KT3 Ultra2 + Heavy AGP usage = crash & beeps on reboot

PROBLEM: (story has 2 very exciting parts)
Part 1: When start using apps with intencive accellerated graphics, the computer gives a blank screen and hangs there forewer. After a while, monitor goes into powersaving mode.
Ex.: After passing the 1st, low-res (truck) test on Sysmark2001 successfully, sysmark happily and consistently hangs on the hi-res (truck) test.
Part 2 (More Interesting part): After the computer goes into blank screen (explained above), I push "reset" button and get:
- no picture
- several beeps (8 or 9). It is hard to say how many beeps; they all a short and first one is Very abrupt.
- The "D-"-whatever lights show code for "Testing RTC (Real Time Clock)"
- same thing happening no matter how many times I press reset. I have to unplug the computer for a while to make it boot normally.
SYSTEM INFO:
MSI KT3 Ultra2 mobo
Athlon 1800+ CPU
PowerColor Radeon 8500 based 128meg AGP video card.
No-name manufacturer 256mb PC2100 DDR RAM sticks
No-name manufacturer 400W PSU
all my other cards were removed for/while troubleshooting.
THINGS TRIED:
Since the "issue" continues after reboot, I immediately rule out the software problems. (though I did reinstall windows and tried other/newer chipset and video drivers for the heck of it)
- used 1 other memory chip (different brand) (no help)
- Used the Video card and memory in other computers (work fine)
- used other mobo (asus A7V133) and parts with the case and PSU (works fine)
- updated bios (no help)
- changed AGP Driving vale, AGP speed (1x,2x,4x), memory timing, disabling/enambling anything possible in BIOS. (none helped)
THINGS DID NOT TRY:
(I do not have unlimited budget, you know..)
- Another brand of accellerated video card (what is the point? I like my Radeon8500-128mb and it works with other boards. If KT3 is incompatible, screw KT3)
- Did not try another PSU (Do not have any better than the one I have.) If it is a problem, I do not mind buying a new one. But, is IT the problem?
- What else did I not try? You tell me.
WHAT I SUSPECT:
- Motherboard has electrical problems, or
- My PSU may be underpowered (but why the problem continues during the low-power bootup?)

Thenk you guys for such a prompt response
Let me address your questions/comments
> (maesus) Did you try - Load BIOS Setup Default
Yeah, I tried that.
> (maesus) do not overclock, everything goes default
I am a heat, noise and temperature control freak. I never overclock. I am more likely to underclock than overclock. Incidentally, I did try to underclock the FSB and memory to 100Mhz in order to see if the problem goes away. - It does not go away.
> (maesus) Update VIA 4-in-1 drivers to 4.43v and ATI Catalyst to 2.3
I tried Via 4-in-1 v 4.43, 4.41. I tried Catalyst 2.3 and 2.2. As for trying older drivers, my philosophy is the following: If the board makes me downgrade drivers and features in order to be functional, I get rid of the board, not the features. Downgrading Via 4-in-1 does not make much of a difference. Downgrading Catalyst further brings performance and features down significantly enough.
> (maesus) My suggestion to the AGP Driving signals is EA.
Thanks for the suggested value. It is so hard to find things like this. I looked all over the net and PowerColor groups to find values that work, and found none that match my system. I did try this value, though. I keep a list of values that usually work for me, and EA is one of them. Nothing from my list worked.
As a side-note, setting AGP to bellow 4x usually makes Driving Value setting irrelevant. On my previous boards, I would set AGP to 2x and Driv Value to Auto - the board would usually work OK. With KT3 though, The problem consistently happens even at AGP 1x.
> (maesus) Please try another more powerful PSU, borrow first before you buy
I will try this later in the week.
> (hjongste) You may need to clear CMOS first. Sometimes there is more to it than just shorting the jumpers. Read my page on this.
That is a neat site you have! I will try your suggestion later in the week. Right now the board is back in the box.

Similar Messages

KT3 Ultra2-R no boot/no beep D-Bracket 1&2 Red

I assembled a system with a KT3 Ultra2-R and an AMD XP 2100+ with 300W CodeGen-PSU.
The system ran well for 4 weeks without any crashes. Because i had the noisy AMD-boxed CPU-cooler, i installed a very silent noiseblocker-CPU-cooler. The first power-on bootet up to initialization of raid-controller an then the system hang.
The next boot, nothing happened: black screen, no beep, nothing. Only the fans are running. I reassembled the hole system x-times now, all with the same result.
I even changed the mobo to a brand new one -> same problem. I changed PSU to a 420 W -> same problem.
The D-Bracket says: 1 & 2 red, 3 & 4 green ("Initializing Hard Drive Controller"). The same result when i deattach everything from the board except PSU (yes: everything). No beep at all...
How can a brand new mobo and a brand new PSU with nothing else attached the same problem as the first mobo with my old PSU?
I have not changed the CPU or Ram yet, but how can the problem be there, when the error occurs when these parts are not attached.
What should the D-Bracket show, when I power on an empty mobo with PSU?
thanks in advance
(ps: i assembled all my pcs for the past 12 years by myself; so its no beginners problem for sure...)

