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G400 DH & Windows 98 - my experience

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  • G400 DH & Windows 98 - my experience

    Hello all.

    First off, a word of thanks to a large number of people, who posted similar problems and suggested solutions, some of which helped my situation.

    Just finished building my new system, a P3-500 (128MB) with a SB Live value and a G400 32MB Dualhead. The G400 came in last, so it went into the configuration last, and I think that was the main problem. I also installed Windows 98 Second edition, which was also a major problem.

    Anyway, my main symptom after installing the G400 into my (working) 98SE system were that it wouldn't shut down. This problem has been documented in other posts, and it's not just a matter of "It's now safe to shut down your computer" and hang, it was a black screen and a frozen mouse. Apparently, a 98SE bug for which a patch exists but doesn't do much to fix - at least, it didn't in my case.

    Admittedly, I have a RR-G that I was trying to get working at the same time, and that could have figured into the situation, but I think it wasn't shutting down with just the G400.

    I was also having huge problems using any application that had to access a CD - instant blue screen of death. And then there were the occasional and unpredictable lockups.

    Solution: Remove 98SE. Install Windows 98 first edition.

    Seriously, '98 has been stable as a rock since I went to the first edition. I figure unless there's something vital I'm missing, I'm going to stay here for a while...

    I have also taken advice to heart of making sure my G400 is on an IRQ that's higher than 8. It was hanging out on 5, but to be truthful, after the switch to 98FE, I didn't have any problems. To get it out of 5 I turned my IRQ selection in the BIOS PnP menu to manual, and made IRQ 5 a Legacy/ISA port. The G400 took IRQ 9 and my SB16 emulation went to 5 - two birds with one stone.

    My G400 configuration:
    BIOS: 1.5
    Powerdesk: 5.30.007
    IRQ: 9

    Anyway, I know how frustrating it was to get this stuff going, but know it's relatively solid - of course, I haven't fiddled with the RR-G yet.

    Thanks again to all with similar problems and solutions.

    - Aryko

    Configuration:
    Intel P3-500
    AOpen AX63Pro MB
    128 MB RAM
    Matrox G400 32 MB DH
    Fujitsu 8 GB C:
    Fujitsu 20 GB D:
    Pioneer 104DS DVD-ROM
    D-Tech DE-528 PCI Ethernet
    SB Live Value
    Windows 98 FIRST EDITION

  • #2
    Just an update,

    I installed the RR-G and it works with no problems (Video tools 1.51).

    - Aryko

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    • #3
      I have an Athlon 500, FIC SD-11 mobo, SB Live and G400 vanilla, running Win98 SE. I've only seen the plaid screen once, but I've had other instabilities including BSODs, screen trash and system hangs that continued no matter what I did to the machine. The system went down in some fashion during nearly every session (assuming it booted at all).

      A week ago, I turned off all power management options and disabled rundll32 in the System Configuration Utility found in the System Info tool. Since then, I've had only one minor glitch (when my browser conflicted with another app), but the system has booted reliably and has not crashed even though I've used it extensively.

      I figure the fix is still on probation, but so far I'm very happy.

      [This message has been edited by amoore (edited 07 February 2000).]

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      • #4
        It takes a lot for Microsoft to earn that $149, doesn't it?

        - Aryko

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        • #5
          From what I've read on various Technical pages Win98 SE power management has more holes that a packet of polo's. Switch it off and leave it that way.

          Regarding the shutdown problems you can get that patch here
          http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/d.../corporate.asp
          Warning: Sigs may seriously damage your health...

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          • #6
            A word of advice...

            People, stick to Win98 first edition... Second edition is waaay slower and buggier than the first one... I haven't had any of the most common problems mentioned on this fori, and as I have seen, people with problems are usually people with Win98SE...
            I don't know if that goes for SS7 users (I think SE is a version almost exclusively for them) but anyone with a Slot and BX in their specs should stay as far away as possible from the dreaded SE...

            Of course I could be wrong, everything is relative
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