EP8RDA+ Ghosts in the attic

Can't solve this one.

EP8RDA+ with ATI Radeon 32 SDR Video card, 512 stick of 3200 Corsair XMS, 1.4 Athlon.
Bios Flash 12/02/2002, had some problems with Video drivers but resolved them. XPSP1A

Running fine on XP Pro

Installed Norton Firewall 2001 (oops, not XP compliant)

Tried to uninstall, Tried to uninstall using Cleansweep ( not so good)

F*ck it, backed up pics, documents and formatted drives.

Fresh install of XP, XPSP1A, latest drivers from ATI Video, Latest drivers from Epox for the 8RDA+.
Boots up but when it's restarted normally, all PS2 devices (mouse & keyboard) are frozen.
Hard reset, boots up works fine.

Normal restart or normal power down, upon rebooting, all PS2 devices (mouse & keyboard) are frozen.
Hard reset, boots up works fine.

Consistent pattern.

Raze the drives to smoldering ruins. Fresh install of XP, reload all latest drivers. This time loaded Video drivers and Epox drivers first before XPSP1A
Normal restart or normal power down, upon rebooting, all PS2 devices (mouse & keyboard) are frozen.
Hard reset, boots up works fine. (Damn!)

Wipe out the drives, Fresh install of XP, XPSP1A, latest drivers from ATI Video, Latest drivers from Epox for the 8RDA+.
Flash new Bios 3.13 from EPox. Now I lost internet connection and only boots from HD.

I assume the XPSP1A has the correct USB 2.0 drivers? The PS2 devices do not respond on a normal boot up. They only work on the hard reset.

What now? What's in the BIOs that's causing this. It all started after the messy removal of Norton Firewall. Each time the drives are formatted I would think I'm starting fresh.

Next step is to go back to previous Bios version but after that, don't know where to go from there.

Any thoughts?

1.)
Rest BIOS to safe defaults. Ensure Bios virus protection is disabled while installing WinXp because it can mess with the MBR writing correctly to the harddisk. Also make sure APCI is on as WinXP works best deciding what IRQ's go where. Do not make any OCing adjustments to the Bios until your system is fully installed and has proved itself stable. Disconnect or remove all extra components like printers and TV tuner cards before installing WinXP. Also make sure your ram timings are correct and that your ram is on the Epox website list and is compatible with the board.

2.)
The correct sequence for installation is:
A.) Windows - reboot
B.) Motherboard drivers - reboot
C.) Video card drivers - reboot
D.) XP updates - reboot
E.) Throw Norton Firewall into the garbage and download Zonealarm....Norton Firewall is notorious for causing stability issues. If you need antivirus use AVG since its also free, like Zonealarm, and also works well.

3.)
Reinstall all extra components like add in TV tuner cards. Add the extra items one at a time after the basic system is stable.

4.)
Do not OC the system for a while to make sure everything is stable at stocks speeds and voltages.


Good luck

Here's what worked:
1. wiped the drive
2. installed XP (Pro)
3. installed XPSPA1
4. Installed Nvidia Nforce2 drivers V 2.0
5. installed ATI Radeon Drivers for WinXP from the ATI site
6. So far so good

I have one 512 stick of Corsair 3200 XMS.

I contacted EPoX support. They used to post the BIOS settings to get PC3200 to run at 400mhz. They don't have it up anymore.
This was their reply:

Try the following BIOS settings:

Memory Frequency = 100%

Memory Timing = Expert

T(RAS) = 7

T(RCD) = 3

T(RP) = 3

CAS Latency = 2.5



I'm a real noob, so are there any utilities that would help me with settings? and get the most outta my nice RAM?

Seems to be stable, but don't have anything too cpu intensive to stress it or any video intensive pgms.

Are you certain that the VGA card that you are using is 1.5v card ?