Freeze Up After Several Minutes

[Gavrok]

After several minutes sound is continuous and computer freezes

I have 1000 Athlon, 256mb, Asus A7v, SB Live1024, Geoforce 4 4200 and Win98 SE

All have latest drivers including VIA 4 in 1.

Have even downloaded via to SB patch mentioned in other query.

CMBO demo and full game didnt work. Spent several weekends trying to fix problem after more time on forum. Even upgraded from Geoforce 2 to 4 4200. Had to give in and return game 6 weeks later.

Have awaited CMBB demo to see if the same issue occurs. Computer still freezes with sound hanging at a random point in the game.

Hair is being pulled out at a faster rate....annoying as what I have played of game is excellent and the support by yourselves was very helpful.

SB is on IRQ9 as per my network card. Could this be an issue.

Any other thoughts.

Thanks

[Schrullenhaft]

CMBB and CMBO are going to have the same issues. I wouldn't be surprised if you had issues with other DirectX 3D games (or possibly OpenGL) also.

The SoundBlaster family and VIA chipsets share a well known and frustrating problem (though I've heard that SB's have problems with other chipsets too). The issue isn't limited to CM and occurs quite often. The fixes have typically covered what you've already done supposedly - latest VIA 4-in-1 drivers, PCI Latency Patch, latest SB drivers, moving the SB card as far away from the AGP card as possible, updating your motherboard BIOS (which rarely fixes the problem), making changes in your CMOS/BIOS setup involving PCI, etc.

There are two recommendations I can make at this rate. Make sure that your system isn't using ACPI as the configuration protocol and then making sure that the sound card isn't sharing an IRQ, which it is in in your case. I'd suggest disconnecting your network card and seeing if that helps or not. If it doesn't then you would need to remove the drivers and/or network card. The problem is that there are only 4 IRQs to share among your PCI/AGP devices and often you'll be unable to get an unique IRQ for your sound or video card. IRQs are often assigned according to what PCI slot the device is in (according to the PNP BIOS) and after that Windows can assign IRQs as it sees fit (which usually means - completely haphazardly and in a fashion that will result in the most problems).

So if you can somehow get your sound card to not share an IRQ with the video or network card, then things may work out for you. If you can't then you may want to purchase another sound card that isn't made by Creative.

[Gavrok]

Thanks Schrullenhaft

You must be sick of these queries having trawled around the site and seen lots of themso very grateful.

Haven't made changes to CMOS/ BIOS yet due to my lack of technical know how but am desparate enough to give it a go.

Will

1) change cmos/ bios

2)check system isn't using acpi as configuration protocol (how do I do this)

3) move sound card

4) buy new sound card without the bus or conflict issue (any cheapo suggestions)

One thing I tried doing was switching sound off but game still crashed and atmosphere totally lost. (Funny enough this is the only game that crashes !!arggggh)

Any chance you have a file with all of the suggestion attached to stop you giving the same great advice again and again to us luddites.

Gavrok

[Some Guy]

I have also been having the same problem -- after a few minutes the sound goes to a stuttering (like a skipping CD player) and the computer locks, requiring reboot. My system is:

AMD 1800

512MB RAM

GeForce 4Ti

CMI on-motherboard sound

Windows XP

DirectX 8.1

I have updated my video, 4-in-1, and sound drivers.

I have disabled all other running programs (ie PC-Cillin)

There are no conflicts in the device manager.

When it runs, it's otherwise an incremental improvement over CMBO!

[Schrullenhaft]

Gavrok - What version of the BIOS do you have for the A7V motherboard ? If you have the Promise IDE RAID controller on board the 1007 BIOS and later fixes a conflict for it and soundcards in the 4/5 PCI slot (though that may not be the issue here). PCI slot 3 is the best place to put the card (so that it can have its own IRQ).

In the CMOS/BIOS setup you can also change the PCI Latency (Advanced Menu > PCI Configuration > PCI Latency Timer - increase to over 32). This may slow things down a bit, but it may make your sound card more stable (maybe). You can also change the PNP OS settings (Boot Menu > Plug and Play 0/S - NO) which will allow you to keep the IRQ assigned by the BIOS instead of having Windows reassign the IRQ. I can't find any ACPI configuration option in your BIOS. You can check to see if you're using ACPI by going to Control Panels > System control panel > Device Manager tab > under the System Devices open up that list and look for the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (or something to that effect). Windows 98 doesn't utilize ACPI too heavily, but it may cause problems. Double clicking the 'Computer' listing should bring up a list of IRQs in use. Check to see which items may be sharing IRQs (ignore 'IRQ Holder for PCI Steering').

I'm not sure what to suggest for an inexpensive soundcard. I've usually recommended the Turtle Beach / Voyetra Santa Cruz PCI sound cards, but they cost around US$70. Some of the Hercules sound cards may work too (Muse or Fortissimo ?).

Some Guy - actually sound problems can exist despite the Device Manager not acknowledging a conflict. Unfortunately quite a few PCI sound cards can have problems if they have to share an IRQ with another device. This is what ACPI does. In fact ACPI typically moves all PCI and AGP device to a single IRQ under any system outside of Pentium 4's (which have more IRQs than the standard 16). While drivers should be capable of sharing IRQs, sometimes they don't cooperate very well when they have to, especially where two devices are constantly busy. Continuous or long data streams like audio can cause problems.

