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Dear Windows-Help.NET Subscriber,
Intel Corporation this week announced that it would replace motherboards that have a defective memory translator hub (MTH) component that translates signals from SDRAM memory to the Intel® 820 Chipset. The MTH is only used with motherboards utilizing SDRAM and the Intel 820 Chipset. The MTH began shipping in November 1999; therefore systems shipped before that time are unaffected by this issue.
Intel has identified system noise issues with the MTH that can cause some systems to intermittently reset, reboot and/or hang. In addition, the noise issue can, under extreme conditions, potentially cause data corruption. In some instances the company has been able to induce data corruption under synthetic stress testing in its laboratories.
Computer users who want to know if their board/system uses an MTH component can contact their computer maker or place of purchase for more information, or they can download [810KB] a utility to determine if they have a board/system containing the MTH component. You can find the Readme file on the Intel Web site.
What To Do If An MTH Is Detected
If an MTH is present on your system, you may be affected by this issue. According to Intel, you will need to contact your point of purchase. They can help evaluate your configuration and determine a solution for your system.
Given that this issue has just recently come to light, it's possible that your point of purchase is still developing their support processes and getting full details to their customer support/tech support centers. We suggest you wait a few days to give them time to finalize their support schedule and training.
Intel has offered to replace the motherboards inside all computers containing the MTH, as well as replace the current memory with Rambus chips.
In a worst case scenario, replacing the motherboards alone may cost $100 million, but swapping out ordinary memory with Rambus memory, however, will likely raise the cost considerably. Rambus memory costs around three times as much as standard memory.
"We know that the number of PCs with this particular configuration is less than 1 million," said Intel spokesman Michael Sullivan, who reiterated that affected consumers will be able to get a new motherboard and new memory on request. It won't just be a simple motherboard swap. "If we had a different MTH today, we could do that."
Microsoft Urges Court to Dismiss Government's Breakup Proposal Immediately
Microsoft Corp. this week urged U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to dismiss the government's unprecedented proposal to break up the company and outlined more appropriate remedies as well as a range of procedures designed to move the remedy phase forward as quickly as possible.
"We are working to try to resolve this case as quickly as possible, in a fair and reasonable manner. We believe there is no basis in this case for the government's unprecedented breakup proposal, and we are hopeful that the Court will dismiss this excessive demand immediately so that the case can move forward much more rapidly," said Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.
"Even without the extreme breakup proposal, many elements of the government's proposed regulations are unwarranted, outside the scope of this case, and very damaging to consumers," Gates said. "The government's proposals would take away Microsoft's property by forcing us to disclose the source code for our products, even though Microsoft spent hundreds of millions of dollars to develop these products. The government also seeks to interfere with the design of Microsoft's products."
You can read the full text of Microsoft's reaction to the government's breakup proposal on the Microsoft Web site.
S P O N S O R
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13 May 2000, Vol 3 No. 19