SP2 and P4 Prescotts -> Problems (?)

[Guest]

Hello everyone

Before I continue, let me state what hardware I have:

P4 Prescott @ 3.0 GHz, Chaintech Apogee 9PJL mobo, 1.5 GB Ram (2*256
3200/400 and 2*512 3200/400 Dual Channel paired at the same size), 80 GB SATA
WD, Asus Radeon 9600XT/TVD.

I have been testing SP2 in the last few days. SP2 failed to install on my
Prescott P4 system. I tried installing:

a) Directly from the exe on a clean install winXP with SP1 licencing CD
b) Slipstreamed CD based on the above

In both cases the computer freezes at the winXP logo screen (in case b) it
freezes after the restart that follows the copying of system files and just
before the beginning of the set up). It fails to boot in Safe Mode too and it
freezes right after the agp440.sys.

Now, I tried to do the following:

1) Used different memory DIMMs (all from Transcend though)
2) Used 4 different graphics cards including a PCI card (S3 Virge/DX, nVidia
Vanda taken from a compaq Evo PC that SP2 installed succesfully, Ati 9200,
Ati 9600XT)

I tried the above after phoning MS Hellas and asking for help. Nothing
changed. The same problem existed. The BIOS setting were the default
settings. Now, first thing I did was to deactivate L1\L2 Cache. Don't ask me
why, I was just too suspicious with that. The computer passed the logo screen
in both cases. In case a), it boots directly to windows but takes ages, in
case b) it continues with the setup but takes ages again.

Now, I tried installing SP2 on several other PCs. It installed in all
including the one I am posting now. They had several different hardware items
including PIII CPUs, P4 Willamette, P4 Northwood, IDE HDs, SATA HDs, Radeon
Cards, nVidia cards, different memory SIMMs and so on. The only problem
arranged when trying to install it on a Prescott CPU with the 865P/PE
chipset. The CPU L1\L2 Cache issue makes me think that this is a Prescott
related issue (in combination to a specific Intel chip?).

What I would like to ask, is that people who have Prescotts should report
whether they have problems with SP2. If they have, they should try disabling
CPU L1\L2 Cache in BIOS and see if their PC boots (needs patience). If the PC
gets pass the logo screen, make sure to REPORT this to MS. I did that
yesterday and I hope a fix will be released soon. The mobo manufacturer
replied that this is a MS-related problem and that I should contact MS. I
would also like to ask any MVPs to consider this as an 'interesting' issue
and report it to MS (c'mon people, you have the power, don't ya ? ).

Thanks for reading.

Nikos Andreou
Software Engineer

 

[Matthew Harrison]

I don't think it is a prescott specific issue - did the machines it
worked on use SATA only drives ?

Did the machines it didn't use SATA only ?

I'm getting SATA as being the more common thread, than processor.

 

[Matthew Harrison]

Well, on mine it is a SATA problem - exactly the same symptoms.

In my case, enabling compatibility mode gets rid of the issue - because
it makes the SATA drive act like a PATA drive.

In both of your cases, you had no IDE hard drives - your first machine
may have detected 'IDE', and the second 'SATA'.

That's what is happenning here anyway.

Try enabling compatibility mode on the non-working one ... and see how
it goes.

 

[cody]

Also an SATA problem here same as the one you talk about.
On one system putting the SATA in legacy mode worked. On
another a shuttle XPC changeing the SATA does nothing. But
with an IDE drive in the machine sp2 installs and runs
fine. Take out the ide and install a sata and the sp2
fails are on reboot. Im 99% sure its an SATA problem and
not a cpu problem.

cody

 

[Graham White]

Nikos,

I have exactly the same problem using a DFI Lanparty pro875 motherboard
(Intel 875P chipset) with a 2.8 GHx Prescott processor, 1 IDE drive only. 2
x 256 Mb memory.

Worked fine until SP2 then hangs on boot same as you.

