Computer Gremlin

[Lalakai]

okay....time to get this fixed.

Gigabyte 770TA-UD3 mb
AMD Phenom II 3.1 Hz
WD Caviar Black 500 gb
Mushkin DDR3 1333 (PC 10666) 4 gb
Corsair HX 850HX ps
Asus EAH 4350 PCI-E 2.0 x 16 vc
Windows 7 64bit

put this system together awhile back and had problems almost immediately. System will install and run, then either reboot or lock up. Time intervals vary from as short as 3 minutes after start up, to more then 1 hour. It happens if I'm doing simple surfing, to gaming.

I've tried fresh installs, swapping out and using new hd, replacing cables, removing 1 then the other ram modules, using different ram slots. Heat doesn't seem to be an issue, as it happens at random times regardless of cpu/vc load. Weakest point is the video card and I only bought that as a stop-gap until i could upgrade, but since the system hasn't been stabile I haven't upgraded that.

So...give me words of wisdom or places to start looking. any help will be appreciated. thanks.

 

[lxskllr]

I'd check the memory first.

 

[Lalakai]

i'll see if memory from another system is compatible, and maybe can eliminate that possibility. I was able to swap in and older X1950 PCI-E, and it did the same. Though i do notice that as soon as I get into a video intensive game, it happens immediately, where as it's more random while simply cruising the net. Might have bad PCI-E 2.0 slot on mb, but that should just cause video to black out.......don't think it would cause the system to reboot or lock.

 

[lxskllr]

Test the ram with software. Boot to a CD with the tool on it, and check the ram. I've always used memtest86+, but I've been hearing recommendations for memtest hci lately.

 

[BoomerD]

Try booting with only ONE stick of RAM. You may have to try different DIMMS. Your board documentation should tell you which slot to use for a single DIMM.

Easiest way to troubleshoot problems like this is to disconnect everything, remove the board and put it on a piece of cardboard or wooden table. Start with ONLY the CPU, HSF, ONE stick of RAM, and a known working video card. See if you can get to the BIOS screen.
If that works, add your boot drive. See if that's recognized in the BIOS.
If so, add more RAM in the second slot for double channel.
Try again.
If that works, add ALL your RAM.
Try again.
If that works, add your ODD's.
Try again...

Keep going until you have all your components connected.

Obviously, if you can't get to a BIOS screen at any point, you've isolated the problem.
If it happens in the first attempt...try different RAM. If that doesn't work, pull your CPU and check for bent pins.

 

[Lalakai]

Try booting with only ONE stick of RAM. You may have to try different DIMMS. Your board documentation should tell you which slot to use for a single DIMM.

Easiest way to troubleshoot problems like this is to disconnect everything, remove the board and put it on a piece of cardboard or wooden table. Start with ONLY the CPU, HSF, ONE stick of RAM, and a known working video card. See if you can get to the BIOS screen.
If that works, add your boot drive. See if that's recognized in the BIOS.
If so, add more RAM in the second slot for double channel.
Try again.
If that works, add ALL your RAM.
Try again.
If that works, add your ODD's.
Try again...

Keep going until you have all your components connected.

Obviously, if you can't get to a BIOS screen at any point, you've isolated the problem.
If it happens in the first attempt...try different RAM. If that doesn't work, pull your CPU and check for bent pins.

i can get to the bios screen each time i have to reboot, and the system will get back up and run for a bit before going down again. Already tried going with individual sticks of ram and they work okay. I'll try running a memtest on 'em and see if that picks up something. cpu fan is working and i made sure to put adequate heat paste on before mounting the fan, but a faulty cpu may be the issue; but the idea of bent pins is easy to eliminate.

good points...keep them coming...something will work

 

[Lalakai]

update. tested memory using memtest hci; went to 130% no problems. ran another stress test program "BurnIn" which checked ram, cpu (pushed cpu to 100% for 15 minutes), sound, hd, vcard (2D/3D), dvd player.....all good.

found bios update and flashed bios..................may have bricked it. It was correct bios and it registers in cmos, but as soon as it gets past cmos, it locks up. I had saved previous bios to usb drive and though i set the usb drive as "bootable", i can't get at the original bios to re-install. So now i have to find way to get original bios back in.

Good thing i have to be back at work, or else i may have turned the entire thing into a wheel chock. may have to consider a new mb.

 

[lxskllr]

I'm not sure you can brick mbs anymore. There's usually a failsafe mechanism so you can revert changes. I may be wrong, but it would be useful to look through the mb manual.

 

[mfenn]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure all Gigabyte boards sold in the past few years use their "Dual BIOS" technology. You'll just have to figure out how to activate it.

 

[Lalakai]

think i may have found it in their Q-Flash option. i did manage to load a prior bios, but system is still locking up. I've built systems with ASUS, BioStar, Gigabyte....and Gigabyte has given me more trouble then all the others combined. I put in a ticket to their tech support, but this may have to be chalked up to a learning experience, and putting Gigabyte on the trash heap. lol an older BioStar MB had a fan that died on it, when i emailed them to get a parts number to order it, they just sent me the part free. Thanks everyone for the inputs.

 

[Lalakai]

update: got the system working. Was able to contact technician from Gig and we eliminated several potential issues (ran memtest again, manually set ram voltage, flashed bios). Those didn't stabilize system so he said to return it to company. Instead I purchased new mb (ASUS) and started getting the same problems. this time i swapped out power supply, and assembled the system on table top (completely outside the case). Now it was down to the ram and cpu. the bios setup was not setting the ram timing and voltage correctly. manually set them and now the system has been working for nearly 2 weeks. lol now i have an extra mb. but i am surprised that memtest didn't catch the timing instability. damn...i hate these kind of learning experiences. oh well. thanks again to all that had suggestions.

 

[mfenn]

You're welcome! I guess it wasn't Gigabyte's fault after all.

 

[Lalakai]

You're welcome! I guess it wasn't Gigabyte's fault after all.

agreed. restores my faith in the feedback that was given to for that mb. now i have an extra mb..................may look to upgrade one of the older systems in the house.