Help new A8V system with sudden restart problem.

In article , "Lothar" wrote:

I have just re-built my system with a A8V deluxe mainboard and Athlon 64
3500+ CPU and I have one weird problem that I have not seen before. The
video output will suddenly die and then after a few seconds the system will
just reboot. This happens when resizing a window or moving an app. This has
only happens once or twice a day and other than that the system is stable. I
do believe that it is video related as one time my monitor displayed a
frequency out of range warning when it happened.

I did a clean OS install and have loaded all the latest hardware drivers and
A8V bios. I am not over clocking in any way. Below are my system specs, any
help would be appreciated. I need to get the system stable before Doom 3.
(Just kidding, well sort of)

Asus A8V main board
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-3200 LL
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP Pro

Thanks,
Lothar

Your post sounds similar to your situation. A video problem caused
by an underlying memory problem.

http://www.abxzone.com/forums/showth...&highlight=a8v

"Try changing you async latency to 6 or higher for the memory timings
instead of auto. Change the trc to 7"

The Corsair will have the SPD coded for aggressive timings by default.
These timings may be too much for the A64.

There is also a page on the Mushkin site, claiming some timing
parameters are being too tight, "because the processor is so fast".
Another way of stating this, is the Athlon64 memory controller is
very complicated, and many many timing parameters are exposed. There
are more parameters than are specified in the SPD. On the
one hand, the designer at AMD who did this can say, "no matter what
bug is in the silicon, we have a workaround", but on the other hand,
the BIOS coders at AMI are probably getting heart failure from
trying to write code to set up the A64. It is possible that one
of the parameters is "off by 1", making the ram settings tighter
than the BIOS interface and timing numbers show.

(Look for "high tRCD", for a suggestion to bump up tRCD by 1.
BTW: This article needs a rewrite. And some substance to their claims,
like observing the timing with test equipment.)
http://www.mushkin.com/epages/Mushki...serTemplate/27

So, as a start, try the advice in the Abxzone thread. Test the
results, using memtest86 from memtest.org as the first test. This
will require a blank floppy, or the preparation of an ISO CD for
booting, as memtest86 is a standalone code requiring no OS to run.
Run at least several passes of memtest86 error free, before concluding
your changes to the memory timings are good ones.

The second step, is to run Prime95 from mersenne.org. Use the
"torture test". This runs from your favorite Windows OS. This will
cause different access patterns than memtest86, and will be testing
the processor in a more "heated" condition.

The third step, is to try something 3D graphics intensive. I like
3DMark2001 running in demo mode, because I can leave it running
over night. If the computer hasn't rebooted by the next morning, it
is probably stable enough to use, and the testing can stop.

There are many other adjustments that can be made, that might make
a difference. But for the moment, I think your Corsair needs some
tuning, before you go any further.

HTH,
Paul

In article , "Lothar" wrote:

Update: upon running the test on the smartgart annalizer in the ATI display
settings. All tested fine but after the suggested reboot all menus are slow,
they fade in very slowly.

Lothar

Which means SmartGART has probably disabled something.
Check the tab again. And yes, it _will_ drive you crazy!

If you are using the Catalyst drivers that came with your
video card, on a CD in the video card box, then it is time
to visit the ATI web site and get a more recent driver. That
helped me a lot with my 9800.

You still need to test your memory, as mentioned in my other
post.

Paul


"Lothar" wrote in message ...
I have just re-built my system with a A8V deluxe mainboard and Athlon 64
3500+ CPU and I have one weird problem that I have not seen before. The
video output will suddenly die and then after a few seconds the system
will
just reboot. This happens when resizing a window or moving an app. This
has
only happens once or twice a day and other than that the system is stable.
I
do believe that it is video related as one time my monitor displayed a
frequency out of range warning when it happened.

I did a clean OS install and have loaded all the latest hardware drivers
and
A8V bios. I am not over clocking in any way. Below are my system specs,
any
help would be appreciated. I need to get the system stable before Doom 3.
(Just kidding, well sort of)

Asus A8V main board
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-3200 LL
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP Pro

Thanks,
Lothar

In article ,
(Paul) wrote:

In article , "Lothar" wrote:

Update: upon running the test on the smartgart annalizer in the ATI display
settings. All tested fine but after the suggested reboot all menus are slow,
they fade in very slowly.

Lothar

Which means SmartGART has probably disabled something.
Check the tab again. And yes, it _will_ drive you crazy!

If you are using the Catalyst drivers that came with your
video card, on a CD in the video card box, then it is time
to visit the ATI web site and get a more recent driver. That
helped me a lot with my 9800.

You still need to test your memory, as mentioned in my other
post.

Paul

OK. I just had a look at the download page.

http://www.asus.com.tw/support/downl...nguag e=en-us

Clicking the "More" button next to the A8V1006.zip BIOS, it says:

"1. Change BIOS setup item style
2. Change AGP aperture size rule
3. Increase some AGP cards stability." -----

It could be that flashing to the release A8V1006.zip BIOS will
help your video card. There is also a beta BIOS 1006.004, but
the release notes never say what is fixed in the beta, so it
is up to you as to whether you would rather try that one.

Get a copy of AFUDOS207.zip from the download site as well. That
is the flasher program.

The motherboard should be put in as stable a state as you can
arrange, before trying to flash the BIOS. That might mean using
a stick of slow cheap ram plus a PCI video card. If you think the
computer will stay operational for a couple of hours, then maybe
the few minutes it takes to flash won't be running an unacceptable
amount of risk.

