Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1: Why does my system get an error message when it runs Ziff-Davis Winstone98® Corel Draw or Word Prefect tests in Windows98 but not in Windows95?

Answer: ZD found a problem with the interaction between Winstone 98 and Internet Explorer 4.01 that triggers the error message you received. The good news is you can simply click on the Ignore button when you get this particular error message. Because it occurs during Winstone's Task Switching test, which doesn't affect your combined results, you will still get an accurate overall Business Winstone score.

Question 2: Why can't I change my AGP card to higher resolution/color modes under Windows98 with my 440GX motherboard?

Answer: You need to download and install Intel's 440GX chipset driver.
Click to download the 440GX driver for Windows95(584K) or Windows98(581K).

Question 3: Why do I get a red X through a device's icon, or an exclamation point in a yellow circle next to the computer's system devices or video adapter in the Device Manager in Windows95?

Answer: This issue can occur if you are using an Accelerated Graphics Port(AGP) video adapter. Because Windows 95 was developed prior to AGP video technology, AGP video adapters may cause resource conflicts to appear in the Device Manager. *Windows98 has built-in AGP support. Note that this may occur even if all of your computer's devices are working correctly.

Question 4: When loading Windows 95, the operating system finds an unknown PCI device. What is this device?

Answer: Windows 95 is a "Plug and Play" operating system that tries to identify all hardware and devices on your system and motherboard. When Windows 95 does not recognize a device, it will give an "Unknown Device Found" message. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is one of these devices.

Question 5: How can I install multiple monitors in Windows98? Anything I need to know about this feature?
Answer: The following link page provides some information regarding the Windows98 multiple monitors feature.
http://support.atitech.ca/win98/multiple_displays.html
Microsoft also provides some information regarding this topic in the "Knowledge Base" section of their web site.

Question 6: How do I enable an IDE bus master under WindowsNT/98/95 or non-Windows operating systems?
Answer: The correct way to use PCI IDE BUS MASTERING is described below:
1. For non- Windows OS, enable PCI IDE bus mastering in the BIOS setup.
2. For Windows NT 4.0/95/ or OS/2, use the PCI IDE bus mastering drivers supplied by the OS, or the drivers supplied by Intel® (Intel® writes all PCI IDE bus mastering drivers).
3. Do not enable both software (PCI IDE Bus Mastering drivers) and hardware (the BIOS PCI IDE Bus Mastering option) PCI IDE Bus Mastering at the same time.
*Windows98 includes most of the built-in drivers.

Windows NT FAQs

Q1	Where can I find and install Service Packs ?
Q2	How large a capacity of hard disk drive can NT support?
Q3	Why do I get the error message "Disk Partition Too Large" when trying to install Windows NT on a partition larger than 4.1Gb? Is there a workaround?
Q4	My Windows NT installation diskettes are damaged. How do I create the NT installation disks?
Q5	Why do my the windows blink and flash when moved?
Q6	After installing a second CPU, NT still recognizes only one CPU processor. Why?
Q7	During the installation of Windows NT on your dual processor motherboard with two processors, only one CPU is detected. Why is the second CPU not detected?
Q8	Why do I get a 30 second-delay on the first NT bootup blue screen?
Q9	Why do I get an error message "STOP 0x00000078 ?
Q10	How much memory can NT support?
Q11	Does Windows NT 4.0 support USB?
Q12	Where can I find the resource kit?
Q13	I want to use Windows NT on a dual processor motherboard. Are there any special considerations I need to be aware of?
Q14	What is the quickest and easiest way to install Windows NT?
Q15	Video adapter drivers will not install on my 440BX/GX motherboard - what can I do to correct this?
Q16	I have upgraded to a single processor motherboard from a dual processor-based motherboard running Windows NT. Now I get a screen dump when loading Windows NT - what's wrong?
Q17	What installation tips on installing Windows NT can you offer?
Q18	Does Windows NT support UltraDMA/33 hard drives?
Q19	Why do I get the error message "Stop 0x0000007B Inaccessible Boot Device" during the Windows NT 4.0 Hardware Detection portion of the setup?

