MEGA 180 fall out

I was doing nothing stange and when i shut of my mega everything was fine untill the next morning.
It would not boot anymore. HIFI mode does work but when you press the pc button it goes on and goes of directly.
I've looked all over the place on the forum for an answer but couldn't find it
please help me its my only fast computer in the house

https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=62668.0
hi, you posted this topic last october, and never responded to it
i think the big question that needs answering is "how did you mod the PSU to 300w?"

Similar Messages

  • Mega 180 spdif out w/ Linux ALSA

    Has anyone managed to get the spdif output working under Linux ALSA?  I've got analog out working no prob, but I'm getting nothing out on optical. A working .asoundrc  file would be much appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Roman

    Quote from: romanr on 22-January-05, 23:25:42
    Just a follow up - ALSA does *NOT* currently work on the Mega 180 as it is not supported by the nvidia drivers.
    OSS however does work as of the 0292 release and is pretty much fully implemented. Hopefully the next set of drivers will support ALSA.
    Cheers,
    Roman
    ALSA has worked for me since 2.6.8, but I don't use the nvidia binary Nforce2 drivers (net, sound etc.)
    - Stian

  • Mega 180 sold out?

    I waited too long to get around to buying one and now newegg and zipzoomfly are both out of stock...
    They are few and far between on ebay... are they being discontinued?  Hopefully there are still some out there (pref. under $300)...

    Hi Dr Stu.  WOW!!   I'd only checked the morgancomputers main/first page - so thought the mega180 was the only one available.( or maybe they've changed it since I first looked a couple of days ago) I'm now sorely tempted to stretch my budget and go for the 915.  Would be much more "future proof" than the 180?  Socket A very much outdated I guess?!  And I personally prefer intel to amd............!!  Apart from the obvious differences which I see from the specifications -  wonder if you or anyone has any particular gotchas/ problems/ serious hardware glitches etc etc re the 915 compared with mega180???   ( I should add that i've had about a year wrestling with problems on a shuttle zen - should have read the shuttle forums more carefully!! )  I know quite a bit (now!) about keeping heat down on a sff box!  So wonder just how bad/difficult etc it would be keeping a 3.2 prescott (say) cool in a 915 compared with (say) a sempron 2800+ in a socket A mega180 ?????   ( I know it's not that simple............... but thought i'd ask anyway!!) Thanks.

  • Mega 180 beeps, no POST

    Ok I guess I need to sit down and tell you the whole story. I have a Mega 180 system that worked fine for two months (heck the best system I ever had) I decided to put the all in wander graphics card in to the system. I was going to the AGP slot of the motherboard of the mega 180. I went to the bios and saw something about high performance and about the AGP 8X knowing that my graphics card is for the 8X I decided to hit that save the Bios and shut down the system to put in the AGP card. After installing the card I started up my system and I got nothing to the screen, then the Mega made beep ever 3 secs. I shutdown the system by pulling the power plug. Waited 10-15 sec and tried it again, still no screen and the beeps. I pulled the plug again and uninstalled the graphics card. I again started the Mega up and switch the monitor hookups back to the built in graphs card. Still no screen and the beeps. My next guess was it had something to do with the Bios. I did the whole jumper thing and still got the no screen and the beeps. I even pulled out the battery and unplugged the power supply to the motherboard and waited 24 hours. Hooked back up everything installed the battery and powered up the system. And got no screen and the beeps.  Ok maybe it is something elese so my sister having the same Mega as I do a 180(and thanks again sis for you help and the trust to use you mega as a test base) I pulled every thing out of my mega 180 and installed it in her’s. I put in the Memory, processor, hard drive, DVD-ROM. It worked with out a flaw it was just like before. I even tested the graphics card with out going to the bios (real trust from my sis or did I not say this is what messed up mine oh well) and the graphics card worked fine. So after another time spent I put back together my mega 180 (with out the graphics card in the AGP slot) and still got the no screen and the beeps. I then tested what the on line forms asked. I tried to put in other graphics cards in the other slot to see if it was looking there for a card, no luck. Then I took the hold thing down to BEST BUY (they have helped out before good Guys there)  and they spent all day messing around trying to clear the bios and trying different memory and different graphic cards and no luck. They said to call in the warranty and see what MSI will do. (They did not charge me a thing for their time, and many of them I know want one now too even with this mess up I think this is the best thing out there in the world of pcs)
    Ok so that bring us here and I thought to give you guys here a try be for I go ask MSI
    Again thanks to all that help, I wish I could do more then say thank you.
    Heck one more thing I would have done the redo of the flash the bios thing with the new file but the mega 180 does not have a floppy drive so no A drive.

