Possible IRQ Issue?

[TonyMan]

I had posted this under the Video section, but no one seemed to bite on it. Trying to find out if I really have an issue with IRQs:

I have an FIC 503+ mobo with an AMD K6-2 350. Not going to go into the problems I've had trying to install the WIN98 SE update or some other strange crahes I've had, but I have noticed two things that make me wonder.

1. In Control Panel it shows my video card as IRQ 3 and it also shows IRQ3 as IRQ holder for PCI steering twice. SiSoft Sandra shoys the same thing, but also shows a 4th line for IRQ3 with a yellow triangle saying "This device has been disabled".

2. In the bootlog there is always a line saying "LoadFail = STBDRV.DLL Failure code is 0002. I've searched my hard drive & there is no file by that name. In the registry I find it referenced under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRE NT VERSION\EXPLORER\DOC FIND SPEC MRU, and again under HKEY_USER\SOFTWARE\MICROSOFT\WINDOWS\CURRENT VERSION\EXPLORER\DOC FIND SPEC MRU. Both entries refer to stbdrv.dll & stbdrv.

I am trying to figure out if I am safe to delete the registry entries and whether the IRQ3 issue is really a problem & how to resolve it.

Thanks

[Ed_S]

Don't know if it helps, but I've got that file (stbdrv.dll) in my Windows\System directory. Can mail you a copy.

My vid card is STB Velocity 128, 8mb PCI
File is 121K, dated 5/1/1998

If you're using the same card, do you have "assign IRQ to PCI video" enabled in the bios?

[TonyMan]

Thanks, but mine is an STB Velocity 4400. Might be the same file, but don't want to induce a possible new problem. Just had a thought, I might look on the disk that came with it. Yes, the assign IRQ is set in the BIOS.

Actually, I'm more concerned about about the multiple entries in the Control Panel. been thinking about pulling a couple of cards (modem, sound board), let the stuff reassign itself & see if that straightens anything out.

[Underclocked]

Have you installed the new Via 4in1 patch for Via chipset boards. Might help you out.
Is this the only vcard that's ever been in the machine (at least during the last full Windows install)? Is USB enabled in bios? IRQ3 seems a very odd place for a video card in my experience.

[TonyMan]

Yep, the 4in1 patches are in place, USB is OK (got 2 devices on it), and If memory serves right this was the video card on last full install. I do not use the VIA busmaster drivers though, I use the Windows default busmasters. Anytime I've tried that I've had problems with my CD ROM. I also seem to remember reading that it could cause problems with my HP CD writer.

I agree with IRQ3 being strange & have to look in the history in System Info. I swapped modems with my wifes PC acople of months back & I believe some reassigning went on then. I think the vcard used to be on 9 or 10, will check. That's why I was thinking of pulling everything I can & see where the system reassigns things when they are reinstalled, but I really need to check the history first. I don't have an open IRQ and have run into problems in the past moving things around so need to plan this out a little & have a baseline configuration to fall back on.

[Underclocked]

Perhaps you could just boot into safe mode, remove all the devices possible, then do a normal restart. Windows should reconfigure everything and you might wind up with a more acceptable situation.???

[TonyMan]

OK, I'll try that, sounds a little less work than pulling boards.

Thanks, I"ll do it this weekend & post back.

[TonyMan]

Well, disabling the hardware did no good, it just came back wher it was on the same IRQs. I tried puling boards & noted some strange results. First of all, I manually locked my Modem (COM2) on IRQ3. I think some settings in my BIOS is determining where everything goes & keeps moving things around. Right now the Video board is on IRQ5. Under PNP/PCI Configuration I have:

Resources Controlled By Auto
Reset Configuration Data Disabled
IRQ Sequence: 10,11,5,7,4,3,12,9,15,14

There is another sequence I can change to: 15,11,10,12,14,5,7,3,4,9.

What it looks like is that everytime I add a board, everything gets shifted around.. Am wondering if I should get rid of auto & just let Windows and the hardware find the IRQs it wants. Only thing is I'm afraid of what this might induce. I looked at a few BIOS URLs, but could find no real info on this & my mobo manual doesn't say much.

[Susan]

I had a similar experience this past week with an FIC VB601-V MB and posted at this thread www.sysopt.com/forum/Forum2/HTML/004101.html (http://www.sysopt.com/forum/Forum2/HTML/004101.html)

The real fun began after that point when I attempted to install a PCI Network card. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the card running properly - and when it finally did, WIN98SE wouldn't shut down.

From all indications from the BIOS as well as WIN, I had no IRQ conflicts and all the PCI Steering was in place where it should have been. One slot on the board would not even detect the card at all.

My only resolve was to replace the board...and within 15 minutes the sytem was up and running completely smooth.

My ending assesment was that the VIA Chipset on the board was not functioning properly.

Btw, I have my daughters system set up with the 503+ and it runs just fine and was a snap to configure.


If there is anyone who could shed any light on situations like this and whether there are any other BIOS changes that can be made to help, I'm all ears!

[This message has been edited by Susan (edited 01-08-2000).]

[TonyMan]

Might have cleared this up. I tried taking the auto off the IRQ assigning & that didn't seem to make much of a difference. No matter where the video card winds up & still have the extra PCI steering and the warning in SiSift Sandra. I flashed my BIOS with the latest. Now the extra stuff is gone & the IRQ assignments look normal.