ and the video card...no video signal during boot, and it suffers an auto shutdown.

Anybody ever seen something this before? Any ideas?

P2B-LS, PII/350, 256megs, Marvel G200 (4.33 drivers), IBM LVD 4.5G (C), WD 6.4G (D), IBM UDMA 30G (E), Diamond 8meggers SLI, MX-300, Diamond 33.6 ISA modem, TEAC 15x SCSI (3401T?), HP 9200i SCSI, Sony 5x DVD, Inwin Q500 tower with brand-spanking new 300W power supply (problem started before replacing PS).

[This message has been edited by Slugbait (edited 25 October 2000).]

[Hunsow]

Unfortunately, we have seen this lots of times before. Looks like your Marvel G200 bios is corrupt. I hope you made a recovery disk, if not there is a bios recovery util from Matrox.

[Slugbait]

Thanks, Hunsow. Part of my problem has been solved using that utility: the video signal sends to the monitor when Windows finishes loading. No more auto-shutdown on boot.

Unfortunately, I still don't have DOS. Nothing there when I boot. For another example, if I instruct windows to restart, the video signal is cut off before the "Windows is shutting down" screen is supposed to appear. Restarting in MS-DOS does the same thing...I have no video signal at all in DOS mode.

[Slugbait]

No one has any other ideas of what I should try?

[Kruzin]

Since you have had partial success with a BIOS recovery, we can pretty well be sure where the problem is.

Try GBM's site for more knowledge about Matrox's BIOSes, and some utils which may help you.

If nothing there can do it, RMA the card to Matrox. It's still under warranty. They will replace it or repair your BIOS.

http://grafi.ii.pw.edu.pl/gbm/matrox/

[This message has been edited by Kruzin (edited 27 October 2000).]

[Slugbait]

Looks like that site has the right answer, Kruzin...that guy saw the same thing that I'm seeing now. Thx for the link.

Question, tho': I noticed at Matrox that the recovery util (which I used) specifies the card is returned to original factory BIOS settings. Would it be prudent to try and update the BIOS to 1.09 to fix the problem? Or would it be better to follow those len----gthy instructions Mazur posted first?

Since I still didn't get DOS back with that Matrox util, gut feeling sez to grab another vid card from somewhere and take the long road as Mazur instructs...sheer hope sez to try a BIOS upgrade. What say ye?

[Greebe]

Just follow Greg's instructions, all should work out fine

[Slugbait]

With great trepidation, I mulled over the two options given: go with the older stuff Greg described, or go with the latest BIOS from Matrox.

I even got an ISA card, extra floppies, and printed out Greg's instructions.

Then I said "ah, screw it...it's still under warranty." I downloaded the latest BIOS (propped on the same day I opened this thread, no less) and ran PBiosWin.

Hot damn, it worked.

The BIOS recovery util was the correct way to get my machine to boot again into Windows (which naturally was my BIGGEST concern - thanks again Hunsow), and the latest BIOS got DOS to work again. The newest BIOS update seems to execute flawlessly in Windows. Now I can begin the lengthy process of rebuilding my machine from scratch again (hey, it's a yearly ritual...)

Just posted cuz I thought you'd like to know how it turned out. Thx for all the advice.

[SteveC]

Funnily enough, I had the exact same problem yesterday in the computer shop I work in - I walk in, and the other people who work there, shouted to me "Steve! Matrox problem! You fix!"

It wads a Marvel G200 gone haywire. Thanks to Gregorz' pages, I repaired it, even though the Matrox' recovery disk didn't work, the PINS were up the spout and I had a headache!

Thanks greg!

------------------
Cheers,
Steve

"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"

[cerb]

Okay, what's going on around here?

My parents have a 16MB G400 (single head) in a system I set up for them about 14 months ago, and on Thursday, it started playing up.

I looked at it yesterday and it turns out to be the G400. Exactly the same symptoms seen on those Marvel G200's.

I put in a PCI replacement card and was going to test on my system (swap out my 32MB Dual head card) to make sure it wasn't a conflict with their mobo, but I don't think there's much point now - I'd already had a suspicion that the bios had nuked itself.

How could that happen? Their pc is not on the internet (and never has been) and they are not computer literate enough to attempt a bios flash themselves. Is there a set of drivers that is corrupting the bios on systems? These are old drivers and the problem could have happened any time in the past 3 weeks because they were overseas.

The specs on the system are as follows:
K6-2 400
128Meg Hyundai PC100 RAM
AOpen AX59Pro mobo
13Gb Quantum Fireball
16Mb G400
Kingmax 10/100 NIC
Old ISA sound card (Can't remember the manufacturer)
Adaptec IEEE 1394 adapter.

I'll try a bios flash sometime on my system when I get a chance and by the sounds of it this will work, but my worry is why it happened.

Cerb

------------------
Athlon 700
ASUS K7V
192Mb RAM
32Mb G400 DH (Win2k driver ver 5.14)
SBLive! Value
26.4GB Total HDD
Actima 8xDVD
LG 32x4x4x CD-RW
CTX VL950T 19"

Purrin' like a kitten.

[SteveC]

Matrox do know about the problem - they have gone so far as to, in their more recent drivers, flash the bios during boot up of the PC!

------------------
Cheers,
Steve

"Life is what we make of it, yet most of us just fake"

[cerb]

So what, they flash the BIOS every single time the pc boots? Or just if the bios is out of date compared to the drivers?

Do they have a tendency to corrupt themselves after a while?

Cerb

[mynx]

It seems to be related to a power problem. As in a brown out or glitch. I have had it happen a few times. I know someone who had regular bios problems until he bought a UPS.

SteveC: I think it just flashes the bios when you install the drivers. My G200 system can't be bios updated in windows, only dos, and I don't have any problems with the drivers. I just have to install them and bios updates in safe mode.

[Kruzin]

It's almost certainly a power related problem, coupled with a somewhat sensitive bios on the Gxx0 cards. Usually seen with cheap/weak power supplies in the PC and/or poor/fluctuating power sources.
To try to safeguard against these BIOS failures, recent drivers incorporate the resident "bios guard" program, which will monitor the card's bios and reflash on bootup when needed.
Power conditioners and UPS systems help a lot in situations (as mynx's freind) where bad power sources are involved.
I have always run top-end power supplies, and run through a power conditioner or UPS, and the only time I had a BIOS problem was when a 3rd party beta overclock program ate it for lunch....