When L1/L2 cache is disabled in BIOS then boots ok but very slow of course.

Graham

 

[Benjamin Walling]

I have this problem on a machine with a Prescott and SATA. If I can
snag an extra HD to make a backup on, I'll try the process again with
the compatibility mode on.

 

[Guest]

Im also haveing problem with a prescott. I was thinking it
was the sata drive but now in legacy mode it works on
another pc that had problems. So thats fixxed.

 

[Guest]

Anyone know anyone running sp2 with a Prescott?

 

[Guest]

Date Time Version Size File name
------------------------------------------------------
27-Jan-2004 01:51 1,829 Ippmqfe.inf
10-Jan-2004 12:17 5.1.2600.1331 32,256 Intelppm.sys


Replace these files with your old ones and boot?

 

[Alan Klietz]

In

I don't think it is a prescott specific issue - did the machines it
worked on use SATA only drives ?

Did the machines it didn't use SATA only ?

I'm getting SATA as being the more common thread, than processor.

I have a hunch this is due to a buggy DMA driver for your SATA driver that
is barfing on the new Data Execute Protection (DEP) in XP SP2. XP SP2 turns
on hardware-level Data Execute Protection (DEP) on processors that support
it, e.g., AMD Opteron. As a side effect it must turn on Processor Address
Extensions (PAE). PAE can hose up DMA transfers if the driver violates the
HAL drives and tries to, for example, manipulate the Page Table Entries
(PTEs) directly.

As a workaround try turning off DEP. Edit C:\BOOT.INI and change
"/NoExecute=OptOut" to "/NoExecute=AlwaysOff". This will turn off DEP. You
will need to remove the System + Hidden + Readonly flags:

ATTRIB -S -H -R C:\BOOT.INI
NOTEPAD BOOT.INI (Change to /NoExecute=AlwaysOff)
ATTRIB +S +H +R C:\BOOT.ini

Regards,
Alan Klietz
Algin Technology LLC
alank at algintech dot com

 

[Richard Thornton]

I have the same problem 2.8G Prescott, Soltek SL-87CW-FL 875P, 1GB
Dual channel, 120 GB ATA (not SATA) Geforce 6800, Audigy2, Winfast
2000 TV.

 

[sdnick484]

I too am having the same problem; here is a copy of what I have sent to my
mobo manufacturer and of what I have tried:

After installing XP SP2 (the network release version that just came out) I
ran into some serious issues. Upon reboot, Windows won't load. Going into
safe mode, the system freezes at:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINNT\System32 \Drivers\agp440.sys

The system is only a week old, and I was using only OEM drivers. I believe
it is an issue with the motherboard because I swapped everything including
the CPU to an older ECS 848P-A board and it updated smoothly. I do not
believe this is a video driver issue as the problem occured even after I
did a new clean install without adding any third party drivers (Basically
I just did a clean install, downloaded all the Windows security updates
and installed SP2).

I was able to get the system to boot by copying the entire contents of
WINDOWS/SYSTEM32/DRIVERS (a fresh install with SP1) to
WINNT/SYSTEM32/DRIVERS (an install that had been "updated" to SP2).

Other important things to note are that this problem occurred when I
installed the release candidate about a week ago (the day I built the
system -- I was hoping it was a bug in the beta version). The product key
is legitimate (bought it myself from school) but the system wasn't
Activated when I updated (shoudn't matter as I was able to install SP2 on
a non-activated system when I tested in on the ECS board).

The system specs are:
ABIT AI7 865PE
Intel P4 2.8E
ATI Radeon 9600XT
430 Watt PSU
1 SATA Maxtor 160GB drive
1 Corsair 512MB PC3200 stick of RAM
No overclocking of any components

I have tried multiple workarounds all with the same result.

