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MBProbe
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Frequently Asked Questions
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Copyright 1998-2002 Jonathan Soon Yew Teh
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http://mbprobe.livewiredev.com/
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General
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-------
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Q: Does MBProbe slow down my computer?
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A: Yes, by a little. ANY program running in the background will slow down the
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computer. The question is: by how much? MBProbe only polls the monitoring
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chips once every 5 seconds and does some trivial calculations and
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comparisons so the impact on system performance is negligible. You
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certainly won't notice it and it probably won't affect benchmarks like
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Winbench or Winstone either.
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Q: It says "Unable to open giveio.sys driver" in Windows NT/2000 and quits.
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I thought you said it supported Windows NT/2000.
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A: It does. You must install the giveio.sys driver first using NTINST
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otherwise MBProbe will be unable to access I/O ports. Refer to readme.txt.
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Q: Why does it detect my CPU incorrectly?
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A: Many CPUs share the same CPUID (see techinfo.txt) and MBProbe does not
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make any attempt to differentiate them as this is not its primary purpose.
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Get a proper CPU identification program instead.
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Q: Why does my system hang/reboot when MBProbe tries to suspend it?
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A: This is a power management issue rather than an MBProbe issue as it is
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calling a proper, documented Win32 API function to suspend the system.
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Your system doesn't have power management setup properly or one of the
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drivers in your system does not support power management correctly and
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needs to be upgraded.
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You can opt for MBProbe to do nothing or to shutdown the system instead.
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Q: How do I change the directory where the logs are generated?
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A: Simply start MBProbe from a different directory. Edit the properties of
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the MBProbe shortcut and change the path in the 'Start in' entry.
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Q: Why does Scandisk or Defrag keep restarting?
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A: The logging options write something to the hard drive occassionally,
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especially history logging. Disable logging for the duration of the
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Scandisk or Defrag.
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Q: How do I specify arguments for the executable run by a warning event?
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A: You can't. Write a script for this using a DOS batch file, JScript or
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VBScript. You will require the Windows Scripting Host for the latter two.
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Other scripting languages like Perl will also work as long as you
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associate the extension (e.g. .perl) with the correct interpreter (e.g.
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c:\perl\bin\perl.exe). In fact, any file type with an 'Open' function
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defined will work.
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Q: How do get it to do ... when a warning event occurs?
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A: Write a script to do it and put that as an executable. With the right
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scripting language (and some programming skills) you can get it to do
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practically anything :)
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Q: I've recently upgraded from a rather old version of MBProbe and/or
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changed my motherboard and now MBProbe is behaving strangely?
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A: Quit MBProbe and delete the registry key:
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HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Jonathan Teh/MBProbe
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Restart MBProbe and it will restore its default settings.
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Hardware
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--------
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Q: How do I know whether my motherboard has a monitoring chip?
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A: The easiest way is to just run MBProbe and see if it finds anything. Some
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recent motherboards do include a hardware monitoring chip.
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The following indicates your motherboard has a monitoring chip:
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1. The BIOS setup has voltage/temperature/fan speed readings.
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2. The motherboard comes bundled with some monitoring software or Intel
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LANDesk Client Manager with temperature monitoring.
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3. You check the motherboard and find one on it :)
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These may indicate that your motherboard does not have a monitoring chip:
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1. You have a branded computer (e.g. Dell, Gateway, HP) or have an OEM
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motherboard. Some motherboard manufacturers like Asus, Intel and QDI
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do not include hardware monitoring in their OEM boards.
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Q: I'm very sure my motherboard has a hardware monitoring chip but it still
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says "None".
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A: So it does. Check the list of unsupported chips first to see if the chip
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in your motherboard is listed there. If it is, you're out of luck.
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If not, it may be that your chip isn't where MBProbe expects it to be.
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The LM78-type chips are searched for at ISA port 290h. Other hardware
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monitoring chips are searched for at SMBus address 28h-2fh. Chips at other
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ports/addresses will not be found. If you have such a configuration, try
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to find out the address of the chip and contact me with the information.
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SMBus monitoring chips are slave devices and as such need a supported
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SMBus host.
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Q: Does MBProbe support multiprocessor systems?
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A: Yes, it will work fine on systems with more than 1 CPU. However, in order
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to monitor more than one CPU, it would require that the monitoring chips
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support monitoring more than one CPU. E.g. the Asus P2B-D uses a W83781D
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which can monitor 2 CPU core voltages, 2 CPU core temperatures (via
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thermistors) and 2 CPU fans. Check the with the motherboard manual or
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manufacturer.
