Major problems with P4P800 Deluxe

[ewerx]

Hey I also posted something about this in Tech Support forum but that was before I realized the scope of this issue...

I haven't done any overclocking but my computer seems to crash (with a BSOD sometimes, or just a sudden cold reboot) every now and then when anything is trying to access the IDE controller.
For example, I can trigger a BSOD if I run the Nero InfoTool a few times, even if there is no disc in my drive.
The BSOD/reboot has also occured while loading apps (i.e. while the hard drive is being accessed).

This is my system:

Asus P4P800 Deluxe
Intel P4 2.4C
2x Maxtor 80GB SATA drives in RAID0 (on the ICH5R)
1x Seagate 60GB ATA on IDE Primary Master
1x Seagate 80GB ATA on IDE Primary Slave
1x LG GCC-4480B CDRW/DVDROM combo drive on IDE Secondary Master (Asus 40-conductor cable)
2x Corsair ValueSelect PC3200 512MB CAS2.5 in the blue slots, running in Dual-Channel mode
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro (retail)

On-board VIA RAID controller is disabled in bios, everything else enabled
No overclocking whatsoever, everything in bios is set to defaults or Auto, etc.

BIOS version is 1006 (flashed before installing Windows)
Windows XP SP1 (slipstream) installed on the RAID0 array, used F6 to load Intel RAID drivers during setup
Asus INF Drivers 5001012
IAA SATA RAID Drivers 3.0.0.2344
ATI Catalyst 3.4
All available Windows updates

The BSOD screen is usually too long and the beginning is scrolled off my screen and I don't know what it says. Looks like a STOP error. A couple times it wasn't very long and I could see the error at the beginning was IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL but there was no info about what caused the crash or any mention of any files/devices/drivers or anything.

I am quite certain the crashes are related to some part of the I/O system (IDE/SATA/ATAPI or something), because I've ran SiSoft cpu/memory benchmarks, and 3dmark2001 and 03 a bunch of times, and none of them have yet to cause a crash.

Please, does anyone have any suggestions? This is driving me nuts! My brand new comptuer is even more unstable than the old piece of junk it's supposed to replace!

 

[Thor86]

Hmm, make sure when you installed Winxp you have Plug and Play OS as disabled in your BIOS. That BSOD message means some hardware IRQs may be conflicting, or an unstable driver. Try just using your SATA drives first only.

 

[Megatomic]

What power supply are you using in that system? I see lots of high power devices, it is possible that you are not supplying enough juice to all the components to keep them running properly.

 

[ewerx]

It is the Antec TruePower 380W that comes with the Sonata case.

I will see if it still does this if I disconnect all the IDE devices and only use the two SATA drives...

 

[gramboh]

How hot is it running? The Sonata's 120mm and power supply fans spin pretty slowly (Although they are thermally controlled I understand). Try running it with the side panel open/off maybe?

 

[Slammy1]

My system's fairly close to this, the main difference is no S-ATA. I have a 350W Enermax and no apparant power issues (Probe voltages read rock stable for the most part). If it were memory, you'd probably see it in the game benchmarks. I'd make sure all my cables are secure (it is easy to mess up the cabling on this, they put everything so close together), and if it's OK try an integrity scan of your drives. The most likely suspect is your RAID array. And on that, I can't comment cause I've never run one before. Also, you might try a reinstall of Windows, and I set my AGP/PCI to 66/33 rather than auto, but that's due to my SCSI card. Are you o/c'ing your Radeon at all?

I'm having some issues with my floppy channel. Everything works fine in Windows, but for some reason I cannot boot from a floppy. I've tried 2 different drives with no luck. Even with disabling all unused channels I have issues. That made me think, have you tried a single drive on the ide channel? Do you run master/slave or CS? Good luck and all.

 

[ewerx]

It is not running hot at all, CPU temp on average is about 27-30. I'm not overclocking anything.

I tried disconnecting all the IDE drives and run only on the two SATA drives, but I still managed to get the crashes.

I thought it might be my memory, they are Corsair ValueSelecet, the part numbers are listed in the manual as one of the supported modules.
I tried MemTest86 (3.0) on them but it would finish Test #1 then on Test #2 it would seem to freeze at 2% or sometimes 4% or 8% (it would always get to 2/4/8% right away, then just stop, no errors).
I tried removing one of the sticks and got the same result, also tried switching to just the other stick, same result.

Does that mean my RAM is bad? I've never run that MemTest86 on anything before so I'm not sure.

Next thing I'm gonna try is reinstall Windows I guess, but I'm not sure how that will help cuz I can't think of what I would do differently than before... unless I abandon the idea of running RAID altogether, but that would defeat the purpose of buying 2 hard drives :disgust:

 

[Slammy1]

You might try Asus' forums:
http://www.abxzone.com/forums/index.php?s=

This board is a hot topic there. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful ): .

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Slammy1
This board is a hot topic there. I'm sorry I couldn't be more helpful ): .

A point in the direction expert help IS quite helpful actually. I was so glad when I found nForcersHQ forums.

 

[theJudas]

Your memory modules are not bad.

I ve have had
both ASUS P4C800 DELUXE, and P4P800 DELUXE

Using twinx1024 pc3200 LL Corsair


And I ve had always had the same problem on both

Same erro message you got and even unstability while installing XP

Solution is to increase the DDr voltage form bios to 2.75

and to set timmings and options to Enable by SPD

remember to disble the Intel pat options , or simply leave it to auto (but never in turbo mode)

Otherwise it will crash


After that
you will have no problem

 

[klc314]

I'm running 2 Seagate drives in a RAID 0 array with no problems at all, and would suspect the problem lies elsewhere. Mine IS overclocked, and still no problems. I think the memory suggestion is pretty close, judging from what I've read elsewhere. You might look at the ABXZone, which is primarily an ASUS site. Lot's of good info and knowledgable folks over there, especially about ASUS.