** OFFICIAL ** Intel DX38BT & DX48BT2 BoneTrail Thread

[nick_DX48BT2]

That's normal. There actually isn't a driver. The chipset "drivers" are really just a collection if INF files that describe the hardware.

Unfortunately, that's what I was hoping to hear from Intel the first time I saw the bug, but no one ever said that -- from 2 different Intel people by email (I have a copy of the emails), and three different people on the phone. They all said I should not get the message, even after I showed them the screenshots or they did their own tests, so no miscommunication there. I even have the recorded voicemail ;o)

Thanks gtj -- you may be right...which means you are more knowledgeable than the poeple who handle customer technical support [Ignore this:as well as the people who do all their testing and escalation cases (they did tests on one system for me after "escalation")...] As I said before this thread is really a good place to get good advice, you very likely know more than them. And no way to talk to someone in their engineering department of course, but that's normal. So that's why companies have FAQ sections and detailed manuals to explain unexpected behaviors or small glitches/bugs...

My point is, they could say there is a small bug in the display and resulting misleading error message and explain what you just did, but this explanation should come from Intel, it shouldn't be hard for them to find it out. As I said, in Vista an error message pops up because there are "no drivers installed" in the SMBus device manager, so Vista normally thinks there is a bug and you forgot to install the drivers. That's what I hope is the case, why can't Intel just reply that? And how did they manage to not get the bug for people who install IDCC...?

[Ignore this: I guess I'm asking too much from Intel -- they are the same as the other motherboard manufacturers, so no need to pay extra... And I should know there are bugs, I mean between Vista and the rest, the philosophy is as long as it doesn't BSOD, forget it, it's fine...probably ]

[nick_DX48BT2]

I'm putting a link here to my previous post summarizing the situation and Intel's response so you don't miss it

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...postcount=1300

[Manel]

Hey Nick

Just read your post. I sent an email to Intel support a couple of hours ago and mentioned this same problem as well.
I was escalating the audio issue with the IDT control panel (IDT GUI) with the missing Dolby tab. Some features are not available yet to Vista, as usual. Also as usual, they will not comment on driver future development, since there were no differences from this last driver available to the one before for Vista. Isn't Vista supposed to be the focus for driver development these days?
Also took the oportunity to ask regarding the issue with all my drives being SATA and showing up in Device Manager as being IDE. Answer: install the RAID drivers, just like they told you. It seems the RAID drivers are a solve all for Intel.
Just thought I'd give you my 2cents.

[petr0id]

I think Windows (no matter XP or Vista) recognizing SATA drives as IDE in Device Manager because "Configure SATA as IDE" is enabled in BIOS.
About SMBus controller - same here - no drivers are required or have been loaded. IDT (iam using ver. 1.0.5790.3) works fine - Dolby tab is available and i don't have 5.1 or 7.1 speakers. Awaiting BIOS and drivers update from Intel (hope they will release it soon).

[Manel]

Hi Petr0id
I know that if Configure SATA as IDE is enabled in BIOS this is normal, problem is I have it set to AHCI so it shouldn't. I guess I'll have to try a new install and see what happens.
I see you're using XP so maybe that's the reason you see the Dolby tab in IDT GUI and not me, I'm, using Vista. Intel says some features might not be available in Vista. There's a workaround but that's not the point. The IDT GUI looks awful anyway, the documentation with the drivers mentions a new Vista GUI 2.0 but Intel couldn't point me to how to install it instead of the 1.8.
New BIOS is in the works, Tony already gave us some insight, although not much. Can't disclose much yet I guess, he's been working with Intel on it.
Tony, any new regarding the new BIOS, do you know when it will be ready? Anything else you can share?

[nick_DX48BT2]

Manel -- thanks for the update!

gtj -- I tried to track my "TCP/IP security limit reached" error, but so far no luck. Every time I look at netstat or tcpview, all connections are established. The error appears in the event log either early at startup, or after 2, 3 hours randomly, even when I tried to have only one tab in Firefox open. Occasionaly it does not occur. With Ultimate, the limit is 25 connections...per second (that's a lot for my antivirus/time update/microsoft update connections/one tab in firefox)...plus it's for incomplete outbound connections!

