MEGA 865 running Linux

I'm new to the forum. Here's the system I ordered from NewEgg:
MEGA PC 865
Celeron 2.4 Ghz
Kingston 512M PC3200
DVD+-RW MS-8408A
TV@nywhere MS-8606
Maxtor 40 GB, 5400 RPM
I threw all the pieces together, no problem. Well, the IR cable doesn't plug into the TV card. I just left it off for now. There is another post that covers that issue.
After lurking through the forum, I noticed a couple things. Everybody is running Windows on MEGA 180s. There isn't much information about anything else. Since I want to run Linux on a MEGA 865, I'm starting this thread to share my experience. I see a few other people have tried this as well, anything you can pass on would be great.
My first suggestion is to get Knoppix. You can download the live CD from here:
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html
Burn the ISO image to a CD. (I used version 3.4)
Reconfigure the MEGA BIOS to boot from CD before the hard drive.
Boot the disk and you'll get to the KDE desktop.
This is KDE 3.2.2 with Linux Kernel 2.4.26
What does the bootup sequence look like?
hda: maxtor
hdc: generic DVD RW 8XMax
memory: 507028 kB
Processor: Celeron 2395MHz
ACPI: ac battery button fan processor thermal
[at this point the fans mercifully drop down to low speed and I can once again hear myself think!]
USB found
Firewire found
Soundcard: Intel 82801EB AC'97 (i810_audio)
Video: Intel 82865G (XFree86 i810)
Network device eth0 detected, DHCP started
Eventually a root prompt will pop up and then the KDE desktop. Which, I must say, looks fantastic. This is my first time working with a Linux GUI and I am blown away by not only the kwality of KDE but also by the breadth and depth of the applications included with Knoppix. Starting with just this one CD, I have a fully functional and useful PC in minutes. Everybody should try this.
Where to go from here?
Press CTRL-ALT-F1 to get back to the root shell where you can type commands. If you don't see the "root@tty1[/]#" prompt, just press return until it pops up.
On my system, I see an error "Cannot initialize the agpgart module". I don't know what that means or why I'm getting it, but it's the only error I can see in the bootup sequence.
On the net, you will find a lot of people talking about using "knx-hdinstall" to permanently install knoppix to your harddrive so you don't have to boot off the CD everytime. Well, this script has been renamed to "knoppix-installer". Just type that at the prompt and you will be lead through all the steps you need to get a permanent installation. I won't walk through all that here, but ask if you have any questions. Suffice it to say, my HDD now has several partitions and two Linux installations on it (the other being Gentoo). I boot using GRUB.
I have two goals for my MEGA 865.
First, I want to use it to store my digital photos from SD memory cards.
Long term, I'd like to use it as a PVR and DVD player in my living room.

If I boot with an ethernet cable plugged into my router, then Knoppix detects the on-board adapter and properly configures eth0.
From the root shell, type "ifconfig eth0"
You'll see the assigned IP address, MAC address, and network statistics. I can "ping designlab.info" and I get a response in 190 ms. Your mileage may vary.
It seems to be important to have the ethernet cable connected when you boot. If you don't then the eth0 interface will not be configured.
How about that card reader?
Make sure it's there:
grep "^S:" /proc/bus/usb/devices
I see 5 USB devices on my MEGA 865. Four of them are "USB UHCI Root Hub". The other one is "8-in-2" which is the card reader. If you have other USB devices, they should show up as well.
Drop an SD card into the front of the MEGA and type
fdisk -l /dev/sdb
How did I know it was sdb? Umm, I don't remember. Somehow I figured out that sda is some other scsi device. Anyway, you should see your card listed as "/dev/sdb1"
mkdir /sdcard
mount /dev/sdb1 /sdcard -t vfat
ls /sdcard
... and you should see a list of the files on your SD card. At this point I was pretty happy. The network is working and the card reader is working.
You have to have the card in the reader when you type "fdisk". Otherwise, you won't see the sdb1 partition.
When you are done using your card:
umount /sdcard
The umount is important to make sure any changes you made are actually written to the card before you remove it. I think you risk corrupting your files if you don't umount before you remove.
To make this easier in the future, I edited the /etc/fstab file and added the following line:
/dev/sdb1 /sdcard vfat noauto,users 0 0
Now I can simply type "mount /sdcard" and "umount /sdcard" without all the "/dev/sdb1 -t vfat" stuff.
Here's some more good information about using card readers with Linux:
http://www.cs.sfu.ca/~ggbaker/personal/cf-linux