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Q: My SMBus host shows "(Disabled)". How do I enable it?
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A: Some chipsets (e.g. ALi) have the SMBus host and power management
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controller as one device. Try enabling power management in the BIOS setup.
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For other chipsets, a BIOS upgrade may be necessary. Contact your vendor.
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Q: My motherboard has a VIA MVP3 chipset. Why isn't the SMBus being detected?
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A: Most MVP3 chipsets actually have a VT82C586B south bridge which has an I2C
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host and not an SMBus host. This is unsupported (read knownissues.html for
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the reason). I do have a spare motherboard with a 586B south bridge but
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have not found the time to support it.
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Q: What's SMBus?
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A: SMBus is Intel's System Management Bus which is subset of the Philips
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I2C bus. It is a two-wire serial interface for devices such as hardware
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monitors, smart batteries and power management related chips. Devices on
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the bus are SMBus slaves and thus requires an SMBus host to communicate
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with them. For further information refer to techinfo.txt for the
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location of the SMBus specification sheet.
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Voltage
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Q: The voltage readings are screwed. What's wrong?
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A: This is due to some motherboard manufacturers connecting different
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voltages to the monitoring chips. Refer to the known issues section in the
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readme. Please report your complete set of readings (from MBProbe and
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another source such as the BIOS, in the original order), motherboard model
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and I will try and correct it. For the time being, disable the warnings.
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There is an option to use an alternate voltage order for SiS5595 chips.
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Try it and see if it corrects the readings.
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Q: What do all the voltages mean?
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A: Vccp1/2 : CPU core voltages for 1st and 2nd CPU
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1.5V : Vtt or the AGTL+ bus termination voltage
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2.5V : Good question ;-)
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3.3V : I/O voltage (communications between chips)
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5V, 12V : Used for motors (e.g. drives) and fans
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-5V, -12V: Some op-amps need negative voltages
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Vsb : Standby voltage (ATX motherboards)
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Vbat : Battery voltage (not sure what this means for desktop PCs)
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Q: What is Vccp2 (and sometimes +2.5V) supposed to be?
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A: Any number of things. If the monitoring chip supports this reading then
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MBProbe simply reports it. Only the motherboard manufacturer knows what it
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could be. It could read:
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o Similar to Vccp1
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Dual processor boards have one reading for each processor.
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One exception is the Abit BP6 where 'Vccp2' is a 1.5V (Vtt) reading
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and the real Vccp2 is the Vbat reading.
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o Same as Vccp1
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On my (uniprocessor) Asus P2B, they're both the same.
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o 3.3V
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The Intel VC820 seems to have Vccp2 connected to 3.3V.
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o 2.5V
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That's what the +2.5V reading is supposed to be.
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o 1.5V
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Some boards (Intel, QDI) have Vccp2 or +2.5V connected to Vtt instead
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which has a nominal voltage of +1.5V. Adjust the nominal voltage in the
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voltage tab accordingly. Vtt is the AGTL+ bus termination voltage.
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o Some weird value
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The Tekram P6B40-A4X connects the Vccp2 input to a thermistor instead
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and as such gives a nonsensical Vccp2 reading. Disable the warning for
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it and select "Tekram" for the CPU temperature.
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Q: Why are some of the voltage readings/adjustments disabled?
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A: Some monitoring chips do not support certain readings. E.g. LM78-type
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chips are normally not setup to monitor +2.5V.
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Q: Why is the Vccp1 (CPU core voltage) reading slightly off?
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A: Some motherboards supply a slightly higher CPU core voltage than is
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requested by the CPU or manually set in the BIOS. This results in the
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slightly higher reading in MBProbe.
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Motherboards which are known to do this include the Soltek SL-75KAV.
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Q: Why are the +12V, -5V and -12V readings slightly off?
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A: Please switch the voltage divider mode in the properties dialog.
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Reason: Voltages are 'divided' with resistors before connection to the
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chip. Most motherboard manufacturers actually use resistor values meant
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for the Winbond W83781D even though they have installed an LM78/79. Some
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motherboard manufacturers do use the proper resistor values (e.g. Tekram)
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hence the need for the new switch as there is no way of determining the
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values via software. The default is the Winbond values; if these give
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readings which are too low, switch to the LM78 values.
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Q: Why do I get weird voltage readings on a Myson MTP008?
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A: This chip uses the same register for temperature 3 and -12V as well as
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temperature 2 and +12V. Hence only one or the other will make sense.
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Q: Why can't I enable warnings for both Vccp2 and -12V?