My question: is there a way to actually log all connections, or better, the SYN_SENT ones only (incomplete outbound) with the program responsible for the connection, time and date? I looked at netstat after I found a TCP/IP error in event log, within a minute maybe, and there was no SYN_SENT...

[gtj]

My question: is there a way to actually log all connections, or better, the SYN_SENT ones only (incomplete outbound) with the program responsible for the connection, time and date? I looked at netstat after I found a TCP/IP error in event log, within a minute maybe, and there was no SYN_SENT...

The only thing I can suggest is to run Wireshark (Ethereal) with some filters to capture the SYN packets and see if you can detect a pattern.

[nemesis326]

Regarding the "No drivers installed" message, I presented the case to a friend of mine who happens to be an engineer.
He explained to me that this is normal because the chipset... happens to be... a chip-set... formed by various components (Northbridge, southbridge) thus Windows* will initially present the SMBus with an exclamation mark and after loading the package that the manufacturer provides it will be enough for the operating system to handle the chipset components.
He told me that the part of the message says: "No drivers are installed or are required", so... I should consider the possibility that Windows* does not required additional drivers at that moment since I already loaded the INF.
Again, since my system is working fine I will leave everything like it is until I start overclocking my processor !!!

[nick_DX48BT2]

The only thing I can suggest is to run Wireshark (Ethereal) with some filters to capture the SYN packets and see if you can detect a pattern.

Thanks a lot! I will try that tonight. If I can't get anything meaningful I'll give up. Seems nobody else is having that issue here and Intel's support is useless...;o)

[nick_DX48BT2]

I should consider the possibility that Windows* does not required additional drivers at that moment since I already loaded the INF.

This is what I was thinking first, that's why I asked some time ago if others had observed the same "bug" or behavior. This is also gtj's explanation. However, this still does not explain the following:
1) You don't get the error if you have the 6.4 version drivers from 1/2007
2) Vista should know that issue and not display an error message saying that there is an issue that there are no drivers, if in fact no drivers are needed/loaded (again for those who did not see it, it's easy to miss, it's not long on screen, and appears only once at a random time after installation)
3) Shouldn't Intel know about that? Instead of me reinstalling Vista five times and spending hours on the phone with them, shouldn't it be their first reply to my first email, "Yes, this is normal Sir" and we're done 5 SECONDS later.....vs: remove your mother board out of the case, reinstall Vista, reinstall the drivers, remove your sound card, buy a new power supply Sir, etc?! How can they dare suggest that kind of stuff?! Two different Intel guys emailed me and I talked to three others on the phone, not one suggested the logical explanation from gtj and nemesis326's friend, they all said, "oh no sir you have a problem if you see that".

I wonder if I should post the voicemail Intel left me that clearly shows all that.

So anyways, Intel support is useless and I give up with them and I will assume that the explanation presented is the most logical/plausible and there are no issues other than a misleading Vista error message after installation.

IGNORE this: Conclusion: if you know anything about computers and are having an issue, don't contact Intel unless you have confirmed that your motherboard has a hardware issue and know that you need to get it replaced/RMA. Otherwise they don't have a clue.

[nemesis326]

Nick, I'm gonna have my friend look at your situation because my Windows Vista installation is not asking me for drivers (no pop-up Windows or configuration Wizards appearing), again, the only way I detected the "No drivers installed" was because I did a right click on the MSBus after installing the chipset driver.
It is to my understanding that if no error messages appear, no pop-ups or conflicts in the device manager, then the device, from a software perspective is operating perfectly.
I'll keep you update once I hear back from him.

[nick_DX48BT2]

I'll keep you update once I hear back from him.

Thank you very much, I appreciate your help! Let me explain a little further: I see a white square information pop-up window, such as the one you see when a new USB device installed, above the vista taskbar on the right side, saying something along the lines of: ICH9 SMBus Controller -2930 No drivers were found for this device" Then a second window quickly appears and says: "Click here to try to find a solution to your problem." Clicking it downloads the INF drivers from Intel's website. It seems consistent with the fact that indeed in the Device Manager, the status is " no drivers are installed".

