7VIF4 at 166 fsb instability

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Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

i can't get my new 7VIF4 to run stabily during hardware intensive
tasks (linux kernel compile) while jumpered to 166 MHz fsb. i also
get memory errors when i run memtest-86 on this system, but only when
at 166 MHz. at this fsb speed i can reproduce these errors in minutes
with memtest-86 test 6 or 10 (using the modulo-x algorithm). while
using the system this shows up mainly as mysterious and seemingly
random segfaults with signal 11. it is almost impossible to get
through a kernel compile, and it will die in a different place each
time. this is all with the fail-safe BIOS settings.

however, when i have this motherboard jumpered to 133 MHz fsb
everything seems solid. at this speed i can't reproduce any of the
memory errors. memtest-86 doesn't turn up anything wrong with the
memory. also, for the past 24 hours the system has been compiling
various large software packages non-stop without any problems.

here are the details of my setup:
motherboard: Chaintech 7VIF4
cpu: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton core
ram: 512 Crucial PC2700 DDR, 512 Ultra PC2700 DDR
psu: 425 watt (came in Just 4 PC case)
cpu fan: TR2 M4

if anyone has any advice or can give me a good account of a 7VIF4
running stable at 166 fsb i would appreciate it.

thanks.
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

I am experiencing the EXACT same problem with nearly the same components.

7VIF4 & Barton 2600+
256MB Crucial PC2700 DDR (X2)
CPU Fan Thermaltake V7 (38C @ idle/44C @ load)

I've been dinking with it now for 2 weeks. Runs great at 133 but all kinds
of problems at 166. I've swapped cases, PSU's, & memory (4 times). At 166,
programs won't run right and I can't even do a 'Windows Update' in Win2K.
Drive errors like crazy and copying from one HD to another, or doing a DVD
write, will cause spontaneous reboots. Drop it to 133 and everything runs
great again.

I don't know what else I can do. The site I bought it from says I need to
send it to Chaintech for warranty. Apparently, I only get 14 days from the
day they ship it. Anyway, I think you should stop pulling your hair out on
this one. I think the board's a turkey.



"S. J. A." <sja8rd@mizzou.edu> wrote in message
news:d695918a.0409090930.400e1e2e@posting.google.com...
> i can't get my new 7VIF4 to run stabily during hardware intensive
> tasks (linux kernel compile) while jumpered to 166 MHz fsb. i also
> get memory errors when i run memtest-86 on this system, but only when
> at 166 MHz. at this fsb speed i can reproduce these errors in minutes
> with memtest-86 test 6 or 10 (using the modulo-x algorithm). while
> using the system this shows up mainly as mysterious and seemingly
> random segfaults with signal 11. it is almost impossible to get
> through a kernel compile, and it will die in a different place each
> time. this is all with the fail-safe BIOS settings.
>
> however, when i have this motherboard jumpered to 133 MHz fsb
> everything seems solid. at this speed i can't reproduce any of the
> memory errors. memtest-86 doesn't turn up anything wrong with the
> memory. also, for the past 24 hours the system has been compiling
> various large software packages non-stop without any problems.
>
> here are the details of my setup:
> motherboard: Chaintech 7VIF4
> cpu: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton core
> ram: 512 Crucial PC2700 DDR, 512 Ultra PC2700 DDR
> psu: 425 watt (came in Just 4 PC case)
> cpu fan: TR2 M4
>
> if anyone has any advice or can give me a good account of a 7VIF4
> running stable at 166 fsb i would appreciate it.
>
> thanks.
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

"Russ M." <acid_maltxspam@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:<2qbql1Ftnka4U1@uni-berlin.de>...
<snip>
> I don't know what else I can do. The site I bought it from says I need to
> send it to Chaintech for warranty. Apparently, I only get 14 days from the
> day they ship it. Anyway, I think you should stop pulling your hair out on
> this one. I think the board's a turkey.

i have been searching everywhere trying to find some evidence that
this board will actually work as advertised at 166 fsb. the best i
have found is some anonymous reviews on newegg that seem to imply that
they haven't had the same problem:
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-152-030&depa=0

i would think that if this is an inherent problem with this
motherboard then i should be able to easily find plenty of discussion
on the issue either on the web or usenet. maybe Russ M. and myself
happen to have a couple from a bad batch. if it were not for this
problem, this motherboard would be just fine for my needs. right now,
though, my CPU is having to run at ~500 MHz less than it should. i
never thought that i would be under-clocking my cpu.
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