    Thanks for splitting this from the other topic to avoid any confusion.
    I did use a can of air when I rebuilt my mega 180 after I tested all the parts in my sister Mega 180. And best buy looked over every thing and did not see any thing wrong.   (four eyes always are better then mine) At this point I’m out of ideas thanks again for all you help guys.   I guess I’ll send an email to MSI today and see what they say. (in a year or two I’ll hear something)   I thought it would be fair to start here before going to MSI. In all, I hope this is truly a rear thing that happens to mega 180's   for I still say this the best case to get. I love this case and I got two of my friends to buy one and my sister has one. We all love our Mega's a lot.   (Heating can be fixed with a little work ok) And the radio rocks and the looks cant be beat. I will keep you all updated and again if you all have any ideas please post them here you never know one day this might happen to you.

  • TV-Out on Mega 180 (Composite)

    Hi there,
    I just received my Mega 180 some days ago. So far I'm really satisfied. I just have one problem an perhaps you could help me.
    I at first used the S-Video out from Mega to my S-Video-Scart-In of my TV. That worked without problems.
    Now I wanted to use the Composite out instead of S-Video out from the Mega 180. So I connected a composite-adapter to the S-Video port and connected a composite cable to it. Now my TV only shows the picture black/white.
    I know that this is an issue connected with S-Video. So I changed in nvidia-driver the automatic detection to manual (composite). But whenever I change this, I just get a complete black screen. I tried this with many nvidia driver versions. All the same.
    And now the really misteryous thing: when I de-install the nvidia driver (graphic) and start windows with standard vga-mode, I have a colored picture with the mentioned composite out without having changed anything.
    Anyone has an idea? Thanks in advance.
    My Hardware:
    - MSI Mega 180
    - Athlon Sempron 2800
    - WinTV 350 PVR
    - 512 MB
    - onBoard graphicscard

    Quote
    I at first used the S-Video out from Mega to my S-Video-Scart-In of my TV. That worked without problems.
    Quote
    I want to use composite instead of s-video because my tv doesn't support s-video. It only supports composite.
    just re-reading this post has got me a little confused. are you now connecting to a different TV now?

  • Mega 180/Media Player/Graphic Card/TV-Out

    Hi,
    after very long research I decided to use Mega 180 as a dedicated PC for media center purpose and to connect it directly to my TV (Siemens 100 Hz real flat 16:9) and to upgrade my second PC and to connect the two PCs wirelesly and to use Media Portal software.
    And then I have started to read related posts and forums. But this time I learned that there are new issues I have to deal with.
    1. TV-out: The TV-Out of Mega 180 is not good enough on a TV. My question is do I have to buy another powerful graphic card? I need recommendation. My TV has composite and scart inputs.
    2. Media Portal: This software has lack of some features. If I use MCE 2005, will it be better?
    3. If I use a video converter, will it help me to find better picture on my TV?
    Yes bodies, unfortunately there is no way to find the best solution. And I am at the final stage. If this solution does not run, I will give up.   I need your recommendations.

    This is copied from another reply I made today. The Mega 180 can drive a TV just fine. But you need to spend alot of time making it work.
    How you hook up to your TV depends on your available TV connections and your quality standard. The Mega 180 does have an SVideo output. I don't use this however. I have a VGA input port on my 42 inch plasma monitor. It accepts VGA 640 X 480, 800 x 600, or 1024 X 768 standard computer resolutions. It also accepts 480P or 1080i TV inputs using the VGA port. Many quality TV monitors have a DVI port or component video. These would require some sort of physical adapter to attach to a Mega PC.
    So I actually run in 1080i mode most of the time. This makes DVD's and HDTV look really nice. When using the XP computer screen I keep it in 1080i mode but map this to 960 X 540 resolution using PowerStrip. This way I can read the text on the display without it being distorted. However this is pretty low resolution for most web browsers and email programs. So it is kind of cramped... When playing computer games I switch to 1024 X 768 computer mode. The good thing is the on board Nvidia MX440 graphics work just fine to generate all these modes. So I do not have a card in the AGP slot.

