New computer can't do anything......

[kcbass]

there was an option to disable precharge, so I did. I also disabled system and video cacheing. I'm now running the extended memory test, so we'll see what happens when that's done. 

 

[farscape]

Memtest will keep on going as long as you let it. Anytime you want to stop it feel free. Lot of people run it all night to check for bad mem.

What type of MB are you running on - N-force? Latest nvidia drivers need to have DX9 installed before system board drivers are loaded or else they'll either not install at all or not install properly.

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: farscape
Memtest will keep on going as long as you let it. Anytime you want to stop it feel free. Lot of people run it all night to check for bad mem.

What type of MB are you running on - N-force? Latest nvidia drivers need to have DX9 installed before system board drivers are loaded or else they'll either not install at all or not install properly.

Just format/reinstalled on my A7N8X-E and installed the latest nVidia drivers before I installed DX9, no problems at all. I've never heard of this. The only driver that wouldn't install was the USB2.0 driver, but that's because you need SP2 to use it.

 

[kcbass]

running abit NF7-M...I think it's integrated nforce2 

 

[farscape]

Sorry - I went to get the info and that was a mis-read on my part - needed before you can use NVmixer.

Latest ATI drivers require DX9 before you can use - my bad.

Rough day at work

 

[Beau]

Originally posted by: farscape
Sorry - I went to get the info and that was a mis-read on my part - needed before you can use NVmixer.

Latest ATI drivers require DX9 before you can use - my bad.

Rough day at work

hehe tsOkay. I was gonna say, it'd be pretty stupid to base system drivers off of a multimedia api. It'd have no linux support, etc...

 

[kcbass]

Ok...another question...if the memory checks out, but is incompatible with the mobo, will it cause these errors? 

 

[kcbass]

ok...17 percent through test number 12, the computer freezes. I can turn on or off num lock or use any other commands, but the timer in memtest keeps running....does this mean the memory's bad? has this ever happened to anyone else? 

 

[mechBgon]

What memory voltage is the motherboard currently running the memory at?

 

[moonsite]

Never had that freeze on me like that. Usually if you have a bad memory, a few passes will show the errors. To get win98 bootdisk, go to www.bootdisk.com. Yes, if the memory is incompatible, it usually will show the errors too. If you did everything that other folks mentioned already, did you do a fresh install or trying to repair? It would be best to do a fresh install.

 

[kcbass]

I'm about to do that now as a matter of fact. When I started up after disabling that precharge option, the system was stable enough for me to explore a little and actually shut it down the correct way, so I think that may have been the problem. I ran chkdsk twice in the /p mode. One came up with an error, the second one didn't. I then ran chkdsk /r and about halfway through I got the ntfs.sys blue screen, so I'm thinking that the first install was corrupted by the unstable hardware . I'm also pulling off the jumper from the WD HD, and I'll probably flash also

 

[kcbass]

Ok....I'm curious. Why would anyone in their right mind include a feature onboard like precharge that screws with 80 percent of the memory out there and not only that, but set on as the default value and not warn people that it could make your system unusable? What does it even do, anyway? 

 

[mechBgon]

Originally posted by: kcbass
Ok....I'm curious. Why would anyone in their right mind include a feature onboard like precharge that screws with 80 percent of the memory out there and not only that, but set on as the default value and not warn people that it could make your system unusable? What does it even do, anyway? 

I think you are seeing the result of low-quality RAM and/or power supply, bro, with a possible side order of voltage starvation on your RAM. Unstable power, unstable system. What else would you expect? This isn't typically a problem for Abit NF7-x owners.