Did you upgrade the BIOS?
http://www.chaintech.com.tw/tw/eng/Download/dl_desc.asp?DCSNo=4&PISNo=186



S. J. A. wrote:
> i can't get my new 7VIF4 to run stabily during hardware intensive
> tasks (linux kernel compile) while jumpered to 166 MHz fsb. i also
> get memory errors when i run memtest-86 on this system, but only when
> at 166 MHz. at this fsb speed i can reproduce these errors in minutes
> with memtest-86 test 6 or 10 (using the modulo-x algorithm). while
> using the system this shows up mainly as mysterious and seemingly
> random segfaults with signal 11. it is almost impossible to get
> through a kernel compile, and it will die in a different place each
> time. this is all with the fail-safe BIOS settings.
>
> however, when i have this motherboard jumpered to 133 MHz fsb
> everything seems solid. at this speed i can't reproduce any of the
> memory errors. memtest-86 doesn't turn up anything wrong with the
> memory. also, for the past 24 hours the system has been compiling
> various large software packages non-stop without any problems.
>
> here are the details of my setup:
> motherboard: Chaintech 7VIF4
> cpu: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton core
> ram: 512 Crucial PC2700 DDR, 512 Ultra PC2700 DDR
> psu: 425 watt (came in Just 4 PC case)
> cpu fan: TR2 M4
>
> if anyone has any advice or can give me a good account of a 7VIF4
> running stable at 166 fsb i would appreciate it.
>
> thanks.
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

I was originally wondering about that. But then I decided it wasn't worth
the trouble since it looked like they only applied to Audio or USB HD's.
Now you have me thinking about it all over again. I guess it obviously
couldn't hurt. But the versions don't seem to coincide with the release
dates. What order are you supposed to apply them or do you just run them
all? Maybe this is second nature to some of you guys but there's nothing
but guesswork from where I sit. No Docs in the zips either and they're just
raw .bin's. They jump from 2 releases of V3, back to V2, then to V5.
(J.S.A., did you try any of them with any degree of success?)





"Ugly Mugly" <umugly@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:10k6ck7rdhbdq03@corp.supernews.com...
> Did you upgrade the BIOS?
> http://www.chaintech.com.tw/tw/eng/Download/dl_desc.asp?DCSNo=4&PISNo=186
>
>
>
> S. J. A. wrote:
> > i can't get my new 7VIF4 to run stabily during hardware intensive
> > tasks (linux kernel compile) while jumpered to 166 MHz fsb. i also
> > get memory errors when i run memtest-86 on this system, but only when
> > at 166 MHz. at this fsb speed i can reproduce these errors in minutes
> > with memtest-86 test 6 or 10 (using the modulo-x algorithm). while
> > using the system this shows up mainly as mysterious and seemingly
> > random segfaults with signal 11. it is almost impossible to get
> > through a kernel compile, and it will die in a different place each
> > time. this is all with the fail-safe BIOS settings.
> >
> > however, when i have this motherboard jumpered to 133 MHz fsb
> > everything seems solid. at this speed i can't reproduce any of the
> > memory errors. memtest-86 doesn't turn up anything wrong with the
> > memory. also, for the past 24 hours the system has been compiling
> > various large software packages non-stop without any problems.
> >
> > here are the details of my setup:
> > motherboard: Chaintech 7VIF4
> > cpu: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton core
> > ram: 512 Crucial PC2700 DDR, 512 Ultra PC2700 DDR
> > psu: 425 watt (came in Just 4 PC case)
> > cpu fan: TR2 M4
> >
> > if anyone has any advice or can give me a good account of a 7VIF4
> > running stable at 166 fsb i would appreciate it.
> >
> > thanks.
>
>
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

Russ, just apply the BIOS update that corolates to your onboard sound. That
is what the diff is here. This update doesn't have to do with audio, it has
to do with which motherboard you have.

If you are in doubt, contact Chaintech techsupport on the phone. It is much
faster that way.


