New computer, please help me before I throw it on the pavement

[rabakill]

Ok here is my problem, I'll explain in detail so we don't go in circles. Ok I have got a p35-ds3r motherboard crucial ballistix ram that requires 2.2v,vista 64 bit, and a seagate barracuda 7200.10 sata2 HD. I have the HD plugged into a GSATA port because it says in the mobo manual that the GSATA run SATA2 while the others are SATA. So anyway, in bios I can see the hard drive, it's memory and the exact serial number. The ddr2 voltage is set at default but I've heard people say the default voltage is set too low, but the only option I have is to increase by increments of .1 without it actually telling me what it's at. So anyway, when I go to install vista first problem; it takes forever to get through the screens, a 5 or 6 minute wait at each screen.

This is why I brought up the ram, I don't think it should be taking so long at each screen and it's killing me because each time I have to try to install it it takes forever. So the real problem comes when I finally get past entering the product key and I get to the screen where I have to pick the hard drive to install the OS on and there's nothing there. Then it says I have to install proper drivers, which aren't on the vista CD or the mobo cd. So it ends up saying there is no hard drive I can use. Furthermore, when I go through the vista install command prompt and type in c: it says that the file sysem is corrupt, or the thing is not plugged in right. The GSATA ports are purple and the SATA ports are orange, I've tried every port, with each attempt taking 15 minutes I'm getting pretty frustrated.

I've called NCIX and they say that no drivers should need to be installed. I am at a loss here, I spent 2 weeks and $1500 getting this giant metal paperweight. I also have no floppy drive to install drivers, but again I don't think that's the issue, I either think I have to partition the drive which I don't know how to do, or something else is majorly wrong, the cpu idles at 40'C and that's with a tuniq tower properly installed. I know it's a lot of text, but any help would be much appreciated.

 

[MarcVenice]

But, did you try any of the 'normal' SATA ports? And, I've seen people with similar problems, I can't really recall what it was though, but iirc it was a bad stick of ram. Try running memtest or just take out 1 stick and try again, if it's a no go, then swap the sticks, and try again.

 

[jkresh]

try raising the ddr2 voltage by .2 in the bios (run the ram at too low (or too high) a voltage will affect stability but should not be an issue with not seing the hard drive). Also I dont know what a GSata port is (maybe you mean esata?) but all the sata ports on a p35 board (at least the 6 intel ones, which are orange on your board) have to be sata2 so try with the orange ones.

I guess Gsata could be "gigabyte sata" and be connected to a gigabyte onboard controller instead of the Intel one (and as such have nothing to do with speed)?

 

[Ol Bob]

The J-micron drivers for the gigabyte chip are on the mobo installation dvd, at least they are on mine.However you should try the Intel sata ports too. My raptor boot drive is on the intel southbridge on this p-35 ds3r , installing windows was no sweat although the raptor is sata 1 only.

 

[rabakill]

I've tried every port, that's not the issue here. Including the normal sata's, and yes it says gsata on it.

 

[jkresh]

how is your optical drive connected? Its highly unlikely that every sata port on your board is broken, and I am almost postiive that p35's sata re natively recognized in vista so you should be able to see the drive. Did you try raising the memory voltage? Also do you have anotehr sata hard drive you could try?

 

[dunkster]

A faulty, corrupt or missing HD driver will produce your symptoms:
- BIOS sees the drive, but;
- Windows will not.

If your board came equipped a CD with disk drivers, I'd install them, regardless of what the NCIX tech said. You have nothing to lose, but an addressable drive to gain.

The fact that your board boots would seem to indicate that your memory and hardware are probably OK.

Hope this helps!

 

[rabakill]

how do I install the drivers from the CD? it says that is has drivers on the cd, but I have no clue how to get them on the motherboard if that's what I'm going for. If I boot from the cd drive it takes me to a system backup program that I can't control

 

[jkresh]

vista can be told to look for drivers on a cd or a usb key, when vista asks for drivers you should have the option to remove the vista disk and put your motherboard cd in. However, vista "should" not need drivers to see a drive connected to a p35 sata port.

 

[rabakill]

I read in the online hd manual that it talks about SATA speed autonegotiation as a problem for the drive not being found, I'm gonna try that out. also if I do try to install drivers from the vista screen it doesn't find anything and if I look manually in every folder there's nothing I can install.

