Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X - Soundblaster PCI Won't Work - No Parallel Connector

I'm so ****ed. I had to build a new computer because some Adobe software I
needed to run requires SSE2 instructions, and my old system (which worked
perfectly well on everything else) had an AMD Athlon 3200+ (Socket A),
which doesn't have SSE2.

So I built this:

Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core
2 GB DDR2 800 (2 sticks of 1GB each)
nVidia GeForce 7950GTOC

Well... I had no idea they were phasing out parallel and serial ports. The
Realtek AudioMAX sucks. I can't use FL Studio without gobs of static
coming through, so I decided to go out last night and get a USB dialup
modem to replace my PCI modem. (note: true broadband isn't available here.
I have a satellite connection, but it doesn't work well for online games.)
I also got a USB-to-Parallel cable for my trusty rusty laser printer.

After disabling on-board audio in the BIOS, removing the AudioMAX daughter
card, pulling the PCI modem, replacing it with an SB Live! 5.1 Platinum
sound card and the Live Drive, I got no POST. I disconnected the Live
Drive in every way and the system booted. Strange enough by itself. Then
I got into Windows and installed all the Soundblaster drivers. No sound.
No matter how I connected the cables or adjusted the settings, I spent 4-5
hours doing everything I knew and investigating things I might have missed,
and never did get sound of the damned thing. I got a few blue screens,
though. -.-

So I gave up. I powered down, pulled all the Soundblaster hardware out,
put my PCI modem back in (never even bothered trying the USB modem) and
reinstalled the AudioMAX card. Got my sound back. I don't know what I'm
going to do when my class gets into audio production. I hope this damned
thing can hold up.

So to continue... I decided to try installing my USB to Parallel cable. I
first followed the directions carefully. No print. So I tried other
methods of installing. Never could get that working, either.

Now I'm no dummy. I've built several computers and have never had such
stubborn problems in my life. This is the first one that I just haven't
really been able to set up the way I want.

Now I'm figuring I have a choice. I can either get a newer USB printer,
even though parallel-equipped printer I have works perfectly (and I just
replaced the $130 toner cartridge), or I can try connecting my USB modem
and free up the PCI slot for a PCI-parallel/serial card.

But before I do that... I wanted to find out if anyone else has managed to
get a SoundBlaster Live! 5.1 Platinum and/or a USB-to-Parallel cable
working with a Xerox Workcentre XE80 printer. I'm especially wondering
about the Soundblaster, though now that I think of it, if I do get the
soundblaster working, I might end up having to buy a new USB printer if I
can't get it to work with this adapter cable. ><

Getting this motherboard was a mistake for me, I think. I should have
gotten something with more than just one lousy-assed PCI slot. But I'm not
totally willing to give up on it completely. I think it'll be a good setup
once I get some kind of setup I can live with.

Damaeus

In news:alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit, Damaeus <no->
posted on Sat, 10 Feb 2007 21:55:28 GMT:

> I'm so ****ed. I had to build a new computer because some Adobe software I
> needed to run requires SSE2 instructions, and my old system (which worked
> perfectly well on everything else) had an AMD Athlon 3200+ (Socket A),
> which doesn't have SSE2.
>
> So I built this:
>
> Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
> AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core
> 2 GB DDR2 800 (2 sticks of 1GB each)
> nVidia GeForce 7950GTOC

I don't think my board is very popular. I hardly see any posts about it
here.

Damaeus

"Damaeus" wrote in message...
> I'm so ****ed. I had to build a new computer because some Adobe
> software I needed to run requires SSE2 instructions,
>
> Well... I had no idea they were phasing out parallel and serial ports.

So who are you ****ed with? Abit for not warning you in advance that these
ports are now largely a thing of the past on their stuff, or yourself for
not looking at the specs in advance?

> Getting this motherboard was a mistake for me, I think.

It certainly doesn't sound like you did any homework before you chose this
particular board, no.

> I should have gotten something with more than just one lousy-assed PCI
> slot.

Sounds like, yes. You should also have got something with an onboard
parallel port. There are plenty of manufacturers still making suitably
equipped motherboards. If you didn't check this situation out beforehand,
you have nobody to blame but yourself.

> But I'm not totally willing to give up on it completely. I think it'll be
> a good
> setup once I get some kind of setup I can live with.