  • Tv-out stoped working (mega 180)

    I have searched the forum for tv-out problem but did not find the same problem I have.
    9600 pro fb
    Mega 180
    2600 barton
    winxp xp2
    The tv-out was working fine, but sudenly it was dead.
    This happend at the same time the msi radio started after I turned on my pc, I managed to make it stop, but then the radio came on when I turned the tv mode on. But i fixed that problem to.
    But the tv out wont work. But the tv does flimmer a bit when i try to connect, so there is contact. Acording to windows, a cable is not conected, but I have tried with to different cables and it worked before.
    Also, the startup screen wont work on tv, not even with the monitor cable unpluged.
    I use composite, no s-video on my tv.
    I tried to change the gfx card in bios from agp to pci, as it was original.
    This happend after I tried to make my other computer work, so I have changed the cpu and memory a bit, to see what is wrong.
    But I gues there is no cable needed for tv-out that I could have taken out?
    When I get home I wil try new drivers.
    I gues I also could try to "turn back time" Dont know the english word for it.
    In norwegian, "systemgjennomretting"
    Does anyone have other sugestions?

    The TV out has to be connected on startup. What to do in case you have disconnected is explained in the MEGA pdf manual you have on your CD-ROM.  It comes down to setting NVidia Dualview settings again for your TV out, because it is set back to single monitor again after disconnecting it.

  • Mega 180 VGA Video Out Of Range

    Hello all.
    I recently received a Mega 180 (used, but not too used).  It had an ATI AGP card in it that I pulled out.  I then installed Win XP Pro (SP2 and other up to date MS stuff). 
    It was working fine for a few days ... I have a KVM switch and plugs attached to it, with the VGA cable into the primary VGA slot.  Now I can't get any video output.  My LCDs (attached to the KVM, and directly to the Mega180) say that "video out of range".  I've connected a CRT to it but it's not getting a video signal after the MS XP Pro initial screen.
    I've gone into the BIOS and reset it to the "optimal defaults" but no luck there either.
    Any help/suggestions would be appreciated. 
    ESlater

    Bass:  Are you sure it's the F6 key that allows one to reset to VGA mode?  I've gone into CMOS and turned off Quick Boot, but still, everytime I press F6 I just get the Windows options for Safe Mode boot. 
    I did go into Safe Mode and set my resolution to 800x600 but that still didn't help.
    I guess I can always go ahead and re-install the ATI AGP but I was thinking this unit should work with the standard VGA plug.  What is weird is that Windows was running fine, and I wasn't really using the machine at all when the video mode got "reset" (or something). 
    I guess I'll boot into Safe Mode and remove all video drivers and see how that goes?
    Otro: I thought that by hooking up the CRT I'd be able to capture all video modes (certainly more than w/the LCD).  What's happening is that the CRT is turning "off" once Windows moves beyond the initial screen (presumably to the User Account Login Screen), as if the Mega 180 isn't even sending a signal down the VGA connection.

  • MSI MEGA 180 replacement cover

    I was wondering if there is a cover availeble for the mega 180 beacause i know that shutles have a acrylic cover availeble,
    i would be nice i now have neon in my pc but it is not nice coming out only with the air vents on the side and on the front by the card reader
    greetzz,
    Falling-Sky

    Dear 31ait,
    I just read a forum topic of two years ago on
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=78051.msg550349#msg550349 and I have a Mega PC 180 standard.
    Funny enough I would like exactly the contrary you did on your machine. I would take the plain faceplate away and install a card reader instaed.
    Therefore I would ask you if you still have the card reader and faceplate because I would be intersted in buying them, and swapping with my plain faceplate.
    Thanks for yout reply

  • Mega 180 AGP and dead...

