Updated info for P4 HT users and GU 49 (Update: 10-19-2008)

[WastedChances]

<p>Greetings,Sorry for starting a new thread but I tried to reply to the original thread:<a rel="nofollow" href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/posts/list.m?topic_id=431930" target="_blank">http://forums.station.sony.com/eq2/...topic_id=431930</a>and it kept timing out.</p><p>At any rate, I decided to see if Intel had any driver updates for my system and was fortunateto find both a BIOS and chipset update.Their site can be a bit confusing however, here is what I did:My board is a few years old; D865GLC. So I downloaded the BIOS express installation listed underthe "865 chipset" section. This can be run from Windows and will power off (and back on) your PCautomatically. My original BIOS was from 2005 and the update was from 2008. I then looked under the "desktop boards > 865 boards > D865GLC" section to download driversfor my chipset. Again, runs from Windows and updated my chipset from 2006 to 2007.Note: The BIOS did not explicitly state "D865GLC" like the chipset did. It simply said "865 series" or somesuch. This is fine, all the 865 use the same BIOS.<b>And on to the good news: EQ2 ran (with HT enabled in BIOS and multi-core disabled in game) withoutany lockups for over 8 hours. I made sure to do everything I did in the past when lockups occurred.</b>Not 100% sure if this is "the fix" for everyone but I'd recommend browsing Intel's website (if you usea genuine Intel processor / motherboard) and grabbing updated BIOS and chipset drivers.Now keep in mind that this is only one day of testing. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get back on for morebut it seems to be a step in the right direction.Note:The BIOS update will seem strange to most (I'm sure). It will literally power off your PC and then powerit back on (would like to know that trick). The screen will stay blank for a few minutes and your PC will startbeeping; THIS IS OK. Don't touch it. Eventually it will boot back into Windows.I strongly recommend either hooking your PC up to a UPS (battery backup) so you can't lose power duringthis process -OR- download the "restore BIOS" from the same area and follow the instructions to createa bootable floppy. If the worst happens you can restore your original BIOS with that.</p>

[TSR-DanielH]

This may fix some issues but I wouldn't advise following those instructions unless you are very comfortable with your computer abilities.  If you're the slightest bit unsure then I would take your computer to a professional so that they can help you.  BIOS work isn't recommended for a novice user since you can cause a lot problems if you don't do it just right and those issues can be hard to reverse.  I have a P4 w/HT myself and have updated the BIOS several times but I've been building computers for more than a decade now.<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" />

[WastedChances]

<cite>TSR-DanielH wrote:</cite><blockquote>This may fix some issues but I wouldn't advise following those instructions unless you are very comfortable with your computer abilities.  If you're the slightest bit unsure then I would take your computer to a professional so that they can help you.  BIOS work isn't recommended for a novice user since you can cause a lot problems if you don't do it just right and those issues can be hard to reverse.  I have a P4 w/HT myself and have updated the BIOS several times but I've been building computers for more than a decade now.<img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" width="15" height="15" /></blockquote><p>I'd have to agree and should've mentioned that in my OP. I've been writing Win32 apps. for over 15 yearsand personally feel very comfortable with updating my system.</p><p><b>To reiterate though: Updating your BIOS can leave your system inoperable if something goes wrong. Pleasedon't attempt to do it yourself unless you're <u>100%</u> sure you know what you're doing and <u>110%</u> sure youwon't have any power interrupts during the process.</b></p><p>That said, it didn't fix the problem anyway. It did make the hardlocks less frequent however they do stilloccurr at random times.</p>

[Baalthaza]

<p>i'm having the lock up issues as well since GU49...i updated my chipset but did not mess with the BIOS update.</p><p>i did however go into the BIOS and turned off hyperthreading and now i do not have trouble with lock ups.</p><p>not much of a fix because it totally [Removed for Content] my computer but at least i can play.</p>

[Wingrider01]

<cite>Baalthazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote><p>i'm having the lock up issues as well since GU49...i updated my chipset but did not mess with the BIOS update.</p><p>i did however go into the BIOS and turned off hyperthreading and now i do not have trouble with lock ups.</p><p>not much of a fix because it totally [Removed for Content] my computer but at least i can play.</p></blockquote>It really does not "totaly [Removed for Content]" your computer, HT was a virutal implementation on the older Intel based processors and actually caused more support issues with the various OS's and applications then it improved performance for. The architecture did not really stay around very long and was phased out in favor of the current technology, it was never improved on by Intel

[WastedChances]

<p>Update: 10-19-2008 </p><p>Ok, I think I'm narrowing down the problem... Creative Soundblaster X-Fi drivers.</p><p>I was running with the "latest" (two years old) drivers and having the hardlock problem. I decided to see if therewere any newer drivers. There were in fact BETA drivers available so I installed them.</p><p>Hardlocks still persisted though not as frequently (possibly due to my BIOS and chipset upgrade). At any case,I was running with EAX 3 so I switched it to EAX 2. No luck. Hardlocks still persisted.</p><p>I then decided to try Miles and guess what... no hardlocks in a couple days. Unfortunately though after acouple hours of play using Miles, I get a DirectX 9 error: E_OUTOFMEMORY.</p><p>So it would appear that GU 49 doesn't like Creative drivers when using EAX however Miles crashes withmemory issues. At least the Miles problem has warning signs (game becomes sluggish) so I can restart itand get another couple hours of playtime.</p><p>Side note:</p><p>The Creative drivers start a bunch of needless processes, one of which monitors your system for headphonesso it can automatically mute the speakers. Removing all these extraneous processes made EQ2 run a wholebunch smoother (yes, even when EAX is not the chosen processor).I can post instructions on how to remove these processes if anyone feels it would be useful.</p>