external cache problem

[plankeye]

I'm running win98 on an amd k6-300 with a super7 board. Everything runs fine as long as I disable external cache. I get memory errors with external cache enabled.

[moto]

I am not sure, but maybe the L2 cache burst setting type has something to with it. I think the choices are intel and cyrix/amd burst. Set it for amd burst.

[plankeye]

I have no L2 cache type setting, niether on motherboard nor in bios. I don't know where I would set this?

[moto]

What kind of chipset does your mobo use? I know the VIA MVP3 chipset has a jumper to set what type of cache burst to use. I don't know if your specific motherboard has this option, but I think most super 7 boards have this option.

[jokostel]

try slowing down your memory.......
please tell us what motherboard,chipset,settings,if your overclocked,etc....

[plankeye]

Okay, one more problem, how do I find out which chipset, board, etc. I have? What I do know is that I have a k6-300 (not over-clocked) and 128 megs of dimm. My bios settings and mobo jumper settings are pretty much vanilla (except for disabling external cache in bios). Any particular settings you need to know?

[jokostel]

when you bought the machine they give you and MB booklets on it??
Im guessing you have a super7 class mb meaning that it supports higher cpus like the k6-2 the newer k6's and the forthcoming k6-3......what is the computer manufacturer? try going there if they didnt give you any booklets on it or give us the brand and ill e-mail ya the info....my email is jokostel@usa.net
please e-mail brand,etc anything you have on it.....


[This message has been edited by jokostel (edited 04-02-99).]

[plankeye]

I bought the components separate. The MB/Processor was a combo deal pre-setup(Christmas gift). The chipset has the following writing on it:
PC100 AGP Pro
H.T. 82C598AT
9832CE TAIWAN
13G021700
The MB manual reads on the cover:
PC100
Pentium Mainboard
M577

Inside cover:
100Mhz CPU external clock speed capability
PCI Local Bus and high-end AGP chipset

BTW no settings for the L2 cache shown in manual.

Hope I gave enough info.
Thanks for any help!

[jokostel]

the chipset #M577 you have discribed is part of a ALI chipset (made by acer)

what do you have you burst for DRAM timing rate set on?and what settings do you have in your bios in the integrated area(memory,agp,at bus clk etc...)
all info helps

in the mb booklet there should be a definite are about burst dram timings,etc.....
if not e-mail me at jokostel@usa.net

[This message has been edited by jokostel (edited 04-03-99).]

[plankeye]

Here's the skinny:

Award BIOS
bank 0/1 dram timing : sdram 10ns
bank 2/3 dram timing : sdram 10ns
bank 2/3 dram timing : fp/edo 70ns
cache timing : fast or fastest (fast)
AGP aperture size :64m

There's more.....

CPU Internal Cache : enabled
External Cache : disabled
quick power on self test : enabled
boot up system speed : high
gate a20 option :normal or fast (fast)
memory parity/ecc check : enabled
video bios cacheable : enabled
system bios cacheable : enabled
ACPI I/O device node : enabled
PCI master 0 WS Write : enabled
PCI master read preftech: enabled
AGP master 1 WS write : enabled
PCI irq activated by : level
assign irq for vga : disabled

Jumper setting for CPU are 100Mhz(SDRAM 66M)
and 2.2v core voltage

no mention in manual for burst dram timing, etc.

HELP!
and
THANKS!

[Bleeding Edge]

That motherboard lets you mix FastPage mode EDO memory with PC100 SDRAM??

I would think that would cause problems right there.

Is the SDRAM you have ECC?

[plankeye]

That motherboard lets you mix FastPage mode EDO memory with PC100 SDRAM??

MB has 3 dimm slots. First two occupied with 64m sdram, third empty.

Bios settings for empty slot are:
FP/EDO 60ns
FP/EDO 70ns -current setting
Turbo
Fast
Medium
or
Normal


Is the SDRAM you have ECC?
I Duno? How do I tell?

[moto]

Try these 3 things:
Turn off ECC
disable video bios cacheable
enable assign irq for VGA

These 3 things should be set as shown. Although it may not fix anything, you are running a high risk of other problems if these settings are not set as shown.

[plankeye]

Thanks moto.
I did the three things.
Still hang with external cacheing on though.
With external cacheing enabled I get vxd errors, fatal ones. I appreciate any ideas, thanks again.

[moto]

The only things you have left to try are slowing things down to their slowest settings, and trying different hardware. If this still doesn't work, then I think you have a bad mobo. That's not so bad; quality Super 7 boards can be had for cheap.

[Gorx]

Try limiting your [vcache].

Limit Virtual Cache:
This is the Disk Cache (replacement for smartdrive), not to confuse with Virtual Memory.
Disk Cache is important for improving hard disk performance,but not at the expense of using up all your extra Ram and
leaving none for anything you want to run.
Some users only use a maximum setting, others a maximum and minimum setting. Just experiment and find what's best in your situation.
Open System.Ini for editing (click Start > Run and type sysedit in the Open box and click OK)
(Or click on Find "Files or Folders" type sysedit then create a shortcut and put in a tools folder in your Start Menu)
Select System.Ini in the System Configuration Editor to bring it to the front
Add these lines to the [vcache] section (add the section anywhere if it's not there):
(I use this first one with 64megs Ram it limits my Vcache to 4megs and it works fine)

[vcache]
MinFileCache=4096
MaxFileCache=4096

(This one is from this article.)

[vcache]
MinFileCache=1024
MaxFileCache=8192


These values limit the size of the vcache (in kilobytes), so that Windows is prevented from using more of your available RAM for the vcache. This will increase the amount of free memory available to your system, so that when you open another program it is not paged to disk immediately due to lack of free memory.
The MinFileCache (=Minimum File Cache) setting prevents Windows 95 from shrinking the cache below 1024Kb. As a rule of thumb, use 25% of your RAM for the MaxFileCache. In general, most users say that a MaxFileCache (=Maximum File Cache setting) of up to 9Mb works best for them, even if they have more RAM available. Just experiment with these settings to find what works best for you. You can see how your vcache behaves by starting System Monitor (Sysmon.exe) from your Windows directory. Choose Edit > Add Item > Memory Manager > Disk cache size.
(I use Discovery Pro on my Nuts&Bolts )

[Gorx]

One more thing
With Windows 3.11 they used the
MaxBps=768
Add to the [386Enh]in the system.ini
It is said that Window95 no longer needs
this setting because Windows "dynamically
allocates break points".
My thought is maybe it does not work as
dynamically as it should.
Does anyone know anything about this?

[goseve]

go to somewhere like cnet and download BCM Diag. (shareware) and run the dos diag. portion. it checks your internal & external cache pretty good. i have found problems in mb with this program. good luck