Fastfame motherboard - need a BIOS update

Questions that don't belong in the other forums.
cp
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Posts: 1914
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:07 pm
Location: Germany

memory issue? windows xp? can you post details, please.
Vgolfmaster
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Hi, and thanks for looking at this!

This is a friends computer that I am working on, and he is having several issues from having it lock up on him, to actually turning itself once, although I have not seen this behavior since I have had it. He took it to a shop that did some work on this, but his troubles persist. There are two sticks of matching RAM in here, in the first and second of three banks.

- It runs flawlessly with either stick of RAM running on its own
- It runs with both installed, but locks up when 'over worked'
- Changing their bank position sometimes gives me a POST boot mssg to change CAS latency in bios.

The BIOS info is here:

BIOS Type: Award
BIOS Date: 05/04/2001
BIOS ID String: 05/04/2001-8363-686B-6A6LMFGAC-00
OEM Signon: Release date:2001/05/04 Ver:2.20 - 6.00 PG
Chipset: VIA 82C305 REV 3
Super I/O: VIA 686 REV 64 AT PCI 7

I believe this system originally had Win2000, and it now has XP Pro running on it. I do not believe that this old BIOS supports XP, and want to upgrade it to see if corrects these troubles and allows me to run both memory sticks. This also had the HDD formatted in FAT32, I wiped the HDD,reformatted, and installed XP on a NTFS volume, but the same troubles persist!

Any suggestions you can offer would be appreciated, I have myself convinced that the BIOS flash is the next step in this process, but if i am wrong, please let me know!
cp
BIOS Guru
Posts: 1914
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:07 pm
Location: Germany

set the CAS latency to AUTO in the bios. otherwise you might run one of the modules with a fairly agressive timing which may cause data corruption.

get this:
http://www.memtest.org/
and test the memory modules.

btw. there is no special windows xp support in the bios. either the chipset and some tables are set up properly or not.
Vgolfmaster
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Hi again, and thanks for the reply.

The latency settings in BIOS are maual only, and I have tried both, and have the save trouble. These two sticks of memory are identical, and both tested ok using memtest (newest version). This is where I am confused as to the cas latency prompt, because these sticks are identical.

This thing runs perfectly with either memory stick running on its own, they just wont run together...... Do you think updating the BIOS might help this, or is it a shot in the dark? A BIOS upgrade shouldnt hurt anything, should it?

Thanks again
Vgolfmaster
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Esupport.com is where I got the WinXP compatability info, here is the e-mail the sent me if it helps at all:

Mark,

Your BIOS Upgrade Ticket # is: 40JQYYL

It has been a few days since we received your BIOS upgrade request online. Due to customer demand, we have decided to offer the new BIOS upgrades via an e-mail download.

eSupport.com is the Exclusive Authorized Upgrade and Support Center for American Megatrends and Phoenix-Award BIOS. For nearly 20 years, we have constantly upgraded thousands of motherboards and developed new BIOS upgrades for all the latest technology.

Based on the technical specifications you had submitted, we have an excellent BIOS Upgrade for your system. We have the brand new BIOS for your motherboard. The price is only $29.95.

To view your system details that you had previously submitted, click here: View My System Details


The most notable features are:

*

Hard Drive Support up to 512GB* (48-bit Technology)
*

Windows Vista Compliance
*

Windows XP Compliance for SP1 & SP2 (service pack)
*

Windows ACPI 2.0* Compliance
*

Faster Intel and AMD CPU Upgrade Kit Support
*

Faster Input Output Speeds
*

Virtual technical support assistance
*

100 % Satisfaction Guarantee
*

Facts You Should Know About eSupport.com

*not available for all PCs

We will email you with a link to download the latest BIOS upgrade for your specific system. The file to download will be a zip file (>500 K) that includes the binary, the necessary flash loader, and easy installation instructions. Plus, you'll have access to hundreds of BIOS FAQs online, and free e-mail based technical support. Telephone technical support is not available.

The price for this service is $29.95. You can place this order through our SECURE website:



Note: If you have trouble accessing our order form, you may purchase through our alternative shopping cart locations here:

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You can read about more features here: BIOS Upgrade Features

Please check out our Diagnostic Tools special we are having this month ! This Month's Special


Thanks in Advance,


Dennis
BIOS Technician
(toll free)
1-XXX-XXX-XXXX

http://www.esupport.com

eSupport.com, Inc.
1538 Turnpike St.
North Andover, MA. 01845
cp
BIOS Guru
Posts: 1914
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:07 pm
Location: Germany

hmm..i wonder why mainboard manufacturers are not using bios from esupport since they seem to be the elite..
personally i haven't heard any good stories about esupport (most of them ended with black screen and brick) but that may be just coincidence.

the same memory sticks are not the same memory chips..you did run all memory tests i guess?!
Vgolfmaster
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cp,

"the same memory sticks are not the same memory chips."

