Neowin.net - Nforce 2 BIOS problems confirmed and fixed

Nforce 2 BIOS problems confirmed and fixed

Posted by Daniel Fleshbourne on 12 March 2003 - 01:33 · 15 comments & 1736 views

A SHORT WHILE AGO WE REPORTED that there could be a serious problem with Nforce 2 chipset motherboards. No sooner had the article gone up than Nvidia got in contact wanting to know all of the details. Users of a new Shuttle Nforce 2 based machine had reported problems with the BIOS. They had been trying to overclock their machines only to find that, once they went past a certain point, the machine would stop working.

At first it looked like a problem with the Shuttle but then Asus motherboard owners reported the same problem. Then Abit and Epox. Not only would they stop working, it was proving difficult to get them working again. Nvidia stepped into the breach and admitted that there was a fault with the Shuttle and Abit boards. The fault lay in the manufacturers missing off a jumper that Nvidia had specified on the Nforce 2 reference design.

Hard Tecs 4U, a German site, unwittingly uncovered the missing jumper. They had reviewed six Nforce 2 motherboards from different manufacturers and managed to kill all of them. The only one that was easy to recover was an MSI K7N2-L board which has the jumper. Using the jumper sets the BIOS back to a 100MHz FSB safe mode. Other people had discovered that you could use a 100MHz FSB processor, for example a Duron, in a motherboard that had stopped working to get it going again.

News source: The Inq

And there lies the problem. Setting the FSB too high can stop Nforce 2 motherboards from POSTing. Once the motherboard has stopped POSTing, the only way to get it going again is to reset the FSB back down to 100MHz. Only most motherboards don't have the jumper so you can't do that.

Nvidia obviously knew about this problem because they built the reference Nforce 2 motherboard with that jumper. The fact that many manufacturers didn't put the jumper onto their motherboards means that someone deserves a slapped wrist at the very least. Whether that's Nvidia for not emphasising the need for the jumper or the manufacturers for not including it is something we may never know.

However, what we do know is that a fix will soon be at hand for everyone. Nvidia has managed to create a fix for the BIOS on Nforce 2 motherboards that will solve the issue. That fix has already gone to several manufacturers who should be able to supply an updated version of the BIOS for their specific motherboards soon.

Nvidia has said that it managed to get that BIOS fix to Shuttle the next working day after our initial article. Hats off to Nvidia for getting the problem sorted so quickly.

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#1 Posted by youm0nt on 12 Mar 2003 - 02:13: good to hear

#2 Posted by VaLUnTriAn on 12 Mar 2003 - 02:13: I like those guys!

(1 reply) #3 Posted by Dwarden on 12 Mar 2003 - 02:55: Both ASUS A7N8X and A7N8X Deluxe have that jumper so i not care

Last edited by 9819 on 12 Mar 2003 - 11:20

#4 Posted by BearOso on 12 Mar 2003 - 03:35: [quote]They had been trying to overclock their machines only to find that, once they went past a certain point, the machine would stop working.[/quote] Isn't that the risk you take when overclocking? This obviously isn't nvidia's fault. The nforce2 is the most stable AMD platform to ever be released. I really don't think these motherboard manufacturers should fix the problem. The boards were used in extreme conditions as chosen by the user so it is the user's fault, not the companies'.

#5 Posted by doh on 12 Mar 2003 - 04:07: [quote]Isn't that the risk you take when overclocking? This obviously isn't nvidia's fault.[/quote] Yeah, but it's the manufacturers' fault not following nVidia's specifications for a 100 mhz jumper. These manufacturers heavily advertise the boards' overclocking capabilities. They should not have advertised their boards as "overclock-capable" since failed overclocking attempts can make the board useless without the 100 mhz jumper. The manufacturers are 100% responsible for not including the extra jumper. If it can be fixed via bios update, then great for all users. I have MSI so it does not affect me but if I had owned any other boards, I would be pretty darn piss*d about it.

#6 Posted by warwagon on 12 Mar 2003 - 04:14: just don't overclock and itz all good! Plus the system might last alittle longer

(2 replies) #7 Posted by zivan56 on 12 Mar 2003 - 04:25: Its a good thing I like MSI products, would never buy Asus or others.

#8 Posted by Boogiman on 12 Mar 2003 - 08:07: Same her. MSI RULEZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

(1 reply) #9 Posted by Vlad on 12 Mar 2003 - 09:05: People overclocked their machines and they were surprised they stopped working? I can just feel the intelligence of the overclocking permeating across the internet. The fact that this planet doesn't suddenly implode by the shear number of stupid people is astounding.

#10 Posted by njlouch on 12 Mar 2003 - 09:43: Am impressed by nVidia's reponse time. This was putting me off buying the new shuttle!

#11 Posted by leebobs on 12 Mar 2003 - 09:45: Will we see updates to the shuttle's board?!?

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