A7N8X-E Deluxe - Dual RAM chip problem,help please

[MonkeyThatBoy]

Greets,

I have an A7N8X-E Deluxe board BIOS ver 1006. O/S is WInXP Pro SP1
The problem is I want to add more ram but when I do I get an error
message when I try to use anything that produces sound. The message is
" A device ID has been used that is out of range for your system"
I've tried 1/2 single channel and no sound plus system gets unstable,
1/3 no sound plus system gets unstable,also XP finds a new pci device
just before it reboots itself, 2/3 no sound but system is stable. An
odd side note,if I swap out the old chip for the new chip I get the
same message. The one chip configuration works well only in slot3.
I know my bios is old and I was wondering if an upgrade will help me
or is the cure more expensive. The audio card is a SB Audigy,ram chips
are PNY 2700s,512mb each.

MB

 

[Paul]

Greets,

I have an A7N8X-E Deluxe board BIOS ver 1006. O/S is WInXP Pro SP1
The problem is I want to add more ram but when I do I get an error
message when I try to use anything that produces sound. The message is
" A device ID has been used that is out of range for your system"
I've tried 1/2 single channel and no sound plus system gets unstable,
1/3 no sound plus system gets unstable,also XP finds a new pci device
just before it reboots itself, 2/3 no sound but system is stable. An
odd side note,if I swap out the old chip for the new chip I get the
same message. The one chip configuration works well only in slot3.
I know my bios is old and I was wondering if an upgrade will help me
or is the cure more expensive. The audio card is a SB Audigy,ram chips
are PNY 2700s,512mb each.

MB

When you got the motherboard, did you install any software
off the motherboard CD ? A motherboard sometimes appreciates
having "chipset drivers". The list of hardware in the
Device Manager will look a lot saner, with chipset drivers
in place.

This guy keeps a web site with some suggestions for versions
of drivers to use:

http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html

For XP, it appears he is currently recommending Forceware 5.10

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_udp_winxp_5.10

If you download that and install it, be aware that the
installer has a number of component parts. Personally, I
don't like to install any chipset IDE driver, because they
can have compatibility problems I would rather not discover
the hard way. I like the default Microsoft driver for maximum
compatibility with other software - it will be a bit slower,
but I prefer "stable" over "fast". If you do a lot of CD/DVD
burning, that might be a reason not to install the IDE component.
Of course, there will be people who will tell me I'm crazy

You don't say which processor you are using, but I'm willing
to bet it is a Barton with FSB400. You are trying to run
some RAM at DDR400. That combination is a challenge for
this motherboard, and your choices are to either use
settings which will reduce the available memory bandwidth,
or potentially buy some better memory.

The memory issue is the Achilles heel of this board. I think
everything else on this board is sweet.

Here is a previous diatribe I wrote:
http://groups.google.ca/[email protected]

The simplest solution would be to use slot1+slot2 (single
channel mode). Turn up the Vdimm voltage in the BIOS, to
help the memory run at full speed. You can use at least
2.75V without an issue. Use memtest86 from memtest.org, to
find out whether it is working properly. If memtest86 runs
error free, the next step is to boot into Windows and run
Prime95 "torture test" from mersenne.org .

For the sound card, I'd install the sound card drivers from
the sound card CD, and also some version of DirectX (for
DirectSound ?). Since none of your reports above say you
had working sound, I'll have to guess there aren't enough
drivers installed, of some type. Maybe those chipset drivers
I mentioned above, will magically start your sound working

The "Onboard AC97 Audio Controller" option in the BIOS,
has an Auto setting, which means when a PCI sound card is
plugged in, the AC97 on the motherboard will be automatically
disabled. So, I don't think that is the problem with your sound.

In any case, you should work on the memory first. Do not boot
up your hard drive, until you get a memory configuration running
that is error free in memtest86. (memtest86 runs from a floppy
or from a CD). That way, your Windows OS install and the
registry won't get corrupted. Once memtest86 results are error
free, then it is a bit safer to boot the hard drive. Run Prime95
for at least several hours, without any error reports, before
concluding your memory fix is working. At that point, it
will be safe to return to working on your sound problem.