    Hi all,
    just checking to see if someone has any clues what's up with my machine. I bought an ATI x800 PRO last night, and put it in my Mega 180. All of last night I was playing far cry  just fine with "high" settings. The temperature went up to around 75, but seemed to be ok, no problems. I went happily to bed.
    This afternoon I decided to play at "very high" settings. After a while I got system message saying that the CPU was too hot and the machine was going to shut down. Getting this message stopped far cry and moved me back to the desktop. I saw that the temperature was already falling, so I didn't bother shutting down, just let it cool off for a while. I then tried running far cry on high  settings - like I did the night before - and again I got the heat warning. I searched the web for reasons, somewhere someone suggested updating the bios. I did using live update, no difference.
    So now I went to the BIOS and checked if I could somehow set the fan to always be on max, if nothing else this should make the system heat up slower. Didn't find anything like it. I found a setting for USB-keyboard though, activated this.
    At this point I realized I wouldn't be able to use my Mega180 with the card, so I took it out.
    From then on I have been unable to get even to POST. When I turn the machine on the fans start going, the harddrive and cd-rom makes some spin-up noises but nothing happens on the screen. The screen doesn't even realize that it's on.
    I have tried removing everything except the processor. I have tried reinserting the AGP card. I have tried with and without memory, harddrive, cdrom ... all with the same result, that is, nothing happens.
    Tried resetting the CMOS both through the JBAT1 jumper and removing the battery.
    Any ideas? I suspect something got messed up with the BIOS when I changed it, but if so, shouldn't resetting the CMOS fix it?
    Most of all, does anyone have any ideas for more things I could try? Has  anyone else seen anything like this? Could it have anything to do with the "hot" warnings? (Although I would guess not, those message should show up a while before it gets too hot... )
    Thanks,
    Mattis

    do you get display with the agp card in?
    when you removed the agp card, did you unplug the power cord?
    i don't know how much of this is true, but this is from a supposed PC technician. when the power cord is connected, standby power is going through the motherboard (true). apparently if you remove an agp card while standby power is present, it sort of screws up the agp port (including onboard, as it is shared).
    if you leave the pc unpowered (remove power lead) for about 12 hours, it should work again.
    please let me know if this works or not, so I can tell my pc technician buddy he is full of (or not, as the case may be)

  • Mega 180 Temps

    Let me start off by saying that the Mega 180 is a great idea for a product but unfortunately it is not finished.  MSI is using us as beta testers - at our expense.  I build computers for people as a side business and against my better judgement, I built a customer a Mega 180 based system and I've had nothing but problems with it and it's damaging my reputation.  But, OK enough of that.
    One major problem with the Mega 180 is it's CPU and hard drive temp and here's what you can do to fix it.  First off, the CPU heat sink is nice and big and made of copper - very nice.  However, the underside of the sink (the part that touches the CPU) is absolutely aweful!  The bottom should be mirror smooth.  Mine looks like the surface of a record.  Therefore, you need to lap it.  Look this process up on the net to see exactly how to do it.  Once lapped and the bottom is mirror smooth and you can see your reflection, use ARTIC SILVER thermal grease (just a tiny bit) and put the sink back on.  Your CPU temp under load will be about 8 degrees cooler.  Next, replace the small fan on the cooler with a bigger one (make sure you use one that's sensored, like the one you're replacing).  Lastly, get some flexible ducting from the hardware store (plastic, not aluminum), attach one end over the sink's big fan and carefuly route the other end to the side of the case (may not be possible if you are using an AGP card) and position it so it sucks in outside air.  Now that your CPU is cooled with fresh air, you will see another 2 - 3 degree reduction of CPU temp.
    Finally, the hard drive is way too hot.  I measured it with a IR temp meter after a full defrag and my jaw hit the ground when I saw how hot it was - 152 degrees F.  That type of temp will kill your hard drive.  Fix this by placing a fan inside the case (RAM side) blowing fresh air right onto the hard drive.  This brought the temp down significantly.  It also cooled other items too (CD drive, chipset).
    The only downside to this is your system will be louder due to fan noise.  However you will have fewer system lock-ups and mystery reboots (caused by overheated components).
    One last idea, if the case is just too cramped for you, remove the power supply, buy a new one and mount it outside the case on the back.  It doesn't look good but it sure frees up space and improves air flow (plus you'll have more power if you buy a higher watt supply).
    Peace!

