Asrock Dual SATA2 freezes/hangs when loading Windows

[carstea]

hi there, sorry because it's long

my computer freezes when starting windows when that blue line is going from left to right or at the log on screen or even after. when this thing happens the HD led comes on solid and stays like that. i can still move the mouse coursor when that thing happens.
it isn't happening all the time but it makes me crazy. what can it be?
i have tried many things to solve that and to name a few :
- upgraded bios from 1.2 to 1.5
- reinstalling windows
- changing memory slot
- tried diffrent settings in BIOS but no diffrence
etc

it has never freezed in game or in heavy use. it just happens when srating up the system and only on a cold boot. it will not freeze in a restart.

when this freezing happens a restart makes it go through the loading process without any problems.

tell me what do you think it is and wha to do to solve it.

my HD is in the sata 2 slot and running in sata mode, i have installed the drivers from the asrock website.

i use the latest drivers from nvidia for my video card.

if you want to know any other setting i have in BIOS let me know.

please help me solve this problem. thanks


--------------------
Venice 3000+
ASROCK 939Dual-SATA2 bios 1.5
Gainward 6600 PCI Express 128/128
WD 160 GB wd1600js sata2
windows xo pro sp2
1 x 512 Kingmax pc3200

 

[BlackPear1]

Have you tried connecting your HD to one of the regular SATA (not SATA2) connectors? Are you using the SATA cable which came w/the mb? I had problems w/mine (though this is probably less likely in your case because you report everything OK once you get Win loaded). Are any USB devices attached during boot? If so, you might try w/those removed. Does your memory pass memtest?

 

[carstea]

i haven't tried it on regular SATA connectors. I am using the SATA cable that came with the MB. My HP 3650 printer is connected to the MB while booting, I'll try to remove it. I haven't tested my memory with memtest, though I think it's good because it's brand new and it doesn't seem to be a memory related problem. I had once a problem and my computer would freeze for good, but in this case when it does i can still move the mouse though it lags a little.
How come it doesn't never happen on a restart or on a warm boot. Thanks guys for your help. any suggestion is very welcome.

 

[professor1942]

Sounds like something that could be checked as a boot device (floppy, IDE, CD-ROM) is causing it to hang, so troubleshoot it by unplugging things one at a time. Do you have any USB devices connected?

 

[carstea]

The only USB device that I have is my printer. The fact is that when my CDrom is not connected to the board it would take much less for it to boot. I repet my computer hangs when loading windows when that blue line is moving from left to right or at the log on screen or even after I enter my password. My WD SATA2 is the only HD attached to the MB. It's hard for me to see where the problem is because this hanging doesn't happen on a regular basis.
I really want this thing solved. I think about clearing CMOS and leave it all on AUTO. Thanks once again and keed ideas coming .

 

[kb9nvh]

I'm no expert but I have seen others suspect the power supply when random hangs/reboots occur.

Not easy to check but something to keep under your hat if all else fails..

 

[Spineshank]

What mode is the SATA2 port running at?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Sounds like a PSU problem. opps, didn't read the whole issue. Sounds also like a hardware compatablity problem. I sorta get the same thing when the blue cursor walks to the right during boot up ONLY when my SATA card is installed w/SATA software. It goes slow but finally boots up. it adds about 15 seconds to my boot, and it kills me. Talk about being stuck...

Good Luck w/that

 

[carstea]

Gnrslash4life my sata2 controler is set to strong in BIOS and it is running in sata mode and I have my HD running in the SATA 2 port.

BTRY B 529th FA BN I don't know exactly if it's the PSU, I mean it doesnt happen all the time and it will not happen on a restart or on a warm boot. It worked with out any problems when I had more than one HD connected to the MB. This freezing it's quite strange because I can't replicate it.

i'll try during the weekend to do the following:

clear CMOS, load optimal settings in BIOS.
check all the cable connection
change memoly slot
reinstall windows and not load any drivers at all. to see how it acts.
I hope it's not related in any way with the video drivers or any other drivers I intalled, although it seems to me that as a whole it's a software problem.

thanks once again for your support

 

[carstea]

this hanging it isn't related to any USB devices connected to my computer, it happened today again and I just don't know what is causing it. i thought it just solved it by itself but it didn't.

 

[McArra]

Try 2T timing in the ram.

 

[rayjayturbo]

In the main Asrock thread Imp had similar problems on page 50 and 52. He had plugged the cd-roms into ide 1 when the manual suggested it should be on ide 2. He swapped the cable to ide 2 and had no more problems. Hope this helps.