I am unsure of what you mean with this statement, am I missing something I should be catching?

I let the computer boot to the memtest floppy and let it run all night while I was at work. The next morning it said all test complete, and no errors found. Does it test all installed memory automatically, or do I need to test each individual slot separately? I have looked everywhere, and still can not find a bios update for this thing........

The mobo shows as 8VT, and I dont see any other stamps on the mobo itself matching the 8VTAA or any other versions that I CAN find BIOS updates for.

I'm really at a loss with this thing, any ideas what to try next?
Vgolfmaster
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cp,

another interesting discovery:

google search for "fastfame 8VT BIOS flash" shows one entry for this thread, and the rest are all a foreign language. Wish I was bilingual, lol

http://www.google.com/search?complete=1 ... tnG=Search
Vgolfmaster
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cp,

One more...... look what I just found, missed it the first time through. Think this looks right?!?!

http://www.supportbios.info/modelo.asp? ... &Idioma=EN
Vgolfmaster
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I was excited..... until I saw that this was an older version.......
cp
BIOS Guru
Posts: 1914
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:07 pm
Location: Germany

look, the chips that are on a memory module underly a fluctuation during production. you can say that most chips from one die are almost identical but if they come from different dice they tend to fluctuate more.
anyway..are there other memory timings you set automatically? maybe you should set the timings to moderate or even conservative settings and try again. i doubt that this is a bios issue.
it is hard to tell what the problem is if you can not reproduce it.

hmm..btw. what makes you think that the problem are the memory modules? did you check the cpu and its cooling? and did you check the psu? what model are you using?
Vgolfmaster
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cp,

I have set the latency settings in BIOS to 2 (2 or 3 are only options) and the timing is set at 100MHz (100/133 are only options); I have tried all combinations of the above options, and all result in freeze ups with both memory sticks installed. I did today have it freeze with only 1 stick installed, so now I agree with you that it isnt a memory compatability issue. I also cant find a BIOS upgrade for free, so I am going to drop that for now. He can't stick any money in to this thing right now.

There is a case fan that is not original, and it is spliced into an existing power supply, I think for a zip drive if I remember correctly. I will start looking at that angle, but I dont have any power supply testing equipment, or software. Any ideas how to check that, other than the old school method of running one thing at a time, andn building on it by adding one thing at a time until it fails?
cp
BIOS Guru
Posts: 1914
Joined: Mon Oct 21, 2002 9:07 pm
Location: Germany

get a cpu stress test software like BurnCPU. you can get the ultimate boot cd here:
http://ubcd.sourceforge.net/
it features a lot of useful tools.
first of all: what is your current setup? please post cpu,drivers and expansion cards. take a look at the psu and post what is written on the label (wattage, etc). to rule out the psu connect a spare. if you don't have a spare psu you can disconnect everything that's not necessary for booting your os, like dvd,cdrom,expansion cards (except vga ofcourse). now you should run some programs and see if the system crashes.

memory related again:
for now i would set the CAS latency to 3 and the memory speed to 100MHz. you should now alter one memory realted setting (like CAS) and boot memtest86+. let it run for a while and undo the change if it fails. otherwise change another setting and start over.
witcher_cn
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greetings!

Google brings me at this page, while I was looking for the BIOS update for my PC. I've read over all the topic? but didn't find the sollution for my problem...
So, here we are:

Program: eSupport.com BIOS Agent Version 3.66

BIOS Date: 11/06/01
BIOS Type: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
BIOS ID: 11/06/2001-8363-686B-6A6LMFGAC
OEM Sign-On: Release date:2001/11/06 Ver:2.40
AWARD ID-string: 11/06/2001-8363-686B-6A6LMFGAC-00
Chipset: VIA 82C305 rev 3
Superio: VIA 686 rev 64 found at port 7h
OS: WinXP SP2
CPU: Unknown CPU Type 1600 Mhz
BIOS ROM In Socket: Yes
BIOS ROM Size: 256K
Memory Installed: 512 MB
Memory Maximum: 512 MB
Memory Slot 01: 256 MB
Memory Slot 02: 128 MB
Memory Slot 03: 128 MB
ACPI Revision: Unknown

--------[ EVEREST Ultimate Edition ]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Version EVEREST v4.20.1270 Beta/ru
Test Module 2.3.218.0
Home Page http://www.lavalys.com/
Тип отчёта Мастер отчётов
Компьютер RADIOSILENCE
Генератор Ведьмак
Операционная система Microsoft Windows XP Professional 5.1.2600 (WinXP Retail)
Дата 2008-04-17
Время 11:11