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A: You have a Heceta 2/3 monitoring chip. The Vccp2 and -12V readings are
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read from the same location hence only one of the readings would make
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sense. This depends on what the motherboard manufacturer actually
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connected to that input. Intel boards have it connected it to -12V.
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Q: The monitoring software that came with my GL518SM shows 4 voltages but
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only the Vccp1 reading in MBProbe is correct.
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A: The GL518SM can monitor 4 voltages but can only show the value for 1, in
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this case it's Vin3 on chip which generally is connected as Vccp1. The
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other voltages can only be monitored for exceeding the limits but their
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current values cannot be read. The monitoring software you have is
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'reading' the value by continuously resetting the limits and checking
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whether the voltage exceeds that limit. This is not implemented in
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MBProbe and probably will never be.
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Q: It displays my CPU voltage as 0.00V. What's wrong?
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A: Chances are your CPU is either too old or too new. In particular, CPU
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voltages for 486 and early Pentium 60/66 CPUs are not in the program since
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it is assumed that motherboards supporting CPUs that old would not be
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equipped with a hardware monitoring chip.
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The other case is that the CPU is too new and MBProbe has not been updated
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yet to take this into account. Please e-mail me with full details of your
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processor (manufacturer, model, clock, voltage) and I will update MBProbe.
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Q: It detects my CPU voltage incorrectly. What effect does this have?
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A: This is harmless; simply select the correct CPU core voltage in the
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'Voltage' tab.
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MBProbe guesses the CPU voltage via its CPUID. This is basically the
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information you see under 'CPU information' on the 'General' tab in
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Properties. The problem with this is that the CPUID doesn't always
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differentiate every single variant of a particular CPU.
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You can either guess the voltage of your CPU based on the value returned
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by the monitoring chip, check the table in techinfo.txt or look for it
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on the CPU itself.
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Temperature
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-----------
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Q: What's the ideal temperature for my system?
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A: Good question. For motherboards, the default warning of 40<34>C seems
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reasonable as most boards seem to hover around 25-35<33>C. Intel recommend
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that the temperature of the air surrounding the CPU (i.e. "motherboard
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temperature") be no higher than 40<34>C. The temperature of the interior of
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the case is generally around 10<31>C higher than room temperature so adjust
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accordingly. Notebook motherboard temperatures are higher and are usually
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in the range 60-70<37>C.
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For CPUs, it depends on the type of CPU and how the temperature is measured.
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If the sensor is located beneath the socket (usually Socket 7) then you need
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to adjust a temperature offset first (see techinfo.txt).
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A thermistor pasted to the heatsink of a CPU should be reading CPU 'case
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temperature'. Intel recommend a maximum case temperature of 70-75<37>C
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depending on the exact model. Check http://developer.intel.com/ for more
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info. Most people seem to get a reading of 30-45<34>C.
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Newer sensor chips which measure the temperature of the silicon die via a
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thermal diode on the CPU itself would read the 'die temperature' and this
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would be higher. A 'normal reading' would be in the range of 55-80<38>C (as
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seen on a Toshiba Tecra 8000 notebook).
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I've also measured temperatures of graphics chips using a thermistor
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attached to the heatsink. For reference, I get 40-48<34>C on an ATI Rage 128
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and 47-55<35>C on a 3dfx Voodoo Banshee, Matrox G400MAX and Nvidia Riva TNT
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with the manufacturer's heat sink and fan (if equipped).
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Q: Can my board monitor CPU temperature?
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A: I don't know. If MBProbe assigns a sensor to the CPU temperature, then it
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probably can. You may have to change some settings and/or plug in a
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thermistor into the motherboard and attach it to the CPU. Note that most
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LM78/79 and Heceta2 equipped boards cannot monitor CPU temperature. Refer
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to techinfo.txt for board-specific details.
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Q: Which one is my CPU temperature?
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A: The default sensor chosen by MBProbe works only some of the time. Refer to
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techinfo.txt for the correct sensor to choose.
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Some motherboards have their own specific sensor types- choose those
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instead. E.g. the Asus CUSL2 uses a different calculation for the CPU
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temperature.
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The Tekram P6B40-A4X uses the Vccp2 input for a thermistor instead and
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this is sensor 'Tekram' under MBProbe. Of course, on other boards this
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will give you a nonsensical value as Vccp2 is usually connected to the
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CPU core voltage or to Vtt (1.5V). Do NOT try to reconnect it to a
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thermistor in a vain attempt to get a temperature reading!
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Q: What's the Aux1,2 reading measuring?
