SB PC512 Pain

[Mercutio]

OK. This is mostly just going to be me grousing for a minute, but maybe someone will suggest something...

I'm in the midst of setting up a second vidcap machine. It's just a little guy - Tbird 1GHz + 768MB PC133 (a 512 and a 256MB module, both Crucial) on an Abit KT7-RAID. Used my "old" ATI Rage VIVO + an (ISA) AWE64 Gold. Using that setup, things work pretty well. OS is 2000 Server and the machine is configured for ACPI. Only other card is an Intel Pro/100. Onboard RAID, serial, parallel and USB are all disabled at the moment.

I'm still using the KT7 simply because it has an ISA slot for my AWE64.

So... a couple days ago I hooked speakers up to the thing for the first time in many, many moons - it was used only for input - and squak squak squak... I realized that the sound-out connector on the card had died. Figuring the rest of the card probably wasn't long for the world, I marched over to my parts closet and picked out the only card I had handy, a SB PCI512. The "Live jr.", so to speak.

Now, trying to record video from the VCR I have hooked up, I get just exactly 30 minutes into recording and my machine spontaneously reboots. No bluescreen. There's a critical error in the event log - something about a disk controller error (I have the machine in pieces on my lap right now, so forgive me for not being exact), but nothing else of any particular interest.

Drivers, far as I can tell, are completely up to date. I'm using current stuff for the Rage and for the SB512. I'm up-to-date on the Via chipset driver. I'm using directX 8. 2000 is fully patched.

... and all of it works just fine if I pull the soundblaster. Certainly no errors related to the disk controller! No sound, either.

This is honestly the first time I've had a problem with one of these things. Of course the whole thing will appear a kiss of death to some - KT133, ATI video, Creative sound, but honestly that's been a good little machine for me.

I suppose I'll have to run out next week and pick up a $6 CMI cheapy.

Grumble grumble grumble.

 

[Mercutio]

As it happens I managed to get my greedy little hands on an old ESS Solo today. Tried it.

Same insta-hang after a few minutes of capture, but this time I get a bluescreen! Not that it's much help. The error I'm getting is "Exception Not Handled" in module KS.SYS.

A bit of research shows that KS.SYS is the "kernel streaming" driver for multimedia applications. I tried clearing the file out and letting it recover from dllcache but that didn't see to help.

Bother!

 

[Fushigi]

My best guess would be that a driver / dll / reg entry from the original sound card is still loading & is causing the error.

How large is your capture file? IOW, are you running in to the AVI 2GB filesize limit?

- Fushigi

 

[CougTek]

I know what's the meaning of AFAIK, ASAP, FWIW, FYI, IIRC, IMO, LOL, OTOH, ROFL and probably some others, but I never, ever, saw IOW before. What does it mean?


Mercutio,

Did you try installing the famous PCI latency patch for VIA chipsets?

 

[DrunkenBastard]

In other words.

 

[Mercutio]

Yes, Coug, I did.

Rough weekend for hardware. This weekend, in my apartment, and in seperate computers, I lost an Epox 8KHA, a FireBall AS 40GB (trying Maxtor advance replacement. Hoping it's a good experience), my old SB64 Gold, and a 300W power supply. Not to mention whatever the heck else is wrong with my "little" capture machine.

Everything I have is on a UPS. I'm guessing the power in my building is just too dirty now that everyone is running AC...

 

[Mercutio]

Fushigi, I typically capture at around 2GB/hour in MPEG-1. Video capture makes a very good argument for NTFS.

 

[Fushigi]

I'm guessing the power in my building is just too dirty now that everyone is running AC...

Could very well be too much load on the power system. I've got my speakers & printer on an ancient (circa 1984) surge suppressor. I finally had to shut its low voltage buzzer off the other day because it kept going off 2 - 4 times an hour.

