IC7-G BIOS 2.5, not to be trusted, revert to 2.4

[G]

As an IT Practitioner my BIOS is setup correctly and as I need it to be. I updated my Abit IC7-G motherboard BIOS from a working zero problem BIOS to V2.5.

This is when my system started to experience alarming behaviour.

In BIOS setup under PC Health, it makes sense, regardless of any Windows temperature monitoring software in use, to have certain settings enabled. For example, the following are enabled or set to a specific value.

FAN Fail Alarm Selectable
Shutdown when CPUFAN Fail
Shutdown Temperature: 72 C
CPU Warning Temperature 68C, and so forth.

Now, without warning and within an hour or two, with no heavy CPU load the power would shut off. This would indicate to me that the BIOS setting for either a CPU failure or excessive CPU temperature had been meet and action had been taken according. Yet, no CPU warning was visible or audio.

Ok, initially I thought it was one of my temperature monitoring pieces of software, e.g., SpeedFan V4.14 or Hardware Sensors Monitor V4.1.4.4. I kept things as they were set up thinking it was a one off glitch. Yet, it happened again and then again.

I suspected the BIOS so the above settings mentioned above were disable and therefore ineffective.

My system has no longer suffered from any shutdowns.

However, my system temperature monitoring software has indicated what I had suspected. BIOS V2.5 is at fault.

Both pieces of software report that the CPU Fan stops – as is the case now, as I write this. Yet through the window of my case the CPU fan still spins.

Problem number two is that from a steady 45-50C usage CPU temperature, even after a reboot and the CPU fan is reinitiated by both pieces of software, it will go to zero again in time and the CPU temperature with jump to 93C. Yet, the CPU fan is spinning as normal. The system cannot be shutdown normally, and is powered off immediately by myself. On reboot, everything is ok again, until the next time.

It seems that this BIOS update is very poor indeed. As an IT Practitioner, I have only used Abit motherboard as they are of good quality and the like. However, if the programmers are able to allow a slap-dash BIOS update to be released and cause real damage I must question whether to trust Abit as a company to produce employ technicians who code drivers and BIOS updates that are complete and problem free.

I will now be reverting to V2.4 as I cannot trust V2.5 not damaging my machine, and I recommend that Abit remove V2.5 and release V2.6 only when it has been programmed to the highest standards.

Not all update releases are good so it would seem, not all updates should be used, and a wait and see policy should be employed. This is what I will now be doing.

Main specifications of my machine.

Case & PSU:
1. Lian-Li PC-70,
2. Antec TRUECONTROL 550PGB, Mfr #: 761345-07556-5
3. 4*Antec case fans 80mm 3 & 4 Pin, Mfr part #: 80MM 3PIN BB FAN
4. 3*Antec Power Y x2 Cable, Mfr part #: Y CABLES

Motherboard etc:
1. Abit AB-IC7-G-MAX2
2. Pentium 4 2.8GB FSB 800MHz 512kb Cache (Retail), Mfr part #: BX80532PG2800D
3. Zalman Flower CNPS7000-AlCu 'Silent' CPU Cooler
4. Arctic Silver III Thermal Compound (3g) (OA-001-AC)
5. Crucial 512MB (total 2GB), 184-pin DIMM, Mfr #: CT6472Z40B

Sound:
1. Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum eX (plus external box), Mfr part # 70SB028000004
2. Creative Inspire 6.1 6700, Mfr part # 51000000AA292

Graphics:
1. Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB Ultimate

Monitor:
1. Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 930SB, Mfr part #: 60000770

Internal Devices:

2. 3*Maxtor Atlas 10K IV 36GB SCSI 8MB cache HDDs, Model #: 8B036L0 (68-pin)
3. Logic LSI22320-R 64-bit PCI-X Ultra320 SCSI Dual Channel HBA
4. Teac CD-RW 52r 52w 24rw Int IDE RP, Mfr code: CD-W552EK
5. Teac 16xDVD 48xCD Int IDE OEM, Mfr code: DV-516E-002
6. NEC DVD +/- DVD RW IDE Internal Drive (OEM), Mfr part #: ND-1300A
7. Teac FDD, Mfr part #: FD-235
8. 2*Adaptec rounded SCSI cables (terminated, top of their range rounded cables)
9. 2*Akasa braided rounded IDE cables
10. 1 Akasa braided floppy IDE cable

I will be reporting this to technical support and members on Sysopt.com and TechIMO.com

G

PS: see my Abit post and others issues posted etc

Abit USA Forum
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=396409#post396409


TechIMO.com
http://www.techimo.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1184364#post1184364

[G]

Within the short time of my first post, note the unpredictable fan speeds and temperatures.

[G]

I wrote this at this at the link given.

Unbeknown to me at the time I was under the illusion that Abit’s BIOS update V2.5 for the IC7-G mainboard was implicated in my troubles.

I have written to Abit and told them this is not the case after all.

It is Hardware Sensors Monitor that is the cause of the problems, which in turn, SpeedFan not only reproduces but confirms the readings. Therefore, you can understand why it took some time to isolate the problem.

With Hardware Sensors Monitor inactive, but installed, on my machine, Speed Fan and all other problems have disappeared. If I activate Hardware Sensors Monitor, within a short time period the problems reoccur.

I hope this is of help to you and I will be email the links involved to the developer.

It may be related to my machine only but how I do not know. You have my specifications and you can see that no expense has been spared to make my machine first-class. Therefore, it may be an obscure problem for me but not you in using Hardware Sensors Monitor.

May be other users could install HSM and see if they get the same problems as me?

Thanks for all your help.

G

[G]

I sent the developer of Hardware Sensors Monitor the links, with the email “Subject:”

“Serious problem with HSM see links”

http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55985&perpage=15&pagenumber=5
http://forum.abit-usa.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=400679#post400679


Reproduced on Sysopt.com
http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&postid=1166898#post1166898


TechIMO.com
http://www.techimo.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1192287#post1192287


The reply to my email was:

“Sorry, I have no time to surf. If you have problems, explain them please in plain text.”

The reply to his email was:

“Sorry I have no time to explain. Sorry but you will have to surf this problem.”


I've been inconvenienced enough with his software to explain again in detail. I offered to beta test prior to purchasing, as I beta test for major software developers, but he was more interested in the money. I even sent him a revision of some of his written material. His ungrateful reply was that he did not have the time to make a word for word comparison. This is understandable, but his attitude stunk so much that the simple comparison I could have made and sent to him I decided to do nothing about.

I bought the software and left it at that. Companies like ElcomSoft, East Technologies, DIY DataRecovery, and Ace Utilities who I help show real appreciation and gratitude. I spend a considerable amount of my time helping others software companies and end users freely, and at times to my cost. I help nevertheless. A thank you is all I expect.

Well this software may be ok for some but not for me. I will neither be assisting or recommending it. If money is all that he is interested in, then fine. But he is extremely foolish as I have been able to find major flaws and add that extra bit of polish.

Goodbye Mr. Alexander Berezkin, goodbye HSM.

G

Just got a reply from my last email:

“Sorry I have no time to explain. Sorry but you will have to surf this problem.”

His reply is:

“It is not MY problem, sorry. It is problem of particular hardware configuration and users who do not read any docs. I consider a feedbacks sent to support address only, with detailed reports included.”

I have not send a reply but he sounds like a f-ing kn0b – silly man.

Incidentally, SpeedFan seems to manager ok. Any one who knows me knows that I am no idiot – enough said.