Unfortunately Windows XP prefers ACPI as the configuration and power management protocol. If you try to disable it in your CMOS/BIOS, you'll run into all sorts of problems. In this case Windows XP needs to be comletely reinstalled - an obvious major hassle.

Basically, outside of ACPI, onboard audio (and other onboard devices) will typically share an IRQ with a certain PCI slot. As an example anything in the 4th PCI slot may share the same IRQ as the onboard audio and there's no way to prevent this if a card is inserted into that particular PCI slot. I've also seen bad designs where the onboard audio will share the same IRQ as anything in the AGP slot - something that can definitely cause problems with games like CM.

[Some Guy]

Well, as usual you were right...

The sound card, USB port and ethernet card were all sharing an IRQ. With the help of a more knowlegeable friend we fixed it, now no devices are sharing an IRQ.

The same problem happens though

[Schrullenhaft]

If you were using ACPI, you would have had to reinstall XP in order to truly fix the problem (reconfiguring it to use standard PNP). If you didn't do that, then the problem may not be fixed. You say that you're using the latest CMedia driver (for the 8738 I believe) ?

In the DirectX Diagnostic (C:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\DXDIAG) under the Sound tab, move the Audio Hardware Acceleration slider a little more to the left (it may require a reboot to take effect) and see if this helps with the sound. It might take a couple of adjustments before there is no sound problem (if this works).

[Some Guy]

Yes, it is the 8738, updated the driver. I didn't re-install XP, and it is using ACPI; what I did was in the BIOS set "Plug and Play OS" to "No." Before, both my ethernet card and sound were sharing IRQ 9, now everything is listed as having a separate IRQ.

Tried all the sound settings in DXDIAG, down to "no hardward acceleration" and still get same bug.

Darn. Appreciate the help though!

[Schrullenhaft]

What motherboard do you have and have you installed any chipset drivers for it ?

For those of you who are suffering from lockup problems on VIA-based motherboards (and others too) this page about Infinte Loops might help. I don't know if the info is completely applicable to what some people here are suffering from, but it may be worth reading through.

[ September 09, 2002, 04:01 AM: Message edited by: Schrullenhaft ]

[Some Guy]

I have an ASUS motherboard: A7V266-C. I downloaded and installed the latest VIA 4-in-1 driver set.

Among the proposed solutions in the Infinite Loop page that I tried were disabling nvidia driver help services and decreasing PCI texture memory size, neither of which changed the outcome. I have gotten this same error once or twice playing Dark Age of Camelot but never using any other applications.

[Lardzor]

Originally posted by Some Guy:

I have also been having the same problem -- after a few minutes the sound goes to a stuttering (like a skipping CD player) and the computer locks, requiring reboot. My system is:

AMD 1800

512MB RAM

GeForce 4Ti

CMI on-motherboard sound

Windows XP

DirectX 8.1

I have updated my video, 4-in-1, and sound drivers.

I have disabled all other running programs (ie PC-Cillin)

There are no conflicts in the device manager.

When it runs, it's otherwise an incremental improvement over CMBO!

I have the same problem, and a very simmilar system configuration. The main differences being that I have a GeForce 4MX, and run DirectX 9.0c. If you have an ASUS A7V333 motherboard, I think we are indeed both in the same boat. I'll keep trying to find a solution, and let you know if I do, but you you find one, please let me know.

[ October 29, 2004, 01:02 PM: Message edited by: Lardzor ]

[Schrullenhaft]

This is a bit of an older thread to dig up...

Are there any relevant messages in the Event Viewer that are related to the lockups ?

Which driver do you have installed for the sound (CMedia 8738) ? The CMedia website lists 0639 (dated 8/26/2002) as the latest, while ASUS makes the 0630 version available (listed as installer 2.75a).

I have no idea if a sound driver upgrade would help here or not. The repeating/stuttering sound lockup is probably just a symptom of some general system lockup that can be caused by something else (though a soundcard or its driver could be a likely culprit for this particular kind of symptom).

Though it may make little difference to this problem, which motherboard BIOS do you have installed ? Beta 1018.001 is the latest, but I don't know what it offers over the last official BIOS 1017.

Which driver are you using for your GeForce 4MX ? If you're using the latest one, you may want to step back to a slightly earlier version such as 56.72. No guarantees that it will fix this issue, but it may be something to try.

[Tim The Enchanter]

I have heard great things of the very affordable Chaintech sound card .

[Lardzor]

Schrullenhaft, thank you for takeing the time to reply. I didn't notice the age of the thread. I will assume previous posters have no continueing interest.

I was able to resolve the problem by realizeing my worst fears. (complete reformat and clean install of XP). I also disabled ACPI in the bios before the reinstall. I refrained from installing any sound drivers before installing SP2, and used the ones recommended by Windows XP Automatic Update (optional hardware updates). The on-board sound and USB host adapter still share an IRQ, but it is a different IRQ that before.

To answer your questions, I was useing the latest Nvidia drivers from their website. I was useing the 1016 Award BIOS. The only stated differences ASUS provides between 1016-1017-1018.001 is greater CPU compatability.

I am going to assume my problem was related to mucking around with drivers from different sources (ASUS install CD, C-Media website, and Windows Automatic Update), but I'll probably never know for sure. Thank you again for your time, and thanx for not flameing me for bringing up dead threads. Just stumbled across it in my quest to find an answer, and didn't knotice it's age.