a new cpu (now only a XP 1800+) took me one step ahead: windows xp is now coming up with a message (white on black) saying that the system tried starting unsuccessfully last time. then there is a choice how to boot now. but even if i choose "safe mode", the pc is booting again...
also, i cant get the floppy to work. in bios, the mobo says, its an 1,44 flopp (correct) but i dont get it in the boot order or boot menu.
so i cant install windows new, because raid-drivers are on the boot disk X(
another hard disk with installed windows xp also comes up the the scrren mentioned above and then hangs with a cursor blinking in the left top cursor of the screen.
i tried another graphic-card: an old "Interactive 3dfx Magix Twin Power": the pc beeps once long an then 3 times short on power on but keeps on booting.
the result is the same as above (pc hangs).
very, very strange

UT2K3 crashes under KT3 Ultra2

Hello,
My system crashes everytime I try to run Unreal Tournament 2003. I am using the KT3 Ultra2 mobo. My graphics card is a Visiontek GF4 TI-4600. I am using the latest NVIDIA drivers - 30.82 and the latest VIA 4-in-1 - 4.43. The sound card is an Audigy gamer as well. I have 256 MB Crucial RAM. A 350W Enermax powersupply and a Athlon 2200+ CPU.
When I load the game it will let me set the setting and everything until I try to start the game. As soon as I enter the game and the announcer is counting down it will crash to a black screen and the sounds will make a high pitch squel or normal sound. The game freezes I know this since I tried firing a weapon to hear the effect and no response. I have to reboot the computer, nothing will work, even ctrl+alt+del. I have tried numerous things to pinpoint the problem. I tried these settings in Unreal:
Audio: safe mode
Visual: 800x600 and below
Details: low as it can go and no extra at all.
I even searched the BIOS to see if the SHADOW RAM was disabled as I read it should be. I could not find the option as I normally could on another system. I made the primary VGA adapter AGP in the BIOS. One option I didn't try was forcing the AGP speed to 2X or even 1X. I feel that that should not be necessary and if it is a problem then it needs to be patched. Again, I tried many many setting with BIOS, and the setting for the display.
Please fix this ASAP, it is driving me crazy.

Reintalling Win98se certainly didn't do the trick for me. I've spent two days installing, trying a few changes, re-installing, trying something else, reinstalling. I even tried removing all my cards except the video but the problem was identical every try.
Can you think of anything special you did during or after the re-install that did the trick? Do you remember versions that you were using and where you got them? This may be a case of the latest drivers being worse than some earlier ones, or some combination of older chipset, newer audio or something crazy.
Speaking of the failed POST, I had a thing with a different MSI board a while ago, where it wouldn't hold the BIOS settings. Every so often (if it was unplugged for a few hours) it would reset (as if the RTC Reset had been jumpered and the checksum was off). If your video card was AGP, and the BIOS reset itself to "primary video = PCI" it might look like nothing was happening on boot up.
I admit that I am about ready to pitch this board too, (or try to return it at least).

MSI KT3 ULTRA2-C and AGP compatibility

Hi, I'm just about to buy a new motherboard these days, MSI KT3 ULTRA2-C, with an XP 2000/2000+ and memory, but not a new video card, since i can't afford it right now. I only have an AGP Creative 3D Blaster Banshee 16 MB, but it is a 3.3v agp card (AGP 1.0). I was wondering if this motherboard can support it, i checked in a lot of places, including the manual and it doesn't say anything about the voltage it can take, neither if the AGP slot is universal or not (i.e. if it can support both 1.5/3.3v or only 1.5v). The manual for the KT3V specifically says '4x 1.5v only', but this one just says 'AGP 2.0 1x/2x/4x'. I really need to know this since otherwise i'd have to wait two months to afford another video card. I also checked another post here with an answer to a page with AGP explanation, but it didn't help. Thanks you very much, really

One AGP slot
- AGP (Accelerated Graphics Port) specification compliant
- Supports AGP 2.0 1x/2x/4x
so whats the problem,your fine there
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=357&MODEL=MS-6593

KT3 ultra2 going BEEP BEEP BEEEEP BEEP!