Question 1: Where can I find and install Service Packs

Answer: Microsoft is up to Service Pack 6a but for compatibility reasons they still offer service pack 3, 4 or 5.
1. Double click on the service pack of your choice and download it.
   Service Pack 3
   Service Pack 4
   Service Pack 5
   Service Pack 6a

2. The file will be verified and then uncompressed to a temporary area (you can make it uncompress without installing by typing the service pack name with /x at the end
3. Click Next to install and click Yes to accept the license agreement.
4. Click Next and then select "Yes, Create Uninstall".
5. Click Next, then Finish.
6. You will then have to reboot .

Question 2: How large a capacity of hard disk drive can NT support?

Answer: NT can view a maximum partition size of 2 terabytes (or 2,199,023,255,552 bytes), however there are limitations that restrict you well below this number. FAT has internal limits of 4 GB due to the fact that it uses 16-bit fields to store file sizes, 2^16 is 65,536 with a cluster size of 64 KB gives us the 4 GB. HPFS uses 32-bit fields and can therefore handle greater sized disks, but the largest single file size is 4 GB. HPFS allocates disk space in 512 byte sectors, which can cause problems in Asian markets where sector sizes are typically 1024 bytes, meaning HPFS cannot be used. NTFS uses 64-bits for all sizes, leading to a max size of..... 16 exabytes!!! (18,446,744,073,709,551,616 bytes), however NT could not handle a volume this big. For IDE drives, the maximum is 136.9 GB, however for a standard IDE drive this is constrained to 528 MB. The new EIDE drives can access much larger sizes. It is important to note that the System partition (holding ntldr, boot.ini, etc.) MUST be entirely within the first 7.8 Gb of any disk (if this is the same as the boot partition this limit applies). This is due to the BIOS int 13H interface used by ntldr to bootstrap up to the point where it can drive the native HDD IDE or SCSI. int 13H presents a 24 bit parameter for cylinder/head/sector for a drive. If, say by defragmentation, the system is moved beyond this point you will not be able to boot the system.

Question 3: Why do I get an error message "Disk Partition too large" when trying to install Windows NT on a partition larger then 4.1Gb? Is there a workaround?

Answer:Microsoft does not recommend the Operating System (OS) be installed on partition larger then 4.1Gb, because of cluster size and possibility of data corruption. Windows NT installation program will not allow you to create or format larger then 4.1Gb to install the OS. The work around is to format your drive on an existing Windows NT system to the full size or at least over this 4.1Gb barrier and then perform the installation on the existing partition. The second work around is to install Windows NT on a partition smaller then the 4.1Gb barrier then use "Partition Magic" to resize the partition. Again, it is not recommend having your OS on a partition larger then 4.1Gb.

Please see additional information at Microsoft's knowledge base web site at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q197/6/67.asp

Question 4: My Windows NT installation diskettes are damaged,How do I create the NT installation disks?

Answer: Follow the procedure below: 1.Insert your NT Workstation/Server CD 2.From the Start Menu, select Run 3.If you are not running NT on the machine you are making the disks from enter :\i386\winnt /ox If you are running NT: :\i386\winnt32 /ox 4.You will have to put in 3 blank, formatted disks to create the NT installation disk.

Question 5: Why the windows blink and flash when moved.

Answer:If you are using the graphics card at 1600 x 1200 resolution in True Color (24-bit) or True Color (32-bit) mode, a window's frame may blink or flash when you drag the window across the screen. This is a known problem with the using of MGA Matrox Millenium graphics card, to resolve, enable the Show Window Contents While Dragging option from the Plus tab on the Display control dialog (Start - Settings - Control Panel - Display)

Question 6: After installing a second CPU, NT still recognize only one CPU processor. Why?

Answer: When moving from a single CPU to dual-CPU, multiprocessor versions of a number of NT files, including the HAL and the OS kernel, must be installed. The UPTOMP.EXE utility, contained in the NT Resource Kits, installs the multiprocessor files. The files can be installed manually. Finally, if you install the multiprocessor files on a system to which a Service Pack has been applied, you probably need to reapply the Service Pack after running UPTOMP.EXE and before rebooting. Until you reapply the Service Pack your disk contains a mix of file versions, with the multiprocessor files at the revision level of the distribution media and files already present at the Service Pack revision level. Such a mix of versions can cause your reboot to fail.
(see the MS Knowledge Base articles Q156358 "How to Manually Add Support for a Second Processor" and Q168132 "After Applying Service Pack NT Reports Single Processor"). The MS Knowledge Base article Q142660 ( http://support.microsoft.com/support ) "Upgrade from Uni- to Multiprocessor (Uptomp.exe) and Win32k.sys" describes a known problem when using UPTOMP.EXE on a version 4.0 NT system. The fix, described in the article, adding the following line to the file uptomp.inf, located at the base directory of the Resource Kit installation, e.g., reskit. win32k.sys = 0, 2, win32k.sys
Other Microsoft's links may help you:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q124/5/41.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q156/3/58.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q156/6/12.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q126/6/08.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q168/1/32.asp