If you are able to do so, why don't you return it now, while you still have
the opportunity? You can then exchange it for a board that has both the
right number of PCI slots and an onboard parallel port, which appears to be
what you really need.
--


Richard Hopkins
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
(replace nospam with pipex in reply address)

In news:alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit, "Richard Hopkins"
<> posted on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:54:11 -0000:

> "Damaeus" wrote in message...
> > I'm so ****ed. I had to build a new computer because some Adobe
> > software I needed to run requires SSE2 instructions,
> >
> > Well... I had no idea they were phasing out parallel and serial ports.
>
> So who are you ****ed with? Abit for not warning you in advance that these
> ports are now largely a thing of the past on their stuff, or yourself for
> not looking at the specs in advance?

I'm ****ed at myself about the parallel port and for not checking the specs
more carefully. I just assumed it'd have one, and I thought I remembered
seeing specs saying it has one, but checking back on all the sites I read
about it, it just isn't there. And I'm just ****ed in general, but at no
one in particular, that my old rig, which I had no problems with, wasn't
able to run the Adobe software, so I had to spend $1500+. Well, I didn't
*HAVE* to... I could have gotten a motherboard that was older than this
one, but newer than my old one. But I figured I'd go ahead and get a late
model board so I'd be good for upgrades for a while. I just didn't
anticipate running into so many problems:

1. No matter what your boot options and priorities are set to in the BIOS,
and even though PATA hard drives are being phased out in favor of SATA
drives, the hard drive on the IDE ribbon cable will be Drive C and that
will be the boot drive. Period.
2. Installing AudioMAX soundcard drivers will hose your fresh WindowsXP
install, so prepare to to run another install to repair it.
3. AudioMAX sucks, but don't bother installing a Soundblaster. It won't
work. Hehehe.... Just get used to the crackling audio in FL Studio.

Those are the three main problems I have with this particular board. I
can't figure out why they used some shitty sound chip from a company like
Realtek. Earlier boards had sound from nVidia, and having an nVidia
chipset on the board, I wonder why they didn't do the same with sound.

> > Getting this motherboard was a mistake for me, I think.
>
> It certainly doesn't sound like you did any homework before you chose this
> particular board, no.

Actually, a website I looked at said it had both a parallel and serial
port. I figured I could get by with one PCI slot. I just bought a USB
modem so I could free up the PCI slot to get a card with a parallel port
connection on it. I've already tried a USB-to-parallel cable, but it
didn't work for some odd reason.

I didn't buy this one blindly. I will admit, however, to being an Abit
purist, and that's probably one downfall. I built an Abit KT7A-RAID
system, the one with something else, but I can't remember what because I
didn't have it for long. Then I built an Abit NF-7 system, and now this
Fatal1ty AN9 32X. Unless some sound card comes out for the PCIe x1 slot, I
may only keep this system until I get through school.

Of course, as much as I've had to buy to get this one up and running, all I
need now is another case, power supply, UPS, and a copy of WindowsXP and I
can rebuilt my old system completely. I even had to get a DVD burner for
class, so I have an extra CD burner and a DVD/CD-RW drive.

> > I should have gotten something with more than just one lousy-assed PCI
> > slot.
>
> Sounds like, yes. You should also have got something with an onboard
> parallel port. There are plenty of manufacturers still making suitably
> equipped motherboards. If you didn't check this situation out beforehand,
> you have nobody to blame but yourself.

Yeah, I did, or perhaps I

> > But I'm not totally willing to give up on it completely. I think
> > it'll be a good setup once I get some kind of setup I can live
> > with.
>
> If you are able to do so, why don't you return it now, while you still have
> the opportunity? You can then exchange it for a board that has both the
> right number of PCI slots and an onboard parallel port, which appears to be
> what you really need.

No, I've already got it installed. I'm going to make it work. Besides,
I'm using it for school work and I don't know what kinds of problems I'm
going to have if I start asking to have the same Adobe software licensed
again for a different PC.

--
Motherboard Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core
Graphics nVidia GeForce 7950GTOC
Memory 2GB DDR2 800 PC6400
Hard Drives 2x 320GB Western Digital SATA
-------------------------------------------------
WinXP Home SP2 / Firefox 2.x / IE7 / Trillian Pro 3.x