Similar Messages

Win XP installation failure on MEGA 865 PRO

I'm fighting with my MEGA 865pro, Celeron D 341,2x256 RAM, HDD Maxtor 200GB SATA , DVD-RW LG.
Everything went ok up to the XP installation, i.e. I installed instant-On on an empty disk (it runs and works). Then I boot a Win XP install CD, and it hangs a second after displaying the initial message: "..detecting hardware....". The HDD access led stays on. The same for XP SP1 and SP2. Any BIOS tweaking does not help.
After XX tries, I found out the SATA HDD is the bad guy, as the XP setup goes ok if I use my old ATA disk, or even if I use both the SATA and the ATA disks.
Interestingly, Win 2000 installs *without any problems* (but then InstantOn does not boot)!!! Gentoo and Ubuntu linux work as well.
I'm trying to install the absolutely standard and ("only") recommended configuration, so what ... :(
I've seen few posts about this here and there (e.g. https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=85690.msg616103#msg616103), but no solutions so far :((((
Thanx
viz

Dunno if you allready did, but you need to have the latest BIOS to run Win XP SP2 on the MEGA 865 Pro. When i bought mine, Sp2 wasn't out yet and things worked fine. When i tried installing SP2, everything went fine, untill i boot. Black screen and nothing, after a while MSI released a new BIOS fixing the problem, newest BIOS i think is 1.30
Mosher

SATA Hard Drive no longer recognized by Mega 865

I recently put together an MSI Mega 865 barebone system with the following specifications:
Processor: Intel 3.2c Ghz (Northwood core)
Hard Drive: Western Digital SATA 10kRPM Raptor
Memory: 1 GB (2 x 512MB) Kingston 3200 (400Mhz)
DVD Player: Plextor 8X DVD RW
Video Card: HIS Excalibure 9800Pro 128 MB
OS: WinXP
Finally got everything up and running, and then I went to boot up, and the system can no longer find the SATA harddrive. In fact, it's not even an option in the BIOS now.
My question is the following:
Would the SATA be available all of the time, or only if a SATA enabled harddrive was recognized?
When the system is first powered on by plugging the power cord into the wall, the hard drive makes a small amount of noise, as if it's spinning a bit. When the computer starts up, there is no noise at all, although the hard drive does get warm (which makes me think there is power to the unit).
I tried the 2nd power supply (old IDE) for the hard drive, but that provided that same results as the SATA power supply.
There were some inconsistencies with my mega 865 prior to this. First, the HIFI would randomly lock up, and the only way to get it back was to unplug the computer from the wall. 2nd, it had lost communication on the serial port (why, I don't know). 3rd, and final, it doesn't seem to recognize my hard drive (or my hard drive is ruined).
Can someone help me out here, I'm not sure whether to return my HardDrive, my MSI Mega 865, or both.

