pcmhacking.net

Getting there with the PC. damn is been hard work as every driver/software has failed in someway and not told me whats wrong.

for instance I had an issue installing the Ethernet card driver, all of the sudden it asks for the win98 disk so I put it in the other CD drive while installing the driver off the other. Shit ass kodak drive dies and can't read the CD. So I swap them over, then its too dumb to look at the other drive and dialog options don't allow me to look at the other drive. It also physically locked the drives from opening on one of my several attempts.

So I some files are skipped and windows complains looking for them on start up but doesn't tell me where or want they are for. Googled it and they were for the microsoft network client.

Client shows as installed but its obviously missing files. Remove it and its suppose to ask for the CD. did this 3 times with no luck. Just so happen when I had the CD in the drive at a point I installed the client and without warning it copies files over from the CD. WTF!

So finally network is going.

Then I had dramas with the sound card. Got the latest correct drivers, the install would hang every time without fail at 18%. For the life of me I couldn't work it out.

After doing other stuff in the bios I noticed the card was disabled. So enabled it and sure enough it installs. I love how creative tell you nothing and sits there like a dumb ass.

After that I had issues with any game crashing and man hours at looking at stuff I remembered dxdiag. Ran that, dies! can't do directX. I worked out its because windows was trying to run both cards at the same time, the 5500FX and the built in intel one. I already checked in the bios. Only options was to select AGP or PCI to disply with so I assumed that all it was to disable the built in one, nope not the case. I saw a standard PCI (even though intel one was AGP bus) showing in the device manager. I had to tick a box to tell it not to be used.

Fixed the direct 3D issue, but I noticed the creative soundblaster 128 doesn't even support direct sound ? explains why games have no sound but basic windows sounds are there.

So anyway only sound and mouse to sort out how and buy a genuine copy of NFS5, my install folder of 16 years has had an uncountable amount of file tinkering to make it work to the current versions of windows and I don't have a fresh original so the game cracks the shits, readily available original demo works fine though. With DX11 and the GTX 980 this game no longer worked as there is no legacy DX support at all. At least with this vintage PC I will be able to not only run it but also run it at its full graphics.

The newer OS's, drivers and DX versions lost graphic features and degraded the visuals something shocking.

Yeah your having IRQ conflicts, 98se was a little better at helping, but you still needed to assign IRQ's manually in the bios and/or play swap the slot. You swap cards into different isa/pci slots so the os can sort out the conflicts...Was thinking of doing this myself so I can run the stack of voodoo/3dfx games I have here
Drivers are a pain as the sites that use to have them are long gone...You have to look for the retro gamer forums or dig deep into the dark recesses of the net:)

but I don't have a IRQ conflict though. I literally had both cards working. I could plug the monitor into either and get the display. The bios lacks the ability to turn off the built in one so I had to disable it via driver in device manager rather than at hardware level.

Its an intel workstation board with no AGP slot rather an internal AGP bus to the built in intel graphics. So I guess they never thought anyone would want to run an external card like I have.

Got the sound to work. Had to disable hardware acceleration completely and now it works on software buffering pretty decent.

Had no idea why this is the case but it works so who cares.

Anyone got a copy of win2k and key?

Im finding there is huge limitations on this motherboard. No way to physically turn off the onboard and what I thought was an intel on board was actually a TNT riva. So explains why the games crack the major shits even though the on board is disabled at a software level. I got games to work with just the onboard itself and the PCI card removed to it proves my theory that 2 cards can't be run in one PC of this age without a supporting drivers/OS/hardware etc..

So Im thinking I scrap the guts and get one of these bad boys.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/281903376665 ... EBIDX%3AIT

2 of these.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/151367970626 ... EBIDX%3AIT

And then I can play with any sort of period GPU I like as it has AGP and might even support PCI-E although Im not sure its the same sort of PCI-E as what the GPUs used being a server board.

Im best to test out win2k on this one as I know 98 doesn't natively support dual or multi core CPUs. 2k does, 98 does run but not share workloads across CPUs, rather iirc just can run one app on one and if there is another app running it might land on the other CPU?

I think its called SMP and only NT class of OS and unix etc had it. 9x and ME lacked this.

Also another reason for the board change is the fact this built in soundblaster is a piece of shit! still can't get it to work, now doesn't work at all (driver related) Drivers from creative are fucked!

I know for a fact my SB live 24bit worked great but again lack of drivers on creative's behalf only ever made 2k and xp drivers for this card and this card is when majority of users back then were still on 98 and 95. makes no sense! Oh to add a note, this card only worked correctly on 2k and XP drivers was shite. So basically a 1 OS card

Jumpers for setting stuff! unlike this intel board. has none and can't set anything in the bios other than very basic stuff.

vlad01 wrote:Damn straight!

Eaton/Harrop HTV1900 anyone?

Had you seen this build before Vlad ?
Running it through a hybrid A2A/W2A intercooler set up. Using a 85mm pulley was still giving it 14 psi, but a larger pulley was not an option as even with k-Frame spacers & Tuff mounts it was rubbing the bonnet.

Cheers

Holy shit nice

OZ38 wrote:... but a larger pulley was not an option as even with k-Frame spacers & Tuff mounts it was rubbing the bonnet.

sounds like group A scoop time ??

yeah I contacted harrop and they already have an adapter plate for non intercooler setup but still leaves the pulley at 85mm dia close.

I want to have theirs or my own design with the charger sunk into the plate so its only 10mm + gasket above the LIM giving about 25mm clearance to the bonnet insulation mat with 85mm pulley (biggest off the shelf harrop pulley) so more clearance as you go smaller.

Don't need intercooling with E85 and moderate boost.