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q142/6/60.asp

Question 7: During the installation of Windows NT on your dual processor motherboard with two processors, only one CPU is detected. Why is the second CPU not detected?

Answer: This is normal for Windows NT installation. The Windows NT installation program has not yet generated the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that can utilizes multiprocessors. When Windows NT reboots to complete the installation, the HAL will detect and use the second CPU.

Question 8: Why do I get 30 seconds delay on the first NT bootup blue screen?

Answer:. Each dot is part of the boot-time chkdsk (autochk.exe), and each 3 dots represent one drive so there should be 3* dots. Sometimes if something is wrong with that drive the startup will be delayed. However there is a known problem with NT if your computer has one or more IDE disks and one or more SCSI disks which results in a pause of around 30 seconds. The problem is due to the detection code used by NT and is currently being investigated by Microsoft.

Question 9: Why do I get an error message "STOP 0x00000078 ?

Answer: This can be caused by a bug in Windows NT where the error is produced if the NonPagedPoolSize is greater than 7/8 of your physical memory. To correct this perform the following: 1.Start the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) 2.Move to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management 3.Double click on NonPagedPoolSize 4.Change this to less than 7/8's of your physical memory (or set to 0 to let NT dynamically set it). Click OK 5.Close the registry editor and reboot the computer

Question 10: How much memory can NT support?

Answer: NT is a 32-bit operating system which means it can support 2^32 amount of memory (4 Gigs). However NT splits memory into 2 parts, 2 gigs for the programs and 2 gigs for the Operating System.

Question 11: Does Windows NT 4.0 support USB?

Answer: Universal Serial Bus (USB) is the new external bus standard for the connection of PC peripherals. The idea behind USB is it will be plug and play and as devices are connected they will automatically be detected and installed. Windows NT 4.0 does not provide built in USB support, you will need to wait for Windows NT 5.0 or switch to Windows 98. Some boxes convert the USB devices into serial ports. However, Our AMI BIOS support Legacy USB devices such as USB Keyboard and USB mouse.

Question 12: Where can I find the resource kit?

Answer: You can purchase it online from a number of sources such as http://www.amazon.com. Updates to the Resource Kit tools are available from Microsoft Reskit.

Question 13: I want to use Windows NT on a dual processor motherboard. Are there any special considerations I need to be aware of?
Answer: Yes, Windows NT detects the capabilities of your motherboard and system. If you install Windows NT with two CPUs, the operating system will install flawlessly. Windows NT will auto-detect if one CPU is removed. If you install Windows NT with one CPU, then it is a different issue. Windows NT will detect a single CPU system and a single CPU hardware abstraction layer (HAL) will be installed. When a second CPU is installed on the motherboard, Windows NT will not recognize the second CPU. Windows NT's HAL will have to be modified using the Microsoft Resource Kit HAL conversion utility program, or a complete re-installation of Windows NT with two processors is required.

Question 14: What is the quickest and easiest way to install Windows NT?
Answer: By far the fastest and easiest way install Windows NT is to boot off of the Windows NT CDROM disc. This procedure will only work if there are embedded hard drive controller built-in Windows NT that matches your system. If Windows NT does not have drivers for your controller you must use the three installation diskettes and manually install the drivers for your mass storage devices.

Question 15: Video adapter drivers will not install on my 440BX/GX motherboard, what can I do to correct this.
Answer: The 440BX/GX-chipset motherboards must have service pack 3 or higher install for some video adapter drivers to be loaded. Please install service pack 3 to fully support these chipset motherboards.

