STOP code when Norton is scanning (?)

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: NesuD
Memtest errors in tests 5 and 8 are classic Nforce 2 errors. Some ram doesn't get along with many nforce2 motherboards. I would say considering the memtest failures that you either have bad ram or more likely your ram simply cannot play well that board. It isn't uncommon either. I went through 6 different ram modules from 3 different manufacturers before i found a brand that actually worked correctly with my first nforce2 motherboard.

So which brand or which RAM specifically could you pass all tests?

It is not possible for me to refund.
But the RAM is within the warranty period (in fact, it is said to be infinite. I don't know why. There must be some tricks in it).
I wonder if I should ask for replacements or exchanges of RAM.
But probably I can only get KingMax RAM (they will not offer me other brands of RAM to exchange, right?) even if I ask for exchanges.
Hmm... what should I do now?

There are several things to try that may or may not help depending on the ram. Try clocking the ram down to 166/333 and see if it still has those same errors if the ram works fine at 333 but not at 400 then i would return it. Also if the the vdimm is defaulting at 2.5 volts try 2.6 or 2.7. many dimm modules need a little extra to be reliable at 200/400 ddr speeds.

I haven't done all these? I don't overclock (and underclock) at all.
How to do?
Is it dangerous?

Another thing is with Nforce2 boards it is best to run the ram synchronously with the FSB. If your FSB is 333 the you should also run the ram at that speed. Running the Ram at 400 while the cpu is running at 333 in fact hurts system performance.

OK. Again I just don't know how to do so.
I think if I lower the RAM speed to 333, I can set a lower CL. If so, what value and how to set?
I'm using Asus A7N8X-X (non-deluxe one!).

One other thing is you have not indicated what kind of powersupply you are using. An underpowered PS or a poor quality one can also cause instabilities similar to what you are experiencing. IRQ sharing is not your problem. You are having hardware related stability issues that are simply manifesting themselves by causing the "IRQ not less than or equal error".

I have purchased a high-end powersupply simply to ensure my system feeds well.
I'm using 2themax PowerSupply HE-420 (3 fans, max watt: 500)

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Vernor
Yet more proof that programs like Norton cause more trouble than they supposedly prevent.


If you use common sense, the odds of getting infected with viruses is pretty slim.

I don't think it is virus/syware/malware etc. which causes the trouble.

Yes, I am another proof to negative Norton

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: Vernor
Yet more proof that programs like Norton cause more trouble than they supposedly prevent.

If you use common sense, the odds of getting infected with viruses is pretty slim.

His issue here is unstable hardware, NOT Norton AV. NAV can't make you fail memtest86. :disgust:

OP, get your system to pass memtest and Prime95, *then* worry about NAV. Run your RAM one stick at a time and see if only one of them gives issues in memtest86. If that's the case, replace the bad module. If they both work OK separately at DDR400, try running them together at DDR333 CL3 and see if the problem goes away; if so, your motherboard is probably not stable at DDR400 using dual-channel (at least with this RAM).

My motherboard doesn't support dual-channel.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: boomerang
I'm going to be up front and tell you I haven't read all the info in your posts, so excuse me if this has been covered.

It doesn't matter.
I know I am very-long-winded!!
Just ask me for the info you want. I will quote for you.

You may have multiple issues going on.

Do you need an add-in NIC when you have one onboard? If the slot you're using is sharing resources with the O/B NIC, that would cause trouble. They may not be sharing an IRQ in Windows, but at the BIOS level, they are sharing.

I need 2 NICs because I use ICS (=Internet Connection Sharing).

Even disabling O/B features in BIOS does not seem to truly disable them nowadays. I've seen plenty that were still using resources.

I don't know all about that.
How to do?
I'm using Asus A7N8X-X.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Jojo7
Got a good power supply in there? I didn't see the brand/wattage listed on other posts.

I have purchased a high-end powersupply simply to ensure my system feeds well.
I'm using 2themax PowerSupply HE-420 (3 fans, max watt: 500)

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Mark R
Many STOP errors, especially ones like IRQL_NOT_LESS_THAN_OR_EQUAL are caused by a crash in a driver. They don't mean more than that. If a crash occurs in a program, Windows will pick it up and kill it. If it happens in a driver, your system is dead.

In motherboards with PCI slots there are no issues from PCI IRQ sharing, except with some very old buggy drivers (e.g. Soundblaster Live!). Don't waste time shuffling your PCI cards about - that is not your problem.

The problem is that your RAM is not working in your motherboard (that's the reason for the errors in memtest). It is very unusual for faulty memory to give errors on tests 5 or test 8 only. Virtually the only time this is ever seen is when you use an NForce2 motherboard which is incompatible with your RAM.

I had terrible problems before with NForce2 boards - e.g. Abit-NF7, I couldn't find any RAM that would work with several of these boards - twinmos, crucial, corsair. I gave up after that. Changed 1 of the boards for a DFI NFII infinity, and suddenly the crucial started working.

My advice would be to try a different brand of RAM - e.g. crucial or Mushkin and try again. Alternatively consider trying a different motherboard.

That implies I have to dump my new motherboard, and purchase another motherbord just for that.
That's not what I want. It is a waste of money. In fact, I have already spent a fortune on visting my .

