Shin_Magus

Hmmm, what? The problem is related to 2D in some way. Change the frame rate...? The frame rate is low (30- FPS - it used to be 60 FPS).

Hi. I'm not sure if this issue is indeed related to video, since it happened even with an alternate video card (my old one), but here it goes. Most 2D applications I run from time to time are choppy on my PC - namely CPS-2, Neogeo, Genesis and Snes emulators, except for Final Burn Alpha (CPS-2 emu). I'm sure as hell my PC is way more powerful than what's necessary for emulating all those platforms, and my old processor already was. I'm not confident the issue showed up when I switched processors though. Here are the specs of my PC: Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) @2.19 GHz 1 GB RAM DDR400 2-3-2-5 (PDP) ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe (nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset...) Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB I use SoundStorm for audio (I used to use a Sound Blaster Audigy, but some time ago I read SoundStorm is superior). Not overclocking the cpu doesn't make a difference regarding the aforementioned problem. I switched to my old 512 MB RAM DDR266 and the problem persisted. I uninstalled the Radeon drivers (I know both Omega and DNA drivers), rebooted and reinstalled them; it was no use. I don't intend to move back to my old mobo and my old cpu though. I currently use the latest nForce drivers (6.14 beta I got from Guru3D) and the DNA drivers based on Catalyst 4.11. Using the latest official nForce drivers doesn't make a difference, nor does using the official Catalyst 4.11 (the one directly from ATI). So, can you help me? Thank you very much.

Hi. Here's the story: I have a Samsung SP1604N 160 GB HD that doesn't seem healthy. In fact, it hangs my system from time to time. S.M.A.R.T. lets WinXP tell me this HD is at risk, when I go to the Computer Management window (Administrative Tools). When I used to use an ASUS A7M266 as my motherboard, there was an option called "Multi-sector transfers", that let me set a maximum number of sectors per transfer - the maximum numerical value was 32, and I had it at 16. My computer managed to remain stable with that imposed performance limit. However, I've recently changed mobos, and my ECS N2U400-A (nForce 2 Ultra 400 chipset) has a BIOS that doesn't have that particular option (that or I'm rather blind or can't tell where it is due to different naming). As a result, my system is unstable once again. I've updated my BIOS and installed the latest nForce drivers (version 4.21) on WinXP - that does nothing for me in that regard. In short, can someone please let me know of a software that runs on Win2k/XP to limit multi-sector HDD transfers? I realize something this low-level shouldn't be taken care of by a software running on an OS, but I imagine it's the only possibility, unless someone can give me a hand in telling me of a Phoenix BIOS option that would help me the way I require. Thanks a lot!

Hi. I'd like to know if relatively recent Athlon XP processors (like 2400+ and 2600+) can be used on ASUS A7M266. The page regarding that on ASUS' website hasn't been updated in a long while, so I don't know if 2200+ and up can be used on A7M266 after all (the page may merely have not been updated). Can anyone shed some light into this matter? In addition to this, I think I've read something about a new cooler design with something made of copper being required starting on Athlon XP 2100+ (or something). Is that true? If so, is it a possible cause of incompatibility between a mobo and a processador? Thanks!

The volume trick didn't work. I removed "Creative SB Audigy" on the Device Manager and restarted. Windows XP reinstalled it probably using the latest drivers and the problem persisted. Afterwards, I manually "updated" (the opposite, as a matter of fact) the driver to the oldest one available (from July 2001, I believe). Now I have the feeling the bug occurs a bit less often than before, but it is still there. This is sickening.

It happens when I'm playing games or watching video files too... It's not as often as before, but the bug is still there.

Hmmmm... I put my SB Audigy on PCI slot 3, set PCI slot 3 to IRQ5 and installed VIA 4-in-1. The situation has improved, but the audio skipping still occurs sometimes. I even installed George's PCI Latency Patch, and I think it made some difference. I really don't know what I can do now to completely get rid of this annoying bug.

Hmmm... Sorry, but how do I know the "number" each PCI slot? Starting from the PCI slot right next to the AGP slot, is it 1->5 or 5->1? Thanks.

No and yes. I'll try changing the PCI slot where the SB Audigy is, but I find it hard to believe that'll solve the problem.

Hi. I've been having the famous audio skipping problem (A7M266 uses the VIA 686b chipset on the Southbrigde) for some time now. I'm not sure, but I think when I first installed George's PCI Latency Patch, I got rid of it. Well, there was a much greater problem back then: IRQ_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (or something like that). After desperately looking for a solution, I installed VIA's beta patch ( http://www.theddrzone.com/news.asp?id=404 ) and the blue screen was finally gone (I was being driven insane!), but it wasn't long since then that I noticed audio skipping was back and George's PCI Latency wasn't making any difference (I even reinstalled it a few times). Well, all this trouble has been going on for over two weeks now, I think, and I'm not completely sure if George's PCI Latency Patch had really solved the audio skipping problem (but not the blue screen error) back then anymore, even though I did have that impression. I hope anyone knows what I can do to make things right, for audio skipping is very annoying. Thanks for your time.

Well, I use a Sound Blaster Audigy and audio skips about 2 seconds from time to time. At least that damn blue screen is gone...

Sorry, but I couldn't find it... I'd like to stop using damn 60 Hz too.

Hi. I believe I've solved the problem now. Thanks. http://www.theddrzone.com/news.asp?id=404

Some days ago I managed to solve the problem. Check http://www.theddrzone.com/news.asp?id=404 and download the beta patch released by VIA. The only inconvenience is that audio skipping is back (I'd gotten rid of it using the PCI Latency Patch from George).

I have the exact same problem as valery... VIA VT82C686B as the Southbrigde... I use SB Audigy. This is really desperating!