    Hey cb31,
    Even though this thread is about temps, I too think noise is the biggest problem with the Mega, and my current efforts are targeted at killing the constant background noise. My goal is the same as your's - I want to leave the computer on most of the time and not be bothered with it.
    I'm proceeding slowly however, and so far I've only done the following:
    -Replaced the 60mm Delta fan with a Papst of the exact same size. I found the Delta to be noisy, while others report that it's doing ok. Don't know about you... The Papst is really quiet and actually cools a little bit more effective, though that's a bonus feature! But on the overall it didn't have the effect I hoped for  
    -The smaller Delta fan (outtake side of heatsink) already is quiet enough, so doesn't need to be replaced on behalf of noise anyway...
    -Took out the PSU and put White Lithium Grease in the fan for smoother operation since I figured it made a lot of noise. That didn't help much either... I'm thinking about replacing the PSU fan with something better, even though a lable on the back of the PSU states "W/ Noisekiller". It's still a no-name fan and can be improved upon.
    Right now the loudest noise in my Mega doesn't seem to come from any fan at all, but rather from the hd. And it's not so much the actual noise from the unit as vibrations reverberating through the chassis. A common problem obviously, but there isn't any room for hd suspension systems in the Mega, so other actions are required here! I tried to slide in thin sheets of plastic between the drive and the cage, to act as silencers, but that didn't have any real effect as the cage touches the drive in several places, thus transfering the vibrations anyway. A new drive cage could do the trick, but I haven't gotten that far yet, and might not ever...
    The Seagate Barracuda is considered to be a silent drive, so replacing it probably wouldn't help.
    To conclude: If your fans are noisy, replace them or grease them for better operation, but you might not even hear the difference...
    The major flaw seems to be the internal design of the Mega, and there's isn't much to be done about that, unless you're handy with a Dremel and sheets of metal.  I might be, but I will have to get back to you on that!
    Cheers!
    -M

  • MEGA 180: A story of stupidity mixed up with bad product design

    This is more for a word of caution to Mega180 users and future owners.
    A bit angry as I managed to burn ( physically ) 2 harddrives  because of carefulness about 10 mins.
    Spend quite some time looking for a SATA to ATI power converter while looking for a solution to CPU temp problem. Could not find one ( and  I don't know if any one does it )
    As my old HD did not start the OS on Mega180 for some data transfer I was not able to use my USB external HD. So I decided to connect old HD as slave and do a HD to HD transfer. Here comes the bad design, the HD connection cable specifies a slot for a slave HD however there is only one power connector (ATI) for supported IDE HD. and there is a useless SATA power connector,it is useless as MEGA 180 does not support SATA.
    Here comes the stupidity, for a min I came up with the bright idea of using the CD drives power connector ( I now remember that I ruled this option earlier, I wish I remembered it all along) As there is always a current on this cable (when there is a power connection - for the HIFI mode to work ) I guess some static electricity effected my HD. Not having realised the HD is already affected, I swapped the cables as the HD connection cable is not long enough to keep 2 HDs in a steady state.
    As a result both my HDs are now not working, when I tried the original master HD I was horrified to see a spark and some fume  
    I wish I never tried to use my old graphics card - which I wanted only for the DVI support. This led to CPU temperatures of average 70 degree celcius and when I ever I tried to use the PC properly I was had to turn it off due to extreme temperatures over 75 degree celcius.
    All I was after is a troublefree smooth working nice looking PC, yet I am stuck now... I am both upset for the data I lost as well as hours I spend in trying to put this thing together. I will decide in the morning to return or keep the product. If I keep it the next challenge will be getting my external HD to run an OS as I need to save up again to buy a new HD, I was hoping my next HD would be a SATA one :(
    This is definately a bitter lesson. Such a pity that with just a little more effort MSI could have really improved the profuct most are listed here but I want to summarise:
    1. before getting the new product out try fitting a new graphics card and a TV card and operate both for 2 hours... That is if you could fit them both in the first reason why you could not is the cables from power supply is unnecessarily long for supplying power to the board and unsuitably located. the best you could do is place them all infront of the cpu fan.
    2. It is really great to have detachable ODD and HD yet Floppy drive ( card reader ) bay is static
    3. a better location for CPU or card slots would have contributed to airflow far more.
    Better close here... I am still not sure if positives of the product companates all the negatives.  

    Simply, be aware that the power cable for the CDRom is live most all the time that your backpanel power cord is plugged in. Its for the support of CD/MP3 in HI-Fi mode. If you shut down your system, and not unplug the power, and you try to connect or disconnect anything to the IDE cable, and you are using the power cable for the CD, you can cause static/surging on the component you are hooking up....
    If you must hookup an alternate drive [slave] for data dumping/imaging etc. use a Y cable from the HDD power cable. It only activates when the PC power switch is utilized....