I dont know if anyone looked at my other thread or not about memory problems, but i think its something else now.
its a hit and miss when i turn my computer on, it will turn on properly or go BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEEEEEP BEEP BEEP till i turn it off in the back.
weird thing is after i reset the power in the back, it works again.
Once in windows though, everything is perfect. no errors in memtest, can loop 3dmark, can do 3 hours of burn in test and play all sorts of games. I can even leave the computer on all day and night with ZERO problems.
the problem only happens when i first turn the computer on.
any ideas?
My sig: KT3 ultra2, 2x512meg pc3200 shikaram, 9700pro, 160gig maxtor, 56k modem, Lan card, SBlive5.1,

i wrote my new sig below my problem.. ignore the sig in my profile pls.
to add to this problem, sometimes when it boots up, there is a blank screen and the HDD led stays on with no beeps at all.
seems like my computer doesnt like cold boots anymore. I have to cycle the power in the back and reset a few times in order to get it to work.
i wonder if its the motherboard?
also sometimes when i boot up, all i see is the AMI bios picture and nothing else. other times when i boot up, all i see is the bios screen for the video card. go figure
anyone else think its the motherboard or the power supply? PS is about 3 yrs old and mobo is about 3 yrs old as well.. everything else in system is pretty much new

Error beeps from KT3 Ultra2

I should probably know this but I am working on a KT3 Ultra2 mobo with an Athlon 2000XP processor. Whenever I power it on I get three long beeps then about a 20 sec pause and 3 more beeps. This pattern would continue endlessly I sure. What does that mean?
Thanks

Umpman,
as Bas says 3 beeps is a memory failure in the first 64k, but could be a mobo problem as well. If you have tried other sticks in all slots then it could point to that. Are your sticks different brands or all from the same maufacturer, the board maynot like the brand u are using.
Anyway here is a link to a BIOS Beep code page.
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/beep/index.htm

AGP 1.0 on MSI KT3 Ultra2 (6380)

Can I plug in old AGP 1.0 graphic card (ASUS V3400 TNT) into AGP slot on MSI KT3 Ultra2 (6380) motherboard?

look in agp slot in theory if its not right it should not fit
look at pictures here,notice notches
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/service/forum/index.php?threadid=8317&boardid=10&styleid=1
but as boards not got only use 1.5v warning like some others i think it will

AGP Support KT3 Ultra2 + WinXP

I'm using an ATI Radeon9700 Pro with WinXP and a KT3 Ultra2 Mobo (Athlon XP 2100+).
If I look at the video card properties it's listed as running on PCI Bus 1, not the AGP Bus.
I went to the ATI Website and found the following information:
Not only do you need display drivers for an AGP graphics card, you also need drivers for your motherboard which enable AGP functionality for the motherboard chipset.
These drivers may be referred to using any of the following names:
AGP Driver
AGP Miniport
AGP VXD Driver
Chipset Driver
GART Driver
VGART
Often you will see the name of a motherboard chipset in connection with these terms. For example:
ALi GART Driver
AMD AGP Miniport
Intel VGART
VIA AGP Driver
I've installed the latest VIA 4 in 1 driver, but the card still shows up on the PCI Bus.
Is there something else I need to do to get full AGP performance from the card?
Any help would really be appreciated !
Thanks,
Joe

make it an agpx4 video card
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/service/forum/index.php?threadid=10477&boardid=13&styleid=&page=1#2
now im just wondering here its not a tried thing
but some agpx8 board users have found it means they can run it agp x 4 but had trouble agp x 8
i wonder if the mod would make it work agp for you
its only tiny bits of selotape

