Malik wrote:

Hmmm...the PSU being used in this system is a new one, though. About 3 months old. Still, I can't rule out a defect. I'll try ch […]
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Hmmm...the PSU being used in this system is a new one, though. About 3 months old. Still, I can't rule out a defect. I'll try changing it some time.

I've tried with different RAM sticks - both PC-100 and PC-133. Same result.

EDIT: For all these trials, I use only single-module PC-133 256 RAM and PC-100 128MB RAM.

IDE cable? Haven't thought of that. Should try that one too.

UPDATE:

Taking a cue from my main system*, I tried beating around another bush :

DOWNGRADED the BIOS - about 5 releases backwards.

And guess what - I had left Little Big Adventure running for about 20 mins, and.............. no more lock-ups!! Even at the bus speed of 133MHz!!

My hybrid system in discussion :

The top drive is a Teac CD-56E 6x CD-ROM. For quiet and continuous uninterrupted DOS gaming. Unlike the newer faster drives where you have to wait for the spin-up and have to put up with the noise too.
The lower one is a newer Lite-on DVD+RW used for installation, archiving copying etc.

I forgot to mention that in addition to the LAPC-I, I also have a Audigy - for digital-only music in Win2k and WinME. Games like Escape from Monkey Island, Revenant, System Shock 2 etc. use only the optical audio out from the Audigy drive.

[* - My main system - ASUS Striker II Formula's BIOS had to be downgraded several revisions back to maintain the concurrent 1333MHz bus speed and the 1066MHz of the DDR2 Ram (Kingston HyperX PC-8500 sticks). Otherwise I had to increase the bus speed to get the DDR2 up running at 1066MHz, which in turn makes the system unstable.]

That Lapc-i must be hanging and bending without any support? 😉

hmm...seems like you have the same BIOS/Ram speed probs as I have on my main rig...my Corsair Dominator RAM refuse to run at 1066mhz after a BIOS upgrade...
Don't want to downgrade the BIOS since I wanna buy the new 6 core AMD cpu for my mobo

retro games 100 wrote:

Very interesting, and congrats! Is this the successful solution to the problem?

I can't say for sure, but I really hope so.

(My previous venture in lowering (increasing the delay of) the 8-bit I/O recovery time in BIOS to make the LAPC-I work properly in the P166 mobo is still fruitful. I hope I can produce a similar result here.)

Mau1wurf1977 wrote:

Any chance that bios came with a changelog giving you a hint as what might cause the lockups?

Nope. Ironically the later BIOS claims to have better support with 133MHz.

http://www.dfi.com/portal/CM/cmproduct/XX_cmproddetail/XX_WbProdsWindow?action=e&windowstate=normal&mode=view wrote:

RevisionA & B Date Code 2000-09-25 File CA610925.ZIP Size 176 KB Description Change Clock GEN table to ICS8248-98 to solve t […]
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RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-09-25
File CA610925.ZIP
Size 176 KB
Description Change Clock GEN table to ICS8248-98 to solve the "System hang up" issue while changing the CPU/PCI Clock item in BIOS setup.


RevisionB
Date Code 2000-07-27
File CA610727.ZIP
Size 175 KB
Description To also enhance the support of IBM 256MB PC-133 DIMM module (0325804CT3A 75A)Need hardware modification!!!
*Only DIMM 1 and DIMM 2 support 256MB (DIMM 3: 128MB), due to limitation of north bridge. Please Click Here for reference locations of R265 and R266!!



RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-06-28
File CA610628.ZIP
Size 175 KB
Description 1. Supports LS-120 device. 2. Recognize ATA-100 IDE device. 3. Supports VIA new Cyrix-III CPU. 4. Fix 29160 SCSI card install Win2000 fail issue. 5. UDMA/33 use UDMA/66 cable will run UDMA/66 timing. 6. When FSB =133 then memory clock = H-33.(default).


RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-05-30
File CA610530.ZIP
Size 174 KB
Description 1. WinTV card abnormal at 24/32 Bit High Color. 2. Celeron 700 ID code change from 00 to 10. 3. Some AT keyboard plug with PS/2 mouse will hangs up after Windows 2000 restart.


RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-05-19
File CA610519.ZIP
Size 173 KB
Description 1.Novell will report incorrect memory size when above 32MB. 2.Sometimes can't get into Windows 2000 safe mode. 3.G-SW will turn on system. 4.Always report ZIP as removabled disk.(can show floppy mode). 5.Some Quantum HD plug with ZIP(BIOS set none), BIOS will report wrong HD size. 6.Clear CMOS BIOS date will show 20xx year.(fix on Jan.1,1999).


RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-03-23
File CA610323.ZIP
Size 263 KB
Description Solve ACPI mode can't detect IR


RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-02-26
File CA610226.ZIP
Size 171 KB
Description Supports VIA 596B CE Version can't detect WB83781.


RevisionA & B
Date Code 2000-01-05
File CA610105.ZIP
Size 174 KB
Description Solve WB83781 can't be detect by AP.

I'm currently using the one dated 2000-03-23

Amigaz wrote:

That Lapc-i must be hanging and bending without any support?

The fore-end of the LAPC-I is resting on the AWE32's SIMMS. The AWE32 is resting on a foam. I made sure that both are not bending and tested to see if any of these are under any excess pressure. (The foam-sponge is hidden beneath the AWE32.)

This is when I really prefer the desktop style casing. 😀

After looking at the BIOS list again....did you notice the version I'm using is the ONLY one with the file size of 263kb? The rest are all 174-176kb.

Another point to note is, after downgrading the BIOS, my current CPU temperature lingers from 39 -45°C, with a max of 45°C after half an hour - an increase of 5°C in the max value, when compared to my previous BIOS which is the latest and last one.

Maybe this is related:
I got a P166MMX on a i430HX mainboard, ISA at PCI Clk/3 = 11 MHz, Maxisound 64 with DB60XG.
In Monkey Island the DB60XG played wrong after setting it to MT32 mode. It seems to skip Midi messages...

The behaviour was then like this:
CPU cache off - still garbled Midi
ISA to PCIClk/4 - still garbled Midi
Turbo off, which means 50 MHz FSB, PCI 25 MHz, ISA = 8,33 MHz and unknown if any chipset buffers get disabled too -> Monkey Island plays right !
Now back to Turbo On and increased 8 Bit chipset I/O recovery timer in BIOS to 8 -> Monkey Island plays right !
timer set to 7 -> already slightly garbled
16 bit chipset I/O recovery timer has no influence and is still set to default 1.

My interpretation:
There seem to be I/O speed issues with the Monkey Islands internal Midi player, since other games seem to work correct even with 8 bit recovery timer set to 1.
Still its better to increase hardware delays than to rely on the midi system of a game to work in any situation with sufficient delays.
I am still not 100% sure if it works now with the maximum recovery time of 8 always correct. (I still can switch Turbo Off additionally).

This might be closely related to the hanging notes problems of the SB cards.

Lol, strange that a BIOS downgrade solved the issue. I wonder how this can happen?
Perhaps the newer BIOS changed something that made the CPU run less hot but had an adverse effect on 8 bit cards?
I know very little about this but I have heard motherboard manufacturers have often created BIOS upgrades to solve specific issues that had to do with how hardware is controlled via the motherboard's BIOS.

I'm just speculating now, but if such a BIOS upgrade was made, I'm pretty sure they weren't taking into account compatibility of "old" and "obsolete" 8 bit soundcards.