HTH,
Paul

 

[MonkeyThatBoy]

When you got the motherboard, did you install any software
off the motherboard CD ? A motherboard sometimes appreciates
having "chipset drivers". The list of hardware in the
Device Manager will look a lot saner, with chipset drivers
in place.

This guy keeps a web site with some suggestions for versions
of drivers to use:

http://www.ben.pope.name/a7n8x_faq.html

For XP, it appears he is currently recommending Forceware 5.10

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nforce_udp_winxp_5.10

If you download that and install it, be aware that the
installer has a number of component parts. Personally, I
don't like to install any chipset IDE driver, because they
can have compatibility problems I would rather not discover
the hard way. I like the default Microsoft driver for maximum
compatibility with other software - it will be a bit slower,
but I prefer "stable" over "fast". If you do a lot of CD/DVD
burning, that might be a reason not to install the IDE component.
Of course, there will be people who will tell me I'm crazy

You don't say which processor you are using, but I'm willing
to bet it is a Barton with FSB400. You are trying to run
some RAM at DDR400. That combination is a challenge for
this motherboard, and your choices are to either use
settings which will reduce the available memory bandwidth,
or potentially buy some better memory.

The memory issue is the Achilles heel of this board. I think
everything else on this board is sweet.

Here is a previous diatribe I wrote:
http://groups.google.ca/[email protected]

The simplest solution would be to use slot1+slot2 (single
channel mode). Turn up the Vdimm voltage in the BIOS, to
help the memory run at full speed. You can use at least
2.75V without an issue. Use memtest86 from memtest.org, to
find out whether it is working properly. If memtest86 runs
error free, the next step is to boot into Windows and run
Prime95 "torture test" from mersenne.org .

For the sound card, I'd install the sound card drivers from
the sound card CD, and also some version of DirectX (for
DirectSound ?). Since none of your reports above say you
had working sound, I'll have to guess there aren't enough
drivers installed, of some type. Maybe those chipset drivers
I mentioned above, will magically start your sound working

The "Onboard AC97 Audio Controller" option in the BIOS,
has an Auto setting, which means when a PCI sound card is
plugged in, the AC97 on the motherboard will be automatically
disabled. So, I don't think that is the problem with your sound.

In any case, you should work on the memory first. Do not boot
up your hard drive, until you get a memory configuration running
that is error free in memtest86. (memtest86 runs from a floppy
or from a CD). That way, your Windows OS install and the
registry won't get corrupted. Once memtest86 results are error
free, then it is a bit safer to boot the hard drive. Run Prime95
for at least several hours, without any error reports, before
concluding your memory fix is working. At that point, it
will be safe to return to working on your sound problem.

HTH,
Paul

Well after reading this and then the two links,first thing I tried was
going with the 2/3 configuration and upped the voltage and so far
everythings peachykeen once again. Hope this is the solution for
me,thanx for the help.

MB

 

[MonkeyThatBoy]

Well after reading this and then the two links,first thing I tried was
going with the 2/3 configuration and upped the voltage and so far
everythings peachykeen once again. Hope this is the solution for
me,thanx for the help.

MB

Nope,scratch that. It waited a couple hours then got freaky on me.
Upped the BIOS to ver 1008,turned the voltage back down and so far so
good. Sheeesh the stuff I go thru for fun )

MB

 

[Paul]

Nope,scratch that. It waited a couple hours then got freaky on me.
Upped the BIOS to ver 1008,turned the voltage back down and so far so
good. Sheeesh the stuff I go thru for fun )

MB

Memtest86 and Prime95 torture test, make discovering stability a
lot easier. Waiting for the OS to crash takes a lot longer. Even
so, I spent about a week of evenings testing various theories
until I was happy with my last build.

Paul