USB 2.0 Issues with KT3 Ultra2 6380E

Windows XP SP1
Bios: American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T
Hi I was wondering if someone could help me?
My machine has six USB ports. (1&2) Two ports are
installed on the motherboard, and my users guide says
they are legacy ports. (3&4) two ports are installed
on the d-bracket 2 connector: JLED, connected to
JUSB2, these are what I believe to be my only 2 USB2.0
ports. (4&6)Finally 2 ports are connected via JUSB3 to
the front panel of my Antec case. I think the front
panel of my case has 1.1 connectors so it is
essentially a 1.1 port.
I am having some difficulty getting my USB ports to
function properly with a USB 2.0 Buslink hard drive
UII-40 72E. I suspect there is some IRQ conflict.
Trying to alleviate this I disabled all the device
drivers I suspected might cause this in the device
manager in safe mode. I then removed from the device
manager all the USB (2.0 and 1.1) root hubs, and after
that their host controllers. I then booted to VGA
mode (thinking this should disable the video card
drivers??) and exported this IRQ info from my sys info
after the USB host controllers are reinstalled:
Resource   Device   Status
IRQ 9   Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System   OK
IRQ 11   RADEON 8500 SERIES    OK
IRQ 21   VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host
Controller   OK
IRQ 21   VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host
Controller   OK
IRQ 21   VIA Rev 5 or later USB Universal Host
Controller   OK
IRQ 21   Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller   OK
IRQ 0   System timer   OK
IRQ 8   System CMOS/real time clock   OK
IRQ 13   Numeric data processor   OK
IRQ 12   PS/2 Compatible Mouse   OK
IRQ 1   Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2
Keyboard   OK
IRQ 14   Primary IDE Channel   OK
IRQ 15   Secondary IDE Channel   OK
IRQ 6   Standard floppy disk controller   OK
Next I attempt to (already plugged into D-Bracket
port) power on my buslink USB 2.0 hard drive. As soon
as I do the machine immediately goes to a blue screen.
No messages given but numbers are shown. I have screen
shots taking with my digital camera. I then returned
to safe mode, remove the USB drivers as I did before,
and boot to VGA mode. Once the USB drivers have been
restored I attempt to power on the bus link hard drive
this time plugged into the onboard legacy ports. I
can I get another blue screen this time including a
message "IRQL not less or equal", again I have taken
screen shots with my digital camera.I then returned to
safe mode, remove the USB drivers as I did before, and
boot to VGA mode. Once the USB drivers have been
restored I attempt to power on the bus link hard drive
this time plugged into the front panel USB ports
(4&6). When I power it on Windows XP warns me that I
have a high-speed USB device plugged into a non
high-speed USB hub. But I receive no error messages.
However I do not exceed the drive through "my
computer". I go through the add hardware wizard to try
and at the drive manually and it says the device is
working properly. Still I do not see the drive.
Finally I tried installing a Buslink USB 2.0 PCI card
after the above steps. I then returned to safe mode,
remove the USB drivers as I did before, and boot to
VGA mode. Once the USB drivers have been restored I
attempt to power on the bus link hard drive this time
plugged into the PCI card. The drive seems to be
recognized automatically by Windows XP however my
system slows to a crawl trying to access any hard
drive. When I try and access the USB 2.0 hard drive I
get a message something to the effect of "(the drive
letter) not being recognizable".
Any ideas on what could be causing this? The same
Buslink hard drive works great at work on my Windows
2000 machine plugged into the same PCI card using the same USB cable and power supply. Would any other information be useful?
Thanks!
andrew
System Info:
ANTEC PERFORMANCE II Model# SX630II (BEIGE) ATX MINI TOWER CASE w/ 300W POWER SUPPLY - RETAIL Special features include the Smart Power ATX12V P4 compliant power supply that runs cooler and quieter, front USB/Firewire ports, washable air filter on the front, & quick-release drive bays with release lever. Specifications: Material: 1.0mm SECC Drive Bays: External 3 X 5.25" - 2 X 3.5" Internal 3 X 3.5" System Board: Fits standard ATX / Pentium 4 Up to 12" (W) x 9.6" (L) Expansion Slot: 7 Slots USB/IO: 2 Front USB port, 1 Front IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port Standard Fan(s): 1 X 80mm (rear) Optional Fan(s): 2 X 80mm (front) Dimensions: 18.6" (L) X 8.1" (W) X 17.25" (H)    $80.00    1   $80.00
MSI Motherboard for AMD Processors Model KT3 Ultra2(6380E-050) Retail Specifications: Supported CPU: A (Socket 462) for AMD® Athlon XP/ Athlon/Duron Chipset: KT333+VT8235 FSB: 100/133 MHz RAM: 3x DDR DDR266/333 184-pin Max 3GB IDE: 2x Ultra DMA133/100/66/33 Up to 4 Devices Slots: 5x PCI (32-bit) ,1x AGP(AGP 2.0 1x/2x/4x ) Ports: 1x FDD, 2x COM, 1x LPT, Onboard Audio: ALC650 Audio (This board doesnt include the S-Bracket)    $82.00    1   $82.00
AMD Athlon 1700+/266 FSB XP Processor CPU- OEM Athlon XP 1700+/ 1.47GHz , AX1700DMT3C The AMD Athlon XP processor with QuantiSpeed architecture powers the next generation in computing platforms, delivering extra performance for cutting-edge applications and an extraordinary computing experience. Specifications: CPU: 1.47 GHz Type: 1700 XP Cache: 256K BUS: 266MHz Socket A (PGA) OEM (Processor Only)     $66.00    1   $66.00
CRUCIAL MICRON 512MB 64x72 PC 2700 DDR RAM - OEM 184-Pin, CL=2.5-Unbuffered Non Parity 2.5V, CT6464Z335 Requires DDR supported Motherboard - Lifetime Warranty. OEM    $176.00    1   $176.00
WD WESTERN DIGITAL EIDE HARD DRIVE 40GB 7200RPM MODEL # WD400BB -CAVIAR OEM, DRIVE ONLY Specifications: Size: 40 Gigabytes Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA100 Seek time: 8.9ms RPM:7200 Cache 2MB OEM(Drive alone) 1 Year Manufacturer Warranty --* Works With PC & Mac *--    $80.00    1   $80.00
Linksys EtherFast 10/100 LAN Card Model LNE100TX : Version 5.1 - RETAIL Easy to Use Plug-and-Play 10/100 PCI Network Card. Full Duplex Capability at Up To 200Mbps. Connects to Both 10Mbps Ethernet and 100Mbps Fast Ethernet Networks. Power On Your PC From Anywhere on the Network with Wake-On-LAN Management.    $24.00    1   $24.00
ATI RADEON 8500LE 128MB DDR TV out, NO DVI,BULK Powered by the revolutionary RADEON™ 8500 LE world’s fastest and most advanced graphics processing unit (GPU) Features ATI's TRUFORM, SMARTSHADER SMOOTHVISION, and HYPER Z II technologies
GPU: RADEON 8500 LE
Specifications:
Memory 128MB of double data rate memory
Resolutions: 640-480 200Hz to 2048x1536 at 85Hz
Connections:CRT Monitor: 15-pin VGA connector TV and VCR: s-video connector
DirectX® 8.1 support OpenGL® 1.3
Operating systems support: Windows® 98/98SE Windows® Me Windows® 2000 Windows® XP Model#: RADEON 8500le 128M –

