Problem booting Kt7A-Raid and GeForce2 GTS

[GotCow]

I've a problem when I shut off my computer (cold boot) and turn it back on or after the computer has been off for an extended period. The first time I turn it on it beeps at me 1 long beep and then 2 short beeps. After browsing a few FAQ's on BIOS codes, I found this means the VGA card isn't seated properly. OK No problem...reseat the card...same thing...reseat again...same thing again. After countless tries(and I do mean countless) I can't seem to get the darn thing to boot on the first try, and it ALWAYS boots on the second attempt. AARGH. Very annoying to say the least...well at least for me...and I've been called anal on some occasions.

I tried leaving the screw out of the card thinking it might be pulling away from the AGP slot...I've pulled out every other perifrial(sp?) device leaving only the keyboard and GeForce plugged in...I've tried re-flashing the bios with the latest YH version...tried many different bios settings related to the vga card...all to no avail.

At this point I'm out of ideas and open to try anything.

Here is my setup -

Abit KT7a-Raid (HPT controller is enabled)
Western Dig 40 gig 7200 Ultra 100
GeForce2 GTS (not overclocked)
AMD T-Bird 1.33 gig (not overclocked(yet))
300 watt Enlight PSU
128 meg stick Crucial cas 2
SB live value

Everything runs great in Windows ME (I know I know but I like the larger amount of games it supports).

Ideas?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ridenow]

I have a very similar setup and am not having problems (I know, real helpfull)
Mine is the Abit Siluro GTS 64DDR and I am running WW BIOS. Possibly the Video card is bad or there is a setting wrong in the BIOS. I would try clearing the BIOS first. If that does not work you might see if you can "borrow" another video card to test or take yours to a friend to test.

 

[earthdick]

Have you tried; KT7 Faq and GeForce Faq?
There has been some reports from users of Abit KT7 motherboards (any flavor) with not supplying enough power to the GeForce cards on boot up.

 

[VIGASE]

I've KT7A and GeForce2 GTS and I must set AGP DRIVING CONTROL to MANUAL with value BE (bios settings).
I hope this help........

 

[asmodean]

VIGASE (May 18, 2001 02:21 a.m.):
I've KT7A and GeForce2 GTS and I must set AGP DRIVING CONTROL to MANUAL with value BE (bios settings).
I hope this help........

The recommended value of AGP Driving is EA, according to many BIOS guides. I myself don't need to keep it on manual, but regardless of that, I do.
Increasing AGP Driving Value can potentially damage your card AND it doesn't help you in overclocking the AGP bus.

 

[GotCow]

Thanks for the input guys. I v'e already tried the Manual - EA setting and it seems to be the best even though it still needs one extra try before it will boot. Auto and Manual - DA require me to cold boot several times.

What do the respective values mean on AGP driving strength?

And yes, I have frequented the many FAQ's on KT7's and GeForces. That's the only reason I've gotten this far.

This is my first AMD processor and VIA chipset so I'm sure I still have much to learn.

I think as a last resort I might have to change my power supply to a larger one as it might not be supplying enough power since I am using every available 4pin it provides. I have a few extra fans to keep the case cool.

Man, if I ever get this all straight, I'm gonna have to over clock her to relieve some stress...

 

[JEFF]

did you check the edge of the card and slot with a magnifying glass?

 

[asmodean]

GotCow (May 18, 2001 10:59 p.m.):
What do the respective values mean on AGP driving strength?

It's the signal strength sent to the AGP card from the bus.
I just find it odd that it doesn't help in AGP bus OC'ing, as stronger signal has less noise.
BTW, maximum value for that is FF or 255 in decimal, 8bits.

 

[GotCow]

[BTW, maximum value for that is FF or 255 in decimal, 8bits]


How far can I go without damaging my card and/or board?

 

[asmodean]

GotCow (May 19, 2001 09:58 a.m.):
[BTW, maximum value for that is FF or 255 in decimal, 8bits]


How far can I go without damaging my card and/or board?

