MS 694D Pro (MS-6321) XP crashes with L2 cache

Question

I have a single 800Mhz P3 CPU installed PC133 memory, and have OS/2 and Win 98 running without problems.  I have tried installing both Win XP and Win 2000 and both will frequently crash - usually I cannot get past the splash screen.
I have tried different memory (including individual memory DIMMS), another power supply & video, and every setting in the BIOS - even underclocking memory/CPU.  I have also tried disabling ACPI in Windows.  The only thing which will make the system stable is to disable the external cache.  This is obviously unacceptable.
The only other problems I am aware of with this machine is that a Matrox G400 Max would crash Win 98 if bus mastering was enabled for the video.  I also have to disable AGP FastWrite for OS/2 using the ScitechSoft drivers on my NVidia TI4200.
When windows crashes I get a BSOD with a MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION, though it is difficult to see the details because it reboots straight away even though disabled.
I have BIOS version 1.9 (6321v19.exe) - is this the latest suitable for my motherboard?  I have also tried windows with and without the latest 4in1 drivers.
Can you guys suggest *anything* to try, such as replacing components (CPU?), or is there some setting I can tweak inside windows?
I just don't understand why it works inside OS/2 but not in windows.  How can I disable the "advanced" feature that windows is using?
Thankyou for your help.
Mark

Answer 1

Ok, I've loaded PC Alert III off the original CD and run lots of tests - but keep in mind I've had to disable the L2 cache otherwise it won't boot.  For reference, it had CD/CDRW/SB Live/Floppy/1 HDD/Ethernet and NVidia Ti4200 plugged in, 2 * 256 DIMMS, and was overclocked and using all the fast settings.
First I ran my own tests to thrash the computer, 3D rendering/OpenGL, with concurrent network, HDD, floppy, CD and CDRW access.
The power settings were stable at any given time, though did show some fluctuation over my testing.
VCore1 Min 1.64 Max 1.70 Typically 1.65
VCore2 Min 2.02 Max 2.03 Typically 2.03
+5V Min 5.10 Max 5.18 Typically 5.13
3.3V Min 3.27 Max 3.29 Typically 3.27
+12V Min 11.80 Max 12.00 Typically 11.90
Fan Speed 4488 to 4615
During this time the temperature started at 34/30.   (Obviously there is no second CPU, but it might be some guide to the heat inside the case - though it has remained open for the last few months).  It rose to a peak of 44/34 and quickly dropped off when I killed my tests.
I then downloaded CPUBurn, I don't know if I didn't have the latest/best package but it only supported P6/K6 etc testing, so I ended up running all the tests over a couple of hours.  BurnP6 got the temperature up to 51/35 with power on 1.63/2.02/5.08/3.29/12.10.  With BurnMMX & BurnBX  I ran two tests, with 2K memory size and 64M memory size.  I noticed with the 2K test VCore1 was 1.63 and +12V was 12.10.  When switching to 64M it immediately changed to VCore1 1.70 and +12V of 11.80.  This of course changed back when I killed the test.
In summary, it is a pity I can't boot with L2 cache enabled.  If I get keen, I may wipe Win 2000 and reinstall Win 98 to try PC Alert under that - or is there OS/2 software that will get the VIA motherboard info?  Do you think these tests or other tests would be beneficial under Win 98?
Are the deviation in voltages that I observed in a normal range?
In retrospect during the boot phase - particularly when using Safe Mode, how much concurrent device access does it do that will drain the system?
Can I get Windows 2000 to display device driver names on the screen or actually get something meaningful from the bootlog to track down what it is doing when it dies?
Any thoughts welcome.
Thanks - Mark