To save you the trouble of repeating the steps I've done, here is a short
list of thing's I have tried thus: installing from a slipstreamed CD,
installing with the ACPI Multiprocessor HAL, installing a fresh install
without adding any drivers, installing with HT disabled, installing with a
PCI graphics card (my good old Voodoo Banshee), and combinations of these
thereof. This is all in addition to the basic fixes like disabling agp440,
etc.

I have not updated the BIOS, and MS tech support is not ready to help with
SP2 installs yet. Make sure to disable automatic updates on your
installation otherwise you might be forced to "upgrade" to SP2 on Aug. 25
during the single PC rollout. I have not updated the BIOS yet (I don't
have a floppy drive in the rig either, though I do have one in an older
machine so I'll give it a shot). Also I am in the same boat regarding only
having one machine with SATA connectors (I do have an unused mobo with
it), so I can't install the HDD on another machine without swapping
everything.

I will keep a small partition on my HDD with a fresh install of XP and all
the updates I have applied to the partition I actually use. From there I
will attempt future upgrades while maintaining my primary partition as
SP1a. It's a good thing these installs aren't affecting my Linux
partitions (well beyond erasing grub -- easily fixed), or else I'd really
be pissed.

 

[sdnick484]

This may also be important, this is a copy from my bootlog from where the
problem appears to start:


Loaded driver Ntfs.sys
Loaded driver NDIS.sys
Loaded driver Mup.sys
Did not load driver ACPI Multiprocessor PC
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Audio Codecs
Did not load driver Legacy Audio Drivers
Did not load driver Media Control Devices
Did not load driver Legacy Video Capture Devices
Did not load driver Video Codecs
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (L2TP)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (IP)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (PPTP)
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Direct Parallel
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Deterministic Network Enhancer Miniport
Did not load driver Audio Codecs
Did not load driver Legacy Audio Drivers
Did not load driver Media Control Devices
Did not load driver Legacy Video Capture Devices
Did not load driver Video Codecs
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (L2TP)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (Network Monitor)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (IP)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (PPPOE)
Did not load driver WAN Miniport (PPTP)
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Packet Scheduler Miniport
Did not load driver Direct Parallel
Did not load driver Intel Processor
Did not load driver Intel Processor

 

[sdnick484]

Anyone know anyone running sp2 with a Prescott?

I was able to get RC1 up and running with a Prescott on an ECS 848P-A mobo
with the same specs mentioned in my other post (ATI Radeon 9600XT, SATA
drive, etc.). The board was a crappy, especially with a Prescott, so I
swapped it for a 865PE board (the one with problems) and haven't been able
to install SP2 final release.

 

[Graham White]

Thanks for suggestion.

However have now solved the problem on the DFI Lanparty PRO875 by updating
BIOS to a "beta" version dated 23/7/2004, previously it wa 23/7/2003 so the
problem in this case appears to be the BIOS not the Prescott processor.

 

[Benjamin Walling]

I updated my BIOS from version 17 to version 20 (for Abit IS-7), and SP2
runs fine.

 

[Richard Thornton]

BIOS upgrade on my Soltek board fixed it

 

[Rob Chandler [MVP]]

Now that looks all together too familiar - Mine locks up immediately after
Mup.sys :-(
It locked after atisgkaf.sys but if I rename that file it it locks after
Mup.sys.
Funnily enough my normal XP log (on a good machine) looks much the same
though.
Rob

 

[sdnick484]

After upgrading to the latest BIOS for the AI7 board (version 17) the
update was successful. I think I'll be sticking with Linux on my laptop
however.

 

[pelicanpirate]

Intel Pentium 4/3.0Ghz Prescott /1 MB L2 Cache/800Mhz Front Side Bus/Socket 478/Batch

Installing XP on my SHuttle SB61/FB61 systemboard caused conflict with older BIOS . The blue ribbon freezes.
I need a production level upgrade to the Microcode. My solution is to disable L1 and L2 cache which allows XP to install very very slowly(hours).
After XP installs remove SP2 then enable L1and L2 cache and install updated BIOS.Then reinstall SP2.