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A: It depends on the motherboard. Some motherboards provide a 2-pin header to
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connect an external thermistor to measure whatever you wish. If left
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unconnected, it could show weird readings like -48<34>C or 125<32>C. Disable the
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warning in that case.
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If no 2-pin header is provided and it shows a sensible reading, then it is
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probably an extra motherboard temperature reading.
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Q: How accurate are the temperature readings?
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A: Most of the sensor chips are rated for +/-3<>C when measuring on-chip
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temperature and +/-5<>C when measuring remote diode temperature. Some
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exceptions are listed below:
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ADM1020/1/1A/2: +/-1<>C on-chip, +/-3<>C remote diode
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ADM1023 : +/-1<>C on-chip, +/-1<>C remote diode
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LM82/3/7 : +/-3<>C on-chip, +/-4<>C remote diode
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LM84 : +/-1<>C on-chip, +/-5<>C remote diode
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Q: What type of thermistor should I use?
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A: If you have a Winbond chip it's an NTC type, 10Kohm @ 25<32>C, B-value 3435.
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Visit your local electronics hobbyist store for the thermistors or ask
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the dealer where you purchased your motherboard from. Asus sells the P2T
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thermistor for their boards.
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Q: Why do the temperature readings show -48<34>C?
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A: You probably have a Winbond chip. The two -48<34>C readings are coming from
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external temperature inputs which are unconnected. You need to get two
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thermistors and connect them to the corresponding pins on the motherboard.
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On my Asus P2B, they are labeled JTCPU and JTPWR.
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Q: Why do I get the same readings from the LM75|1, 0 and W8378xx:2, 3?
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A: The Winbond chips simulate two LM75s (W83783S simulates 1 only) and as
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such gives identical readings to its own 2nd and 3rd temperature inputs.
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Usually W8378xx:2 is equivalent to LM75:1 and W8378xx:3 to LM75:0.
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Q: Why is the 'CPU thermal diode' section greyed out?
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A: They are only enabled for certain chips. Winbond W83782D and W83783S chips
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accept either a thermal diode or thermistor on their temperature inputs.
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Enable the appropriate box to ensure a correct reading of the CPU
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temperature. Abit boards have the thermal diode connected to Sensor:2.
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Q: When is a CPU temperature offset needed?
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A: This is normally needed on motherboards using a temperature sensor under
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a socketed CPU. The sensor is not in direct contact with the CPU, hence
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the requirement for an offset to account for the insulating layer of air
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between the sensor and the CPU.
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This usually applies only to Socket 7 boards.
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Q: Why is the default temperature display in Fahrenheit?
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A: It is the default only if your regional settings (in the Control Panel) is
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set to English (United States). Many people forget to change the regional
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settings when installing Windows. Just change the temperature display to
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Celsius if you like.
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Fans
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----
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Q: Why are some of the fan readings/settings disabled?
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A: Some monitoring chips do not support 3 fan inputs. Refer to the feature
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table in techinfo.txt. Also, some chips have 3 fan inputs but the divisor
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on the 3rd input is fixed at 2.
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Q: Why are my fan readings displayed in the wrong place?
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A: Some motherboard manufacturers (Abit, Intel) have the CPU fan connected to
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the 3rd fan input. Just change the Fan 3 label to 'CPU'. Others seem to
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use Fan 1 as the CPU fan reading.
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Q: Why does it show 0RPM even though I have a fan plugged in?
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A: You need a fan with tachometer output. Such fans usually have 3 wires for
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+Vcc, ground and tachometer output. If you have such a fan plugged in and
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it still shows 0RPM you may have to adjust the fan divisor.
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Q: What are fan divisors for?
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A: The monitoring chips do not directly return the RPM of the fan directly;
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instead they return the number of 'counts'.
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As a guide, use the following divisor values corresponding to your fan's
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nominal RPM:
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Divisor Nominal fan RPM RPM Range Resolution (at nominal)
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1 8800 5294-1350000 ~58
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2 4400 2647- 675000 ~29
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4 2200 1324- 337500 ~14
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8 1100 662- 168750 ~ 7
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If you have a fan connected and the reading shows 0RPM, try selecting a
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higher divisor. Always use the lowest possible divisor that still gives a
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non-zero reading to ensure sufficient resolution (jumps between RPM
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indications).
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In practice, MBProbe has a maximum fan reading of 9999RPM.
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Q: Why don't the fan divisor changes take place immediately?
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A: Fan divisors have to be set on the hardware monitoring chip and it only
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takes effect the next time a reading is taken, hence the delay.
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