BIBM Very Flaky - Settings or Hardware?

[Bob Coleman]

DrTeeth wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> It is not just my mouse that locks up, it is BIBM and I have to restart the
> PC. I cannot link the issue to any particular use - sometimes no lockups
> and sometimes there are. Something else to work on over the Xmas break
> .
>
> DrT

Yes, I was also referring to a complete lock up requiring a reboot rather than a mouse no longer working, but I do get the complete lock up by moving the mouse (actually rotating the trackball) at the wrong time.

[rustleg]

Hi Dr T
-------

My friend Richard (Graviton) is still offline until tomorrow, but I've been in contact. Would you be able to say what BIBM settings you used which are non-default? Also are there any particular non-default BIOS settings?

When he is able to select Display Settings from the BIBM Edit menu it only gives him one video option 640x480 16 colours, the other radio buttons which should be there aren't shown. This occurs even if he chooses a higher resolution in creating the USB boot media. On my system (Asus P6T) I don't even see 16 colours, I get all 6 choices either 256 or 64K colours. It looks like it's defaulting to VGA for some unknown reason.

What video card do you use? He hasn't tried flashing the video, because he also has problems with another video card. I loaned him my spare ATI graphics card and he says it is no different, so I don't think using different graphics firmware will help. However I've asked him to try this ATI card again and see if he can get something other than the VGA only choice.

He has a Winbond BIOS with code 25X16AVAIZ, is your BIOS the same?

Hi TBS(PP)
----------

See above - yes looks like it's only using VGA. What does he have to do to avoid it being forced into VGA mode? Also I haven't come across a config file - where is this?

(General comments)
------------------

Another thing occurs to me: His mouse is USB. Are there any USB settings which should be looked at? Bearing in mind he has disabled mouse support and still gets his problems.

When he explained to me what happens he says it draws the screen very slowly - you can see it filling up the screen from the top down, so not only VGA but extremely slow VGA.

[TeraByte Support]

the video settings are in bootitbm.ini - you can remove them all to set
defaults.

"rustleg" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

Hi Dr T
-------

My friend Richard (Graviton) is still offline until tomorrow, but I've been
in contact. Would you be able to say what BIBM settings you used which are
non-default? Also are there any particular non-default BIOS settings?

When he is able to select Display Settings from the BIBM Edit menu it only
gives him one video option 640x480 16 colours, the other radio buttons which
should be there aren't shown. This occurs even if he chooses a higher
resolution in creating the USB boot media. On my system (Asus P6T) I don't
even see 16 colours, I get all 6 choices either 256 or 64K colours. It looks
like it's defaulting to VGA for some unknown reason.

What video card do you use? He hasn't tried flashing the video, because he
also has problems with another video card. I loaned him my spare ATI
graphics card and he says it is no different, so I don't think using
different graphics firmware will help. However I've asked him to try this
ATI card again and see if he can get something other than the VGA only
choice.

He has a Winbond BIOS with code 25X16AVAIZ, is your BIOS the same?

Hi TBS(PP)
----------

See above - yes looks like it's only using VGA. What does he have to do to
avoid it being forced into VGA mode? Also I haven't come across a config
file - where is this?

(General comments)
------------------

Another thing occurs to me: His mouse is USB. Are there any USB settings
which should be looked at? Bearing in mind he has disabled mouse support and
still gets his problems.

When he explained to me what happens he says it draws the screen very
slowly - you can see it filling up the screen from the top down, so not only
VGA but extremely slow VGA.

[TeraByte Support(PP)]

Also, check the TBOSBOOT.STR file in the BIBM partition. If the "BOOTITBM" line contains the /s parameter then it will force VGA mode. In that case, delete the /s, save the file, and reboot.

[DrTeeth]

On Thu, 13 Dec 2012 07:01:02 PST, just as I was about to take a herb,
rustleg disturbed my reverie and wrote:

>What video card do you use? He hasn't tried flashing the video, because he also has problems with another video card. I loaned him my spare ATI graphics card and he says it is no different, so I don't think using different graphics firmware will help. However I've asked him to try this ATI card again and see if he can get something other than the VGA only choice.