The system worked for 4 days or so. One day, I started it up, and it couldn't boot because it couldn't detect the SATA drive. When this happened I decided to flash it to the the latest BIOS, but even this did not help.
The unit had problems before, it would lock up on initial power up, the HIFI/CD/DVD would not respond (when the computer was not on of course). I would have to plug and unplug the unit 3 or 4 times before it would power on and not lock up.
I contacted MSI support, and explained my problems. They told me to return the unit to the reseller. I'm not sure if the problem was the unit, the hard drive, or both, so I went ahead and returned the HD and the MSI unit. It'll be another 2 weeks or so now before I get my computer up and running. :(

Things to know before (and after) building a Mega 865

As I am seeing a lot of the same questions regarding the Mega 865 I created this document,
29-Oct-2004 Added Northwood benefits
29-Oct-2004 Emphasized NOT to use live update for bios update
Processors in general
Start with the processor, I would say get something around 3 gighz (give or take) which is quite affordeble. If you are going for a prescott, make sure you upgrade your bios to 1.3 (see below).It will run a bit hot (understatement) otherwise.
If going for northwood any version is ok I believe. When I chose mine I let $$$ descide, and the prescott was on sale. (If I would buy a CPU for the Mega again, I would most likely go for a Northwood this time). Before buying your processor make sure your processor is supported, you can find the supported processors here;
http://cweb.msi.com.tw/program/products/slim_pc/slm/pro_slm_cpu_support_detail.php?UID=547&kind=4
Harddisk
As for Harddisk, I would suggest anything goes but take a serial ata since that is becoming the new standard nowadays.
When buying a HD larger than 130 Gig, make sure you install from a Windows XP SP1 CD (or higher) or divide your HD in smaller pieces. Otherwise you will not get a bigger partition than 130 Gigs.
DVD/CDROM
As for DVD/CD player, there is a special thread (see below) where everyone states if their DVD/CD player is working with the mega (there are some issues with some drives in HiFi mode, EVEN if they are MSI)
Mega PC barebones optical drive compatibility list
Memory
As for memory, get at least 512 Mb or 1024 Mb if you want to sit cosy. two sticks of DDR400 (a.k.a 3200) will do. Get a a-brand like Kingston, Samsung or look around on the forums what will work.
Installing Windows XP
Before installing Windows disable your USB devices, if you fail to do this you run the chance of not installing Windows XP on your C: drive (harddisk) and this will cause you trouble later on. After installation is complete you may enable them again.
Prescott processors & full size AGP cards
As for the GPU (Graphics card), this depends on what you are going to do with it. If you wanna try out at showshifting, and viewing get one with integrated TV tuner. Or use the on-board (some people are quite happy with it) and add a separate PCI tv tuner. If you wanna do hefty gaming (Doom3, Far Cry ... etc) you may want to get an better one. I'm quite happy with my Radeon 9800.
Please note; According to MSI, Prescott processors in combination with full-size AGP (add-in) cards are not supported. This is most likely a power issue since the full-size cards use a lot of power to run. Some forum members, stuborn as they are, are running with a full-size card.
Also note that you are installing a full-size card on your own risk in combination with a Prescott processor.
To calculate your estimated power supply take a look here;
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
The following graphics cards seem to be working (please add to this thread if you have tested a full-size card with a Prescott processor so I can add it to this document)
Club3D Radeon AIW 9800 PRO
ATI Radeon ALL-IN-WONDER 9600 XT
ATI Radeon 9800 SE
AOPEN Aeolus 5900XT 128 Mb
Wise words from Stu:
If you do not want to take chances, go with a Northwood processor. Apperantly there is little perfomance difference between a Northwood and a Prescott processor, and the Northwood runs slightly cooler too.
Windows XP Service Pack 2 & Bios Update
When installing Windows XP with SP2 make sure you have the latest Bios version loaded (1.3) or install a Microsoft work-around fix. SP2 will not install without it, and you will have a hard time getting your system to work.
The Microsoft work-around fix can be found here;
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;885626
