VOGONS


First post, by wuser

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I'm ashamed to admit but I recently got 2 Diamond Voodoo 2 cards but I used an unmodified floppy cable to connect them. Can this cause damage? The second card is recognized but I get a driver initialization error when I test it by itself. I did not test the card by itself before this (I know ...).

Basically I'm wondering if I got a DOA card and need to return it or if I screwed it up myself.

Reply 1 of 18, by Gmlb256

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I don't use SLI with Voodoo2 but try testing both cards separately to see if they are working fine.

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS

Reply 2 of 18, by kixs

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Can't say for sure, but my guess is it's your fault. Voltage goes to the wrong place and makes a havoc... 🙁

@Gmlb256: He already tried it and one doesn't work - at least I understand it like this 😉

Requests are also possible... /msg kixs

Reply 3 of 18, by wuser

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kixs wrote on 2021-10-18, 19:08:

Can't say for sure, but my guess is it's your fault. Voltage goes to the wrong place and makes a havoc... 🙁

@Gmlb256: He already tried it and one doesn't work - at least I understand it like this 😉

Yeah, I've tested the card by itself and it's detected but won't work. I don't want to return it if it's probably my fault.

Guess that's what I get for being to excited and not paying attention to what I'm doing...

Reply 4 of 18, by Gmlb256

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wuser wrote on 2021-10-18, 19:56:

Yeah, I've tested the card by itself and it's detected but won't work. I don't want to return it if it's probably my fault.

Guess that's what I get for being to excited and not paying attention to what I'm doing...

Ok, I assumed that you didn't tested without using the floppy cable. 😜

Using the wrong cable can indeed damage the card by messing up the voltage, a proper SLI cable isn't easy to find and for that floppy cable you used it requires modding.

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS

Reply 5 of 18, by LubieCipy

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In the sli cable only the 4 middle lines need modification. Do they have any voltage?

You can try to diagnose what is wrong with the card. See this thread for more information
Faulty Voodoo 2?

Reply 6 of 18, by Nemo1985

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Are you sure that the sli cable brings any voltage that could damage the card?
I'm not sure but the floppy drives get the voltage from the berg connector, as the voodoo get the voltage from pci connectors.

Reply 9 of 18, by Gmlb256

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Nemo1985 wrote on 2021-10-18, 22:46:

Are you sure that the sli cable brings any voltage that could damage the card?
I'm not sure but the floppy drives get the voltage from the berg connector, as the voodoo get the voltage from pci connectors.

LubieCipy wrote on 2021-10-18, 23:10:

I think so too and I sincerely doubt that the author of the thread could damage the card in this way

I'm starting to doubt that too considering the initial "suggestion" I did, perhaps the second card was really DOA?

VIA C3 Nehemiah 1.2A @ 1.46 GHz | ASUS P2-99 | 256 MB PC133 SDRAM | GeForce3 Ti 200 64 MB | Voodoo2 12 MB | SBLive! | AWE64 | SBPro2 | GUS

Reply 10 of 18, by Nemo1985

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Unlucky we can't be sure one way or another since someone who is sure what evey pin of the sli connector does.
The best guess is to hope that matze79 shows up he did great sli bridge connectors for sure he knows if a non twisted cable could give issues or if they bring voltage.
My educated guess is that that they bring just data.

Reply 11 of 18, by sdz

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The 4 twisted wires are GND, SLI SYNC IN, SLI SYNC OUT, GND. Using a cable without the twist will just connect SYNC OUT to SYNC OUT and SYNC IN to SYNC IN. This really shouldn't cause any damage. Most likely the card was DOA.

Reply 12 of 18, by matze79

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sli1.jpg
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Well could it do damage ? maybe.. can`t sure say it without trying it hey.
But i won`t

If Out goes High and One remains low..

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 13 of 18, by wuser

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Thanks for the helpful responses everyone. I will try to run the diagnostics in DOS either today or tomorrow. I get the exact same error as the poster in the Faulty Voodoo 2 thread.

