Lockups when enabling external cache

[Guest]

I have an Fic VA503+ mainboard on which i run a k6-3 450.. The problem is that when i enable the External cache in the bios my system tends to lock up.. it doesn´t matter if i use win 98 or millenium..
The board has 1MB of External cache and isn´t oc´d in any way. I´ve tried enabling the external cache on other machines at work (503+ mainboard there too) and gotten the same result.
Any ideas anyone?

 

[JOJO]

maybe cache is dead or bad....
hopefully not...

 

[uncoando]

Do you have any ISA devices? What are your system specs?
I have same cpu/mobo as you, performs really well w/ a voodoo 3 3k card.
This pc gets kind of hinky w/ an SB AWE 64 ISA sound card.

Also, USB support was hard to establish, I finally got an USB dongle to work using w98se.

Haven't found this board amenable to overclocking...

<b><font color=blue>Brainy Sturgeon</b></font color=blue>

 

[Guest]

My system specs:
503+, k6-3 450, 192MB Ram, GeForce 256 card. SbLive 1024, DLink 530TX nic, a couple oh hd´s and a burner..
The system is stable as a rock when i don´t have that external cache enabled.. (I even run it overclocked now... 500Mhz) . Can´t seem to clock it higher though.. increased the voltage 0.3 and changed the multiplier to 5x (FSB 100 ofcourse)

 

[phsstpok]

I had a similar problem but didn't know it at the time. I had 503+ with a K6-2 running at 412 Mhz.

After many crashes I suspected bad memory. I downloaded a shareware memory test program ("Gold Memory Test", I think). When I ran the test it failed. I pulled the 32MB module, leaving 64MB, and the memory tested out perfectly. I switched DIMMs and that worked too. Now I suspected the 2nd DIMM slot but when I tried, both DIMMs worked, one at a time. I eventully learned one DIMM would test fine but two DIMMs would always fail. I was completely stumped. At some point I tried turning off the external cache. That was the only time I could get two DIMMs to pass the memory test (but very slowly).

There has to be something funky about that external cache.

I finally just used the one 64 MB DIMM. You might try one DIMM, yourself. I don't remember if the 503+ will except 256MB modules, though.

I still had crashes but maybe 1/10 as often.

 

[Guest]

I know nothing about that motherboard or chipset, but I'm wondering whether there's some undocumented jumper or BIOS setting that might manipulate any Tag RAM (stores the cache index) on the motherboard, depending on how much memory you have installed? I don't know whether in improper setting would make your system crash, but it would certainly slow it down (assuming Tag RAM exists on this motherboard, of course).

Mike