The latest bios version can be downloaded here;
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/bios/bos/spt_bos_detail.php?UID=547&kind=4
To install the latest bios, I would advise against using live-update. Use one of the following options instead;
1) Burn a bootable CD-Rom also containing the bios and flash software, (note some of the original Win98 CD's are bootable to MS-DOS prompt)
2) Create a bootable USB-memory key
--- Download the HP util to create one
--- http://h18007.www1.hp.com/support/files/hpcpqdt/us/download/20306.html
--- Then create a bootable floppy on an other system or download from
--- http://www.allbootdisks.com/
--- (I used the Win98SE No ramdrive )
--- Then use the HP tool (on an system with an floppy drive) and enter a: as the source for booting,
--- and use the above created floppy.
--- Then copy the rest of the files from the a:\ drive (like autoexec.bat, config.sys etc) to the memory key.
--- ... and ... voila one bootable USB
--- make sure in the bios that the boot order of the USB key is before the Harddisk and your set to go.
3) Attach a floppy drive to the Mega 865
Bios update failure
Some people still manage to goof-up their bios, by doing the bios update from windows (winflash, live-update). I think there is only one road to travel when this happens, you have to attach a floppy drive to your mega. Then follow the following instructions (Award bios)
http://www.msi.com.tw/html/support/bios/note/boot.htm
Good luck !
PC-Alert
Do not use the PC-Alert version from the MSI website as this does not work together with your Mega 865, instead only use the one on the CD-Rom that was supplied. In general even the supplied PC-Alert has caused a lot of grief (Taking up resources, reboot problems ... etc). If you choose to install PC-Alert, at least remove it from your start-up folder where it is installed. You can always start it manually from the MSI menu in your Start menu.
A good alternative to Pc-Alert is Speedfan, this program should be able to spot your 2 temeperature sensored CPU fans. You can then connect these fans to the CPU temperature sensor and be able to tweak the RPM's according to your need. Speedfan 4.17 can be found here;
http://www.almico.com/speedfan417.exe
Temperatures
As these tiny PC's have very little space, it is quite normal for them to run a bit hot. Do not be alarmed to see CPU temperatures around 60-65 degrees when running on load (depending on your processor of course).
Wireless Network adapter
As for wireless internet, the mega865 has a built-in mini-pci nic (network card). which supports only the 11 Mbps data rate. I think you have to try it out and see how it goes, you can always upgrade to 54 Mbps. I would suggest to get a 54Mbps access point, so you can always upgrade if needed (54Mbps will also work with 11 Mbps) Some forum members have succesfully replaced their Wireless Network adapters with a 54Mbps one. The following network adapters seem to be working;(please add to this thread if you have tested a wireless 54Mbps network adapter so I will add it to this document)
Intel PRO/Wireless BG Network Adapter
6 Channel sound
I recently bought a 5.1 set from Soundblaster. You can connect the 3 connectors to the back of your Mega, then in the Sound util set it up for 5.1 surround sound and you are ready to go. Definately worth it !
Reboot problems
When you run into problems when the Mega reboots suddenly, watch out for a couple of things.
Always check your event/log viewer. It is in your configuration management, but the easiest way to start it is to enter the following in your Run or Command line entry
eventvwr /s
Check if you see red-dots in your application section or system section. Google the problems before dropping them on the forum ! (As most problems are not Mega related IMHO)
One problem I had was caused by BITS 1.5, I had to upgrade to BITS 2.0. (I think it was recently released by Microsoft-Update but I mention it anyway). Bits 1.5 caused my Mega to reboot.
LCD Display / Sound problems
If you have any problems where your front LCD display is not working or your on-board sound is 'missing' first try unplugging your mega from the power outlet (so completely powering down) for 2 minutes. If you still have problems, drop them on this forum.
LCD API ?
Alas, no external programs are available to 'drive' your LCD display. Nor will MSI release an API/Blue print on how to control it.
If you find anything missing here or have additional tips, please add them to this thread and I will update this document.
Good luck with your Mega !
Raymond

