On Wed, 07 Jul 2004 02:17:42 -0500, David Maynard
wrote:

SNIP

It hangs. It usually hangs in the black 'F8' screen w/ the progress
bar at the bottom that says it is starting windows. The progress bar
at the bottom usually goes about 75-80% across when it locks up. The
case reset switch has no affect at this point either - I have to power
it off. It will not log a bootlog file either.

The case reset switch not working is particularly disturbing. Does it work
on the 'first' boot? I mean, instead of trying a reboot can you kill it by
hitting reset?

Let me expand on that. The 'reset' switch on the case normally works
fine and of course is only needed in a dire situation (which is super
rare or almost never for me under W2K). If I OC to 850mhz and do the
flash trick I can get into W2K. At that point I've never tried the
reset swich because there was no need. The PC functioned normally and
I could then do a normal restart or shut down thru windows.

The NEXT time into W2K it will of course hang usually on the black F8
windows starting phase... Now HERE if I hit the reset button it will
blank the screen, you'll here some ticks coming from the HD as you
normally would but then it just sits there w/ a black screen
indefinately. I simply have to turn the power off and then back on to
get it to respond again.

I CAN however put a boot disk in and boot (at 850mhz) into a DOS
prompt (W98 book disk) and the reset button works there as well as
CNTRL ALT DEL.

Basically when it hangs on teh 2nd attempt and beyond going into W2K
at 850mhz - it REALLY hangs and not even the reset button will wake it
up properly - just a power off/on.


Yeah. Ok. If you'd mentioned Abit and flashing for Vcore I'd have known
what you meant.

Yep. I thought I'd mentioned in the orig post it was an ABit ZM6
(similar to BM6 but less memory). You know your mobos! I have the
latest flashing they released (SU?) to move the default voltage up...
I think the chip is pretty happy at 1.85V which is right in line w/
the many entries in overclockers.com CPU database for OCing the 566 to
850.

I've never heard of a problem quite like this but it's as if the
motherboard doesn't like the foolie flash.

Which Abit motherboard is it? I presume it's one of their socket 370 boards
because if you're using a slotket you could adjust Vcore there and not
bother with the flash. Well, unless you're using one of the el-cheapo
slotkets with no Vcore jumpers.

Yes again - you do know those old mobos! The ZM6 w/ the last couple of
flashings (QU? and SU?) will support the earliest coppermine CPUs
including explicitly the cB0 stepping up to 600mhz - this chip is a
566 cB0 stepping. No slotket or adapter.

Set your memory timings to the slowest possible and see if that helps.


Long since set to slowest most conservative settings. Everythign in
BIOS is set conservatively. Remember this all worked fine w/ a 100FSB
setting w/ a 366 OCd to 550. The 100FSB itself in thoery shouldn't be
a problem here I would think...?

Well, it could but, in this case, I doubt that's it since it works
'forever' until you try to reboot.

Indeed. Forever: Several days at a time including extended overnight
sessions w/ prime95 torture test. No apparent temp problems or
stability issues. It just runs fantastic at 850mhz that ONE time after
a flash under W2K. Its the 2nd time and beyond that it hangs... As I
said never quite heard of something like this in my limited OCing
experience. Strange!

I got lucky in stumbling into the fact that it would work the one time
after a reflash - if it wasn't for that I might very well have
concluded it was not do-able.

Just because it worked with a 366 OC'd, though, doesn't mean a 566 'must'.
On the other hand, that overclock isn't in any way unusual.

No it doesn't. But 366 at 550 tells me that the system is stable and
happy w/ a 100FSB. And the 566 CAN run nicely at 850 indefinately that
'one' time after a flash. It can also run at 850 consistently via a
DOS prompt boot. Sure seems like the ducks are all in a row for it to
OC at 850mhz but throw in W2K and ...?

The only significant difference I can think of, off hand, is the 366 being
a ppga but the 566 a COPPERMINE. What stepping is it? The B stepping is
socket compatible with ppga but I think there were some differences with the C.

Yep - see above - it's a cB0 which is supported by ABit ZM6 w/ the
last couple of BIOS releases.

I don't have an answer but some thoughts. It seems to be either BIOS or
coppermine related and not the overclock, per see, since it runs fine the
one time. The reboot failure sounds similar to the reset switch not working
since the last thing a reboot does is essentially a reset. Which wouldn't
seem to explain not working a second time from a cold start EXCEPT a cold
start 'starts' with reset (By reset I mean to include setting up the
processor registers). So then the question would be, why does it work the
first time at all? And, with that, it starts at 66, so it had a reset, you
flash, reboot, set Vcore/FSB, and then run 100. Have you tried powering it
off RIGHT after you set 100MHz FSB, but no boot into Windows, to see if it
will THEN run the 'one time' from a cold start at 100MHz FSB?

No I haven't tried that particular combination. What might that tells
us one way or the other? To be honest going thru the flashing process
is a little tricky and sometimes it doesn't take or preserve the
voltages correctly and may take a 2nd or 3rd attempt (I've had
problems w/ it reverting from 1.7V to 1.5V default on subsequent
flashes so I have to do it twice). Even though I have a UPS we have
lots of power fluctuations out here and to be honest I'm just plain
nervous about doing any more flashes.

Doesn't seem to explain why it would run in DOS, though, unless whatever is
'missing' from the reset is of no consequence to DOS.

I'm leaning towards something odd going on w/ W2K that seems to upset
the applecart so to speak w/ regards to: BIOS or COppermine or
something...? I believe the chip posts consistently at 850. It doesn't
have any temperature related stability problems at 850. W2K is happy
w/ the chip at 66FSB and 75FSB.

There is a setting as I recall in the BIOS that is something like
'Force Update ESCD' - could that have any impact?

I'm going to hit the jumper on the mobo and clear the CMOS (may need
to reflash to get back to 1.7V default?) and see what that does.

I'm also going to grab an extra small HD and put a Win98 install on
there and swap out the two large HDs w/ W2K for this one temporarily -
I'd like to see if it will boot consistently into a full Win98 at
850... I don't know how much it says that it can boot into a W98 dos
prompt at 850 consistently - it is only a DOS prompt as opposed to the
full W98. Basically at this point I'm sure the chip will post at 850
consistently. Also that it doesn't seem to have any temperature
related stability problems (based on 'successfuly' initial boots after
flash).

Thanks,