Athlon Without Breakdowns

Support knowledgebase (findeisen_athlon_systeme)
Applies to

SuSE Linux: All versions

We recommend you to be careful when assembling and configuring Athlon systems, so that you do not experience any unpleasant surprises with the Linux installation.
The following tips and instructions have been mostly extracted from the article "Athlon ohne Pannen" by Jörg Wirtgen (1), with friendly permission of the author and the publisher Heinz Heise/ c't.

Potential problems with Athlon systems:

Power supply unit

A power supply unit strong enough (from 235 Watts on) is necessary for a stable current supply; AMD provides a list of recommended power supply units (5). Graphics cards that require more power intensify the load on the power supply unit. A typical symptom of an overloaded power supply unit is, for example, that the computer reboots during operation without any apparent cause.

BIOS version

Motherboards are sometimes delivered with incorrect or outdated BIOS versions. Thus, hard disks over 32 GB, main memory over 64 MB, or new Athlon models, are not correctly detected. In the case of Athlon motherboards it is recommended to install the current BIOS version of the motherboard manufacturer. Please follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer and the motherboard documentation for this purpose.

Memory and timing

Too low timing parameters for the memory modules can lead to crashes and wrong computing results. In addition, the automatic detection of the storage timings (configure SDRAM by SPD) is not always reliable. In case of doubt, the 'CAS latency' (also known as 'SDRAM cycle length') in the BIOS should be set to three.
If the installed memory unit is not wholly detected, the kernel parameter mem=xxxM will provide some assistance (see also "Linux on computer with more than 64 MByte RAM" http://sdb.suse.de/de/maddin_memory1.html).

Driver

UDMA66 is supported from SuSE Linux version 6.3 on. If you want to use it, install the EIDE kernel 'Kernel with support for special EIDE chipsets' (also Pentium-optimized). DMA is activated by default. Activate UDMA66 for the appropriate hard disks with 'hdparm -c1 -m16 -d1 -X68 /dev/hdx' (3). The hdparm settings should be carefully tested and adapted to your own hard disks.

Graphics cards

In case of problems, it is advisable to deactivate the option 'AGP Fast Write' in the BIOS. If the system crashes with GeForce graphics cards in Irongate boards, you can try to disable the AGP mode in the BIOS (e.g. set the AGP-4X mode to disabled).

PCI cards

Some PCI cards have problems with VIA or Irongate chipsets (contact the manufacturer for further information). Some PCI cards do not work with interrupt sharing. The only solution in this case consists of trying different shared slots.
If errors arise in connection with SCSI disks, it can be helpful to disable 'PCI Master 0 WS Write' in the BIOS (Advanced chip set feature) (2).


Sources:

(1) Jörg Wirtgen: Athlon ohne Pannen, Problembeseitigung bei Athlon-Systemen, c't 10/2000 S. 170

(2) Georg Schnurrer: Einrichtungshelfer, Wegweiser durchs BIOS Setup, c't 10/2000, S. 164

(3) Christof Windeck: Der AthlonX, Linux auf Athlon Hardware, c't 10/2000, S. 194

(4) Data sheets about the AMD Athlon: http://www.am d.com/products/cpg/athlon/techdocs/index.html

(5) Power supply units recommended by AMD: http://www1.amd.com/athlon/power

(6) Linux on an Athlon (no longer updated): http://apollo.ppm.u-psud.fr/athl on.html
See also:
o Linux on computers with more than 64 MByte RAM

Keywords: ATHLON, K7, AMD, INSTALLATION

Categories: Hardware

SDB-findeisen_athlon_systeme, Copyright SuSE Linux AG, Nürnberg, Germany - Version: 18. Jun 2002
SuSE Linux AG - Last generated: 25. Jun 2002 by ip (sdb_gen 1.40.0)