Asus A8N SLI Deluxe, shared IRQ slots, Audigy 2 ZS

[noTHINGface]

Hi all

I have a question about the shared IRQ PCI slots feature of the above board. I have a audigy 2 zs that I would really like to get working but previously I have been unable to get it to work correctly due to an 'unable to allocate enough resource' error from windows.

I took a peek at the mobo manual today and noticed that it goes on about the PCI slots sharing IRQ interupts and it made me wonder if this was the reason why I couldnt get the audigy to work. Is there a specific slot that I have to install the card into (I have no other PCI cards)? Is there something I can do in bios to prevent sharing of IRQs with other PCI slots? Any suggestions?

Cheers

[BUFF]

Try at the bottom of the board.
usually the slot just below the gfx shares IRQs with the gfx card

[noTHINGface]

Sod it! I give up on this damn thing, doesnt like any of the PCI slots, I have a sneaking suspicion that this audigy is on of these SI OEM cards... Jonsen_uk aka J****** Worsdale (who sold me the damn thing and refuses to refund) I'm coming for you

<EDIT: removed the christian name of the offending seller>

[shaithis]

Audigy 2 ZS on an Asus A8N-SLi here with no problems.

Have tried it in 2 slots as well, worked fine in both, no messing about at all.

Just works....

[Rabs]

Sod it! I give up on this damn thing, doesnt like any of the PCI slots, I have a sneaking suspicion that this audigy is on of these SI OEM cards... Jonsen_uk aka Jonathan Worsdale (who sold me the damn thing and refuses to refund) I'm coming for you

Thats not the way to do things at all :O The card probably works fine, just a little configuration on your system is all that is needed.

Ok go into the bios and turn off stuff you dont use, ie serial port 2, firewire, unused sata controllers - that will free up interrupts (resources). Make sure MPS 1.4 is enabled in your bios also, this multiplies the amount of IRQ's available.

Also make sure sure you onboard sound is definately off (disabled) and not set to auto.

I dont know the board personally, however I suggest putting the card in PCI slot 2, on SLI boards this shouldn't be a shared slot - if it is, it'll only be something minimal (USB etc).

Let us know how you get on.

[Thorsson]

Actually it may be a BIOS issue - try flashing to a different BIOS.

[noTHINGface]

Tried flashing the bios to no avail. Also done the usual uninstall of realtek and disabling the onboard.

Thats not the way to do things at all :O The card probably works fine, just a little configuration on your system is all that is needed.

Yeah, and usually I would agree with you but I have had it up to here <points to eyebrow> with this card and this lad. This has been going on since May this year.. Allow me to elaborate... Seller contacts me and offers me the card, I agreed, arrived a couple of days later. Card didn't work in my machines at home (2 boxes, one Mesh with the Asus and another old intel self build I slotted together), neither machines recognise the card as an Audigy even after manual install of the drivers (from the driver updates on creatives site, I have the original Audigy 2 ZS retail disk too, but this will not install as the card is not recognised).

Following this I borrowed an Audigy 2 ZS from a friend and that installed just fine on the Asus board. I let the seller know, but still he would not accept the card back.

I passed my card to one of our h/w support guys. He was unable to get the card to install on any turnkey we have here (HPs mainly), the only machine he found that would aknowledge the card was an older Dell, though it was not seen as an Audigy but as a 'creative media device', the original audigy 2 retail disk would therefore not install drivers but he got some sound out of it using creatives updates. I have an old Dell here in the office and was able to get that to see the card but not as an Audigy. Make me think that this is a Dell SI OEM part for a specific board or chipset?

Its not the money, it was only £40, its the evasive attitude of the seller that bugs me and his refusal to take the card back.

[Rabs]

hmm deffo sounds like an OEM card with a slightly different model number (hence the drivers wont install).

All you can do is contact the seller and express your dissatisfaction, did he send you any drivers for the card? Was it stated in the auction that the card was an OEM etc?

Not alot I can say unfortunately

[Thorsson]

I actually had a similar problem with an Audigy my bro gave me. Never got it to work in any machine. I came to the conclusion he'd managed to damage it while uninstalling. He's a cack-handed bar steward.

[noTHINGface]

hmm deffo sounds like an OEM card with a slightly different model number (hence the drivers wont install).

<nods> Yup, thats what im thinking. I have no problem with it being OEM, the seller told me so, what he didnt tell me (or realise) was that it is a SI OEM card and therefore will not work unless re-united with the board/drivers for which it was intended.

All you can do is contact the seller and express your dissatisfaction, did he send you any drivers for the card? Was it stated in the auction that the card was an OEM etc?

Contacted him many many times over the matter, he would not accept the card back but offered advice, I put forward my theory that this was not going to work and then communications ceased. With some careful social engineering I was able to get his true name, what he did (gcse student), his address and even his parents home telephone number but I always give the benefit of the doubt, probably an error this time

Think I'll post it back to him, addressed to his parents with a suitable scud of a note enclosed

Cheers gents!

[Nox]

Is that so he can sell it to someone else?

Nox

[jimborae]

Sounds like the dreaded Creative EEPROM bug to me. I have a lovely Audigy paper weight sat on my desk because of this & Creative wont accept that it is a problem with their audigy cards.

[Thorsson]

Tell us more about this dreaded Creative EEPROM bug.

[jimborae]

iirc correctly the eeprom chip on Audigy cards gets very easily corrupted, it was thought that it was caused by certain hardware combinations but this was proved not to be the case and it was fairly random.

Once the chip is corrupted the card will no longer be detected properly and usually only work in two channel if at all. Both Audigy & Audigy 2 cards suffered with this & Creative washed their hands off it & wouldn't recognize that it was a fault of the card.

Check out the threads on Creatives forums

http://uk.europe.creative.com/suppor...foru=51&page=1

http://uk.europe.creative.com/suppor...foru=51&page=1

[noTHINGface]

Well this could be what is wrong with my card but to be honest I cant be arsed to go and investigate anymore, gonna get another from scan in a sec - I too have a Jimborae paper weight adorning my desk.

Nox: Good point, I wont return the card but have written a 'kindly' note to his folks. This is the first time I have had a bad trade and it kinda shakes your confidence in people!

[jimborae]

By the way here's the hardware fix

http://driverheaven.net/showthread.p...ght=eeprom+bug

I just found out today that my neighbour is able to do this for me at his work as he's a hardware & firmware engineer.

Hopefully my Audigy wont be a paper weight for too much longer!!