Strange problem with SAta and Sound on GigaByte GA-7N400 Pro2 (Rev2)

3len3len
edited July 2006 in Hardware
Hi to all,
after updating to latest bios (thanks Equito! :)) on mobo bios and Sata bios, i have the same strange problem :

I have a Hitachi 250 GB attached attached on the Sata channel , and a Terratec DMX/Fire 24/96 as Soundcard.
When I try to do I/O operation (ie. copy a file or read or write) on the Hitachi disk (on the Sata), the sound creep and distort (as if the system is almost collapsing), but when the I/O is terminated everything comes back to normal.
After all the possible test. Is only the Sata hitachi that gives this problem.


Important note : THE SAME PROBLEM happens on a ASUS a7N8xe deluxe.
Is pheraps the silicon controller the cause? (i think so)

Anyone experimenting something similar? For this reason i'm thinkin of to
change Sata hitachi with the Ide version :banghead:

Thanks

Comments

  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited October 2004
    It may or may not help actually. What sound device are you using? Playing with the pci latency of the two devices that seem to be effected is maybe a possibility. And trying to see if they are possibly sharing one of the four available board level IRQ's or the many windows level IRQ's is a big clue. The board level irq's are displayed as you boot and sandra can show you the windows level irq's that are really more like "virtual irq's". Is the sata controller the onboard one? What about the sound? If so you don't have many options beyond playing with the latency or using a sound card/raid card versus the onboard sound as you could move it around to differant slots to make sure its IRQ isnt being shared.

    You can use powerstrip to tweak the pci latency of individual devices. In effect this was doing the same things we did when using the old VIA latency patchs especially with soundblaster sound cards because they are such bus hogs. Go check what the devices are set at now with sandra and post back.

    Tex
  • 3len3len
    edited October 2004
    UPDATE : Thanks Tex for the PCI Latency Idea, i've made all possible settings, changing slots in order to avoid IRQ sharing, setting the latency high or low with Powerstrip etc.. etc.. etc..
    The best I can obtain is like an "FM Interference" on I/O operation (the sad thing is that hearing the FM noise over a CD make me a bit laughing :D ).
    In conclusion, i think (basing on the FM Interference) that there is some rare, very strange low level hardware incompatibility between the Silicon Chip on the motherboard and the Terratec Sound Chip.
    All I can do is to test the HD on a PCI SAta controller :bawling:
    Oh I forget : thanks spinner for the VERY clear reply on Bios Flashing :thumbsup:
  • alexwalexw
    edited November 2004
    Hi,

    I have this same problem and found this thread via a google search while looking for solutions.

    My system is as follows (please ask for more details if needed):

    Abit NF7-S v2.0
    Athlon XP 2500+
    512MB Corsair RAM
    160GB Samsung IDE HDD on SATA1 port using Serillel2 adaptor
    Terratec DMX 6fire 24/96

    Everything's been running fine since I built the pc back in May.

    Having filled this hard disk, I added a second, and went for a Maxtor DiamondMax10 200GB SATA.
    It installed fine on the SATA2 port.

    However, whenever I copy or move files on/to/from the new HDD the sound from the terratec becomes distorted. As described above it slows down mainly. It returns to normal as soon as the hard disk operation is over.

    The Abit NF7-S also uses the SiliconImage 3112A SATA Driver, with a separate SATA controller chipset on the mobo.
    See here:
    http://www.abit-usa.com/products/mb/techspec.php?categories=1&model=6

    I have the terratec in PCI slot 3, and having disabled the Parallel ports in BIOS it appears to have its own IRQ, both in the list on boot up and also in XPs virtual IRQs.
    I have tried a little bit of fiddling with the PCI latencies using the programme PowerStrip, but have not had any noticeable improvements.

    I also tried swapping the two drives over, and also running the PC with the Samsung connected to an IDE channel and just the Maxtor on the SATA1 port. In all cases I still had the same problems.

    I listen to music almost constantly, so really need to get this sorted.
    I'm not sure I can afford to write off the SATA HDD and replace it with a new IDE.

    If anyone has any advice then I would really appreciate your help.

    In particular, would using a PCI sata controller card improve things instead of using the inbuilt SiliconImage controller?

    Thanks

    Yours hopefully

    alexw
  • SkrekkurSkrekkur
    edited July 2006
    I have a similar problem, but with a totally different system.
    My System:
    Asus P4C800-E Deluxe
    P4 2,8ghz
    1024 400 mhz DDR
    Sound : Creative Audigy 2 ZS

    I started having this problem after I started using the Promise controller, more- It is responsable for 2 SATA ports and 1 IDE channel, first I thought this was a particular hard-drive, but know that seems disproven, since it happens now with other drives that end up on this controller.
    I also suspected a crooked pin on the extra IDE channel (I kinda adjusted it but it still seems shorter than the others).

    This kinda sucks because this affects 4 devices in full setup, This is hopefully a driver issue, but it might well be something else.

    If you guys have found something on this subject on other forums I would greatly appriciate links.
    Aevar
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