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S.O.S. ! - SATA + IDE Conflict ... Or ?

M

Midnight Rambler

Diamond Member
I need some help with a new build that is exhibiting much "weirdness", to say the least. I've browsed a coupla hundred posts here on AT, and already tried most of the standard "fixes" for SATA problems, but nothing has worked, so I thought I'd turn it over to the "experts" ...

The rig is as follows :

P4 3.2 (775) on an Asus P5P800 mobo (BIOS Rev. 1005)
2 x 512 Kingston HyperX PC4000, running in Dual Channel Mode, POST reports 400MHz Dual Ch. Linear
Enermax Noisetaker EG475AX P.S. (470W)
WD Caviar 250GB SATA
Plextor PX-712
Asus DVD-ROM
ATI X800 Pro (AGP)
Marvel Gigabit LAN (Onboard the mobo)
Windoz XP Pro SP2 (Slipstreamed)

I have been able to get XP installed on to the SATA Hd, and it boots fine. In Disk Mgmt., both partitions are shown correctly (approx. 100GB for C: and 138GB for D: ) and listed as "Healthy".

The Plextor DVD burner is Master on the Primary, and the Asus DVD is Master on the Secondary, with the SATA HD listed as 3rd IDE Master by the BIOS. Boot Priority is set to 1 - SATA HD , 2 - Plextor DVD , 3 - Disabled (was floppy). In the CDROM Drives setting just under Boot Priority, I have only the Plextor enabled.

Also, within the BIOS, the Onboard IDE Operating Mode is set to "Enhanced Mode", and under Enhanced Mode Support On I have used both the "S-ATA" setting as well as "P-ATA+S-ATA" setting, but neither works.

Everything else in the BIOS is basically set to Default (ex. Memory timings from SPD, etc.). I have disabled the onboard sound and game port to keep them out of the equation.

THE PROBLEM : When running within Windows, I get lockups, esp. when installing a program from one of the DVD drives. Sometimes instead of locking up, it will cause a reboot which then also locks up, with the monitor getting put in Stand By mode. (Note: All power saving/related options in both the BIOS and Windows are disabled as a precaution.)

One surefire way to replicate the problem is by swapping a known "good disc" of data back and forth between the two DVD drives. Initially each drive will recognize the disc and displays its contents in a Window, but eventually one drive will cause the system to lock up. It's never the same drive that causes the lockup, and if it causes the "reboot-to-Stand By mode" problem described above, my system Restart button will not work, only a hard power down will do the trick.

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated !
 
Try kicking the memory voltage up to 2.7 volts and see if that has an effect. I may be guessing wrong, but this is one very common cause of system instability... memory that's not always getting enough voltage.
 
Thanks for the tip, mechBgon. At least I'm not using a crappy PS ...:laugh:

How about installation of the chipset drivers included on the mobo support CD ? Are they needed if you slipstreamed SP2 instead of going the F6 + floppy route ?
 
So ... it's down to either one of two things (I think ... :frown: ) ...

1.) POS X800 Pro video card - swapped it out and replaced with an old Radeon 8500. A-OK so far.

2.) POS Micro$oft Windoz XP SP2. NO WHERE do they warn you about that NASTY little checkbox for your Local Area Connection found under Network Connections -> Properties -> General tab , for the following option :

"Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity."

SP2 auto-checks this box for you. At least that's what the nice gal from the offshore SBC tech support center told me. All I know is my built-in network adapter was going crazy until I unchecked this box. Unfortunately I did not have its icon displayed in my Toolbar, so I didn't know what was going on in the background ... not sure if this could cause my lockups, etc., but sure seems to have been a/the culprit.

In the end not sure if it was this, or my vid card. At least I can now install software and log on to the 'Net. Time to send this box through a burn-in torture test.
 
Yes, you need the chipset drivers, but my problem continued after installing them. I'm pretty certain my two issues mentioned above were the final culprit(s). Vid card is definitely toast, and the onboard LAN adapter is finally content.
 
I have heard of incompatability problems with this motherboard and the Kingston pc4000 ram. Might try some different ram and see what happens.
 
FYI, I think the final solution to my probs was in the P.S. Started having lockups again, after initially having no probs once I had switched vid card to the 8500 from the X800.

Replaced my $120 Enermax 485W with a $10 Mad Dog brand 350W and, as the song goes, "Everything is Beautiful".

Figures ... :|
 
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