Game install lockups

[KRSESQ]

I have travelled far from the forum of desktop video to seek advise from the sages of gaming for a problem which has vexed me for...

Okay, enough of that crap. The problem I'm experiencing: I cannot install (nearly) any Windows game. Specifically, efforts to install Starship Titanic, SimCity 3000 Unlimited, MS Flight Simulator 98, all result in solid lockups during the install process. Installation may progress anywhere from 1 to 50 percent completed when the system locks solid, requiring reset.

It took six or seven tries to get Simcity to install (not deleting or uninstalling the previous attempt) and it runs okay. Starship Titanic and MS Flight sim don't install at all. The only game I've gotten to install on the first try is Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Old DOS games, like Wolfenstein and Doom, are fine.

I should note that once upon a time I did manage to get these games to install, albeit with one or two crashes in the process. I've beaten my head against the wall trying to reproduce the conditions of those earlier successes.

This occurs only with games. application software gives no problems whatsoever. The system is nice and stable doing desktop video, web page authoring, photo editing. no blue screens, no dropped frames, no complaints at all.

My system:

AMD K6-2 300 (no overclock)
66Mhz system bus speed
FIC VA503+ mobo (rev. 1), VIA Apollo MVP3 chipset
256 MB sdram
Matrox Marvel G200-TV, currently 128MB aperture
Media Vision ProAudio 16 ISA soundcard (old legasy card)
HSP Micromodem PCI (sole PCI device)
Maxtor 17 gig boot drive as master, IDE 1
Maxtor 30 gig drives as slave, IDE 1 and master, IDE 2
Smart and Friendly CD-Speedwriter RW, slave IDE 2 (DMA OFF)
Windows 98 First Edition
Powerdesk v. 5.41
Videotools v.1.52
DirectX 7.0a
All current device drivers
Adaptec DirectCD v. 2.5d

Anything else I can add? Your input, please. This is driving me nuts!

Kevin

[KRSESQ]

I should add that any large multiple file transfers from the CDRW to any hard drive almost always result in the same type lockup.

I will reinstall my old Goldstar CDROM for a test to see if that helps.

Kevin

[ayoub_ibrahim]

don't know if this would help but have you got an updated windows installer for your win98FE??

[Maggi]

I'm not sure, but I seem to recall that Direct CD can cause various problems ...

uninstall that one and try again

[Admiral]

Last time I had a problem like that it turned out that for some unknown reason Windows set my CD-ROM Suplimental cahce size to the smallest value possible.
If it also applyes to CDRs, you might want to have a look in ControlPanel/System/Performance/FileSystem/CD-ROM and check that Suplimental cache size slider bar.

[Wombat]

I used to have that motherboard. The later revisions (1.1b/1.2a) were great, the others had some bugs.

I think this might be a chipset-specific problem. There is some latency setting in the BIOS that has to be played with, if you're hitting the bug I'm thinking of.

I'll try harder to remember, but I remember seeing this bug when I tried to install Windows on an MVP3-based AOpen board.

I'll see if I can dig up a link, but I haven't encountered this in 3 years.

[Alec]

Check if DMA is ticked on in your CDROM drive properties... if it is active, untick it.

[omegaRED]

Re: Game install lockups

Originally posted by KRSESQ
AMD K6-2 300 (no overclock)
66Mhz system bus speed
FIC VA503+ mobo (rev. 1), VIA Apollo MVP3 chipset
256 MB sdram
Matrox Marvel G200-TV, currently 128MB aperture
Media Vision ProAudio 16 ISA soundcard (old legasy card)
HSP Micromodem PCI (sole PCI device)
Maxtor 17 gig boot drive as master, IDE 1
Maxtor 30 gig drives as slave, IDE 1 and master, IDE 2
Smart and Friendly CD-Speedwriter RW, slave IDE 2 (DMA OFF)
Windows 98 First Edition
Powerdesk v. 5.41
Videotools v.1.52
DirectX 7.0a
All current device drivers
Adaptec DirectCD v. 2.5d

Anything else I can add? Your input, please. This is driving me nuts!

Kevin

He isnt running the CD in DMA mode ...

[KRSESQ]

Thanks, folks, for your input. I thought I'd fill you in on what crazy s**t my experimenting has uncovered.

Maggi: Apparently this version of DirectCD doesn't have any installer. There is no listing in Add/Remove Programs. I could delete the folder, but it wouldn't eliminate the entrys in the registry (and I know my limits!).

Admiral: My supplimental cache size is at max.

Wombat: I think you're right, this is a chipset-specific prob. This VIA chipset is one of the buggiest I've ever seen. Guess that's what I get for being an early adopter

What I learned through trial and error is this: I can install games from the CDRW (slave, IDE2) to drive E (Master, IDE2) perfectly, and they run great. I cannot install from the IDE2 slave to any drive on IDE1. My problem is, I don't want to install games on E: because this is one of my media drives, and I have nearly 14 gigs of space on C: to fill. Besides, it shouldn't be necessary!

This occurs only when transferring data from the CDRW (or CDROM) to devices on IDE1. Data transfers between harddrives are unaffected, regardless of IDE channel, filesize or folder size.

Have any of you experienced this kind of thing, especially those of you with VIA chipset mobos? Your answers will have a direct bearing on what goes into the new system I'm planning.

Thanks again all for your help.

Kevin

[G450Newbie]

I have experienced this with via chipsets before.

Turn off "Read Around Write" in your bios, and set the secondary slave to PIO mode 4.

G450

[KRSESQ]

Both done as part of my desktop video setup.

anyone have experience with the CUSL2 mobo? (Intel I815EP chipset)

Kevin

[G450Newbie]

Originally posted by KRSESQ
Both done as part of my desktop video setup.

anyone have experience with the CUSL2 mobo? (Intel I815EP chipset)

Kevin

One more setting that I have found to have an effect on HDD transfers: in your bios, "Write Cache Pipeline" Make sure it's disabled.

G450

[KRSESQ]

also done as part of DTV setup.

Kevin

[G450Newbie]

In that case, have you tried different via 4 in 1's ? They can have a huge effect on hdd controller problems.


As far as the cusl2-c, I have one and I absolutely love it. Works great with my G200 and G450 with zero problems. Limited to a max of 512 MB of memory and a 64 MB AGP aperature, but so far that has been no limit of real meaning to me...

G450

[KRSESQ]

I've been a bit leery using different 4 in 1 drivers. Previous revisions of the 4 in 1's have tanked my hard drive performance, knocking it down from as good as 8-9 MB/sec using the Standard Dual PCI IDE Controller driver to as low as 1.5 - 2 MB/sec using the VIA Bus Master driver (UDMA 33).

The latest driver revision seems to be okay.

The drivers that came with the mobo are downright toxic!

Kevin