How about this?...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156005

Jon

"Damaeus" <no-> wrote in message
news:...
> In news:alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit, "Richard Hopkins"
> <> posted on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:54:11 -0000:
>
>> "Damaeus" wrote in message...
>> > I'm so ****ed. I had to build a new computer because some Adobe
>> > software I needed to run requires SSE2 instructions,
>> >
>> > Well... I had no idea they were phasing out parallel and serial ports.
>>
>> So who are you ****ed with? Abit for not warning you in advance that
>> these
>> ports are now largely a thing of the past on their stuff, or yourself for
>> not looking at the specs in advance?
>
> I'm ****ed at myself about the parallel port and for not checking the
> specs
> more carefully. I just assumed it'd have one, and I thought I remembered
> seeing specs saying it has one, but checking back on all the sites I read
> about it, it just isn't there. And I'm just ****ed in general, but at no
> one in particular, that my old rig, which I had no problems with, wasn't
> able to run the Adobe software, so I had to spend $1500+. Well, I didn't
> *HAVE* to... I could have gotten a motherboard that was older than this
> one, but newer than my old one. But I figured I'd go ahead and get a late
> model board so I'd be good for upgrades for a while. I just didn't
> anticipate running into so many problems:
>
> 1. No matter what your boot options and priorities are set to in the
> BIOS,
> and even though PATA hard drives are being phased out in favor of SATA
> drives, the hard drive on the IDE ribbon cable will be Drive C and that
> will be the boot drive. Period.
> 2. Installing AudioMAX soundcard drivers will hose your fresh WindowsXP
> install, so prepare to to run another install to repair it.
> 3. AudioMAX sucks, but don't bother installing a Soundblaster. It won't
> work. Hehehe.... Just get used to the crackling audio in FL Studio.
>
> Those are the three main problems I have with this particular board. I
> can't figure out why they used some shitty sound chip from a company like
> Realtek. Earlier boards had sound from nVidia, and having an nVidia
> chipset on the board, I wonder why they didn't do the same with sound.
>
>> > Getting this motherboard was a mistake for me, I think.
>>
>> It certainly doesn't sound like you did any homework before you chose
>> this
>> particular board, no.
>
> Actually, a website I looked at said it had both a parallel and serial
> port. I figured I could get by with one PCI slot. I just bought a USB
> modem so I could free up the PCI slot to get a card with a parallel port
> connection on it. I've already tried a USB-to-parallel cable, but it
> didn't work for some odd reason.
>
> I didn't buy this one blindly. I will admit, however, to being an Abit
> purist, and that's probably one downfall. I built an Abit KT7A-RAID
> system, the one with something else, but I can't remember what because I
> didn't have it for long. Then I built an Abit NF-7 system, and now this
> Fatal1ty AN9 32X. Unless some sound card comes out for the PCIe x1 slot,
> I
> may only keep this system until I get through school.
>
> Of course, as much as I've had to buy to get this one up and running, all
> I
> need now is another case, power supply, UPS, and a copy of WindowsXP and I
> can rebuilt my old system completely. I even had to get a DVD burner for
> class, so I have an extra CD burner and a DVD/CD-RW drive.
>
>> > I should have gotten something with more than just one lousy-assed PCI
>> > slot.
>>
>> Sounds like, yes. You should also have got something with an onboard
>> parallel port. There are plenty of manufacturers still making suitably
>> equipped motherboards. If you didn't check this situation out beforehand,
>> you have nobody to blame but yourself.
>
> Yeah, I did, or perhaps I
>
>> > But I'm not totally willing to give up on it completely. I think
>> > it'll be a good setup once I get some kind of setup I can live
>> > with.
>>
>> If you are able to do so, why don't you return it now, while you still
>> have
>> the opportunity? You can then exchange it for a board that has both the
>> right number of PCI slots and an onboard parallel port, which appears to
>> be
>> what you really need.
>
> No, I've already got it installed. I'm going to make it work. Besides,
> I'm using it for school work and I don't know what kinds of problems I'm
> going to have if I start asking to have the same Adobe software licensed
> again for a different PC.
>
> --
> Motherboard Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
> Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core
> Graphics nVidia GeForce 7950GTOC
> Memory 2GB DDR2 800 PC6400
> Hard Drives 2x 320GB Western Digital SATA
> -------------------------------------------------
> WinXP Home SP2 / Firefox 2.x / IE7 / Trillian Pro 3.x
>
>

This will fix your problem.

http://www.keenzo.com/showproduct.as...31349&ref=FRG1




On Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:31:45 -0500, "Zeppo" <>
wrote:

>How about this?...
>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156005
>
>Jon
>
>"Damaeus" <no-> wrote in message
>news:.. .
>> In news:alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit, "Richard Hopkins"
>> <> posted on Sun, 11 Feb 2007 11:54:11 -0000:
>>
>>> "Damaeus" wrote in message...
>>> > I'm so ****ed. I had to build a new computer because some Adobe
>>> > software I needed to run requires SSE2 instructions,
>>> >
>>> > Well... I had no idea they were phasing out parallel and serial ports.
>>>
>>> So who are you ****ed with? Abit for not warning you in advance that
>>> these
>>> ports are now largely a thing of the past on their stuff, or yourself for
>>> not looking at the specs in advance?
>>
>> I'm ****ed at myself about the parallel port and for not checking the
>> specs
>> more carefully. I just assumed it'd have one, and I thought I remembered
>> seeing specs saying it has one, but checking back on all the sites I read
>> about it, it just isn't there. And I'm just ****ed in general, but at no
>> one in particular, that my old rig, which I had no problems with, wasn't
>> able to run the Adobe software, so I had to spend $1500+. Well, I didn't
>> *HAVE* to... I could have gotten a motherboard that was older than this
>> one, but newer than my old one. But I figured I'd go ahead and get a late
>> model board so I'd be good for upgrades for a while. I just didn't
>> anticipate running into so many problems:
>>
>> 1. No matter what your boot options and priorities are set to in the
>> BIOS,
>> and even though PATA hard drives are being phased out in favor of SATA
>> drives, the hard drive on the IDE ribbon cable will be Drive C and that
>> will be the boot drive. Period.
>> 2. Installing AudioMAX soundcard drivers will hose your fresh WindowsXP
>> install, so prepare to to run another install to repair it.
>> 3. AudioMAX sucks, but don't bother installing a Soundblaster. It won't
>> work. Hehehe.... Just get used to the crackling audio in FL Studio.
>>
>> Those are the three main problems I have with this particular board. I
>> can't figure out why they used some shitty sound chip from a company like
>> Realtek. Earlier boards had sound from nVidia, and having an nVidia
>> chipset on the board, I wonder why they didn't do the same with sound.
>>
>>> > Getting this motherboard was a mistake for me, I think.
>>>
>>> It certainly doesn't sound like you did any homework before you chose
>>> this
>>> particular board, no.
>>
>> Actually, a website I looked at said it had both a parallel and serial
>> port. I figured I could get by with one PCI slot. I just bought a USB
>> modem so I could free up the PCI slot to get a card with a parallel port
>> connection on it. I've already tried a USB-to-parallel cable, but it
>> didn't work for some odd reason.
>>
>> I didn't buy this one blindly. I will admit, however, to being an Abit
>> purist, and that's probably one downfall. I built an Abit KT7A-RAID
>> system, the one with something else, but I can't remember what because I
>> didn't have it for long. Then I built an Abit NF-7 system, and now this
>> Fatal1ty AN9 32X. Unless some sound card comes out for the PCIe x1 slot,
>> I
>> may only keep this system until I get through school.
>>
>> Of course, as much as I've had to buy to get this one up and running, all
>> I
>> need now is another case, power supply, UPS, and a copy of WindowsXP and I
>> can rebuilt my old system completely. I even had to get a DVD burner for
>> class, so I have an extra CD burner and a DVD/CD-RW drive.
>>
>>> > I should have gotten something with more than just one lousy-assed PCI
>>> > slot.
>>>
>>> Sounds like, yes. You should also have got something with an onboard
>>> parallel port. There are plenty of manufacturers still making suitably
>>> equipped motherboards. If you didn't check this situation out beforehand,
>>> you have nobody to blame but yourself.
>>
>> Yeah, I did, or perhaps I
>>
>>> > But I'm not totally willing to give up on it completely. I think
>>> > it'll be a good setup once I get some kind of setup I can live
>>> > with.
>>>
>>> If you are able to do so, why don't you return it now, while you still
>>> have
>>> the opportunity? You can then exchange it for a board that has both the
>>> right number of PCI slots and an onboard parallel port, which appears to
>>> be
>>> what you really need.
>>
>> No, I've already got it installed. I'm going to make it work. Besides,
>> I'm using it for school work and I don't know what kinds of problems I'm
>> going to have if I start asking to have the same Adobe software licensed
>> again for a different PC.
>>
>> --
>> Motherboard Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
>> Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core
>> Graphics nVidia GeForce 7950GTOC
>> Memory 2GB DDR2 800 PC6400
>> Hard Drives 2x 320GB Western Digital SATA
>> -------------------------------------------------
>> WinXP Home SP2 / Firefox 2.x / IE7 / Trillian Pro 3.x
>>
>>
>

In news:alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit, "Zeppo" <>
posted on Sat, 17 Feb 2007 21:31:45 -0500:

> How about this?...
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812156005

I tried one of those. For some reason it won't work. I worked on it for
hours and never could get it to print. I just got a different printer.
Sucks, too, cuz I had just bought a new toner cartridge for my old laser
printer. ; ;

--
Motherboard Abit Fatal1ty AN9 32X
Processor AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Dual Core
Graphics nVidia GeForce 7950GTOC
Memory 2GB DDR2 800 PC6400
Hard Drives 2x 320GB Western Digital SATA
-------------------------------------------------
WinXP Home SP2 / Firefox 2.x / IE7 / Trillian Pro 3.x