Knock and the door will be opened, meaning test and see when the card blows or not. I haven't tried higher that EA. I don't know why it can damage the card nor why it doesn't help in OC'ing. That's what I've read and I can confirm the latter.

This didn't help, right?

 

[GotCow]

Not exactly...but I appreciate the info.

 

[GotCow]

asmodean(r) (May 20, 2001 02:59 p.m.):

GotCow (May 19, 2001 09:58 a.m.):
[BTW, maximum value for that is FF or 255 in decimal, 8bits]


How far can I go without damaging my card and/or board?

Knock and the door will be opened, meaning test and see when the card blows or not. I haven't tried higher that EA. I don't know why it can damage the card nor why it doesn't help in OC'ing. That's what I've read and I can confirm the latter.

This didn't help, right?

Here are some interesting facts on Driving Values (just in case you wanted to know)

What does AGP driving control do and how should I set it?
Note modifying this setting changes the signal timing to the graphics card. If you get it wrong, the graphics card won't boot, and you'll be left with a black screen. The only way to remedy this is to temporarily use an old PCI graphics card, change the driving control setting, and then reboot.

ABIT recommend a driving control of DA or EA with NVidia-based GeForce GTS or MX cards. ABIT recommend a driving control of E9 with the Prolink MX with fast writes disabled. For other cards use Auto.

The following answer was provided by AskArs of Arstechnica.com:

"By selecting a manual hex range (00h-FFh) we are setting the timing of the signal that your video card's driver uses to communicate across the AGP bus

Default for the AGP Driving control is going to be 'Auto'. This is pretty much akin to your 'auto' ram-timing selection; it is the lowest-common denominator settings that are going to yield you the widest compatibility at the cost of performance.

'Manual' AGP Driving Control setting is VIA's way of skirting chipset design and driver issues, by allowing them to configure for optimal scenarios.

"Since the 'AGP Driving Control' BIOS option is specific to the VIA
chipset's AGP implementation and there are multiple motherboards based
on the VIA chipset, I would have to say that for certain motherboards
there is no magic setting that works with every graphics card and
motherboard combination. For instance, a setting of CCh on a particular
motherboard is not going to mysteriously work better with every card
than a setting of BAh."

As for how to find out the specific settings recommended for various video cards, the best recommendation would be to contact your video card vendor first (and I would attempt to contact the chipset provider as well, if they are an IHV (like nVidia)). Ask them what their recommended manual timing is.

The only straight answer on manual timings that I have been able to get is from Epox and Tyan. For the original Geforce 256's, they recommend A8h for timing control. This is independent of driver, but dependant on chipset. With the Geforce 256 GTS they recommend a manual setting of BAh. Asus, keeping with PC tradition of doing your own thing, recommends a setting of B9h for their 6600 Pure card. Tyan used to recommend DCh with everything (as a few other vendors have posted on their websites), but with all Tyan VIA-chipset motherboard BIOS updates posted after 2/15/2000, you will notice they now recommend CCh."

This is all very interesting but it doesn't seem that it will affect the boot process...only stability once you are in Windows.

 

[brojoh2]

Are you still having problems with this, or is it resolved?

 

[GotCow]

brojoh2 (May 21, 2001 10:00 p.m.):
Are you still having problems with this, or is it resolved?

Yup. Still fighting it. Do you have some suggestions. I'm open to anything at this point.

I've been browsing some other forums and have found a few others with the same combo of M-board and GeForce that have the exact same problem, but no one seems to know the answer.

Pleas say you know the magic cure for all that ails me.


[4][/4]

 

[GOD]

how old is your GF2???
have u tried flashing the bios to the latest one(GF2 bios)??

GOD....

 

[GotCow]

GOD (May 24, 2001 03:42 a.m.):
how old is your GF2???
have u tried flashing the bios to the latest one(GF2 bios)??

GOD....

It's about 4 months old. I haven't tried flashing to the latest bios(yet). I normally follow a simple rule of thumb...If it aint broke, don't fix it. Hmmm. Maybe this constitutes following my own rule eh?

I've flashed my m-board many times, but never my vid card. Same simple process?