My subdivision was built in '98, so the infrastructure is modern. However, that by no means guarantees that it was designed to handle the demand during the AC season. As proof, we blew a transformer last night & were w/o power for about an hour and a half. No 'casualties', but it is annoying.

- Fushigi

 

[Mercutio]

Hey, I got a 740X on Advance Replacement RMA from Maxtor for my Fireball AS. How cool is that?

 

[James]

So as a result of my problems with the C-Media 8738 which are documented elsewhere, I went out and bought a Creative Vibra 128 (I think you guys in North America call 'em Soundblaster 128s). And guess what Merc, I get exactly the same problem as you. After about 30 minutes, the machine spontaneously reboots and I get an error in the error log about the IDE controller.

Remember, this is on a dual Athlon box on an all-AMD mobo (Tyan Tiger MP), nothing like the system you're running, although I am using XP.

I do have the added bonus that I get no sound out of the Vibra 128 either (it's in a 32bit slot). I have just reinstalled the whole OS (thought it was probably time anyway) and using the default XP drivers, I get no sound but no reboots either. If I install the Creative drivers - I use the word loosely - then I'm back to reboot city. Of course, once you've installed Creative's crap it's really hard to roll back to the last set.

Does anyone have any more suggestions for a stable, decent sound card that works in a dual XP system and doesn't cost much?

 

[Tea]

PCI Sound Blaster cards are notoriously difficult about PCI slot assignment, James. For example, in a VA-503+ (and most other three slot boards) they absolutely, positively refuse to work in slot 3, rarely work in slot 1, and almost always work perfectly in slot 2. Four slot boards are much the same, usually, except that slot 4 shares resources with and is in practice indistingushable from slot 3.

In most current boards you have more choices. I'd have to check with Kristi to be sure, but from memory your best bet is slot 4 (in a five slot board). Slot 5 often works two, as does one of the othere ones - either 2 or 3. Probably 2. Unless, of course, it's 1. Again, Kristi is more current with this stuff. But I'm sure that slot 4 is by far your best bet.

By the way, over here there are two quite different products, the Sound Blaster 128 is uncommon and only available in a retail box. The Sound Blaster Vibra 128 is usually (always?) an OEM product. The main difference is that the Vibra is stereo, the Sound Blaster 128 proper has four speaker outlets (two stero jacks) and costs about twice as much. They may have different names in the USA.

Which slot are you using?

PS: the Vibra 128 can be a cow to get right, but once you get it in the right slot, it is almost always completly fuss-free. But that may not hold good under XP. We avoid XP like the plague here.

 

[Mercutio]

James, I bought a few Philips "Avenger" cards recently and they seem to do OK under 2000 and 98. No idea about XP though. No complaints, which makes it a damn sight better than the PCI512.

I thought XP had a driver uninstall feature. Doesn't it?

Another thought: Why is it so hard to make a decent soundcard? Every now and again I get a cursed system where even AC97 doesn't work very well, and things just get worse from there.

 

[P5-133XL]

I have a C-media MB (ASUS A7M266-d) and I solved the locking up problems by using C-media's drivers/utilites and avoiding Microsofts and ASUS's drivers like the plague. It appears that even the updated MS drivers cause BSOD so when using microsoft's update avoid anything that says C-media on it or be forced to use a restore point to remove them.

C-Media writes reference drivers and others seem not to know what they are doing when they are modifying/optimizing. C-Media warns against using their own, but after problems with both ASUS's and MS's, I figured that it could only improve and by golly better they were.

 

[James]

Which slot are you using?

Slot 5, which is the first of the 32bit slots on my Tyan 2460. Slot 6 is empty.

I'm trying to keep the card out of the first 4 (ie. 64bit) slots 'cos I have a gigE card in there (thanks Clocker!). The sound card is no happier in a 64bit slot anyway.

Still no sound as I said, but at least no lockups either.

 

[James]

Still no sound as I said, but at least no lockups either.

Of course, I could get this result with no sound card installed at all.