I first tried installing the VIA4in1 and VIA USB2.0 patch. Then I tried the D-bracket after refreshing the usb drivers (I did not disable all other devices like in my original post, should I have?). Same result, blue screen crash at power on.
Next I disable USB ports in BIOS and install USB PCI card. Then power on the USB HD plugged into card. Same result. Computer slow accessing local drives. When I try to access the USB drive I get a "E:/ is not accessible; the file or data is corrupted or unreadable."
Next I remove the USB card. I enter BIOS and set to "2" ports. Presumably this turns on the USB1.1 ports on the mobo. I return to windows xp. It now seems to install the drivers, but just as it finishes I get a "a problem has been encountered instaaling this device (it has done this before but after finishing I get the blue screen most times). Next I goto the device manager, and in my USB devices I have a USB mass storage device w/ a yellow flag. I goto properties and see a:
"the device cannot start (code 10)" device status. I click "troubleshoot" and voila... blue screen.
Finally I reboot, and set 4 ports in BIOS, making my JUSB3 FRONT PANEL usb1.1? ports active. Interestingly these respond like the PCI card. Computer slow accessing local drives. When I try to access the USB drive I get a "E:/ is not accessible; the file or data is corrupted or unreadable." As soon as I power off the USB HD things are normal...
I will take this USB HD to work tomorrow just to ensure its integrity. Any other ideas? What kinds of BIOS settings might F up USB?
Andrew

KT3 Ultra2 Problem/Question

Ok, no problem with *NORMAL* working situation.
AMD AthlonXP 2000+ (P.S. LOCKED)
KT3 Ultra2-R
512 MB Kingston PC2700 DDR @ 333Mhz
Leadtek A250 LE 64MB DDR
Enlight 420W PSU
+5v 40A
+3.3v 30A
Problem: I cannot change the ratio of the processor, if I did that then the computer won't start without any beep/screen.
The debug light hung on the IDE detection, but something more weird is before IDE detection there are few more tests need to be pass but it directly going to IDE detection from memory detection. What's wrong?
I need to clear BIOS to make it start again, even I did try lower my ratio.
Is that my processor lock cause this?
Question: Ok, I did search the whole forum, but still cannot find any thread that specified the right divide of FSB/AGP/PCI (Above 133MHz). Does MSI never tell outside how they work on it or what?
Thanks! Anything I missed?

