Huge problems with new build please help a fella out

[chelhxi]

I've just built this system in the last couple days, and got around to installing vista 64 bit this morning. Here are my specs:

Intel Q9550
Gigabyte p45-ud3p
2x2 gb corsair cominator ddr2-1066
seagate 7200.11 1tb drive
antec 900
lg dvd burner
pc power and cooling 750w
bfg gtx 260 oc maxcore
windows vista 64 bit


So my problems began when installing vista. It kept freezing during the install, so I ended up disabling almost everything in the bios, unplugging everything that wasn't needed, and ran the memory at very low settings. I got it to complete, but I was noticing when playing around in windows that it was very sluggish, and I had to power off the computer several times when it would freeze complelely. I noticed my ram usage was at max a couple of times when i wasn't even doing anything. I had to reboot.

I just tried starting a game (necrovision), and i got a bsod. When the computer started up, it was trying to boot off the dvd instead of the hard drive for some reason. When i looked in the bios, my hard drive had disappeared! I loaded defaults and the hard drive reappeared.

I really need to get this figured out, any help would be appreciated. I ran memtest86+ 2.11 for 1.5 days with my rams current settings - ddr21066, cl 5-5-5-15 cmd 2, 2.1 volts, and no errors were found. No OC is currently on the processor.

 

[somethingsketchy]

Here are some suggestions:

1) Look at your drivers and see if there are any that needs to be updated. Sounds like the motherboard does not like something, so just your drivers.
2) Have you update Vista to the latest patches?
3) Did you try to install Vista with only 2GB of RAM? A former college roommate ran into this "nice" problem before Vista SP1, but if your Vista disc contains the latest Service Pack, then #2 would not take very long to update.
4) Have you check voltages for other components such as the Northbridge (and Southbridge), and the CPU? Could be one of the components is not getting the proper voltage.

Hope this helps.

 

[somethingsketchy]

Also double check your connection to the hard drive. Barely saw that just as I hit "post". Could be another source of the problem. Just double check the connections and even swap Sata cables if you can.

 

[Denithor]

First thing is run memtest86 - full probe test - overnight with both sticks installed to check for errors. If clear overnight start testing other stuff. Your issues sound to me like bad/defective memory.

 

[techmanc]

Check the event viewer for errors. Seems like a hardware problem as it was causing problems during install. Make sure you using the latest chipset-video-audio drivers. There maybe a bad connection so make sure all plugs and cable are seated properly. Also reseat any cards installed making sure there firmly plugged in.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: Denithor
First thing is run memtest86 - full probe test - overnight with both sticks installed to check for errors. If clear overnight start testing other stuff. Your issues sound to me like bad/defective memory.

:thumbsup:

I second this, your description is text book bad memory, or improper memory voltage or settings

 

[chelhxi]

Thanks for all the replies.

somethingsketchy, I have vista updated all the way, vista disc is sp1 version, newest motherboard drivers (which i tried reinstalling, and newest sound and audio drivers. I installed vista with only 2gb installed, and currently all voltages are set to auto in bios, except memory which is 2.1 as per corsair spec.

I tried switch cables and sata ports, but to no avail. I got another error, and when it restarted windows suggested that it was caused by motherboard drivers (ich10r). Thing is, there are only one set of available drivers for me to install.....

Denithor and GuitarDaddy, yes I ran memtest86+ 2.11 for 36 hours at the current settings. Not a single error. Windows however would not install at these settings....

Techmanc, I will check eventviewer tonight after work, I just need to figure out how to get there heh.

I will try a few more things tonight, but might have to exchange the ram if this continues.... One thing though, would bad ram really cause the motherboard to not sense the hard drive temporarily? I also got a really weird message once when booting, something about Bootmanager or something not being there. Hmmmmmm.....

 

[oynaz]

As GuitarDaddy said, this is a textbook case of bad memory. Unfortunately, MemTest is not infallible. Bad memory can cause all sorts of weird behavior. For instance, I had a bad memory block, which caused the animations of the enemy leaders to show just hats, eyes, teeth and beards. Scary!

My advice is to replace the RAM. Most places has non-hassle exchange politics regarding defective RAM anyway.

BTW, GuitarDaddy, do you know af any good guitar sites?
(Sorry for thread hijack).

 

[AstroGuardian]

Before jumping to conclusions try the following. It must be one of those:

1. First of all. Unplug the power from the PSU, and take the BIOS battery out for at least 15 minutes. Put it back and turn on. Watch for changes.
2. Upgrade your BIOS. By the sound of it, it must be HDD or I/O controller problem.
3. HDD can be bad. Run tests with Seatools from Seagate. Filling the RAM to 100% without any app being loaded suggest temporary I/O outage (HDD being bad) and pagefile outage.
4. Since you managed to install Vista, unplug the optical drive. Try running without optical drive. Sertain opctical drives are known to cause incompatibility issues with some motherboards. Gigabyte has a history with this kind of problems.
5. BTW disable any monitoring features in BIOS

I am almost sure it's a bad HDD. I have seen lots oh bad HDDs and this case looks like one.

 

[techmanc]

Here's a good link on accessing the event viewer in Vista.........


http://computerperformance.co....vista_event_viewer.htm

 

[chelhxi]

Ok, it turns out, i get back from work last night, turn the thing on, and it can't even get past the bios screen! So I switched out ram from my other computer, reset the bios, and it still freezes in bios. I then unplug all sata and usb devices, and still a no go. I went down to my local store and exchanged it for an Asus P5Q-E.

Thanks for all the replies, I think I was justified in exchanging the board without further troubleshooting, I've never had that many issues before. So today I will assemble the new one, and hopefully won't need to start a new thread to troubleshoot it.....

 

[AstroGuardian]

Originally posted by: chelhxi
Ok, it turns out, i get back from work last night, turn the thing on, and it can't even get past the bios screen! So I switched out ram from my other computer, reset the bios, and it still freezes in bios. I then unplug all sata and usb devices, and still a no go. I went down to my local store and exchanged it for an Asus P5Q-E.

Thanks for all the replies, I think I was justified in exchanging the board without further troubleshooting, I've never had that many issues before. So today I will assemble the new one, and hopefully won't need to start a new thread to troubleshoot it.....

Please post again when you mount the motherboard. I am curious whether some of the other components are bad.

Just for the record, Asus are known to have more defective boards out of the box than Gigabyte. Actually i have been working with Gigabyte for more than 7-8 years and i have never received a broken board except of one which was damaged during handling perhaps.

 

[chelhxi]

Well, it turns out there was another bad part (I'm still sure something was up with the motherboard anyway) I couldn't install vista with the new motherboard, and then my hard drive disappeared again. I ran down and bought a WD 640 gb drive, and sure enough everything installs like a charm.

I'm pretty sure this system is perfect now, Prime95 with four instances ran for 4 hours no errors, cpu never got above 60c. Memtest86+ 12 hours no errors, and most importantly windows never crashes!

Thanks again for all the help guys.

 

[AstroGuardian]

I told you the HDD was bad.