Russ M. wrote:
> I was originally wondering about that. But then I decided it wasn't
> worth the trouble since it looked like they only applied to Audio or
> USB HD's. Now you have me thinking about it all over again. I guess
> it obviously couldn't hurt. But the versions don't seem to coincide
> with the release dates. What order are you supposed to apply them or
> do you just run them all? Maybe this is second nature to some of you
> guys but there's nothing but guesswork from where I sit. No Docs in
> the zips either and they're just raw .bin's. They jump from 2
> releases of V3, back to V2, then to V5. (J.S.A., did you try any of
> them with any degree of success?)
>
>
>
>
>
> "Ugly Mugly" <umugly@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:10k6ck7rdhbdq03@corp.supernews.com...
>> Did you upgrade the BIOS?
>> http://www.chaintech.com.tw/tw/eng/Download/dl_desc.asp?DCSNo=4&PISNo=186
>>
>>
>>
>> S. J. A. wrote:
>>> i can't get my new 7VIF4 to run stabily during hardware intensive
>>> tasks (linux kernel compile) while jumpered to 166 MHz fsb. i also
>>> get memory errors when i run memtest-86 on this system, but only
>>> when at 166 MHz. at this fsb speed i can reproduce these errors in
>>> minutes with memtest-86 test 6 or 10 (using the modulo-x
>>> algorithm). while using the system this shows up mainly as
>>> mysterious and seemingly random segfaults with signal 11. it is
>>> almost impossible to get through a kernel compile, and it will die
>>> in a different place each time. this is all with the fail-safe
>>> BIOS settings.
>>>
>>> however, when i have this motherboard jumpered to 133 MHz fsb
>>> everything seems solid. at this speed i can't reproduce any of the
>>> memory errors. memtest-86 doesn't turn up anything wrong with the
>>> memory. also, for the past 24 hours the system has been compiling
>>> various large software packages non-stop without any problems.
>>>
>>> here are the details of my setup:
>>> motherboard: Chaintech 7VIF4
>>> cpu: AMD Athlon XP 2600+ Barton core
>>> ram: 512 Crucial PC2700 DDR, 512 Ultra PC2700 DDR
>>> psu: 425 watt (came in Just 4 PC case)
>>> cpu fan: TR2 M4
>>>
>>> if anyone has any advice or can give me a good account of a 7VIF4
>>> running stable at 166 fsb i would appreciate it.
>>>
>>> thanks.
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

Thanks for the tips. I just located my sound chip and flashed the BIOS with
the latest version for that chip. I also re-installed all the mb drivers
supplied by the Chaintech site. I'm working with it using the Sandra 2004
burn-in tool. (If there is a better/free testing tool, I'm very open to
recommends). So far so good but it's also only been 30 minutes. I'm
probably foolishly optimistic that it will solve the probs, but I always
feel the car runs better after a wash too. :) Just the same, I've got my
fingers crossed.

I'll post my results as the day goes on. Perhaps it will be helpful for
others. I'd be interested in hearing how S.J.A. makes out as well.

Cheers!


"Ugly Mugly" <umugly@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:10k7djlplc3t7be@corp.supernews.com...
> Russ, just apply the BIOS update that corolates to your onboard sound.
That
> is what the diff is here. This update doesn't have to do with audio, it
has
> to do with which motherboard you have.
>
> If you are in doubt, contact Chaintech techsupport on the phone. It is
much
> faster that way.
>
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

Well......I don't want to jinx anything but I think we're in biz. It's hard
for me to understand why a simple BIOS update would make my board stable,
but indeed that's what I've seen all day long. I've been encoding video all
day and not a single blip, re-boot, or freeze-up. Whoo-Hoo. So far it's
running flawlessly at 166MHz. I'm stunned AND speechless. Not to mention
extremely happy! I just hope I'm not dreaming all this...... :)

Thanks to all,
Russ


"Russ M." <acid_maltxspam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2qj0iiF101mkqU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Thanks for the tips. I just located my sound chip and flashed the BIOS
with
> the latest version for that chip. I also re-installed all the mb drivers
> supplied by the Chaintech site. I'm working with it using the Sandra 2004
> burn-in tool. (If there is a better/free testing tool, I'm very open to
> recommends). So far so good but it's also only been 30 minutes. I'm
> probably foolishly optimistic that it will solve the probs, but I always
> feel the car runs better after a wash too. :) Just the same, I've got my
> fingers crossed.
>
> I'll post my results as the day goes on. Perhaps it will be helpful for
> others. I'd be interested in hearing how S.J.A. makes out as well.
>
> Cheers!
>
>
> "Ugly Mugly" <umugly@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:10k7djlplc3t7be@corp.supernews.com...
> > Russ, just apply the BIOS update that corolates to your onboard sound.
> That
> > is what the diff is here. This update doesn't have to do with audio, it
> has
> > to do with which motherboard you have.
> >
> > If you are in doubt, contact Chaintech techsupport on the phone. It is
> much
> > faster that way.
> >
>
>
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