I did not see the message or missed it on the first install. As I said, it is shown quickly on the screen, not directly after driver installation (couple of reboots). If you miss it because you are not in front of your PC, you will not see it. I think I missed the slot to take a screenshot when that happened, but will double-check again tonight (I moved all my data to my unplugged old PC).

However, if you search the event log in System or Applications (not sure, I am at another location now, will check tonight), search for "SMBus". If you still have the events from your installation, you will be able to find an event and see the contents of the message, shown as an Information event (not Error or Warning).

Thanks again for your help. I will digg more information to be more precise and clarify my post tonight.

[mryerse]

I have a new problem with my system. Most of the time I hover the mouse over the Control Panel in the Start Menu, the Control Panel menu loads part way, and then explorer.exe crashes. It seems I've installed something that has a control in the Control Panel that is buggy. The funny thing is that when explorer.exe comes back, I have an icon on my screen on top of all windows. It's the same icon you see in the control panel for "View 32 bit application controls". You can click on it, and clicking on it brings up the user account control window. Time to uninstall various apps.

[nick_DX48BT2]

GOOD NEWS!!! THE END OF THE BUG TUNNEL....;o)

OK, for those who have been reading my previous posts, here is an update:

1. My phone caller ID showed that Intel called me today three times, but did not leave a message.
This was strange, as every other time they left a voicemail asking to call back, the case number, etc. At that point, I wonder: could they have been reading my post saying I would put a copy of the previous voicemails they left me? Remember, I gave THEM the link to this forum to explain the bug.

2. I DO think they have read posts here.

3. I call, am transferred to a tech guy. He checks the case to try to help me once again/troubleshooting, so I ask him first if they tried to call me. He looks into it. Immediately, he says that a higher technical support person or engineer did try to contact me and will call me back within a few minutes.

4. I receive a call from another person, who says is in charge of my case now. He is a Level 2 technical support guy, and says that he has a few things to explain, and if I ever have any questions in the future for that case, to ask to talk to him only.
He starts by saying that they did try to contact me several times this morning (hum, now this is urgent), but did not leave a message because he felt he should explain me the situation directly not through voicemail.

He explains that he is sorry, there was a confusion in the previous voicemail they left me.

Translation: see point #1 and #2! Maybe it was a good idea to say I would post my voicemails from Intel!!

He explains that they thought that I was not able to install the drivers, and that is the issue they were not able to replicate, in the voicemail they left me. Obviously this is just their way of saying the voicemail and previous guy I talked to were not good. There was no confusion, I showed them the screenshots in this forum. I always told them that the Intel driver utility showed the installation as Successful. I even told them that when we did tests together with a new driver version, because they specifically wanted to hear that I was able to see the message "Installation Successful" to go on with the case.
Plus as reported in my previous post the guy tried to blame Microsoft (it's also in the voicemail). Not the best excuse here ;o)

He also says that the purpose for his call is to provide me with an update, not a resolution.

Without me saying anything, he also immediately says that he is not trying to find excuses, that he did tests, that he WAS able to see the same bug, and yes there is a glitch. However, he did not see the popup window above the taskbar that I saw. I explain that it's just so easy to miss, I did not see it the first time I installed Vista, and the Vista message makes sense because the device manager DOES report that no drivers are installed for the SMBus!

The guy was very polite, seemed a lot more knowledgeable, and this time, professional. Big difference with the previous guys.
He also was not trying to lie or blame other people or corporations. So already that was a big improvement!!!

He also says that yes he has the reference to this forum in front of him when I tell him to check the screenshots ;o)

He then asks me if I saw any other system problem (no), if everything else seemed normal (yes).

So he explains the story that we have read here: that this glitch is likely because there is really no driver for this device. I explain that then I don't understand why people with the 6.4 series driver or maybe IDCC do not see the bug, and why is a driver version listed, etc.
He replies that yes, this is sort of a glitch, that they are investigating. That if you don't see the bug with the 6.4 drivers or when installing the IDCC, that MAYBE (he stress that) there is a complement installed with the IDCC, but he also stresses that it is in beta version. He also says that maybe the bug is because the drivers are really more generic, for the 3x and 4x series, etc, hence maybe the display message saying no driver.