I was able to use my Xp 1600 at the 166 FSB (locked) 166x10.5=1743 Mhz no problem on this board (KT3 Ultra 2). 166 FSB will probably be your sweet spot.
Here is my Madonion Score (12.5K):
http://service.madonion.com/compare?2k1=4427245
I ulocked the chip and have managed 11x166 so far. Now my PC 2100 memory is probably the holdback.
Hey Wonka, what is the highest FSB you've seen somebody clock this board sucessfully at? Do you think if I get PC 3200 mem I'll be able to go to higher fsb than 170? (this board does not work around the 6x mult. point/ 200FSB it can be adjusted to, does it?)
Thanks

KT3 Ultra2 & palomino 2000+ OC problem! Help!

Hi guys, need some help here. I've looked through the forums and the FAQs but I cant get a solution the problem I have. I've been trying to OC my palomino 2000+ but I'm stuck @ 1754Mhz (12.5x140). I've read articles on guys who've hit 1.8Ghz with this processor and that's what I'm aiming for. My CPU is not multiplier unlocked. Here's my basic rigg setup:
2000+
512MB Kingston DDR2100 CL2
KT3 Ultra2 (Non-Raid, no northbridge fan)
R8500 128MB graphics card
I've tried different settings for memory, but it doesn't seem to help. The problem seems to revolve around my graphics card. When I up the FSB to 144Mhz (1.8Ghz) the pc boots properly into windows and all. I even run memory and cpu benches to test for stability without a problem, but as soon as I run anything that heavily depends on the graphics card e.g. 3dMark, or any game, the system crashes. What could be the problem? I flashed the bios to version 5.7 but it didn't help. And I don't think its the AGP bus coz at 144 FSB the AGP runs @ 72, and my cousins running his 8500 128MB on a bus of 74 w/o any problems. Can the AGP & PCI on his mobo be locked to 66 & 33?
Advice please, any help will be appreciated.

I think is the radeon. For 72 agp you need a good Graphic card. I had the same problem about 146fsb, it didn't past 3DMark test my visiontek GeForce 3. Finally I tried 143 and it was stable.
At 151 or 152 the divisors of the agp&pci change so you can get again 66 at 166fsb.
adios amigo,
luis

KT3 Ultra2 won't POST D-Bracket RRGG

Greetings.
I have read many similar posts but nothing I have done works so far. I have a new KT3 Ultra 2 that I have never been able to get to boot. The D-Bracket ~always~ shows Red Red Green Green, regardless of what is in the board: nothing, just RAM, just CPU, Ram+CPU, Ram+CPU+Video. I have tried swapping out processors, ram, video.
Background - I had an Asus A7M-266D dual MP 1600 machine that just gave out last week. I was in the middle of using it and it shutdown After switching some dip switches on the board to force a 133mhz bus I was able to get back up and into the BIOS. It died a couple minutes later and I was never abe to revive it. I figured it was the motherboard, as I have heard about troubles with them, so I ordered the KT3 Ultra 2.
When I got the mobo it wouldn't POST. I went and got new RAM and a new CPU (after the new RAM didn't help.) I have essentially replaced my entire computer and I haven't gotten the new config to boot. I would love to hear any suggestions you might have.
Here are the detailed specs:
Mobo: KT3 Ultra2 (6380E) - w/audio, no LAN or RAID
CPU: Either one of 2 MP1600+ (dual machine) or a brand new XP2000+
Heatsink: one of 2 Thermalright AX-7 w/Vantec Stealth 80mm fans
RAM: 256mb K-Byte PC2100 (new) or 512mb Kingston PC2100 (from dual machine)
Video: Either AGP ATI Radeon 64mb DDR VIVO (7200) or PCI Matrox MY220 (and others tried)
Power Supply: SkyHawk SH-400A8H 400W +5DC 40A 3.3VDC 28A no combined wattage but calculated ~195W combined from the ((5x40A+3.3x28A)/3)x2 formula listed in one of the threads.
I have switched out parts and reseated everything multiple times. The D-bracket always shows R R G G as soon as the power comes on. I have tried clearing the CMOS but it doesn't seem to help.
I know that other people had similar problems and solved them by replacing parts - but I have pretty much replaced everything at this point (with the exception of the power supply.)
Any ideas?
Thanks for any help.
hippo

And the power supply folks win again. I didn't have another power supply rated for this machine - only some old 200 and 235 W power supplies that rate 10-14A on 3.3 and 20 A on +5. But when I tried to use it I at least got different results - I powered up until I hit R G G G (Boot Attempt) when I got some BIOS beeps (not sure which ones right now - but most likely related to having way too little power).
Sorry I didn't try that earlier before posting - I figured the PS was very unlikely to have gone bad in such a short period (new with case in May).
After I get a properly rated PS I'll post again (hopefully with all problems solved).
Thanks
hippo