rkoppen i salute you
a truly glorious summing up of the main points asked about the Mega 865 in particular, although many points will invariably refer also to the other Mega series
if i can add my tuppence worth, anyone considering going for a powerful graphics card can always shy away from the prescott
i was reading an article just when the prescott core cpus came out and the review basically said that there wasn't really much performance wise between the new prescott and the older Northwood cores.
obviously newer prescotts have higher clock speeds now (3.2? 3.4??), but surely a 2.8ghz CPU is still going to be powerful enough to play the latest games!! (in conjunction with a top graphics card obviously)
is the extra temp increase surely worth the extra couple of hundred mhz?

Media Center DVD 'Stutters' on MEGA 865

Hi
I am an IT professional, but I am a newcomer to the MEGA series PCs. I bought a MEGA 865 Delux for a 'computer newbie' friend as payment for a favour, and I am in the process of configuring it all now.
Spec is
MEGA 865 flashed to bios 1.2
MSI DVD Player DR8-A2 BIOS 1.6
NO TV CARD (yet)
Win XP PRO SP2
512MB RAM
Celeron 2.0GHz (yes I know, but I had a new one going spare, it'll do for now)
I have applied ALL latest drivers
I have applied ALL latest BIOS patches
Windows XP is fully patched up to SP2
I am currently running in 1024x764 Truecolour 70Hz mode.
Everything works great, my friend should be really pleased with it ... except
MEDIA CENTER III !!!
Now that was kind of the idea of buying the MEGA PC, my friend could use it with the remote control for DVD, Radio etc etc, but when I play a DVD using the media center it 'stutters', the video and sound are interrupted and it really is unwatchable.
Looking at the CPU resource is see that it is strained to 100% utilisation.
If I run the same DVD Movie with PowerDVD (came with the MSI DVD Drive), or even with Windows Media Player, it plays beautifully and the CPU is comfortably down at 40% utilisation. Unfortunately the remote seems to do nothing for PowerDVD.
Is anybody finding that the Media Center works great on their system? (if so, what's the secret?)
Has anybody else encountered similar problems to mine?
Does anybody know how I could fix the problem so that when I present this great new system to my friend as an expression of my gratitude, it is not 'flawed'?
Please help if you can, I would like to deliver the system in the next couple of days.
Thanks
Steve

Thanks for the advice everyone.
After much searching I found the elusive registry changes and applied them to my system. Unfortunately these changes made no discernable difference to the DVD playback.
While I appreciate that there are a number of Open Source projects in development (dependant on 'Girder', pay software that still does not appear to FULLY replace the advertised functionality of the Remote/LCD/Radio etc), and also alternative products that I could purchase, I do not feel that I should have to buy these to make my MEGA media center PC play DVDs.
It's not as if the inability to play DVDs is a minor issue in a Media Center. It's fundamental!!
If it will not work as a media center PC 'as supplied' then it seems to me that I should return it to the retailer and buy a 'Shuttle PC' for much less money. I could spend the savings (I reckon on about £70) on a better CPU or just pocket the difference. Features and software that do not work are of little use to anybody.
With all due respect to you all, if everybody who bought the system and had these problems returned it to the store as 'not fit for purpose' then I suspect MSI would have resolved the issue long ago. It seems to me that end user tolerance has resulted in MSI's indifference.
If I have no fix by Thursday then it's back to the store.
I have mailed MSI Tech Support, hopefully they will come up with something as the system looks great otherwise.
Still open to suggestions that do not include 'break up the CD' or 'buy this other software'.
Thanks
Steve

Mega 865 Duluxe - Graphics card upgrade

Hey there, I have a mega 865 Deluxe and I have just brought an LCD TV. I am currently using the onboard graphics card, but thinking about adding in a new card that has DVI output.
Can anyone suggest what sort of card i can get away with adding. I'm gonna use it for the occasional game, watching dvd's and using the LCD TV as my new PC monitor.
My current set up is:
Mega 865 Deluxe
Win XP Pro SP2
Northwood P4 2.8
Maxtor 80gig harddrive
1Gig
Soundblaster 24 bit Live sound card

Thank you. I just picked up an ATI AIW 9800...I read here that a lot of people are using that. I am using the 2.8GHZ Northwood processor, so I hope I don't run into over heating issues

Tvanywhere and Mega 865, install MSIPVS fails ..

