Biostar M7NCG 400 nforce2 board has graphical glitch then crashes!

[SuperFreaky]

I have a brand new Biostar nforce2 board that is have a strange problem.

I'm running WindowsXP SP2 and the newest nforce drivers (also tried the ones on the CD that came with it).

After running windows for 5-10 minutes I will start to notice graphical glitches (lines on the screen), then I get will get a blue screen sometime after that!

I've reinstalled windowsXP a few times and one time it blue screened during setup.

Sounds like a Hardware problem right? The video, sound and nic are built into the Mobo, which I'm RMA already, only to have the same problem.

I've swapped the RAM, HD and CD-ROM drive... no change.

The only thing left is the power supply and CPU (sempron 2700+) . Is there anyway they could be the problem?


EDIT: It was the RAM, the board is aparently very picky. Mushkin DDR 3200 worked fine

 

[KGB]

Super,

Please post your full system specs including the power supply.
What gets logged in Event Viewer after one of these episodes?

 

[SuperFreaky]

I get a "systems error" (category 102).

Biostar M7NCG 400 (integrated Video/Sound/NIC)
AMD Sempron 2700+ Retail
512MB Rosewill DDR 3200 (in the single slot, not one of the double slots)
40GB WD
Creative Labs 2xDVD
ZPower Z350ATX (350W PS)

I ran a CPU stability test for ~3hrs.... no problems.

I tried adding an AGP Geforce2MX and disabling the onboard video.... seems to be running fine!!!

I guess, I have a 2nd bad mobo from biostar?? these things must be real cr@p if thats the case!

 

[VirtualLarry]

Overheating northbridge, perhaps? If it doesn't have a fan, add one. If you are feeling adventurous, check if the TIM under the NB heatsink is properly applied, and/or replace with AS. (May void warranty.)

 

[KGB]

First, I would get a high-quality PSU (Fortron, Antec, Enermax, PCP&C) to eliminate that possibility.
Next, have you run MemTest86 on your RAM?

 

[SuperFreaky]

It does seem like a heating issue, but I don't really want to void the warranty. Maybe I should send it back to newegg (again), but get a different brand this time (asus).

My roommate had a bootable cd memory test of some kind that I let run for a few hours with no error, I have also swapped the RAM out, so I really don't think its the RAM.

I will go back to the onboard video and try my Antec 350w Power supply with it...

 

[Jeff7]

That particular board is very picky about RAM. It's possible that it doesn't like either of the kinds of RAM you've used. What brands/types have you tried so far?

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
That particular board is very picky about RAM. It's possible that it doesn't like either of the kinds of RAM you've used. What brands/types have you tried so far?

It is? I have one and I've gone from generic TCWO RAM to Crucial to Kingston (what's in there now) and I haven't seen any problems.

I'm thinking CPU. Sure, the CPU past stress tests, but what load video puts on a CPU is completley different than what load a benchmark program is going to put on a CPU to determine it's ability to crunch numbers quickly.

 

[Killrose]

What is your FSB set at? Because if you are trying to run the on-board video on a 200MHz bus you can forget it.

 

[jonnyGURU]

Originally posted by: Killrose
What is your FSB set at? Because if you are trying to run the on-board video on a 200MHz bus you can forget it.

Good point! I had forgotten about the glitch. nVidia inherent.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: Jeff7
That particular board is very picky about RAM. It's possible that it doesn't like either of the kinds of RAM you've used. What brands/types have you tried so far?

It is? I have one and I've gone from generic TCWO RAM to Crucial to Kingston (what's in there now) and I haven't seen any problems.

I'm thinking CPU. Sure, the CPU past stress tests, but what load video puts on a CPU is completley different than what load a benchmark program is going to put on a CPU to determine it's ability to crunch numbers quickly.

Mine gave a little graphic glitch during the WinXP setup with a stick of GeIL Golden Dragon Value RAM in there, and then a BSOD during bootup. Memtest86+ didn't show any problems. Switched the RAM out for some Buffalo RAM that wouldn't work reliably at 200Mhz in any of my other systems. It works just fine. No graphic glitches, and no crashes.

Originally posted by: jonnyGURU

Originally posted by: Killrose
What is your FSB set at? Because if you are trying to run the on-board video on a 200MHz bus you can forget it.

Good point! I had forgotten about the glitch. nVidia inherent.

System described above, you read it right - 200MHz FSB, and everything (yes, even the IGP) is working fine.
But for stability and testing, try it lower.

 

[SuperFreaky]

I've finally got around to ordering some new mushkin ram, so I'll test that when it comes.

Im running a Sempron 2700+ at 166MHz FSB (I think)

 

[SuperFreaky]

Originally posted by: Jeff7
That particular board is very picky about RAM. It's possible that it doesn't like either of the kinds of RAM you've used. What brands/types have you tried so far?

It was the RAM!! Great call Jeff7, I can't thank you enough!

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: SuperFreaky

Originally posted by: Jeff7
That particular board is very picky about RAM. It's possible that it doesn't like either of the kinds of RAM you've used. What brands/types have you tried so far?

It was the RAM!! Great call Jeff7, I can't thank you enough!

Guess it's time to bump my thread on this in the Motherboards section - at least, I would, but it's been archived.
Be nice if Biostar would try more than like two brands of RAM before they say "Ok, it's good to go! Ship it!"

 

[VirtualLarry]

I wonder how much of this is really and truely "RAM incompatibility", or just issues with the DRAM array VRMs on the mobo being rather weak, and thus only modules with DRAM that draw less current, function properly in this board? Just a thought.

 

[mechBgon]

I've seen quite a few people with stability issues that vanish when the RAM is sync'ed to the CPU's bus speed, and quite a few more whose PC3200 doesn't like 2.5 volts like many boards default to.

We have here a DDR333 CPU bus speed combined with DDR400 memory, which I would manually set up synchronously, and hope that the board's default voltage is suitable since it appears not to have any VDIMM adjustments (judging by the manual). SuperFreaky, you might try setting your memory bus to 166MHz to sync with your CPU's bus speed. My experiments with one of my nForce2 boards showed a significant improvement in gaming performance when the DDR400 memory was manually clocked back to DDR333 to sync with my 2500+.

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
I've seen quite a few people with stability issues that vanish when the RAM is sync'ed to the CPU's bus speed, and quite a few more whose PC3200 doesn't like 2.5 volts like many boards default to.

We have here a DDR333 CPU bus speed combined with DDR400 memory, which I would manually set up synchronously, and hope that the board's default voltage is suitable since it appears not to have any VDIMM adjustments (judging by the manual). SuperFreaky, you might try setting your memory bus to 166MHz to sync with your CPU's bus speed. My experiments with one of my nForce2 boards showed a significant improvement in gaming performance when the DDR400 memory was manually clocked back to DDR333 to sync with my 2500+.

The research I did, both online, and with the board itself, showed that no combination of timings, MHz settings, or voltages would affect the RAM. Granted, the problems may ALSO be due to some of these things, but there do definitely seem to be some sticks of RAM that this board just really doesn't like.
Maybe what Larry said is right too - so it is sort of compatibility, in the sense that a 120VAC fan isn't "compatible" with a 12VAC power source. Sure, it might spin, but not like it's supposed to.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

A bump for this thread because it showed up during my Googling.

I'm having some issues with my M7NCG-400 as well. Perhaps I should try an AGP video card to see if that helps.

Mind you, this is the longest it's ran in Windows for awhile.

(Jinx.)

- M4H