Is there any way to get an MXI-Express x4 chassis working with an Intel DG965WH?

[Flanagan]

I'm trying to use an MXI-Express x4 chassis (with an NI PCIe-8371 and NI PXIe-8370) with an Intel DG965RY motherboard. The computer gets stuck at BIOS whenever the chassis is powered on. I have already updated the BIOS to no avail.

I read at http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/tut/p/id/5022 that the Intel DG965WH is not recommended for use with PXI express, and I assume that the two motherboard are close enough for all intents and purposes. However, we already have the computer. Has anybody managed to figure out a way make this work for either of those motherboards? If not, how would I ask word a question to Intel asking for possible work-arounds? I'm really a novice when it comes to NI products.

Thanks in advance for any help you may have!

[Scott_G]

Hi Flanagan,

I have not found any specific documented cases where that motherboard worked, but also have not found too many documented cases where it didn't work.  In most cases people just document which computer they are using, not which motherboard so it makes it slightly more difficult. 

If I were to try to contact Intel to see if there is a way to fix this, I would ask if there is a bios available for that motherboard that supports PCI expansion.  And if not could they develop and/or release one? Basically a PXI system with MXI shows up in device manager as a standard PCI to PCI bridge.  If your computer is not booting past the bios, it means that the bios is not set up to assign resources to the additional PCI slots.  If you tell them you are trying to use PCI expansion, they may be able to give you a workaround or a bios that supports it. 

Also, make sure you have tried booting without any cards in the PXI chassis besides the MXI card.  This will ensure that it is actually a compatibility issue with the MXI and not one of the other cards in the chassis.  You could also try it on another computer to make sure it's not a hardware issue.

[Torba]

Hello Flanagan,

There is a known issue with Intel based motherboards with allocating resources for empty bridges in the BIOS that will cause the system to hang during POST.  This issue has so far been detected with PXI-1045 chasses if there is an empty segment present, or with the PXIe-1062Q chasses if all of the PXIe slots are not occupied.  At this time there is not a workaround available for this problem.  We are working with Intel to fix this issue.

Do you have a 1045 or 1062Q chassis in this case?

Regards,

Mike Torba
National Instruments

[Flanagan]

Thank you for your replies. We've decided to just replace the motherboard.