Was unable to find a local source for the add in tv card for my MSI MEGA 865 and decided to use the TV anywhere card. I was also interested in the NTSC and PAL support. Everything went well until i tried to install the MSIPVS Software. The drivers installed properly in step one, but in step 2 installing the MSIPVS software i received a "Setup failed to run installation: The remote procedure call failed". I uninstalled the MEDIA Center Deluxe III program and removed all software except INCD. I am running windows XP, 512 mb memory, 3ghz intel processor. I removed the software and hardware and tried to reinstall several times, it made no difference and it failed in the same place.

see threads in the Mega PC forum
Windows XP has installed itself to the E: or F: drive because the card reader has taken C: and D: and in this case Intervideo software won't install correctly
you're gonna have to disable the built in card reader (either unplug from inside, or disable USB controller in BIOS) format your hdd and reinstall windows to C: partition - not sure if Repair would fix it
this happened to me the first time i built my mega 651 and it was SO frustrating, especially as everything else worked fine

Mega 865 Pro and Nlite - SCM Issues

Hello, I have just got a Mega 865 Pro and have installed Windows XP on the system using nlite http://www.nliteos.com to strip windows down to the bare minimum, the boot times are great and it goes in to and out of hibernation is seconds, the problem is that I have stripped out one component that allows the System Control Manager to perform properly, my front LED display stays blank, even if I fire up the Intervideo Hometheatre it does nothing and all the front buttons do not respond. Everything else runs fine though
Has anyone tried out nlite and does anyone know which component of windows I've removed that I should have left in?
Thanks
Niblet

I'll try installing the new SCM program tonight, though the original ones that came on the disc didn't work (they did on a standard install of XP that I did)
I'll post my findings later.

MSI Mega 865 Reserator cooling, Northbrige passive cooler?

Hi all,
Have been running my mega as a media centre for five years or so. Have been through two sets of fans which though quiet at first have got progressively noisy again, especially when starting up or working PC hard.
I want to go as fan free as possible but before I do....
Is the reserator system the only fan free system and the best for me, it is ferociously expensive but I will pay it if it really is worth it.
The Northbridge(?) also has a noisy little fan, can I do away with this and fit a passive heatsink? Could I also water cool it?
Any options for laptop style external power supplies or water cooled PSUs that will fit in the box.
Many thanks all, lookforward to your answers,
Epirb, or Barney if you prefer!

Hi Barney,
If you'd looked in the sticky topics, then these topics listed in here might be of help to you:
How to cool your Mega PC down
In particular, Emma's topic about how she fitted a Reserator 1 to her Mega 180, which essentially should be the same process as for the Mega 865. Unfortunately, her pics no longer seem to exist, but otherwise, her topic might help you.
Quote
What I need to know is if anyone has any ideas about the other chip which I am calling the North bridge. Is this the right name, I am not sure.
Yes, that will be the Northbridge chipset.

MSI MEGA 865 not support Prescott 3.2 & higher

i have 3.2e Prescott but has vcore problem mega 865
and then see link
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/slim_pc/slm/pro_slm_cpu_support_detail.php?UID=547&kind=4
mega 865 not support 3.2e Prescott
maybe power supply & cooling problem

Have you checked your XP Eventlog, I had a problem like this also and it turned out BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) gave the problem. (and booted my PC)
I had to upgrade to BITS 2.0 and now I'm running like a charm.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b93356b1-ba43-480f-983d-eb19368f9047&displaylang=en
Also, before I assembled my PC I had a look at
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/ to calculate the wattage needed.
I'm assuming the configuration in your .sig and I'm getting to 265 watts for your configuration with 3.2 prescott . (Hardly any difference with mine)
Ray

System Control Manager on Mega 865 Pro

Hi,
I Have a Mega 865 Pro, I would list whats in it but do not consider that any of this would help.
The system has the System Control Manager software installed which allows for you to use the buttons on the front of the system within Windows XP, if the software is not installed or running then one of the problems is when you use the CD eject key the system will restart.
The software runs normally on my account where I'm an admin. However, if I have any other accounts running then the software will not run with the following message.
MGSYSCTRL
Detecting Model type failed!
You may not run this program correctly
Can anyone assist in making sure that I do not give my kids admin access under Windows XP?
Thanks
Rob