 

[F1shF4t]

Originally posted by: rabakill
I read in the online hd manual that it talks about SATA speed autonegotiation as a problem for the drive not being found, I'm gonna try that out. also if I do try to install drivers from the vista screen it doesn't find anything and if I look manually in every folder there's nothing I can install.

What are the SATA ports in BIOS set to, if its ACHI change it back to IDE. In IDE mode no drivers are needed before instaling windows.
Also try limiting the drive to sata 1 via jumpers.

 

[PurdueRy]

+.4 is the correct ram voltage for you

 

[Modelworks]

If you can look at the driver cd in another pc you may want to check if the drivers are on the cd already extracted.
Some driver cd have the drivers in a exe file instead of the extracted form.
If they are in a exe file you need them extracted for windows setup to see them.

Copy the extracted drivers to another cd and vista should load them fine.

 

[seemingly random]

To check the current ram timings get cpu-z. There is no installation for it - just download and unzip it to a new folder and run the .exe. PCWizard on the same site is very informative also.

The fact that the manual refers to both SATA2 and SATAII (roman numeral) might be confusing. All of the ports support sata2. I have heard of problems with the jmicron chips - the GSATA controller - but don't have any personal experience. In general, I use only the first four 'native' SATA connectors on any mb.

Also verify that the bios HPET Mode is set to 64-bit for Vista64.

I assume that all Windows Updates from Microsoft were applied after Vista64 installation. In my experience, you shouldn't need the mb install disk except for maybe easytune - although the latest version of easytune should be downloaded from gigabyte since changes are continuously being made - doesn't crash nearly as much as it used to.

As mentioned by another poster, the most likely culprit for glacial disk access is mistakenly enabling RAID/AHCI in bios. At this point, if a lot bios changes have been made, it might be useful to clear cmos and start fresh. My experience with most high performance memory is that it runs stably at default settings as long as there has been no cpu OCing.

Use orthos to verify cpu/ram stability. Again, no installation - just open the .cab and drag all of the files to a new folder and run the .exe.

After things are working acceptably (and they eventually will), the bios SATA Native Mode settings could be enabled - test with HDTune before and after to verify the difference. I've heard that in some instances system performance is faster in SATA1 mode. orthos should be run after each OC tweak - use test:blend as this tests most of ram also.

 

[rabakill]

ok update, I got in to the command prompt and formatted the drive, it said it went from raw to NTFS, but now it's back at raw. I waited for 3 hours while this damn hard drive formatted for nothing. I turned off all AHCI and RAID modes. If I don't put the hard drive port as a GSATA slot and just a normal SATA there is only 128 gigs instead of the 500 gigs that is on the hard drive. I really am at my wits end, I can't believe this is so fucked up, I've wasted so much time. Let me reiterate, the motherboard correctly recognizes the hard drive, but once I try to install vista64 I get to the screen where it says pick the hard drive and there is nothing there, then it asks for a driver and it can't find anything on any cd I have.

 

[seemingly random]

Thanks for reiterating - I missed the stopping point. This is indeed a strange one.

I haven't seen the 128gb limitation since w2k. Are there jumpers on the drive (or mb) that should or shouldn't be there?

Did you reset bios? I would review all of the settings afterwards - and don't use that hammer...

If you can, as a sanity check, download WD's Data Lifeguard Tools 11.2 for DOS (CD) and create the bootable cd. Does it recognize the drive? It would be nice to have a CD with memtest86+ also - another sanity check.

Can you attach the drive to another pc to check that it's recognizable? If so and it's a windows pc, partition and 'quick' format it there.

Do you have another 'expendable' ide or sata drive available to try on the p35? It would be interesting if an ide drive worked - then it would be time to rma the mb.

At some point, it might be useful to remove the mb from the case to eliminate the unlikely possibility of a short.

 

[seemingly random]

Another idea. If you have a copy of XP, try installing it at least to the point where it should see the drives.

Booting from the live cd of one of the linux distros might be informative. I think linux 'knows' about AHCI.

 

[seemingly random]

Sorry - just noticed the Seagate drive - must be getting tired... WD doesn't know about anything other than WD drives.

SeaTools for DOS

 

[seemingly random]

One more thing and then its off to lala land for me. Do you happen to have a USB card reader attached to the mb? Unplug it and/or any other USB devices - both internal and external.