BIOS Settings Problem on KT3 Ultra2 MS-6380E with Barton 3000+(FSB333)

Well, I finally got my Barton 3000+ with 333 MHz FSB and installed it yesterday in my MSI KT3 Ultra2 Mainboard....
System Before changing anything:
PSU: DTK 400 W
+3.3 V / 22 A
+5 V / 35 A
+12 V / 15 A
-5 V / 0.5 A
-12 V / 0.8 A
+5 V VSB / 3 A
So that should make up 400 W as far as I know, my total System drain should be around 300-350 W so even if it would not suffice 400 W it should run the system ?
Mainboard: KT3 Ultra 2 (BIOS v5.7)
CPU: AMD XP 2100 FSB 133 MHz
RAM: 1.536 MB, 3x512 MB Infineon PC3200 (400MHz) CL 3-3-3-8 @400MHz, Cl2.5-3-3-7@333Mhz, 2-2-2-6@266MHz
VGA: MSI RX-9800 Pro 128 MB
DVD/CD-R/RW-Combo: Plextor PX-708 (Firmware 1.08)
CD-R/RW: TEAC CD-W540E (Firmware 1.0K)
Storage: Western Digital WD800BB (80 GB) (Firmware 17.07W17)
USB-Storage: Maxtor 4 K080 H4 (80 GB)
Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 172T with Driver Version 1.0
Printer: HP Deskjet 970Cxi with Original HP Driver Version 4.3
OS: Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4
BIOS Settings: SDRAM 1T Command: "Disabled" It won't work stable with 3 RAM's in it with that setting, but that I did know before.
CPU Fast Command: "Ultra"
System was running stable for nearly 2 years with this Configuration:
So now it goes:
First I changed the CPU form my old AMD XP 2100+ to the new Barton 3000 + with its new Arctic Cool Copper Silent 2TC.
Then I went into BIOS and raised the FSB to 166 MHz, which should be the correct one, or do I have to put 167 MHz in there (since 166.666666 MHz is rounded to 167)?
Then I exited and watched the restart...but it didn't start-up it only got me 3 long beeps at the HOST.
After some whining and beating I plugged out anything and cleared CMOS and started the whole thing again:
System after Clearing CMOS:
Mainboard: KT3 Ultra 2 (BIOS v5.7)
CPU: AMD XP 3000+ FSB 100 MHz
RAM: 1x512 MB Infineon PC3200 CL 2-3-3-7 (BIOS setting CAS Latency by "SPD")
Storage: Western Digital WD800BB (80 GB) (Firmware 17.07W17)
Monitor: Samsung Syncmaster 172T with Driver Version 1.0
OS: Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4
With all Default settings, the Computer boots up, and is correctly Recognized as a Barton 1300 MHz.
When increasing FSB to 133 MHz it is correctly displayed as a Barton 2200+
NOW...
...after adding one BIOS setting after another I narrowed the problem down to the "CPU Fast Command (decode)" Function...if set to Ultra it does not boot-up when running 166 MHz FSB, it does not even let me into BIOS. I have to clear CMOS and restart from scratch again...
Is this normal and expectable with a Barton 3000+ running at the native 166 MHz FSB or not ?
Since my system before was running on "Ultra" with my old AMD XP 2100+.
There is only one more thing I noticed, the CPU V-Core is shown to be only 1.616 V (setting on "Auto" but it should be 1.65 V ? Should I increase the V-Core to 1.675 V in order to get closer to 1.65 V or shouldn't I worry about ?
Thanks for any Input you can give me on the problem.
Iscaran

Iscaran, you are indeed correct in the statement which you made
Quote
...after adding one BIOS setting after another I narrowed the problem down to the "CPU Fast Command (decode)" Function...if set to Ultra it does not boot-up when running 166 MHz FSB, it does not even let me into BIOS. I have to clear CMOS and restart from scratch again...
This setting can be set to fast/ultra on the KT3 Ultra2 when using PC2100 ram running at 266. However, when using PC2700 ram running at 333, this setting MUST be set to normal for the satisfactory operation of the board. I know that you have PC3200 ram actually installed but it is only running at 333.
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Is this normal and expectable with a Barton 3000+ running at the native 166 MHz FSB or not ?
Yes, absolutely normal
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There is only one more thing I noticed, the CPU V-Core is shown to be only 1.616 V (setting on "Auto" but it should be 1.65 V ? Should I increase the V-Core to 1.675 V in order to get closer to 1.65 V or shouldn't I worry about ?
How are you measuring this ie Bios or o/s utility? Not unknown that these are incorrect. However, if you feel unhappy about this, try setting the V-core manually to 1.65v and check what this gives.
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So 3.3 V x 22 A gives 72.6 W, that could be really a little cutting the edge. Could that cause the board to not respond when setting the "CPU Fast Command" to "Ultra" ?
Getting a more powerful psu will not likely cure this well documented problem.
However, this board mostly draws power from the 3.3 & 5v rails. The 12v is mostly used to power HDD, optical and fans. When you consider that 128Mb of ram draws about 8-10w from the 5v rail and you have a total of 1.5Gb that adds up to 96-120W of juice just for the memory alone. This board will beep at you at o/s level when it's running underpowered but my opinion is the same as osnavi's your 3.3v & 5v rails are too low. Also what is combined 3.3v & 5v wattage. What kind of reading do you get on monitoring utilities.
By the way I have as you can see from my dets below the same board and cpu as you and when I changed from a XP2000 Palomino with PC2100 ram to XP3000 Barton and PC3200, I changed the 'Fast Command' setting from 'Fast' to 'Normal'
Hope this helps, enjoy the board