He also explains that he understands why I find the bug abnormal and why I and others felt confused (Thank you! Nice to hear that finally!)

So in the end, he acknowledges the bug, says the call is just for an update, that he did not find any other issue associated with that, that he will look why there is no error with 6.4 drivers/IDCC vs the current drivers.
He concludes by saying that he feels very confident that I can use my PC, that everything should be fine, and that if he has any update he will call me, and to call him back (just him) if any issues occur or if I have any other questions.

I also conclude by saying that if they do confirm that this bug is normal, it should be mentioned somewhere on their website (FAQ) so people are not questioning the error message they get etc, and that it would save a lot of time.

He thanks me twice for this input and completely agrees and says they will see if they can update it, but can't promise anything specific for that, and again he will call me if there is an update.

CONCLUSION: Wow, that call FINALLY was a lot better. I talked to someone who was actually professional, reasonable, understanding, and listening! This is ALL I wanted to hear!!! Next would be good if they could either update their website to acknowledge officially the bug and that there are no issues, or update the drivers, but at least I feel treated in a better way after the call with the guy. I don't feel better by the previous call with the guy who was not professional, by the number of tests I had to do and handling of delicate hardware and all the time spent while they could have just confirmed the bug on their own quickly the first time...

Intel, if you are reading this: I will edit my previous posts because I feel that you have now handled the situation in a professional/acceptable way, and I thank you for your call. This is all I (and probably others) wanted to hear Please do realize that not all issues are user-error related...

[Miwo]

cool deal, glad my screenshots helped and that Intel was courteous enough to give you a call about it

/pokes Intel for new BIOS

[nick_DX48BT2]

More news:

1. gtj, if you're reading this: thanks again for your help. I think I found the error for my TCP/IP error....it's really a MICROSOFT bug this time
Note that this is preliminary pending further testing but:
- Looking at my logs, the error occurred early on after Vista install every time, but only after use of Windows Media player...that I use right at installation to test sound/sound card drivers and surround sound
- I happened to catch a TCP/IP error "limit reached" in event log within 30 seconds of occurrence: there were several SYN_SENT messages for...Windows Media Player!
- I install iTunes as I was planning anyway, and will test not using WMP and see what happens
- I test my theory: although I used CUSTOM install and deselected ALL possible options where WMP connects to Intrnert (NO don't check my library no don't update etc etc), if I add several songs at once, WMP connects to check something, maybe codecs, to an IP address that has issues. HENCE the multiple failed connections AT ONCE, and the limit reached.
TEST: I select 35 songs, right click, add to WMP, or Play in WMP: it starts playing , I go to Event Log and BAM, there goes the TCP/IP error, and in netstat SYN_SENT errors from WMP!!!

Ah ah ah....

2. Re: my previous post and this one: I wonder how things were done without internet and forums before...I would have never solved my other bugs because not being able to confirm that other users see the same stuff or not, when it occurs or not, etc. Plus it helped because with just calling Intel there was no resolution.

[nick_DX48BT2]

cool deal, glad my screenshots helped and that Intel was courteous enough to give you a call about it

/pokes Intel for new BIOS

Yes, sorry, I forgot to thank you again..but know that I referenced your post to Intel, they saw it and it was very helpful! Thanks again ;o)

[nick_DX48BT2]

Confirmed. Yup, thanks Microsoft. I select 30 songs or so, right-click, Add to Windows Media player: BAM, at the exact same date, time, exact same second: "Warning TCP/IP has reached the security limit imposed on the number of concurrent TCP connect attempts."

Nope, wasn't a network issue, computer issue, driver issue, virus on my computer. Well, it was. The virus is called Vista

[xMrBunglex]

jesus. all that work for a problem that doesn't appear to be a problem at all. you're a much better man than i am. i would have just ignored the problem once it became clear there was no obvious solution :p

[Randy]

jesus. all that work for a problem that doesn't appear to be a problem at all. you're a much better man than i am. i would have just ignored the problem once it became clear there was no obvious solution :p

Are you referring to bug ?

