Solved Incompatibility JMicron JMB36X Windows 8.1

spapakons

Member
Messages
74
Hello!

Background:

In August 2012 I upgraded my PC from Pentium 4 to Asus P8H61 M/B, Core-i3 CPU and 8GB DDR3 RAM. The M/B has the new Intel 1155 socket that doesn't natively support IDE devices. I had two old IDE/ATAPI DVD-RW drives that I wanted to keep alongside my new SATA BD-R drive, so I also bought an IDE/SATA PCI-E card. Before the upgrade I had Windows 7 Ultimate 32-bit, but since now the RAM was increased to 8GB, I made a backup of my data and installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. All hardware including the IDE card worked as expected, not issue so far.

How the problem occured:

Recently I decided to upgrade to Windows 8.1 Pro. To avoid all the hassle of another backup and clean installation, I cheated by doing an upgrade first to Windows 8 Pro 64-bit and then to Windows 8.1 Pro to have the newest version. After the upgrade I realized that most hardware had now Microsoft drivers while some devices (including the IDE card) were not installed. No problem, I updated the drivers to latest OEM versions (e.g. Intel, Realtek, nVidia etc.) for Windows 8/8.1 to make sure all my devices work at their full potential and all features as in Windows 7. I didn't manage to make an old TV Tuner (BT878 chipset) work with custom 64-bit drivers (it was working fine in Windows 7 64-bit, see my other post) and the IDE card. For the IDE/SATA card I tried many JMicron JMX36X drivers, including the official latest ones from their site. The driver seems to install forever and after too many minutes it fails. However, the controller seems to have installed and my DVD-RW drives are recognized properly, but the computer hangs after restart at the Windows 8 boot screen with the spinning dots! If I manage to boot in safe mode (thank God I enabled the legacy boot menu, so I can do it by pressing F8 at startup), the computer starts normally, the controller appears working without any issues at Device Manager and my IDE DVD-RW drives both appear as they should in "This Computer". I even loaded a DVD and it was read properly and I could browse the files! Assuming now the controller is installed and works properly, I attempted to restart in normal mode. The same thing! The computer hangs forever at the Windows 8 logo with the spinning dots! I suspect some service or application is responsible for this. It probably doesn't load at Safe Mode, so Windows start in Safe Mode without any problem, but it tries to load at Normal Mode and it hangs the whole system! The only way to start my PC in Normal Mode is to disable the controller but then of course my IDE DVD-RW are also disabled and I cannot use them!

If you have any ideas, please do share! It's driving me crazy! :confused: Of course I want to continue using Windows 8.1, I don't want to go back to 7 just for a stupid IDE card! Don't even think about suggesting me to do a format! :mad: I expect something smarter than that! Thanks! Format will be the absolutely last solution when everything else fails, and I would rather ditch the card and my IDE drives than go through all this trouble. Besides it's not guaranteed that the card will work after the format. I may go through all the trouble for nothing, and I certainly don't want that! So please think twice before replying!

Thank you in advance

PS: Please post only USEFUL information, not stuff like "give up and do a format". The whole purpose of this forum is to SOLVE a problem, not to give up! Unless you have something useful to suggest, please don't waste my time! Thanks again!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum
I see you said you used the latest driver from their site.

Double check that this is the one you installed: ftp://driver.jmicron.com.tw/SATA_Controller/Windows/JMB36X_WinDrv_R1.17.65_WHQL.zip

If it already is, uninstall it from the Uninstall Program list then reboot.

Then extract the download.

Open Device Manager. Right click on it. Update driver software. Browse my computer. Let me pick. Have disk. Browse.

Navigate to where you extracted it to and double click on \Driver\amd64\jraid_i.inf

Click OK and continue installing until done.

(By the way, JMB36x is for SATA ports. If your DVD drive really is IDE, it shouldn't connect to JMB36x - and it shouldn't even physically fit. If you really are connecting to it, your DVD drive is SATA based.)

Edit: Doing some quick research, it seems JMB36x chipset does support both IDE, SATA.

If you still have issues, right click it in Device Manager, Properties, Details tab, change dropdown to say Hardware Ids. Then copy paste the four lines below to here.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DQ965MT
    Memory
    Hyundai 2 GB DDR2 @ 333 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Hard Drives
    1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W
    Cooling
    stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
    Keyboard
    Alienware/Microsoft Internet kb
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    Optimum Online, fast for US
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky integrated into ZoneAlarm+Antivirus
Thank you for your reply. Yes, the card has an IDE port (for 2 IDE devices, master/slave), one SATA port and one eSATA at the back. I'm using it for the IDE port. Yes, this is the latest driver and it didn't work either. I tried both running the Setup and doing the manual installation from Device Manager, nothing changed. While installation is apparently successful, after more than 15 minutes of trying to finish, I get a timeout error or other message. If I restart in Safe Mode, I see a device JMicron JMB36X Controller at the Storage Controllers category without any yellow question mark, so it is working. My two IDE DVD-RW do appear properly at the DVD/CD-ROM drivers category, again without any yellow question mark. I even loaded a DVD to test them and it was recognized and I could browse the contents. The problem is that some System Service or application tries to load and fails hanging the whole system at the initial Windows 8 boot screen with the spinning dots (that black one with the cyan window). If I could identify this one and disable it, I shouldn't have any problem. Since I cannot identify it, the only solution to make Windows load at Normal Mode is to disable the JMicron JMB36X Controller at Device Manager, but then also my two IDE DVD-RW are disabled and I cannot use them.

