g200 & ax59pro weirdest problem ever.

[dudeu812]

ok.. i've read through just about everything I can get my eyes on that relates to g200 cards and any mvp3 based mb. first heres my config:

k6-2 400
aopen ax59pro w/1mb
128mb pc100 aopen memory
g200 8mb oem
adaptec 2940uw scsi
sb32 sound
usr courier v.everything

The problem is this. I can't run the motherboard with the g200 at 100mhz fsb. when I do, windows locks or gives me a protection error. now before you say its the ram, let me say that i've replaced the ram numerous times thinking that I just didn't have clean enough ram or true pc100. it makes no difference. And, I've also replaced the MB 3 times(twice with the same kind of board and once with an epox to make sure it wasn't an aopen thing).

The only thing that fixes it is if i clock the computer down to about 75mhz it runs fine with out a prob. i have flashed both the mb bios and the g200 bios. the os is irrelevant since it does it no matter what version of windows i run, but after a fresh load of win98 se, i have installed mvp3 drivers, then v4.33 g200 drivers. newer drivers havn't made any difference either. 4.33 seem to be the most stable.

just so you know, the system runs fine at 100mhz if i use a different video card(permedia2). So, all I really want to know is if anyone else has encountered this unique situation and if anyone has conquered it.

[SteveC]

Are you sure that the AGP multiplier is set to 2/3?

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Cheers,
Steve

PS: Some or all of the above message may be wrong, or, just as likely, correct. Depends on what mood I'm in. And what you know. ;¬)

[dudeu812]

the ax59pro doesn't really let you change the speed that the agp clock runs at. the closed thing to it is you have the option to run the RAM either synchronous with the cpu or with the agp port. this allows you to run the memory at 66mhz when the rest of the board is running at 100mhz. but thanks anyway steve.

~Jeff

[Guyver]

Check the processor - you may have a remarked processor or possibly one designed for either 66 or 95Mhz FSB. That would be the only other common factor, and one that you didn't say that you had tried to replace.

I had an EPOX MVP3C and MVP3G both ran perfectly at 100Mhz FSB with my old K62-400.

Guyv

[Kruzin]

If the mobo is switching AGP dividers automatically, it should not be a problem.

Running at 66MHz fsb should be at 1:1, giving 66MHz AGP.
Running at 100MHzfsb should be at 2:3, giving 66MHz AGP.

Boards like my P2B should do this on it's own. Other mobos have a jumper that needs to be switched, still others do it in the BIOS.

Look for the jumper.

[This message has been edited by Kruzin (edited 09-23-1999).]

[Kruzin]

On the Aopen AX59pro, the AGP divider jumper is J25. At 100MHz FSB, it should be on the 2-3 pins. At =>75MHz, it should be on 1-2.

[dudeu812]

actually, i did replace the cpu. i have a k6-2 400 retail now, but before I had a 300 oem and like you I thought well maybe i have a 300/66 instead of a 300/100 which is what it was supposed to be. 400 didn't make any difference.

I really hate to think that the G200 is incompatable with mvp3 based mother boards. but i don't know what else it can be. I've always been big on Matrox cards. and I hate to have to switch to intel and limit myself to 512k cache. the large cache size is the main reason i went with amd to begin with.

any other ideas?

~Jeff

[Kruzin]

Did you change that jumper I mentioned?
It is for AGP bus speed, not RAM speed.
If you are overclocking your AGP bus to 100, you are going to have trouble. That is way out of AGP specs.

[Rags]

Download the new G200 drivers (which you have already =) ), download the 4in1 driver pack from Via, download the uninstall utility from Matrox, run the uninstall utility, reboot switch to standard Vga adapter and reboot, install the 4in1 driver pack in normal mode reboot and go into your bios and disable "read around write" save settings and exit, boot into windows and run the setup for PD, reboot and you should be up to speed.

Rags



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FedEx Sucks!

[dudeu812]

Kruzin,

I have never had JP25 in the wrong position. I realize that it is the AGP multiplier and when i set the jumpers I always set them according to the manual. so, yes it is on 2-3 when i have it at 100mhz. but it won't run stable enough at 100 mhz so i have it on 1-2 currently since i'm running at 75mhz.

any other ideas? just wanna say, I appreciate everyone's help so far.

~Jeff

[Rags]

Try my suggestion above.

[Kruzin]

OK....I thought you where not changing that jumper...your earlier posts made it sound like you didn't know you needed to:

"the ax59pro doesn't really let you change the speed that the agp clock runs at"

That is what jp25 is doing

If that's not the prob, try what Rags said...

[dudeu812]

ok rags, i'll try what you suggested. will take some time, so i'll get back to you later and let you know if it works. thanks you guys.

~Jeff

[motub]

No offense, but are you sure that the jumpers are actually set on pins 2-3? I recently installed an Octek TX board (you all remember my bleem-lovin' roomie's upgrade) and, while the manual was very good about telling me which pins were part of which jumper, it was very <u>bad</u> about identifying pin 1.... once I reversed all the jumpers about which I had guessed wrong, the board ran fine.

I haven't seen the AX59Pro, so I don't know, perhaps the documentation is flawless. but I do know it's these little things that often completely trash you...

Just an idea.


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Holly
"...\Till the one day when the lady met this fellow\ And they knew that it was much more than a hunch.." What? System specs? Oh, yes, right...Soyo 5EMA, K6-2 333, 256MB PC100 SDRAM, Maxtor 7GB HDD, LS-120, Promise Ultra33 EIDE controller, Diamond Monster Sound MX300, HP 8100i CD-RW, Hi-Val (Nakamichi) 16X 5-disk CD changer, Win98 +SR1...oh yeah, and a Millennium G200 8MB SGRAM.

[dbdg]

A while ago a mate of mine had the same motherboard, but a K6-2 300 and I couldn't get it to work with a G200 or a ATI Rage Pro. In the end it took a matrox mystique 170. I am sure I read somewhere that that board doesn't like the above cards.

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PIII 450 not o/c G200 128 MB PC100.