Update.
This has now been resolved by performing the following.
1, Download the bios update using the link below, the MSI update utility never reconised that there was a newer version of the bios available.
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/support/download/dld/spt_dld_detail.php?UID=602&kind=4
This fixed the reboot issues when using the eject cdrom button!!
2, The System Control Manager cannot be used under a non admin account, this was corrected by performing the following.
export from mthe registry, and then delete:-
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"MGSysCtrl"="C:\\Program Files\\MSI\\System Control Manager\\MGSysCtrl.exe"
And Change to:-
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run]
"MGSysCtrl"="C:\\Program Files\\MSI\\System Control Manager\\MGSysCtrl.exe"
Then run the new on the Admin account only.
Hope this helps some of you!
Regards
Rob

Mega 865 Pro instant On will not install

According to the instructions, when I boot from the Instant On CD, I should get an option to install it. Instead, I see it loading the ISOlinux, then it goes to a White cursor block in the upper right corner and never procedes to the setup screen. I have a SATA HD 80gb does that matter? I have not installed anything on this harddrive yet IAW the instrucitons. Perhaps this is a bad CD.
I tested the CDROM drive by starting a winxp install and it seems to proceed without a problem.

Ohhh YEAH!!!
Changing from "Native mode" to "Legacy Mode" are VERY GOOD to do the correct installation of "Instant on"
BUT, DVD of instant on NOT WORK because it say me bad region code, with original DVD and I'm on italy.
and is NOT possible change DVD region?!
BUT, I had Ati radeon 9600 PRO 256Mb AGP and the instant on function don't work (don't run, make error address)
I need TVout exit and I DON'T want the TV out of MSI because the graphic card in this MEGA 865 is a little smallest. Do you agree?
If someone can help me is very wellcome.
BUT, I had -Fly TV DUO DVB-T - TV PCI card and the hardware with instant is not recognised and NOT WORK.
OK, I know that is not possible but has philips chip
If someone can help me is very wellcome.
At the end I want say:
MSI technical support, (after contacting many times) NOT EXIST and is sure that is the future I'not choose never more MSI
Thanks in advance for help me

Mega 865 probs with 3.3v ...

uhm well ive got a brand new mega 865 and i thought kewl :P i mean it looks sweet and i like the hifi stuff etc etc
well so i started it up and the first day was fine.. second day it suddenly shutdown and stuff.. wel after taking out the power cable and leaving the pc for a while, it worked again and when i looked @ pcalert4 it said that my 3.3v was getting up to 3.9v etc.. and thats the reason why it was crashing..
now my question is obviously how do i stop ik crashing..
- is it because the power supply is 2 weak? (i dont think so seeing that msi delivers the power supply with the mega barebone)
- is it the psu ? coz i read about some1 having the same problem with the 3.3v and a mega barebone...
anyway my pc specs are:
p4 3.2ghz
2x 512ddr corsair
6800 LE
winxp sp1
thats the most important i think

Quote
Originally posted by cteun
application hang of shareaza, msi pc alert, no really system applications
If your system is hanging while you are running, turn off PC Alert.
PC Alert Abuse:stop:
In fact, disable PC Alert so it dosen't launch when your system boots. It causes a momentary pause while it is refreshing the system information. It's fairly noticable, especially if you are gaming, or writing a document.

