Machine Check Exception and other problems

[igg]

I have built a new system right around New Years. Mobo is Asus A8V Deluxe, CPU is AMD64 3400+. 512 megs (1 stick) of Ultra PC3200 RAM. The first time I went to power it up the system would not boot and I got the voice POST message that the "system failed due to CPU overclocking". This was before the system had ever booted, so there was no possibility of overclocking. This message continued until I changed the memory location on the mobo. Then everything booted fine, no more problems.

However, I have been periodically getting blue screens with the deadly "Machine Check Exception" error. After I reboot from one of these errors I am forced into BIOS because no hard drives are detected! Once in BIOS the hard drives are detected again and I can reboot back into Windows. (I am running XP Pro.) This has happened perhaps 4 or 5 times over the last month. There is no consistent activity occurring when the errors happen. Most of the time I find the blue screen in the morning. This morning I had a blue screen. When I rebooted I got the "system failed due to CPU overclocking" error again. I powered the system down completely and let it sit for a few minutes. When I powered back on I was able to reboot (but I had to reset the hard drives in BIOS still, as described above).

So my question is: WTF? If I had to guess, given the evidence here, I would say that this is a mobo problem. But the symptoms are so odd. Can anyone add a perspective here to help me out? This should be a fast stable system, but these problems are beginning to worry me. Whose hardware should I blame?? Thanks for any and all help.

 

[igg]

By the way, BIOS is up to 1008.003 (next to most recent). I noticed this morning that there was a more recent one released on 2/1/05, but I can't think that it would help this problem... All drivers are completely up to date.

 

[igg]

Ah, I think I found the problem. I had missed a BIOS upgrade that was released right at the end of December (that's what I get for relying on update utilities instead of hitting the support sites directly). Looks like that was the version (1009) that supports the 3400+. While I was reviewing specs for the CPU this am, I realized that it has a slower Hypertransport bus than normal AMD 64s (800 MHz vs 1000). And as I reflect on the BIOS settings, I'm pretty sure that I remember the HT bus being set at 1000. This is probably the problem. Should be able to get it all fixed when I get home tonight!

 

[JackDanielsDrinker]

Hey igg, if the BIOS doesn't fix it, try looking at your power supply. I have Machine Check Exceptions, too, and my 3.3 voltage is rather low (3.17v). Also, Microsoft cites power supplies as a cause for this problem (search their knowledgebase for machine check exception).

I have a new PS on the way, so I'll see if that fixes it.

I get the exception most often when I am imaging my c drive to the d drive (separate hard disks). This stresses both hard drives at the same time.

 

[igg]

Thanks Jack. The PS is new and decent quality, though I haven't checked the voltages. I upgraded the BIOS, but, curiously, it didn't seem to alter the Hypertransport bus speed. Maybe that was because the previous setting was retained, I'm not sure. Still, I downgraded it myself from 1000 to 800 and I have had no problems since then. I'm fairly certain that that must have been it, given the seemingly inexplicable "system failed due to CPU overclocking" messages that I was getting. It was one of the more interesting problems I've had building systems, but I'm glad it's done!