Thank you again.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7601.18247.x86fre.win7sp1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built Intel based
    CPU
    Pentium D 925 3.0 GHz socket 775, Presler @ ~ 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel DQ965MT
    Memory
    Hyundai 2 GB DDR2 @ 333 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS DirectCU II HD7790-DC2OC-2GD5 Radeon HD 7790 2GB 128-Bit GDDR5
    Sound Card
    MOTU Traveler firewire interface
    Hard Drives
    1 Seagate Barracuda SATA II system/boot drive 80 GB, 2 Western Digital hdds - 1 is SATA II Caviar Black 1 TB attached to card (assorted media, page, temp), other is SATA I 420 GB (games, media, downloads)
    PSU
    Thermaltake 450W
    Cooling
    stock Gateway cooling, extra large fan in rear of case
    Keyboard
    Alienware/Microsoft Internet kb
    Mouse
    Logitech M510
    Internet Speed
    Optimum Online, fast for US
    Browser
    Pale Moon
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky integrated into ZoneAlarm+Antivirus
Thank you, I'll try this some other time. Now it's rather late and I'm tired from work. Let's hope I'll manage to create the report before the system hangs. While the Device Manager tries to finish installation for ever and Windows Explorer might not be very responsive (taskbar cannot be used, but I can open folders and use programs) the rest of the system is quite working, as soon as I keep off restarting of course. So I guess I'll be able to run the utility and generate the report... We'll see
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum
I found the solution and I post it here to help others. As you may know some applications add filters to DVD-ROMs (imagine these as DVD driver plugins) in order to add functionality. In case that a filter is not fully compatible with a controller, like in my case, it can cause problems. When I had my IDE DVD-RW drives connected to the JMicron controller, Windows would stuck at the boot screen with the spinning circles. The hard disk LED indicated some activity but after some time it just went off and the computer had frozen in the boot screen. The temporary but not convenient workaround was to disconnect my IDE DVD-RW drives. This never happened in Safe Mode, so I knew there was something wrong with drivers or software. I already had tried to install latest drivers for the JMicron controller without success. I had read somewhere that maybe Nero installed a filter and I had the problem. I didn't understand it then, so I didn't do anything. I didn't wanted to uninstall Nero just to make my old IDE drives work! Recently I remembered that old Nero versions installed Nero ASPI and I decided to do a little Google research about it. I finally found that I had to access a specific area in Registry and remove any suspicious "upper filter" or "lower filter". When I got there, I discovered an "upper filter" named GearASPI (or similar, don't remember) and a "lower filter" from AnyDVD. Of course I didn't want to lose my region-free capability, so I decided to remove the strange ASPI "upper filter" first and see what happens. I exported the key for backup and then deleted it completely just to make sure and I shutdown my computer. I connected my old IDE DVD-RW drives and booted into Windows again. YES! SUCCESS! This strange ASPI "upper filter" was the culprit!

So anyone else having strange incompatibility issues with DVD devices, load Regedit and navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class

The last one is large and difficult to remember, so once on Class search for upper and you will find it. See if you have any "upper filter" or "lower filter". One of them is causing the problem. Select each one and export it to a file for backup. Then try to delete it (upper first) and see if your problem is solved.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10/11 Pro 64-bit (was Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 3770 3.40GHz s1155
    Motherboard
    Asus P8H61 full ATX s1155
    Memory
    2x Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Hyper X Blu
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus GT 620 1GB DDR3 PCI-E
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony 19" TV (VGA connection)
    Screen Resolution
    1440X900 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    480GB SSD (one for 10 one for 11), 4GB HDD for data
    PSU
    600W
    Case
    Old white case (to hide I actually have a modern PC)
    Cooling
    Intel CPU fan
    Keyboard
    OEM PS/2 keyboard (to save USB ports)
    Mouse
    OEM PS/2 mouse (to save USB ports)
    Internet Speed
    VDSL 50MBps
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Dual boot Windows 10 and 11 (change boot priority). Windows 11 installed with compatibility check bypass hack in Legacy BIOS mode, no TPM, no Secure Boot. For details visit Elevenforum
Back
Top