Russ M. wrote:
> Well......I don't want to jinx anything but I think we're in biz.
> It's hard for me to understand why a simple BIOS update would make my
> board stable, but indeed that's what I've seen all day long. I've
> been encoding video all day and not a single blip, re-boot, or
> freeze-up. Whoo-Hoo. So far it's running flawlessly at 166MHz. I'm
> stunned AND speechless. Not to mention extremely happy! I just
> hope I'm not dreaming all this...... :)
>
> Thanks to all,
> Russ
>
>

You are most welcome. And yes, a BIOS upgrade can make all the difference in
the world, as this is where the computer is told how to handle memory, the
cpu, the PCI bus, hard drives, cd/dvd drives, etc....
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

It wasn't to be afterall. While the board is MUCH more stable at 166MHz
after the BIOS update, it still isn't right. When writing DVDs, it'll fail
in different ways. Sometimes it'll reboot in the middle of the write, write
garbage, or just plain freeze up. I can't get a successful DVD write at
166. Fine at 133. So for now, I'm manually jumpering it back to 133 when I
have to write disks. Then back to 166 when I'm finished. The only odd
behavior I've seen at 166 after the BIOS update is that my scanner software
will just self-launch occasionally. But never at 133.


"Russ M." <acid_maltxspam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2qkd9gF10eo10U1@uni-berlin.de...
> Well......I don't want to jinx anything but I think we're in biz. It's
hard
> for me to understand why a simple BIOS update would make my board stable,
> but indeed that's what I've seen all day long. I've been encoding video
all
> day and not a single blip, re-boot, or freeze-up. Whoo-Hoo. So far it's
> running flawlessly at 166MHz. I'm stunned AND speechless. Not to mention
> extremely happy! I just hope I'm not dreaming all this...... :)
>
> Thanks to all,
> Russ
>
>
> "Russ M." <acid_maltxspam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:2qj0iiF101mkqU1@uni-berlin.de...
> > Thanks for the tips. I just located my sound chip and flashed the BIOS
> with
> > the latest version for that chip. I also re-installed all the mb
drivers
> > supplied by the Chaintech site. I'm working with it using the Sandra
2004
> > burn-in tool. (If there is a better/free testing tool, I'm very open to
> > recommends). So far so good but it's also only been 30 minutes. I'm
> > probably foolishly optimistic that it will solve the probs, but I always
> > feel the car runs better after a wash too. :) Just the same, I've got
my
> > fingers crossed.
> >
> > I'll post my results as the day goes on. Perhaps it will be helpful for
> > others. I'd be interested in hearing how S.J.A. makes out as well.
> >
> > Cheers!
> >
> >
> > "Ugly Mugly" <umugly@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
> > news:10k7djlplc3t7be@corp.supernews.com...
> > > Russ, just apply the BIOS update that corolates to your onboard sound.
> > That
> > > is what the diff is here. This update doesn't have to do with audio,
it
> > has
> > > to do with which motherboard you have.
> > >
> > > If you are in doubt, contact Chaintech techsupport on the phone. It is
> > much
> > > faster that way.
> > >
> >
> >
>
>
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

"Russ M." <acid_maltxspam@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:2qn5kcF11n0olU1@uni-berlin.de...
> It wasn't to be afterall. While the board is MUCH more stable at 166MHz
> after the BIOS update, it still isn't right. When writing DVDs, it'll
> fail
> in different ways. Sometimes it'll reboot in the middle of the write,
> write
> garbage, or just plain freeze up. I can't get a successful DVD write at
> 166. Fine at 133. So for now, I'm manually jumpering it back to 133 when
> I
> have to write disks. Then back to 166 when I'm finished. The only odd
> behavior I've seen at 166 after the BIOS update is that my scanner
> software
> will just self-launch occasionally. But never at 133.
>
>


Then you may have problems with your PSU, Memory, or CPU. Of course it could
be a faulty MOBO too, but the first three are easier to check out.

http://www.memtest86.com/#download1

For the PSU, or CPU you will need to take them to your nearest computer shop
to test. The motherboard however would need sending to Chaintech, and that
could take several weeks from the time you send it, to the time you receive
it. And if you do this, get an RMA number from them first, and get insurance
on the package just in case.
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