There have been quite a few posts lately involving bad flashes,
so be careful!

Paul



"Lothar" wrote in message ...
I have just re-built my system with a A8V deluxe mainboard and Athlon 64
3500+ CPU and I have one weird problem that I have not seen before. The
video output will suddenly die and then after a few seconds the system
will
just reboot. This happens when resizing a window or moving an app. This
has
only happens once or twice a day and other than that the system is stable.
I
do believe that it is video related as one time my monitor displayed a
frequency out of range warning when it happened.

I did a clean OS install and have loaded all the latest hardware drivers
and
A8V bios. I am not over clocking in any way. Below are my system specs,
any
help would be appreciated. I need to get the system stable before Doom 3.
(Just kidding, well sort of)

Asus A8V main board
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-3200 LL
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP Pro

Thanks,
Lothar

Paul, thank you for your help. I am running the lasest A8V BIOS and ATI 4.7
catayst drivers. I think that you are right, that it is a memory timming
isssue. I will run memtest this evening to confirm.

Lotharmk

"Paul" wrote in message
...
In article ,
(Paul) wrote:

In article , "Lothar" wrote:

Update: upon running the test on the smartgart annalizer in the ATI
display
settings. All tested fine but after the suggested reboot all menus are
slow,
they fade in very slowly.

Lothar

Which means SmartGART has probably disabled something.
Check the tab again. And yes, it _will_ drive you crazy!

If you are using the Catalyst drivers that came with your
video card, on a CD in the video card box, then it is time
to visit the ATI web site and get a more recent driver. That
helped me a lot with my 9800.

You still need to test your memory, as mentioned in my other
post.

Paul

OK. I just had a look at the download page.


http://www.asus.com.tw/support/downl...nguag e=en-us

Clicking the "More" button next to the A8V1006.zip BIOS, it says:

"1. Change BIOS setup item style
2. Change AGP aperture size rule
3. Increase some AGP cards stability." -----

It could be that flashing to the release A8V1006.zip BIOS will
help your video card. There is also a beta BIOS 1006.004, but
the release notes never say what is fixed in the beta, so it
is up to you as to whether you would rather try that one.

Get a copy of AFUDOS207.zip from the download site as well. That
is the flasher program.

The motherboard should be put in as stable a state as you can
arrange, before trying to flash the BIOS. That might mean using
a stick of slow cheap ram plus a PCI video card. If you think the
computer will stay operational for a couple of hours, then maybe
the few minutes it takes to flash won't be running an unacceptable
amount of risk.

There have been quite a few posts lately involving bad flashes,
so be careful!

Paul



"Lothar" wrote in message
...
I have just re-built my system with a A8V deluxe mainboard and
Athlon 64
3500+ CPU and I have one weird problem that I have not seen before.
The
video output will suddenly die and then after a few seconds the
system
will
just reboot. This happens when resizing a window or moving an app.
This
has
only happens once or twice a day and other than that the system is
stable.
I
do believe that it is video related as one time my monitor displayed
a
frequency out of range warning when it happened.

I did a clean OS install and have loaded all the latest hardware
drivers
and
A8V bios. I am not over clocking in any way. Below are my system
specs,
any
help would be appreciated. I need to get the system stable before
Doom 3.
(Just kidding, well sort of)

Asus A8V main board
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-3200 LL
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP Pro

Thanks,
Lothar

Lothar wrote:
Update: upon running the test on the smartgart annalizer in the ATI
display settings. All tested fine but after the suggested reboot all
menus are slow, they fade in very slowly.

I've always found turning off VPU recover sorts that one right out.

A lucky clean install of the ATI drivers can help too. You'll need
CAT-Uninstaller for that.

Ben
--
A7N8X FAQ: www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html
Questions by email will likely be ignored, please use the newsgroups.
I'm not just a number. To many, I'm known as a String...

I have just re-built my system with a A8V deluxe mainboard and Athlon 64
3500+ CPU and I have one weird problem that I have not seen before. The
video output will suddenly die and then after a few seconds the system will
just reboot. This happens when resizing a window or moving an app. This has
only happens once or twice a day and other than that the system is stable. I
do believe that it is video related as one time my monitor displayed a
frequency out of range warning when it happened.

I did a clean OS install and have loaded all the latest hardware drivers and
A8V bios. I am not over clocking in any way. Below are my system specs, any
help would be appreciated. I need to get the system stable before Doom 3.
(Just kidding, well sort of)

Asus A8V main board
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-3200 LL
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP Pro

Thanks,
Lothar

Update: upon running the test on the smartgart annalizer in the ATI display
settings. All tested fine but after the suggested reboot all menus are slow,
they fade in very slowly.

Lothar

"Lothar" wrote in message ...
I have just re-built my system with a A8V deluxe mainboard and Athlon 64
3500+ CPU and I have one weird problem that I have not seen before. The
video output will suddenly die and then after a few seconds the system
will
just reboot. This happens when resizing a window or moving an app. This
has
only happens once or twice a day and other than that the system is stable.
I
do believe that it is video related as one time my monitor displayed a
frequency out of range warning when it happened.

I did a clean OS install and have loaded all the latest hardware drivers
and
A8V bios. I am not over clocking in any way. Below are my system specs,
any
help would be appreciated. I need to get the system stable before Doom 3.
(Just kidding, well sort of)

Asus A8V main board
Athlon 64 3500+
1 GB Corsair XMS DDR-3200 LL
ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
SB Audigy 2 ZS
Windows XP Pro

Thanks,
Lothar