Need help, any FSB change causes computer to freeze

[Mark_C]

Hi all, this is my first post to the board. I'm hoping you can help me out with this frustrating problem i'm having.

I installed my new motherboard and Duron 900 yesterday and upped the FSB to 112 to get 1008Mhz. (My motherboard is cheap and doesn't have any options for clock alterations.) It worked great, no crashes or any problems, and i ran it for a few hours with several games. I had WinMe installed at the time, so i decided to install Win98se and everything went as normal, until there were consistent lock ups during the installer stage when it asks for drivers. I found out it was due to the overclock, and everything ran smooth at the default 9x100.

Now i've found that any fsb changes, even something as low as 2Mhz causes a lockup of the computer. It's consistent, and happens a few seconds after Windows appears. Oddly, if Scandisk loads and delays bootup until it's finished, my computer doesn't lock up. However it does as soon as it's finished and the icons and startup programs begin to appear. (It may have been a one off, i'll check it again later.)

I'm completely lost on what could be the problem, although i have a feeling it could be the memory. It's 133Mhz ram and should run fine, but it doesn't explain why it was working perfectly before and not now. Is it common for ram to behave like that, where it works fine overclocked for the first few hours, then eventually it fails? I've been running it at 133Mhz Cas3.

Could it be anything to do with when i used a pencil on the L1 bridges? I don't think it would seeing as i'm not changing the clock multiplier and i made sure there was space between the bridges.

Thanks all,
Mark

(Update - When i was typing up this message my computer froze with a long beep, i think it was from WinAmp crashing and not from the motherboard. I have a feeling it's the ram that caused the crash. so i've changed the ram to work at 100Mhz Cas2 at the moment.)

[M@€$†®Ö™]

Please post more info about your system. I personally do not think its the bridges at all. You have to realize when you push FSB you are also pushing the Memory speed up of your RAM. Some ram can not handle being pushed beyond 133mhz . I personally suggest trying to back off the FSB a notch or 2 till you are stable.I had a similar scenario a while back. You memory speed is 133 mhz as you said. When you push the FSB up any you are pushing the memory speed accordingly. So if you are getting a FSB of 112 then you are getting a memory speed of 145mhz 133 + 12 (FSB)=145 mhz and that is way above spec for some 133 mhz SDRAM chips. I was never able to get more then +12 on the FSB when the ram speed was I'm . This will vary with your board and ram you have but its a nice rule of thumb in general. I suggest in closing backing off the FSB till you are stable and that is the limit you will have. In reading your post again since you backed off the ram to 100 mhz @ Cas 2 Try Raising the FSB to 133 and see what happens you will have to drop the multiplier back to 6.5 to 7.5 but you have a FSB of 266 if it works and the ram will be at 133 mhz which is optimal. I am saying all of this without knowing your system at all. I hope this helps some.

Maestro

[M@€$†®Ö™]

And most importantly Welcome to the Forums :)

Maestro

[Mark_C]

Thanks Maestro. I tried the 112 fsb with 100Mhz Cas 2 ram but no luck, the same problem happens. The maximum my bios allows me to increase it is by 12Mhz, and the hangs are consistent even if i move it by 1 or 2 Mhz.

Here's my computer specifications:
2 x 64mb Kingston ram
Duron 900
Matsonic MS8127C+(266) motherboard. (Full details here http://www.matsonic.com/ms8127c+266.htm)
Elsa Geforce2mx
30 gig Seagate Barracuda drive
6 gig Maxtor drive
24x Creative Labs DVD drive
24x Freecom DVD Writer

I also have a Creative Labs DVD decoder card installed.

I'm hoping it's just the ram which might be the problem, i'm thinking about buying a stick of 256mb Cas2 ram by Crucial, is that a good make?

Thanks,
Mark

[M@€$†®Ö™]

I hold Crucial Ram in high regard. So no issues there. So you can set your FSB to what speed exactlly and have no problems. Also that 133 mhz ram is fine if your board accepts it. If you can push the FSB at all go for it. I can only say in my experience perhaps the board just does not like a FSB push. You can try new ram but the foundation of a nice overclock is the mobo. Ram is cheap now so I would try that as your first alternative. If that does not meet your desire for the overclock you desire perhaps a mobo is worth looking into. I have seen ABIT KT7E boards for 100 buck give or take a bit and I think they rock :) I have the more expensive raid version but I paid for all the bells and whistles. And Both boards come with Softmenu 3 which all the adjustments you need are right there for you. Just sharing some insight. I will help all I can to figure this out with you.

Take Care

Maestro

[rugby]

Try putting the computer back to stock config and then install the OS. I've had weird things happen when installing an OS while overclocking the fsb.

[!-=sky=-!]

maybe get a new mobo like asus a7v133 or abit kt7a or epox 8k7a

[Mark_C]

Earlier today i did a clean install of Win98 Second Edition and was dissapointed to find the freezes still occured.

It seems to have gotten worse for some reason, i've had a lot of freezes in the middle of normal things like typing up an email. However, i ran 3D Mark 2001 and SiSoft Sandra's Burn-in utility for several hours and it ran fine.

I got back to wondering why the overclock ran fine when i first installed it and not now, and it's just come to mind that what might be causing problems is the Via Memory Interleave Enabler utility i've been running for a long while.

Could it have caused damage to the memory? I've been using it for several months, but maybe those intensive games i was running when i first installed my motherboard and cpu somehow damaged the ram. I was running with everything overclocked, my ram at 133Mhz cas 3, and my CPU with 112fsb. I remember at installation it mentions, "There is risk of damage to your computer if you continue." It increases bandwidth by about 100mb when i have it enabled though.

So, anyone had problems with the Via Memory Interleave Enabler? (Downloadable at www.viahardware.com)

Also, is there a way i can do a thorough test of my ram?

Thanks all for your help,
Mark

[wild_andy_c]

That motherboard and memory sound a little SI stock to me. I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole