MBProbe

http://mbprobe.livewiredev.com/

What is it?

MBProbe is a program which monitors voltages, temperatures and fan speeds using monitoring chip(s) present on many modern motherboards. Its features include:

Small memory footprint.
Up to 9 voltage, 4 temperature and 3 fan speed readings.
Automatic detection of monitoring chips.
Setting of nominal voltage and fan speeds with warning and critical thresholds.
Setting of temperature warning and critical limits and offset readings.
Setting of sensor used for each temperature reading.
Temperature display in Celsius or Fahrenheit.
Customisable task when any temperature exceeds critical limit for more than 30 seconds continuously.
Ignores fan warnings for 10 seconds after system comes out of suspend.
Swappable temperature display in status icon on taskbar.
Event and history logs.

Requirements

Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000 or XP
Motherboard with hardware monitoring capability

Supports one hardware monitoring chip

LM78-based (ISA or SMBus)

Asus AS99127F, Winbond W83783S, W83L784R (SMBus only)
Myson MTP006, MTP008
National Semiconductor LM78, LM78-J or LM79
Winbond W83781D, W83782D

Other SMBus hardware monitoring chips

Genesys Logic GL518SM, GL520SM, GL525SM
National Semiconductor LM80

Heceta 2-based (SMBus)

Analog Devices ADM9240
Dallas Semiconductor DS1780
National Semiconductor LM81

Heceta 3-based (SMBus)

Analog Devices ADM1024
National Semiconductor LM87

Heceta 4-based (SMBus)

Analog Devices ADM1025
Philips NE1619

Temperature monitors (SMBus)

Analog Devices ADM1022, ADM1028
Fairchild Semiconductor FMS2701
Texas Instruments THMC50

Super I/O with built-in hardware monitoring

ITE IT8705F, IT8712F
National Semiconductor PC87366
SiS950 (SiS540, 630, 633, 635, 730, 733, 735)
Winbond W83627HF, W83697HF

Super I/O with built-in fan monitoring

SMSC LPC47B27x (Intel OR840 motherboard)
SMSC LPC47M10x (Intel VC820, D815EEA motherboards)
SMSC LPC47M14x
SMSC LPC47B37x
SMSC LPC47S42x

Chipset with built-in hardware monitoring

SiS5595 (SiS5591, 530, 5600, 600, 620)
VIA VT82C686A/B (some Apollo MVP4, Pro, Pro133, PM133, PLE133, KX133, KT133, KM133, KL133)
VIA VT8231 (Apollo Pro266, KT266)

Supports multiple temperature-only monitoring chips (SMBus)

Analog Devices ADM1020, ADM1021(A), ADM1023, ADM1032
Dallas Semiconductor DS75
Genesys Logic GL523SM, GL528SM
Maxim MAX1617, MAX1617A, MAX1618, MAX1619, MAX1668, MAX1805
National Semiconductor LM75, LM83, LM84
Philips NE1617, NE1617A
Texas Instruments THMC10

Chipset with SMBus host controller (required for SMBus monitoring chips)

Acer Labs M1533/1543C (some Aladdin 4, 4+, 5, 7, Pro 2, TNT2)
Acer Labs M1535/1535D (some Aladdin 7, Pro 4, Pro 5, TNT2, MAGiK1)
AMD-755/756 (AMD-750)
AMD-766 (AMD-760, 760MP)
AMD-768 (AMD-760MPX)
Intel 82371AB/EB (i430TX, i440LX/EX/BX/ZX/GX, i450NX)
Intel 82801AA/AB (i810, i810e, i815, i820, i840)
Intel 82801BA (i810E, i815E, i815EP, i820E, i845, i850, i860)
Intel 82801BAM (i815EM)
Intel 82801CAM (i830M)
Reliance OSB4 (ServerSet ServerWorks III)
SMSC SLC90E66 (VictoryBX-66)
VIA VT82C596A/B (some Apollo Pro, Pro133)
VIA VT82C686A/B (some Apollo MVP4, Pro, Pro133, PM133, PLE133, KX133, KT133, KM133, KL133)
VIA VT8231 (Apollo Pro266, KT266)
VIA VT8233 (Apollo Pro266, KT266)

Optional thermistors to measure temperature (for Winbond chips)
Optional FanTemp to measure temperature using fan inputs

Usage

Simply start MBProbe from the Windows start menu. The first time it starts, it attempts to automatically configure the CPU voltage and temperature sensors settings. All voltage warnings are enabled as well as motherboard temperature warning. Warnings for CPU and power supply temperature as well as for each fan will be enabled if the relevant sensors are present.

If there is a problem with accessing the SMBus on your system, start MBProbe with the "-nosmbus" parameter from the command-line:

MBProbe -nosmbus

The event log is stored in the file "MBProbeEventLog.txt" and it logs warning events and critical events. The history log is stored in the file "MBProbeHistoryLog.txt" and it stores spot readings taken at regular intervals.

Status icon

The status icon shows the current temperature of the selected device. This has a range from -199-199 with the display saturating at either end i.e. if the reading is greater than 199, it will display 199. If you chose to swap temperature readings, it will cycle in the colour sequence of green, cyan, white and yellow for temperature sensors 1 to 4 respectively. Negative temperatures are displayed with a blue background.

Left-click to display the main window or right-click to display the context menu. Left-clicking also clears the horizontal lines which are displayed after a warning event has occurred.

The tooltip displays motherboard temperature, CPU temperature and CPU fan speed.

Main window

The main window shows all the readings obtained from the monitoring chip(s). The chips are read every 5 seconds.

The check box on the left of each item enables/disables the warning for each reading. The light on the right shows the status of the reading:

Grey : Warning disabled
Green: OK
Red : Warning threshold exceeded- action needed

The main window automatically pops-up when a warning threshold has been exceeded.

Properties

The properties dialog consists of 6 tabs:

Voltage

This allows you to set the nominal voltage for your CPU core and 3.3V I/O. The warning threshold setting limits the deviation of all voltage readings to within that percentage. E.g. a nominal voltage of 2.00V and a 10% warning threshold triggers a warning when the voltage drops below 1.90V or rises above 2.10V. The critical threshold works similarly but triggers a critical event.

Temperature

The warning limit sets the temperature which, when exceeded, will trigger a warning. The critical limit, when exceeded, will trigger a critical event.
The temperature offset is added to the raw temperature reading from the sensor. This is generally only required for Socket-7 CPUs.
The sensor input allows you to set the temperature sensor corresponding to each reading. This is to allow for the different sensors adopted by various motherboard manufacturers. Note that only sensors detected on your system are displayed.
The CPU thermal diode option is only enabled on certain chips. The W83782D/3S have temperature inputs which can be connected to either thermistors or thermal diodes. Check the correct sensor for those connected to a thermal diode.

This allows you to set the nominal fan speed for each fan. Typical values are 2200, 4400 and 8800RPM. Check your fan manufacturer for the correct value, otherwise just take the current reading as the nominal value. The 'warning below' option sets the threshold at which a warning will be triggered. E.g. a 4400RPM nominal speed and 70% threshold will trigger a warning when the fan speed drops below 3080RPM. A fan dropping below 70% of its nominal speed is generally accepted as a 'blocked' fan.
The divisor option is due to the way fan speeds are calculated from the values given by the monitoring chip. If you have a fan connected to an input and it shows 0RPM, try selecting a higher fan divisor.
The labels option allows you to specify the labels for each fan input. This is due to the fact that labelling is non-standard among different motherboard manufacturers.

Tasks

A warning event can trigger one or more actions: bringing the main window to the top, beeping the speaker, blinking the status icon and logging the warning in the event log.
A critical event occurs when any temperature exceeds the value specified above the warning limit for greater than 30 seconds continuously. The system can then be suspended or shutdown.
For either event, you can also choose to execute a program. Enter the complete pathname to the executable or browse by clicking '...'.
The history log can be optionally enabled here. You can also set the time interval as steps of 5 seconds.

Display

The temperature(s) displayed in the status icon can be specified here. If more than one temperature input is selected, they will be swapped at the specified interval.
The temperature units can be specified as either in Celsius or Fahrenheit. The temperature/fan readings in the tooltip can be specified by checking the appropriate box.

Info

This displays information about your CPU and monitoring chips. These are autodetected and cannot be modified. The value for the CPU voltage is derived from the CPUID (identification instruction sent to the CPU).

About

This just has the version number, copyright and contact information.

Acknowledgements

Dale Roberts for the giveio.sys port I/O access driver for NT.

Analog Devices for generously supplying free evaluation boards of their hardware monitors.

Alex van Kaam (Motherboard Monitorauthor) for sharing many datasheets (ALi, VIA, Fairchild, TI), programming information and beta testing.

Bruce Fishbein (FanTemp designer) for his assistance in FanTemp support in MBProbe and allowing me to host the FanTemp document.

Martin Malik (HWiNFOauthor) for sharing VIA VT82C686A info.

All beta testers, getting too many to mention now.

All those who gave feedback and/or bug reports. Thanks.

Licence

MBProbe is free for non-commercial use.

MBProbe may be freely distributed as long as the files in this archive are unchanged and no fee is charged for its distribution. No part of this program may be reverse engineered, dissasembled, decompiled, or be used as part of another program.

MBProbe is provided "as is" and without any warranty. The author cannot be held responsible for anything that happens to you or your equipment. Use it at your own risk.

By using MBProbe, you agree to the terms of this license.