I have an MSI nVidia 560Ti. Flashing the BIOS of a graphics card is
not exactly a user-friendly activity. I doubt it is supported by the
majority of card manufacturers as they do not usually make BIOSs
available to the public. HD drives have only just started being
firmware upgradeable by end-users.

>He has a Winbond BIOS with code 25X16AVAIZ, is your BIOS the same?

Where would this BIOS be? My MB has the same BIOS as your friend's.
--

Cheers

DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).

[rustleg]

DrTeeth wrote:
> ... <snip>
>
> >He has a Winbond BIOS with code 25X16AVAIZ, is your BIOS the same?
>
> Where would this BIOS be? My MB has the same BIOS as your friend's.
> --
>
> Cheers
>
> DrT

I meant the actual chip on the MB. It is in a socket, should be 8 pins, 4 each side.

Actually we were wondering if the actual BIOS chip was faulty, but with the number of replies which seem to indicate that this sort of problem is not uncommon, maybe it's ok. He tried to find another one to buy but couldn't find one with the same codes.

[DrTeeth]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:57:45 PST, just as I was about to take a herb,
"TeraByte Support" disturbed my
reverie and wrote:

>You could try chipset instead of VESA video if so, also ensure you didn't
>force VGA mode. Some graphic controllers VESA support are sluggish in
>certain modes.

I tried using the chipset over the VESA setting. I successfully
installed on my laptop and the lag seems to have gone.

However, on my main PC, the 'reinstall' locks up at the "Reading 3
BIOS hard drives to gather data for SATA Bias option...Done". Can this
issue be overcome?
--

Cheers

DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).

[DrTeeth]

On Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:57:45 PST, just as I was about to take a herb,
"TeraByte Support" disturbed my
reverie and wrote:

> As far as mouse issue, that's coming from the BIOS out of
>sync with the mouse (loosing packets/etc) which occurs when other BIOS Int's
>are active when mouse moved or during mode switches to/from real/protected
>(some BIOSes can also lockup or reboot) - disable mouse support to start
>there.

I assume you mean mouse support in the BIOS? I have only three USB
options:-
USB functions - enabled
Legacy USB support - Enabled
BIOS EHCI handoff - disabled

I cannot see that there is much to change there.
--

Cheers

DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).

[TeraByte Support]

use vesa mode for that one.

"DrTeeth" wrote in message news:[email protected]...

On Tue, 11 Dec 2012 21:57:45 PST, just as I was about to take a herb,
"TeraByte Support"

disturbed my
reverie and wrote:

>You could try chipset instead of VESA video if so, also ensure you didn't
>force VGA mode. Some graphic controllers VESA support are sluggish in
>certain modes.

I tried using the chipset over the VESA setting. I successfully
installed on my laptop and the lag seems to have gone.

However, on my main PC, the 'reinstall' locks up at the "Reading 3
BIOS hard drives to gather data for SATA Bias option...Done". Can this
issue be overcome?
--

Cheers

DrT
______________________________
We may not be able to prevent the stormy times in
our lives; but we can always choose whether or not
to dance in the puddles (Jewish proverb).

[Graviton]

Hi;
Thank you all for your advice regarding my on-going problems with BIBM on my system, and my apologies for the long time in reply. Reading your replies it would seem less likely that I have a hardware fault; perhaps more likely a incompatibility problem. I have tried all of your suggestions, but without any success. Without using BIBM the computer behaves responsively, but not using BIBM on the machine is not an option I wish to be stuck with.

For the while though, I shall leave the hardware as is, but may later on purchase a new motherboard and CPU. However, this brings me to another question; can someone tell me if there is a Intel i5 Processor / Motherboard combination that definitely works BIBM quickly and responsively? My memory is DDR3 so hopefully I will be able to re-use that.

In the meantime I will see about further experimenting with the information you have suggested, just in case there is something that I have missed. It is ironic that my spare computer, about six years old, with a little Foxconn motherboard and a 3GHz Pentium 4 Processor shoots through the BIBM menus in the blink of an eye!

In the meantime I wish you all a Happy and Enjoyable New Year, and happy computing!
Kind regards; Richard.