  • Things to Know Before Building Your Mega 180

    Some people have asked me for a list of tips so here is my attempt---I'll ask Wonk to sticky it if it turns out OK....
    Feel free to PM me with more tips---I'll add as necessary....
    TIP SHEET FOR THE MEGA 180:
    So you bought that new Mega 180 and the docs leave a lot to be desired......Don't panic!!  Take a look at this tip sheet.  Should save you a lot of hours!
    RAM AND PROCESSOR:
    Several things here.....If you are going to use onboard video----you should NOT use higher RAM than PC 2700----waste of money to buy higher as the Nforce2 18G "Crush" was only designed to run no higher than with DDR333 RAM (PC2700).  Nvidia warns against it on their site.  I have personally experienced a LOT of problems when you try to run the onboard at DDR 400 (PC3200)----trashed Bios in most cases.  Also---the 18G and to some extent---"Dual Channel" is picky about memory----try to get a matched pair of DIMMS----and if you REALLY want to be on the safe side----go to Nvidias site and look up the page that lists known, compatable memory with the NForce2 chipsetNforce2 compatable memory.  I use A-Data 512 sticks---but they are hard to find.
    If you are going to use a Vidcard---then higher memory is just fine----but if you are NOT planning on overclocking-----there is really NO need for higher than PC2700 as the default bus for Barton 2800+ and below is FSB 166 (DDR333---PC 2700).
    Alyways run your RAM (Synch) 100%---do not play with dividers if you are using the onboard video.  If you have no clue what I just said----you are fine as the defaults will take care of this----this last was for overclockers.
    Processor----I like the cost of the Barton 2800+ right now----fast, cheap and even using the onboard and no overclocking----you have a fast machine that can do anything.  The 2800+ also leaves the door open for a slight overclock (I have not tried this yet) without too much stress on anything.
    LCD PANEL:
    Do Not----I say again----Do Not use the "welcome.exe" program----or ANY other program on ANY disk or the MSI website to do ANYTHING to your front panel.  That program is for the Mega 651 model and WILL TRASH YOUR LCD.  The LCD panel works just fine----it doesn't need any updating.
    If this advice is to late, the firmware fix is in here:
    https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?threadid=46355&sid=
    Do download and install the latest version of PC Alert MSI Mega 180 Downloads----works great with the front LCD panel and displays PC info nicely.
    Use the EQ mode buttons while playing in the HiFi mode----changes the sound a lot and also the display changes------COOL!
    OPTICAL DRIVE:
    Use an MSI optical drive----basically anything from MSI will work fine---some other drives are reported to work fine like a NEC 2500A----but if you use an MSI drive----you can't go wrong.  You might want to put the drive in another machine with a floppy first----and download and update that drive to the latest firmware (most will require a floppy to do that and the Mega 180 has none.)
    CABLE MANAGEMENT:
    Buy a dollar pack of cable ties and go to work-----make sure ALL cables are away from the front of the intake fan for the CPU----you want a very clear path to the cooler.  Less clutter---better airflow.  Better airflow----lower temps.
    CPU INSTALL:
    Get rid of the MSI thermal grease with some Goof Off or acetone-----and get some good Arctic Silver 3, AS5 or AS Ceramique.  Clean both the chip top and the bottom of the HS with denatured alcohol before applying the thermal grease.  You might also want to lapp the bottom of the HS which is not very well done----but I found it not necessary.  The HS/Fan unit is very easy to install----just rotate your screw down points as perscribed by the sticker on the cooler----don't tighten one screw all the way down----then go to the next.
    DRIVERS:
    I found the drivers on the install disk to be non-functional---- get the latest drivers from the MSI website (you can use Live Update for this) or go to http://www.nforcershq.com and get the latest Nforce2 Driver Remix from Morpheus1 or Mwarhead.
    DO NOT use the Nvidia SW IDE driver (say "No" when it asks you in the driver install)  Only use the ITB (In The Box) IDE driver----it's the default driver.  Your Optical device will probably not function correctly (eject, etc) with the Nvidia SW IDE driver.
    Nforce2 SoundStorm Drivers are a tricky topic----there are TONS of versions out there.... I've had the best luck so far with Drivers 4.31 (Off Microsoft Windows Updates---it was a Driver Update) and Audio Control Panel 4.31.  Nvidia has a driver update package now JUST for audio-----posted Here
    If you are having problems with Media Center III crashing----it seems to be a conflict between the SoundStorm Drivers and Media Center III,  Uninstall your Nvidia audio devices in the device manager (Three of them----there is one hidden---so go to view and "show hidden devices")  then reboot and let Windows rerecognize your devices and reload drivers.  This will solve most problems until Media Center II has another bad crash----in which case---you may have to do this procedure over again.  You can tell if it's really hosed up because the radio sound will come on automatically at boot----or you will have lost the SoundStorm Control Panel Icon in the SysTray.  I'm working on different versions of SoundStorm to see which works best---will update if I find anything new.  (Update)----4.31 seems to be the best but I still can'ttotally eliminate the crashing in Media Center III.
    Once you get your Lan device up and running (or your modem) Go to Windows Update and make sure you are completly updated with all latest window updates---If using WinXP-----you need to be at WinXP ServPack 1a when you are done.
    Use Windows Cleanup and Defrag when you are done----ESPECIALLY cleanup---to get rid of any left over temp files in the Mega----To get the BEST and most optimised defrag----run windows defrag at least three times in a row----maybe more----it will REALLY optimise the drive.
    TV CARD:
    The main TV Card designed for the Mega 180 is the MSI 8606-40 Mega TV Card----be careful to get it vice the other version of the MSI 8606 which is the MSI 8606-10 TV@anywhere Master.
    The Mega TV Card does not include a Radio while the 8606-10 DOES include a radio.  Since your Mega 180 already has a radio----you absolutely don't need or want the 8606-10 TV@anywhere Master.
    Do NOT use any drivers or software you receive with the Mega TV Card MSI 8606-40----just set the disks aside.  You will ONLY uses the drivers off the Mega 180 Install Disk.
    The Mega TV Card MUST be installed before the menu item for "Install TV Tuner Drivers" becomes visible on the Mega 180 install disk.
    Make sure your TV Card is hooked into the line called "Remote Control" within the Mega 180 itself----there is a small 3 inch connecting wire in the TV card box.
    The TV and Radio function well with the remote----but you must have MSI Media Center III installed.  I could not get the TV or the Radio to work without Media Center III.
    Upon initial setup of the TV within Media Center III---you may have to switch the source between cable and antenna to get the initial channels to auto scan.  Once done auto scanning---switch back to cable as source (assuming you have cable).
    Using the remote to force the TV screen to full screen:  When you use the up/down arrows on the remote----watch the menu items on the screen----the various menu item buttons will highlight as you hit the arrows.
    Once you have highlighted the little arrow button on the lower right of the screen----just below the TV display (it will turn green)----hit the ENTER key
    It goes to widescreen----hit the ENTER key again------it goes to fullscreen
    BTW, the remote works fine-----the trick is you HAVE to have Media Center III installed and available to be called for it to control the TV Card----Radio Etc.  It will start up normally when you push the TV button on the remote.
    BIOS SETTINGS:
    The defaults will mostly work.  One thing----to get BEST performance out of the NForce 2 Onboard video----set AGP to 128 and Set Frame Buffer to 128----I had crashes with almost any other video setting.  I'm still playing with PCI clock, voltages, and some other settings to get better stability-----will let you know.....
    6 CHANNEL SOUND
    Use all three ports in the back of the Mega 180 and then configure it using the SoundStorm Control Panel----Use the "Speaker Setup Wizard".  Check and adjust using the "Test Tone" button.  I'm using an inexpensive set of Analog Altec Lansing 5.1s----the sound is excellent.
    That's all for now----tell me what else you've found and I'll post.
    John