[nick_DX48BT2]

If you're referring to the TCP/IP issue, I looked it up, and Microsoft explains it's basically a protection against viruses...then I post a message here and people say they don't see the issue in their system, and I may have a network card issue, because it's linked to failed outbound connections...so yes, I tried to understand what was going on I'm not spending $2000 on a top of the line new PC to realize I have been infested with viruses or have a failed network card, and just "ignore" it

Regarding the SMBus driver issue, again, I noticed it because Vista said that drivers were missing for the device to operate and offering to try to find drivers in a big pop-up window after installation...I'll post the error message screenshot later. If Intel had taken 5 seconds on my first email or call to look up their own system and confirmed they had the same bug and it was probably OK, then I would have been done long ago, and there would be no post on the previous pages here. Instead of that they offered to replace the motherboard and said multiple times that I should never see that message, unless basically I screwed up installation or there was another bug with my software, Microsoft, or motherboard....I can post here the voicemails they left me!

Looking back at it, I could have ignored it (it's always easy to say that looking back at it....like I shouldn't have been speeding if I knew there was a cop here ), but given the explanation from Intel above, how could I know that there wasn't really a problem with my motherboard? I did not know whether there was an issue or it was a bug. Now we know it's a bug. Especially because I did not see the error message in Vista the first time, only the second time after taking my motherboard out of the case and doing multiple tests taking parts in and out repeatedly...

So the mistake was to trust the lower level technical support team at Intel saying that I had an issue in my system if I see such an error

[xMrBunglex]

i hit my TCP/IP limit all the time because i download torrents. obviously the problem lies elsewhere if you're getting it when you first boot up though. are you satisfied that it was entirely related to WMP? i've never used it before, but i know people that swear by Peer Guardian 2. that could probably be useful in diagnosing problems of that nature.

EDIT: nevermind. i just checked their website and apparently they don't support Vista. i don't support Vista either

[xMrBunglex]

i just installed Peer Guardian 2 and it went crazy when i turned WMP on. you're right. i guess i'll start using Media Player Classic exclusively from now on.

[nick_DX48BT2]

i just installed Peer Guardian 2 and it went crazy when i turned WMP on. you're right. i guess i'll start using Media Player Classic exclusively from now on.

Crazy huh? Anyway, that was the point: the error occurred right after installation, no torrent, no peer to peer, no nothing...hence the question of whether I had a virus (I did go on the web to download drivers) or a faulty network card. Then I found that as a test of my sound card I always test some music with Windows after install of drivers to test all channels ets (no itunes or classic player installed at this point), hence the issue. I don't understand why it's connecting while I asked windows media player NOT to connect for any reason on the multiple options available, but I don't care since I use itunes now

Microsoft IS watching us

I'm posting the error message I got with the SMBus in my following post.

[nick_DX48BT2]

.
So, as discussed previously, I did not take a screen shot of the error message pop-up window that Vista shows above the taskbar regarding the ICH9 SmBus driver issue, but I did take a picture of what happens if you click: "Find out more/try to resolve this issue". It's a picture not a screenshot (don't ask why )

Again the pop-up window in Vista shows at a random time only once after installation and several reboots, and it disappears quickly so it's easy to miss, I did miss it the first time I installed Vista. If you do see it and click on it you get the messages below. You see the reference to Device "2930" which is the SMBUs controller.

Despite the message below note that the drivers for ICH9 ARE installed, that Intel reports the installation successful, and that the device manager DOES show the driver version AND no exclamation point (like on Miwo's screens). Both if you try the old 2007 or the new 2008 drivers. And if you click on the link in the screenshot below, Vista downloads the same drivers, then if you install it says it's already up to date and installed!!! But we all saw the bug in the device manager for SMBus, hence the message below. Uninstalling reinstalling does NOT bring back the message below, but you still have the device manager Smbus "glitch"/bug. And also, please note that again the message below appears LONG AFTER the drivers ICH9 for the mother board are installed, reboots, use of Vista...funny.