Mega 865 - MSI Media Center SLOW on Music mode (CD audio)

Hello,
I'm having a problem with the Mega 865, when I'm playing CD audio with the Home Theatre / MSI Media Center Deluxe II application. It seems to VERY, extremely slow. It takes about 30 seconds for the application to respond when I directly click into the application, and it does not hardly ever respond to the remote. When I try to close the application once it has begun playing an audio CD, it does not respond very well, usually not within 30 seconds. When I open the task manager, the CPU usage is between 90 & 100 percent. I looked at the system requirements for this application, and the computer has over twice the requirements, so that is not the problem at all. I tried updating to DirectX 9.0b and Media Player 9, but that did not seem to improve performance. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Phillip

This email from tech support may be useful. I'm not sure if this is a new version or not. Its a 110MB download, so hopefully it will help. I'm downloading it now. I'll let you all know if this works (in case someone else has this problem, and they are searching through the posts):
Dear Phillip T. George ,
Thank you for contacting MSI Technical Support.
Deleted by GV
Besides, please take a good look at this update for Microsoft DirectX
v9.0b:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=8dfd1b6d-e177-4
a0e-91d0-b4310675b02b
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=8dfd1b6d-e177-
4a0e-91d0-b4310675b02b&displaylang=en> &displaylang=en
Thank you for supporting MSI product. Please feel free to let us know if
you still have any further issues or inquiries.
Best regards,
MSI Technical Support
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please include previous mails when replying!
-----Original Message-----
From: Phillip T. George [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 2004 3:15 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Mega 865 - MSI Media Center SLOW on Music mode (CD audio)
Hello,
I'm having a problem with the Mega 865. When I'm playing CD audio with
the Home Theatre / MSI Media Center Deluxe II application. It seems to
VERY, extremely slow. It takes about 30 seconds for the application to
respond when I directly click into the application, and it does not
hardly ever respond to the remote. When I try to close the application
once it has begun playing an audio CD, it does not respond very well,
usually not within 30 seconds. When I open the task manager, the CPU
usage is between 90 & 100 percent. I looked at the system requirements
for this application, and the computer has over twice the requirements,
so that is not the problem at all. I tried updating to DirectX 9.0b and
Media Player 9, but that did not seem to improve performance. Any
suggestions? Also, I'm running Windows XP Home Editon and very few
things have been installed on this new machine.
Thanks,
Phillip T. George
Electronic & Computer Solutions, Inc.

Restart Problem Fix for Mega 865

Just letting people know how I fixed my Mega 865 restart problems
my quick story
I built my 865 with 512RAM and installed XP MCE2005. The next day I installed a 1 GIG RAM chip and the system would not boot into XP. It would get to the windows boot screen and crash when loading the hard drive drivers.... or somewhere around there. couldnt even get into safe mode. I removed the Radeon 9800 and it booted. oh no could it be the AGP Card?
well I put it back in and tried every thing,
removed the new 1 GIG RAM, same problem
reset BIOS
reset to Safe Settings BIOS
reset to Optimal BIOS
repair XP recovery console, fix MBR ...etc
then I the BIOS I tried dropping the AGP Aperature size from 64MB down to 8MB. It fixed the problem.
I'm guessing the issue is really one of power. the PSU is only 230w and with the extra ram stick, it had problems putting out enough power.
so I dropped the agp aperature down to 8MB (shouldnt matter as the card has 128MB and hopefully shouldnt need system RAM)
I also turned off the serial port (set it to disabled - who uses the serial port anyway)
and disabled the modem and network card (dont need the modem and I'm using the wireless card instead of the ethernet one)
hopefully turn these things off will prevent furthur power issues when running games and stuff.

the prescott core P4s are hot enough as it is, without squeezing a 3.2ghz in there, along with a hot GPU
i would recommend the northwood core P4, as they run cooler and are just as good as prescott P4s as tests have shown
and i would also advise you to search through this forum for topics about mega 180 heat issues; the issues will apply to all mega series, just seems to cause more of a problem with the 180, but most ideas will apply to 865
first thing to check is airflow, make sure that there are no cable looms in front of heatsink, obstructing airflow to the fan. bear in mind too that by default, the fan is already blowing hot air off the AGP card onto the heatsink (yes, poor design by MSI but it can be resolved apparently by "reversing" fan airflow).

MEGA 865 running Linux

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