    My MSI MEGA 180 has a strange display on the monitor.
    I opened the boxed removed all items.
    Installed the CPU (supported on the CPU compatability list for the MSI MEGA 180), installed the heatsink & fan.
    Installed the HD drive.
    Installed the MSI DVD+/-RW
    Installed 1 DIMM module of DDR RAM PC2700 333MHZ 1GB
    Pushed the Power button for the PC and the desplay is corrupted.
    I tried the 4 possible configurations for Jumpers 7 and 8 to alter the FSB speed with no luck.
    I also tried the 4 different J7 and J8 configurations without having the HDD and DVD-RW drives connected - same result.
    I also tried the 4 different J7 and J8 configurations with the Secondary VGA output connected to my monitor.
    I also tried the 4 different J7 and J8 configurations with the S-Video output connected to my TV and no signal at all.
    Both my monitor and HDD work fine with my other PC.
    I noticed the jumper pins are not numbered - made the configuration job a bit more tedious.
    Please note the LCD screen works correctly, however the redio tuner in HiFi mode doesn't pick up any local stations.
    As I am a Software Test Engineer, I am 100% confident I have checked all possible configurations including clearing the CMOS, but the system simply will not display to the VDU. The POST should at least be visible when Power is turned on for the PC mode.
    NOTE: I will update the RAM Brand as soon as I find out the title from the supplier, but I believe it is OEM.
    NOTE II: this is the URL to the CPU used: http://www.excaliberpc.com/product_info.php?products_id=1798
    PLeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssss ssssssssssssssssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eee  help ease my pain!!