"Ugly Mugly" <umugly@nospam.hotmail.com> wrote in message
> Then you may have problems with your PSU, Memory, or CPU. Of course it could
> be a faulty MOBO too, but the first three are easier to check out.
>
> http://www.memtest86.com/#download1
>
> For the PSU, or CPU you will need to take them to your nearest computer shop
> to test. The motherboard however would need sending to Chaintech, and that
> could take several weeks from the time you send it, to the time you receive
> it. And if you do this, get an RMA number from them first, and get insurance
> on the package just in case.

yeah, the BIOS update didn't help me either. neither has chaintech
support. i have been e-mailing them. memtest-86 will show errors on
tests 6 and 10 every time, but this is while testing on a same machine
that is having the problems. this happens no matter what memory i
have in the machine. i haven't tested the memory on a system that is
known to be stable, but at this point i suspect that it would test
fine on a stable system.

the problem still could be the psu or cpu, but i don't think it is. i
will continue to test these things when i get the chance, but in the
mean time i would like to find even one person that has built a
stable, 166 MHz fsb system with this motherboard. ...anyone? if
anyone can testify to having such a system, then i will be more than
happy to admit that my cynical suspicions of an inherent design flaw
in this motherboard are unjustified.

steve
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

sja8rd@mizzou.edu (S. J. A.) wrote in message
<snip>
> the problem still could be the psu or cpu, but i don't think it is. i
> will continue to test these things when i get the chance, but in the
> mean time i would like to find even one person that has built a
> stable, 166 MHz fsb system with this motherboard. ...anyone? if
> anyone can testify to having such a system, then i will be more than
> happy to admit that my cynical suspicions of an inherent design flaw
> in this motherboard are unjustified.
>
> steve

well, i am returning the 7VIF4. i have talked with chaintech support,
and they say that the motherboard is the problem. what they didn't
say is whether it is an inherent problem.

i have an Asus A7V8X-X that should be arriving today. hopefully i
will have better luck with this one.

steve
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

Yep. I tested everything else and swapped memory & psu's quite a few times.
It never worked at 166. I sent mine back to the dealer and we'll see how it
goes. I haven't heard anything yet, 2 days after they received it. I
couldn't test the CPU independently so it could be either part. But still
interesting is that before sending it back, I ran it for 6 straight days
(24x6) processing video the entire time at 133Mhz FSB. Not a single
sputter....

Russ

"S. J. A." <sja8rd@mizzou.edu> wrote in message
news:d695918a.0409210613.14f561d0@posting.google.com...
> sja8rd@mizzou.edu (S. J. A.) wrote in message
> <snip>
> > the problem still could be the psu or cpu, but i don't think it is. i
> > will continue to test these things when i get the chance, but in the
> > mean time i would like to find even one person that has built a
> > stable, 166 MHz fsb system with this motherboard. ...anyone? if
> > anyone can testify to having such a system, then i will be more than
> > happy to admit that my cynical suspicions of an inherent design flaw
> > in this motherboard are unjustified.
> >
> > steve
>
> well, i am returning the 7VIF4. i have talked with chaintech support,
> and they say that the motherboard is the problem. what they didn't
> say is whether it is an inherent problem.
>
> i have an Asus A7V8X-X that should be arriving today. hopefully i
> will have better luck with this one.
>
> steve
 
Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.chaintech (More info?)

sja8rd@mizzou.edu (S. J. A.) wrote in message news:<d695918a.0409210613.14f561d0@posting.google.com>...
> sja8rd@mizzou.edu (S. J. A.) wrote in message
> <snip>
> > the problem still could be the psu or cpu, but i don't think it is. i
> > will continue to test these things when i get the chance, but in the
> > mean time i would like to find even one person that has built a
> > stable, 166 MHz fsb system with this motherboard. ...anyone? if
> > anyone can testify to having such a system, then i will be more than
> > happy to admit that my cynical suspicions of an inherent design flaw
> > in this motherboard are unjustified.
> >
> > steve
>
I just built 4 of these 7VIF4 Chaintech systems for a customer and
they do not work at 166 fsb. They work perfect with the 133 fsb. I
have used a program called goldmemory to test the memory at 166 and
get hundreds of errors. At 133 I do not get any errors. It looks like
I am going to loose a lot of money to fix this problem by purchasing
new motherboards or new cpu's with 133 bus. I wished I knew about this
problem before I made my purchase. I got them from Newegg and the
customer reviews were all pretty good. Does anybody know of a VIA
KM400 chipset motherboard that works well at 166 FSB? I might go back
to the Biostar with the Nvidia chipset with onboard geforce video, but
they cost a lot more.
BEWARE of the CHAINTECH motherboard 166FSB problem before you spend
your money!!!
Rick
 
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