Perhaps for XP/Server2003/WHS, you should be using the previous v2.17 BIOS. What I can do is make a v2.17 BIOS with the SI SATA ROM v5.4.0.3. BTW, you are positive that your board is an HDAMA rev.G right?
illingworth22 - I uploaded some old HDAMA revG BIOS 2.17 mods to my first post. If you think your problem is BIOS related, you might try going back to the last stable 2.17 version. I believe the 2.18 was meant for Vista/7/Server2008. Let me know if you're going to need a bootable ISO to flash the BIOS.
The difference is the Silicom Image SATA ROM version. I have no idea what's different because Silicon Image did not publish the changes. So the choice is yours. But I'll make you an bootable ISO image to burn to CD soon, which will give you the option of flashing the original 2.17, 2.17 + SI 5.4.0.3, or 2.17 + SI 5.5.0.0.
Lockups Hi, I have a HDAMA Rev G with a 3ware riser card rather than the integrated Silicon Image SATA controller. I was running the 2.18b bios (I think) for months with WHS Vail which was totally stable. However, the noise was starting to drive me mad so tried the v2.18B + Silicon Image SIL3114 v5.5.0.0 + ACPI DSDT PowerNow mod for Opteron 250 E4 (OSA250FAA5BL) version. The CPU was being throttled correctly according to CPU-Z but have been having random lockups often after an hour or so of uptime. Any help with which bios to flash would be massively appreciated - would really like the Powernow features as it massively reduced temperatures/fan speed. Hopefully I've put all the right details below. Here's the Fedora Powernow output powernow-k8: 0 : fid 0x10 (2400 MHz), vid 0x6 powernow-k8: 1 : fid 0xe (2200 MHz), vid 0x8 powernow-k8: 2 : fid 0xc (2000 MHz), vid 0xa powernow-k8: 3 : fid 0xa (1800 MHz), vid 0xc powernow-k8: 4 : fid 0x2 (1000 MHz), vid 0x12 powernow-k8: 0 : fid 0x10 (2400 MHz), vid 0x6 powernow-k8: 1 : fid 0xe (2200 MHz), vid 0x8 powernow-k8: 2 : fid 0xc (2000 MHz), vid 0xa powernow-k8: 3 : fid 0xa (1800 MHz), vid 0xc powernow-k8: 4 : fid 0x2 (1000 MHz), vid 0x12 And the CPU-Z details Processor 1ID = 0 Number of cores1 (max 1) Number of threads1 (max 1) NameAMD Opteron 250 (2P) CodenameTroy SpecificationAMD Opteron(tm) Processor 250 Package Socket 940 CPUIDF.5.1 Extended CPUIDF.25 Brand ID16 Core SteppingE4 Technology90 nm Core Speed2405.7 MHz Multiplier x FSB12.0 x 200.5 MHz HT Link speed601.4 MHz Stock frequency2400 MHz Instructions setsMMX (+), 3DNow! (+), SSE, SSE2, SSE3, x86-64 L1 Data cache64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size L1 Instruction cache64 KBytes, 2-way set associative, 64-byte line size L2 cache1024 KBytes, 16-way set associative, 64-byte line size FID/VID Controlyes Max FID12.0x Max VID1.450 V K8 Thermal sensoryes K8 Revision ID4.1
Sorry, AFAIK there's nothing else to change. The Linux PowerNow output matches the "AMD Opteron Processor Power and Thermal Data Sheet". When you use the BIOS w/o the PowerNow, what voltage does CPU-Z say you're currently using? Is it 1.400V or 1.450V? There might be one other variable to tweak (PLL Lock Time)...but I was using the recommended default value of 2usec's...perhaps I need to increase that to 3usec's.
I have Ikea wardrobes to assemble and fit this weekend, but will try to escape for an hour. I will try to update the Broadcom driver first as the Server was running fine for a few hours last night. I then did a manual back up and the status got to 98% then Server froze. This may be a NIC driver problem. Many thanks for all your time and effort tho! Richard.
OK it is looking like the Bios is my very last option for this piece of sh1....t computer. I tried to upgrade the NIC driver last night and the server once again froze. One last question to anyone before I flash with the previous Bios. How do I run chkdsk on WHS, from the server direct or from a consol connection? Also which switch do I use after chkdsk?
notginger - Thanks...I don't have time today but maybe tonight I can build you a BIOS to test with the PLL Lock Time set to 3usec versus the default 2usec. I've seen some posts online where people with Athlon64's had reference to a 3usec PLL Lock Time. Or perhaps the HDAMA-G motherboard and/or BIOS is not good with 2usec PLL Lock Time in general since the user who asked for the Opteron 280 (OSP280...) had similar lockups at random times.
From inside Windows, you probably need to right-click on the drive and go to Properties->Tools-Error Checking. Then choose the option to auto fix errors which will probably require a reboot. BTW I forget if I asked you before, but you have used Memtest86+ to check your RAM right? Also have you looked at the capacitors on your motherboard to make sure that none of them are bulged or leaked?
Tqhoang, I've tried RMclock but unfortunately I don't think the free utility works with WHS even running it with administrator rights - from what I could glean from the forums I'd need the €15 Pro version with the signed RTclock64 driver. I'm happy to go ahead and pay for this if it's the best way forward, would RMclock be able to do the same CPU scaling as the PowerNow bios anyway? Thanks again!
Yes, it does enable the CPU frequency/voltage scaling and it appears to do a lot more. I'll make that one mod for you but if it doesn't work, your only option might be to buy RMClock. Out of curiosity, could you post the motherboard's model number that's on the white sticker. I'm curious if the problem has to do with early G models or not.