  • Cd rom boot problems with MEGA 180

    I recently recieved my MEGA 180 and have been unable to successfully install an OS because when I boot from CD, the computer freezes at various stages of installation. The point at which it freezes varies between the point at which the CD is initialized to anywhere in the windows xp setup process up untill the drive format. Occassionally the lockup coincides with an error copying a file, but this is not consistent. I have tried two different cd-rom drives as well as three different xp installation cds. Further I have run with 5 different sticks of ram (kingston and corsair). None of these changes have had any obvious effect.
    Having read the warning labes regarding non MSI optical devices, I am tempted to think that may be the problem as I am not running on an MSI drive. However, the warning souned like it was about mechanical parts and thus I assume the ability of a drive to fit in the MEGA 180 case while opening and closing correctly.
    I would appreciate any input you might have on this matter as I am finding this experience rather frustrating.

    I had the exact same problem when upgrading from a 2100+ Palamino processor to a 2800+ Thoroghbred one. The screen had already dissappeared due to powering up with no monitor plugged in, so I tried a reinstall of Windows XP. It kept falling over randomly during the install process. I then swapper the CPU back and had no problems at all. I have since lapped the heatsink and reduced the FSB to 157MHz in the BIOS, and have not had a problem with the 2800+ CPU. I have not tried installing windows again, but feel this will be OK too.
    My test is to run FujiFilm Snapshot Slideshow, which sends the CPU temp rocketting. I have found that when it goes above 70 C it starts getting unstable. I throttled the FSB back to 157MHz and it does not get to 70 C any more. In normal operation it never gets above 60 C, so I don't know why the slideshow takes so much CPU power  

  • Mega 180 and Media Center III----looks perfect----is it??

    I DON'T want to shell out $1000 for cheap HP/Compaq or whatever which includes Media Center Edition
    But I DO like the look and features of Microsoft's Media Center Edition.
    In the Manual for the MEGA 180-----Media Center III looks perfect for what I want.
    Am thinking of a Mega 180 using onboard video, the MSI TV/Tuner Card, onboard SoundStorm---and a cheap Barton.  I already have 2 x 512 of NVidia recommended PC2700 RAM for use with the onboard and almost all other parts----but by the time I'm done----I'd be shelling out around $400
    The manual makes everything look good "on paper"----but I see from this forum their are "issues".
    Did/does MSI support the 651 model well??  Bios updates----utility and driver updates??
    This thing looks like a tremendous alternative to a Microsoft Media Center Edition overpriced machine.  And I'm willing to do driver updates and Bios updates----heck, I love a challenge----I just don't like a product that lies about what it can really do.
    Worth it----or should I pass.....
    Thanks-----John

    Quote
    Originally posted by johnrr6
    Did you try the settings button in MC III that says "Enable Fullscreen"
    That may not be it----it may just be a TV setting----but it's the only thing I can think if.
    Good Luck,
    John
    I believe that function is only for viewing the videos from the preview window to fullscreen. I don't think it enables/disables "stretch mode" but i'll try that tonight.
    if it works i'll post it here. if not ... well .... same thing i guess

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