Working KT3-Ultra2 System suddenly will not post!

Problem: After working fine for two weeks, my new system with a KT3 Ultra 2 mobo does not boot or POST. After pressing the power button, the power light comes on, the hard disk spins up, and then nothing else happens. The D-Bracket LEDs are in the RRGG layout, indicating that it is initializing the drive controller, but I suspect it is not getting that far as the lights come on in this state as soon as the system is powered.
This system was working fine for two weeks before this happened. It has NEVER been overclocked. I have tried reseating the hard disk connectors and all the AGP/PCI cards, as well as clearing the CMOS . My system configuration is:
Ducted case for effective cooling with a 350 Watt Power Supply
KT3 Ultra2 Motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 2000 CPU with AMD heatsink/fan
1024 MB of PC 2700 RAM (2x512)
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro AGP video adapter
Netgear PCI Ethernet Adapter
Windows XP Professional
I have no idea where to go from here, anyone with ideas please help!!!
-james puckett

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Originally posted by maesus
You have to clear the CMOS, and 100% make sure it's really cleared. ie, removing battery, discharge all capacitors on the board (with power off and power cord attached for 5 minutes), unplug power cord, set the CMOS jumper to reset for couple of minutes... etc
Yes, I have done all of that.

Can't enter bios on KT3 Ultra2

last night I did a succesful bios upgrade to V5.7 on my KT3 Ultra 2 board.
System rebooted into bios default with no problems and I reset all the parameters as per the previous version.
Unfortunately, I set the FSB to 166 instead of 133 ( Gawd knows what I was thinking of at the time!).
On reboot after saving and exiting the bios setup, I was met with a blank video screen - no beeps came from PC on reboot.
The LED display is showing 1&2 Red, 3&4 Green.
Subsequent reboots show the LED display goes straight to this configuration on power up.
I tried resetting the bios back to the default, but I still have the same symptoms.
DVD , CD-RW and HDD light up during boot up, but nothing seen on the Floppy. Hitting Del or F11 has no effect.
I don't have another PC that will allow me to check CPU, Memory or Video card.
I've tried changing the Memory round and reducing to just one stick. Even ran without memory and still got same symptoms without any beeps during bootup.
At the moment the PC has been powered down and the clear-bios jumper left in 2&3 overnightin an effort to clear the bios.
Where do I go from here?
Now if I've knackered the mobo/bios, how do I stand installing a new mobo/cpu under the existing Windows XP installation on the Master Hard drive ? My last back-up is out of date and having just come back off hols the HDD is full of images I desperately need to keep!
System:
MSI KT3 Ultra2 series mobo; Athlon XP1800+; Matrox G450 Video Card; 512Megs PC2100 DDRMemory; Amibios V5.7; 350W PSU; ample cooling by way of extra fans; Windows XP Home SP1.
All help gratefully received,
Upset of Wakefield
David

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The LED display is showing 1&2 Red, 3&4 Green.
I had exactly the same.
my 1900+ has always run at 166*10 with bios rev5.6
I flash to rev 5.7
I was trying 10.5*166 (the cpu has ever done this in the past) when the computer refuses to start.
the D-braket shows : LED 1&2 Red, 3&4 Green.
rest, unplung the bat, the card was dead
I've RMA the card the last week.
All my component works ok on my k7s5a
Is the reset not working with this bios or the bios has kill the card, I don't know !
PS : a friend of mine has a KT266A, the capacitors near the cpu break (the top was bounded). This trouble exist in MSI KT400 card too.

KT3 Ultra2 + Heavy AGP usage = crash & beeps on reboot

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