Abit BE6-II v2.0 Troubles. I need help!

[davecb]

Well, I get past one problem and up spurts another... As I said in my previous post, here's the hardware of my new box:

Abit BE6-II v2.0 Motherboard
Pentium III 800mhz
256mb pc100 sdram
IBM Deskstar 75gxp 45gb ultra-dma 100 HD
Elsa Gladiac 32mb vid card
3.5 inch Mitsumi Floppy Drive
HP 9150i CD-RW Drive
Kingston Ethernet Card

The problem I'm having is I simply cannot get a sound card to work. I tried my new card first - an SB Live mp3+ - and not only does it have the same IRQ as my Network Controller but if I leave it in, after I set it all up, Windows finds it, etc., everytime I start Windows it prompts with the "Restart to Complete Installation".

What I found when I inspected My Computer->Device Manager was when this conflict was occurring, the second set of IDE connectors (IDE1 and IDE2... the ones that aren't orange) apparently get bothered. Therefore the CD-RW I have hooked up as the primary device on IDE1 is messed up too. While this is going on, the second IDE bus (the orange connectors) is obviously fine since the machine boots; my HD is the primary device on that IDE bus.

Anybody with a BE6-II v2.0 mobo who's having/had a similar problem? I'm really stumped and annoyed.

[mairving]

Dave,
I posted this same message in your floppy post. I had the same board and was finally able to get it to work by disabling the HPT366 controller.

Here are the IRQ assignments for the board:
<UL>
<LI>PCI slot 1 shares signals with the AGP slot.
<LI>PCI slot 2 shares signals with PCI slot 5.
<LI>PCI slot 3 shares signals with the HPT366 IDE controller.
<LI>PCI slot 4 does not share signals with anything
<LI>PCI slot 5 and HPT 366 use the same bus master signals. Therefore if HPT366 is enabled, you can't install a PCI card that will occupy the bus master signals into PCI slot 5.
</UL>

Then you have the USB port to worry about also. Supposedly the HPT366 controller will share an IRQ with another in 3. Some things don't like to share. The SB is one of them. I would put the SB in slot 4 (start counting from the AGP slot). You may be able to stick the network card in 2. I would try those assignments. Do you have any other devices to stick in there? If it doesn't work, you may consider disabling the HPT366 (future ATA in the BIOS). You will lose some performance but the system will work. Keep us posted on your progress.

[AndyM]

I just thought of something that got me on another PC I built...and you said this is your first...Did you install the drivers for the mobo/HD controllers from the Abit CD? Check the instructions in the appendix of the manual, and of course ignore this if you already did it...

[davecb]

Ah okay. I was wondering what exacty the deal was with the board and its IRQ assignments. It wasn't until after my attempt and failure that I cracked open the manual hoping for an answer (or maybe an IRQ assignment list) and found the page with fine print regarding the board, including the "Don't put a PCI card in here, here, or here".

I'm going to give 'er another shot this evening after work. I'll try slot 4 as you asked and hope for the best. :)

Thanks for all your help along the way...

[davecb]

Originally posted by AndyM
I just thought of something that got me on another PC I built...and you said this is your first...Did you install the drivers for the mobo/HD controllers from the Abit CD? Check the instructions in the appendix of the manual, and of course ignore this if you already did it...

No... but I haven't run into any troubles other than this pesky IRQ problem. That installation couldn't really be necessary since everything else works without having ran it, but I could be wrong.