So my suggestions:

1) good-quality 350W+ power supply such as Antec or Enermax

2) good-quality RAM such as Crucial PC2700

3) 2.6 volts on your PC2700 memory

4) don't forget to plug in your ATX12V cable (duh)

5) put your heatsink on the right way with fresh high-quality thermal grease like an Arctic Silver or Shin-Etsu/Coolermaster variant at each installation of the heatsink

6) when someone with 10000+ tech-support posts asks for more info, answer his questions before he gives up in exasperation and leaves you to your doom

7) if necessary, refer to my master list of no-POST/no-boot issues here (the top link). You'll notice the very first item is "Scummy-quality power supplies"


Bigger picture: this is a system that a student will be relying upon. Do you want him/her to have a BSOD just as he's putting the finishing touches on a brilliant flag capture in UT2004? :Q Or even something less important, like a term paper or something Think about it, this isn't a place to be using generic PSUs and stuff, is it now

 

[kcbass]

ok...looking into number 1, number 2: bought my memory from portatech and paid for the highest quality of their 3 options, 3: did check and memory is on 2.6 volts, 4: cable is connected, 5: put heatsink on with ceramique and did the whole wipe off both surfaces with lint free cloth etc stuff, 6: yeah...kinda slow to respond with that info....i've been kinda exasperated all week, 7: that's the first time i've ever seen that section. thanks for the link 

 

[kcbass]

just ordered an enermax 330W PS. hope that fixes stuff 

 

[kcbass]

actually, what I meant when I asked if a power supply could be the cause of all this is the if the power supply were faulty, I just assumed that it wouldn't turn on, or it'd melt everything attached to it. I didn't realize that it would cause errors in particular files 

 

[kcbass]

ok...Did everything suggested with the exception of a new PS (it's on order). Updated BIOS, disabled precharge, formatted with the winxp cd, cd started transferring files, and I got the page_fault_in_nonpaged_area blue screen again....any suggestions? I'm not sure if the stop message will help anyone, but here it is:

STOP: 0x00000050 (0xAD001579, 0x00000001, 0xE1614DFD, 0x00000000) 

 

[kcbass]

new stop message:

STOP: 0x0000007E (0xC0000005, 0x853D429C,0xF7C58580, 0xF7C58280) . I checked with portatech, and they say the memory I bought is compatible with this board, but it also says lifetime guarantee and no restocking fee, so I may send it back 

 

[kcbass]

I checked the hard drive, and it is not a WD. It is a white label brand from justdeals.com. It says platinum on it, so I did not remove the jumper. 

 

[kcbass]

well...i can't get through a windows install without a freeze or a blue screen, so that precharge disable may have fixed something, but it didn't fix what I needed it to 

 

[kcbass]

I'm going to best buy later today. Should I get memory there, or should I try to get a replacement from portatech? 

 

[kcbass]

Triple checked the memory, and the chips say Infineon. Never heard of them, but portatech claims it's high quality RAM 

 

[Fern]

Originally posted by: kcbass
Triple checked the memory, and the chips say Infineon. Never heard of them, but portatech claims it's high quality RAM 

Infineon is pretty well known, they make ram modules for Kingston etc. Some over at the Abit forums (nForce section) have reported good results, others have had probs.

Looks like memtest86 fails.. I assume you have two sticks in there, have you tried testing each seperately to see if only one stick is bad?

You may be able to go ahead with the OS install if one stick is good, or if can pull some ram out of your machine to put in this one for a little while.

In reveiwng the many posts above, I did not see where you had been asked, or posted what the ram timings were set to? Go into BIOS, Advanced Chipset Features, and make sure they're set to "Optimal" or "By SPD".

If you post the timings, perhaps we can suggest some more "relaxed" timings to get it to work. But I think you'll prolly have to RMA those if they won't pass memtest86. If the psu is a concern (ie, you think it may not be the ram), pull the infineon and put in your rig and re-run memtest86


Good Luck with it

 

[kcbass]

First, I only have one stick in the box.

Memory timings are set to Optimal:

Row-active delay at 7
RAS-toCAS delat at 3
Row-precharge delay at 3
CAS Latency Time at 2.5

sorry, didn't see where anyone asked for these.

Oh, and the NF7-M is version 1.21 if it matters 

I tried to reinstall OS, but it always freezes on preparing list of file to be copied 

 

[kcbass]

bump