Question 16: I have upgraded to a single processor motherboard from a dual processor-based motherboard running Windows NT. Now I get a screen dump when loading Windows NT, what is wrong?
Answer: A dual processor system generates a multiprocessor HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) when Windows NT is installed. This multiprocessor HAL cannot run on a single processor-based motherboard. The OS will have to be re-installed or the HAL will have to be converted to a single processor HAL before changing over the system.

Question 17: What installation tips on installing Windows NT can you offer?
Answer: For dual processors motherboards please review the following:

When installing with two processors, Windows NT detection will show only 1 processor, MPS Multiprocessor System. After the system first reboot, Windows NT detect show will both processors.
If you originally used two processors install Windows NT, you can safely remove the second processor at any time.
If you originally used one processor to install Windows NT and install the second processor later, your system will not detect the second processor. You must either convert the hardware abstraction layer or re-install Windows NT.

Question 18: Does Windows NT support UltraDMA/33 hard drives?
Answer: Window NT provides UltraDMA/33 support by using PCI IDE Bus Mastering drivers. These drivers must be installed in place of the default IDE ATAPI drivers in the SCSI folder.

Question 19: Why do I get an error message "Stop 0x0000007B Inaccessible Boot Device" During Windows NT 4.0 Hardware Detection Portion of Setup?
Answer: When you run Windows NT Setup, you may receive the following error message during the hardware detection phase: STOP:0x0000007B Inaccessible Boot Device. This behavior can occur if your computer contains a motherboard with an onboard Adaptec Dual-Channel Ultra Wide 7895 Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) controller. This controller is not on the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List (HCL), and is not detected correctly by Windows NT Setup. To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
1.Insert Windows NT Setup disk 1 in drive A, and then turn on or restart the computer.
2.When you are prompted to specify the mass storage devices, press S.
3.Provide the driver disks included with the motherboard.

Linux FAQs

Question 1: Where can I find Linux support for the Intel® CA810 / CA810E mother board.

Answer: The Intel® CA810e chipset motherboards (GT Part# MB570, MB571, MB572, MB576) are supported by RedHat Linux version 6.0, 6.1and 6.2. RedHat Linux will require extra steps to work with Intel's CA810e chipset. To get started you first need to download the below files:

I810Gtt-0.2-4.src.rpm - Chipset Driver Module

XFCom_i810-1.2-3.i386.rpm - X Windows Server

After you download these files, go into the directory where the files are located and type the following command at the prompt:

rpm -ivh XFCom-i810-1.2-3.i386.rpm

rpm --rebuild I810Gtt-0.2-4.src.rpm

After it compiles the chipset module, you will see a message near the bottom of the screen that says a directory that it wrote to. Type it in place of the path listed below:

rpm -Uvh /usr/src/redhat/RPMS/i386/I810Gtt-0.1-5.i386.rpm

When the RPM program has finished installing them to your system, Type the following commands:

cd /etc/X11
ln -sf /usr/X11R6/bin/XFCom_i810 X
modprobe agpgart

These commands will create a link to the Intel® video driver and will load the kernel support for this chipset.

The next step is to add the following lines to the XF86Config located in the /etc/X11 directory.
Section "Device"
Identifier "i810"
EndSection

These lines can be added after any of the Section "Device" statements. You may have to scroll down a little bit to get to them.

On the CA810 motherboard the video chipset will allocate 1mb of main memory for use as video memory. Because of this you must tell the Linux kernel that you have 1 mb less of memory.

To do this, we need to edit the '/etc/lilo.conf' file:

Open the 'lilo.conf' file located in the /etc directory in your text editor.

Next, Add the following statement in your linux section of the lilo.conf file:

append="mem=<memory size minus 1>mb"

for example if you have 64mb of ram you should have the following statement

append="mem=63mb"

Note: You must include "MB" right after your memory size, or linux will think your talking in bytes and most likely crash from low memory.

And your done! Hopefully everything worked right, and your system should be up and running. If your X Windows feels like its crawling, most likely you have not edited the lilo.conf correctly.

Sound Setup:

To setup the sound on the I810 simple type the following;
setup

Then, go into the "Sound Setup" section.

The setup will automatically detect the chipset

It will run a test and you will hear sound if all worked right.

Question 2: How do I configure the MD120 Zoom PCI modem to work with Redhat Linux?

Answer: Please ceck the following link for a complete step by step procedure.
http://www.pla.net.py/home/oliver/3com.html

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