FWIW I bought the cards from a bigger reseller on ebay and it's very doubtful they actually tested the cards. I was suspecting faulty memory until I remembered I used an untwisted floppy cable 🤣 Hopefully the diag program will shed some light.

Reply 15 of 18, by Brawndo

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wuser wrote on 2021-10-19, 16:54:

FWIW I bought the cards from a bigger reseller on ebay and it's very doubtful they actually tested the cards. I was suspecting faulty memory until I remembered I used an untwisted floppy cable 🤣 Hopefully the diag program will shed some light.

Better hope the seller isn't reading this thread if you do try to return it, 🤣.

Reply 16 of 18, by matze79

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😹😹😹

https://www.retrokits.de - blog, retro projects, hdd clicker, diy soundcards etc
https://www.retroianer.de - german retro computer board

Reply 17 of 18, by wuser

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Here is the output of SST1_3DF.LOG after running mojo.exe:

sst1Init Routines: InitCode $Revision: 8 $
sst1InitMapBoard(): BoardsInSystem = 1
sst1InitMapBoard(): vAddr:0x10400000 pAddr:0xe1000008 Dev:0xa Board:0
sst1InitRegisters(): Setting TREX-to-FBI FIFO THRESHOLD to 0x8...
sst1InitRegisters(): Setting PRELIM FT-CLK delay to 0x8...
sst1InitDacDetect(): Entered...
sst1InitDacDetectICS(): Entered...
dacWr(0x7,0xb)
dacRd(0x5,0x79)
dacRd(0x5,0x2e)
dacWr(0x7,0x1)
dacRd(0x5,0x55)
dacRd(0x5,0x49)
dacWr(0x7,0x7)
dacRd(0x5,0x71)
dacRd(0x5,0x29)
sst1InitDacDetectICS(): Exiting...
sst1InitRegisters(): Storing TREX0INIT0=0x5441
sst1InitRegisters(): Storing TREX0INIT1=0xf420
sst1InitRegisters(): Storing TREX1INIT0=0x5441
sst1InitRegisters(): Storing TREX1INIT1=0xf420
sst1InitRegisters(): Storing TREX2INIT0=0x5441
sst1InitRegisters(): Storing TREX2INIT1=0xf420
sst1InitSetGrxClk(): Entered...
dacWr(0x7,0xe)
dacRd(0x5,0x0)
dacWr(0x4,0xa)
dacWr(0x5,0x7b)
dacWr(0x5,0x6c)
dacWr(0x4,0xe)
dacWr(0x5,0x0)
sst1InitRegisters(): Setting up FAST DRAM Configuration
sst1InitGetTmuMemory() ERROR: Could not detect memory size.
sst1InitFillDeviceInfo(): Retry #1 for chip GetInfo()...
sst1InitGetTmuMemory() ERROR: Could not detect memory size.
sst1InitFillDeviceInfo(): Retry #2 for chip GetInfo()...
sst1InitGetTmuMemory() ERROR: Could not detect memory size.
sst1InitFillDeviceInfo(): Retry #3 for chip GetInfo()...
sst1InitGetTmuMemory() ERROR: Could not detect memory size.
sst1InitFillDeviceInfo(): Retry #4 for chip GetInfo()...
sst1InitGetTmuMemory() ERROR: Could not detect memory size.
sst1InitRegisters(): ERROR filling DeviceInfo...
sst1InitShutdown(): Shutting down SST-1 #0...
sst1InitSetGrxClk(): Entered...
dacWr(0x7,0xe)
dacRd(0x5,0x0)
dacWr(0x4,0xa)
dacWr(0x5,0x41)
dacWr(0x5,0x62)
dacWr(0x4,0xe)
dacWr(0x5,0x0)
sst1InitShutdown(): Returning with status 1...

Not an expert but looks like memory failure to me...

Reply 18 of 18, by sdz

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The SLI SYNC signals go to the FBI, so in no way that cable would have caused TMU related faults.
Also, the memory itself is most likely fine, check the TMU pins (poke them and see if they move, also check for shorts between pins).