 

[carstea]

thanks, I'll check that out. my cdrom is now on the secondary IDE connector, i moved it from the first one, after i had read the manual. the thing is that with my cdrom plugged to the MB it takes more time to boot. i mean after post, the loading screen appears with that blue bar scrolling and the only thing that is happening is that blue bar moving across. the HD led is not on and it's not working at the time. just after 5 or so movements of that bar the hard disk starts to work. if i remove my cdrom the hd starts to work after post. i had a new DVDrw and it didn't perform like this.

i'll see what i can do

 

[carstea]

i removed the cable from cdrom as well from the MB. so i dont have any IDE controllers running right now. as well i conected the cable from the PSU directly to my HD. i was using a sata power cable or something like that that came with the MB. i thought that if my HD can be connected directly there's no sense in using the other cable. i cleared a little bit the space in my case as well

I'll see how it performs. I wish me luck !

 

[McArra]

Try 2T memory timing....

 

[civicmisfit]

i am having the same problem with my MSI P4N board!! It radomly chooses when to take like 10 min to load and when not to. Sometimes it boots normal though. I don't know why. If u got urs fixed, can u please tell me what u did because this is very frustrating!!! Thanks.

 

[carstea]

my memory timing is set to Auto in BIOS and few days ago a friends game me a program to see if it actually runs as 2T or not and it did. I'll turn it manually to 2T and see how it performs.

 

[carstea]

bad news, not the 2T timings nor the sata2 are cousing this hanging at the logon screen or around that point. could it be a driver related issue? how come it never happens on a restart ? no freezing in games, just minor hangs when in high demanding games with high quality settings

 

[McArra]

What PSU do you have?

 

[carstea]

450W PSU .

if it were the PSU wouldnt it happen all the time ? it worked even with 2 HD and a dvdrw. i mean my computer isnt't OCed at all, the video card isn;t that great either, so what should it be?

why when this thing happens i can still move the mouse but the commands i gave don't seem to work. and it seems that the mouse it hangs a little when moving it. i think if i let it like that and not reset it it would eventually boot but i dont have the pacience, it takes very long.

i've tried anything and i really got tired of this board.

 

[phlashphire]

Originally posted by: carstea
450W PSU

What brand?

 

[carstea]

I don't know, when i bought it i asked the guys from the store if it is enough for my components and they said it was. so i don't know what to say anymore. why doesn't my computer restart when it's under heavy use then or anything like that?
i still think it's a software related problem from the way it acts, just i don't know what it is. i'll keep trying to solve this problem, maybe who knows i get lucky.

 

[professor1942]

When people say "it's your PSU" they are wrong about 90% of the time. Sounds like a board/BIOS issue to me...

 

[justly]

I have seen a similar problem as yours fixed (if you want to call it that) by disabling the fast boot in the BIOS.
I can't garantee that this will fix your problem but it is a quick and easy thing to check. Be aware that this will add a few seconds onto your boot times, but if it does fix your problem then a true fix may involve replaceing either a slow initializing drive, power supply or just hoping that a new BIOS comes out that slowes down the boot time long enough for everthing to properly initialize.

 

[AustroBerrichon]

Hi Carstea,

I am having EXACTLY the same troubles as you do with my Asrock Dual SATA2.
It is good to know that I am not alone in this cruel world.
These random freezings also drive me crazy.
Maybe we can exchange infos.

My PC config is as follows:

ASROCK 939Dual-SATA2 bios 1.5
ATX MidiTower ARCTIC Cooling Silentium T2 (350W PSU)
Venice 3200+
X800 GTO 16 PCI Express
SEAGATE SATAII 160GB Bar 7200.9 7200
WinXP pro sp2
DIMM DDRAM 1024MB PC400 Corsair ValueSelect CL2.5

I already tried lots of stuffs without success:
- changing the SATA cable
- setting the RAM to various configurations
- disabling Cool'n Quiet
- kicking the case
- using obscene language
- buying an original licence of WinXP

You can forget about a PSU issue (except if you are burning 2 DVDs while playing DOOM3 ;-) ) since your PC should not draw more than 250W while just booting on windows.

I somehow managed to reproduce the freezing problem by shaking the SATA data cable while the PC was accessing the HD.

I will try this evening what rayjayturbo suggested (put the DVD/CD on IDE2) and report tomorrow.