--------[ Main Board ]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Свойства системной платы:
ID системной платы 11/06/2001-8363-686B-6A6LMFGAC-00
Системная плата Fastfame 8VTAA/8VTAA+/8VTAE/8VTMA/8VTME
(other ID-programs shows 8VT) - my note
Свойства шины FSB:
Тип шины DEC Alpha EV6
Ширина шины 64 бит
Реальная частота 133 МГц (DDR)
Эффективная частота 267 МГц
Пропускная способность 2133 Мб/с

Свойства шины памяти:
Тип шины SDR SDRAM
Ширина шины 64 бит
Соотношение DRAM:FSB 1:1
Реальная частота 133 МГц
Эффективная частота 133 МГц
Пропускная способность 1067 Мб/с

Свойства шины чипсета:
Тип шины PCI
Ширина шины 32 бит
Реальная частота 33 МГц
Эффективная частота 33 МГц
Пропускная способность 133 Мб/с


--------[ Чипсет (Chipset)]------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ North Bridge: VIA VT8363A Apollo KT133A ]

Свойства северного моста:
Северный мост VIA VT8363A Apollo KT133A
Поддерживаемые скорости FSB FSB200, FSB266
Поддерживаемые типы памяти PC100 SDRAM, PC133 SDRAM
In-Order Queue Depth 4

Контроллер памяти:
Bank Interleave Запрещено

Тайминги памяти:
CAS Latency (CL) 3T
RAS To CAS Delay (tRCD) 3T
RAS Precharge (tRP) 3T
RAS Active Time (tRAS) 6T
Refresh Period (tREF) 1088T

Разъёмы памяти:
Разъём DRAM #1 256 Мб (PC133 SDRAM)
Разъём DRAM #2 128 Мб (PC133 SDRAM)
Разъём DRAM #3 128 Мб (PC133 SDRAM)

Контроллер AGP:
Версия AGP 2.00
Статус AGP Разрешено
AGP-устройство nVIDIA RIVA TNT2 M64
Размер апертуры AGP 128 Мб
Поддерживаемые скорости AGP 1x, 2x, 4x
Текущая скорость AGP 4x
Fast-Write Не поддерживается
Side Band Addressing Поддерживается, Запрещено

Производитель чипсета:
Фирма VIA Technologies, Inc.
Информация о продукте http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets
Загрузка драйверов http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2
Обновление драйверов http://driveragent.com?ref=59

[ South Bridge: VIA VT82C686B ]

Свойства южного моста:
Южный мост VIA VT82C686B
Версия 40
Тип корпуса 352 Pin BGA
Размеры корпуса 2.7 cm x 2.7 cm
Технологический процесс 0.35 um
Напряжение питания ядра 3.3 V

Аудиоконтроллер AC'97:
Тип аудиоконтроллера VIA 686A/686B/8231
Имя кодека Realtek RL5383/ALC100(P)
ID кодека 414C4326h
Выход S/PDIF Не поддерживается

Производитель чипсета:
Фирма VIA Technologies, Inc.
Информация о продукте http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/chipsets
Загрузка драйверов http://www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2
Обновление драйверов http://driveragent.com?ref=59


--------[ BIOS ]--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Свойства BIOS:
Тип BIOS Award Modular
Версия BIOS Release date:2001/11/06 Ver:2.40
Тип Award BIOS Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG
Сообщение Award BIOS Release date:2001/11/06 Ver:2.40
Дата системной BIOS 11/06/01
Дата BIOS видеоадаптера 05/18/99

Производитель BIOS:
Фирма Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Информация о продукте http://www.phoenix.com/en/products/default.htm
Обновления BIOS http://www.esupport.com/biosagent/index ... fererid=40

(i can translate whole report. if you need)

So, any suggestion, where I can get firmware upd for BIOS

(sorry for my bag english :oops: )
djnimrod
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Joined: Thu Apr 30, 2009 7:26 pm

I need a bios update for my MB cause I can't find it anywhere.

Bios Agent report looks like this :

BIOS Type: Award
BIOS Date: May 4th 2001
BIOS ID: 05/04/2001-8363-686B-6A6LMFGAC-00-None
BIOS OEM: Release date:2001/05/04 Ver:2.20 - 6.00 PG
Chipset: VIA 82C305 rev 3
SuperIO: VIA 686 rev 64 at pci 7
Manufacturer: FASTFAME TECHNOLOGY CO.,LTD.
Motherboard: 8VT
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