Asus may offer me exchanges of Asus motherboards within the warranty period which is 1 year. Over half year elapses.

As to the RAM KingMax company, I don't think replacing or exchanging RAM (probably they musy give me the same brand) helps.

Just don't know what I should do.

 

[WaiWai]

Note:
I have tested one of my RAM only today.
I only inserted 1 RAM in DIMM and run memtest86 v3.1a
No error so far.

 

[Matthias99]

I have purchased a high-end powersupply simply to ensure my system feeds well.
I'm using 2themax PowerSupply HE-420 (3 fans, max watt: 500)

That's not a "high-end" power supply (a good one is made by a name-brand manufacturer like Antec/Forton/Seasonic/Enermax/ThermalTake/etc.). What are the amperage ratings on the rails?

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

I have purchased a high-end powersupply simply to ensure my system feeds well.
I'm using 2themax PowerSupply HE-420 (3 fans, max watt: 500)

That's not a "high-end" power supply (a good one is made by a name-brand manufacturer like Antec/Forton/Seasonic/Enermax/ThermalTake/etc.). What are the amperage ratings on the rails?

My powersupply is purchased separately at a high price.
It is said to be with the same quality as Antec in my own country.
Maybe it is just not widely known internationally.

Are you looking for the following:
+5V - 42A
+3.3V - 26A
+12V - 18A
-5V - 0.8A
-12V - 1.0A
5VSB - 2.5A

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: WaiWai

Originally posted by: Matthias99

I have purchased a high-end powersupply simply to ensure my system feeds well.
I'm using 2themax PowerSupply HE-420 (3 fans, max watt: 500)

That's not a "high-end" power supply (a good one is made by a name-brand manufacturer like Antec/Forton/Seasonic/Enermax/ThermalTake/etc.). What are the amperage ratings on the rails?

My powersupply is purchased separately at a high price.
It is said to be with the same quality as Antec in my own country.
Maybe it is just not widely known internationally.

Are you looking for the following:
+5V - 42A
+3.3V - 26A
+12V - 18A
-5V - 0.8A
-12V - 1.0A
5VSB - 2.5A

Sorry, I assumed you were in the US (most people on this board are). It may well be a rebadged unit from a reputable company, but I've never heard of them (which *usually* means it's crap). The ratings on the rails look *OK*, although the +12V is way low for a "500W" PSU (you really want like 24+A at that wattage rating). It looks like the typical practice of having a ridiculously high rating on the +5V rail (which is useless; you'd never pull 200+W from the 5V rail) in order to give a higer maximum wattage.

 

[WaiWai]

Originally posted by: Matthias99

Originally posted by: WaiWai

Originally posted by: Matthias99

I have purchased a high-end powersupply simply to ensure my system feeds well.
I'm using 2themax PowerSupply HE-420 (3 fans, max watt: 500)

That's not a "high-end" power supply (a good one is made by a name-brand manufacturer like Antec/Forton/Seasonic/Enermax/ThermalTake/etc.). What are the amperage ratings on the rails?

My powersupply is purchased separately at a high price.
It is said to be with the same quality as Antec in my own country.
Maybe it is just not widely known internationally.

Are you looking for the following:
+5V - 42A
+3.3V - 26A
+12V - 18A
-5V - 0.8A
-12V - 1.0A
5VSB - 2.5A

Sorry, I assumed you were in the US (most people on this board are). It may well be a rebadged unit from a reputable company, but I've never heard of them (which *usually* means it's crap). The ratings on the rails look *OK*, although the +12V is way low for a "500W" PSU (you really want like 24+A at that wattage rating). It looks like the typical practice of having a ridiculously high rating on the +5V rail (which is useless; you'd never pull 200+W from the 5V rail) in order to give a higer maximum wattage.

Most people here are friendly and helpful. That's why I usually visit this forum

In fact, some people suggested me not to buy this power supply at the time before purchase. They did not suggest its performance was bad. It was just the performace/price ratio was bad.

I don't know how to judge from the voltage-amperage relationship. Is it the higher the amperage, the better it is? And what is amperage about?

About changing RAM voltage, just would like to know if there's any side-effect for changing voltage (vdimm). What's the point of chaning the vdimm? If increasing the vdimm too much, will it cause hardware breakdown.

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: WaiWai
Most people here are friendly and helpful. That's why I usually visit this forum

In fact, some people suggested me not to buy this power supply at the time before purchase. They did not suggest its performance was bad. It was just the performace/price ratio was bad.

I don't know what you paid for it, but it was probably too much; given those specs, it should not have a "high price".

I don't know how to judge from the voltage-amperage relationship. Is it the higher the amperage, the better it is? And what is amperage about?

Watts (power) = Volts (potential) * Amps (current). If a device pulls 10A at 12V, it uses 10 * 12 = 120W of power. The amperage ratings tell you how much power can be delivered via each voltage rail of the PSU. On yours, you can get 210W (5V * 42A) on the 5V line, 86W (3.3V * 26A) on the 3.3V line, and 216W (12V * 18A) on the +12V line (the others are not really relevant). However, you are very unlikely to need more than 75-100W on the +5V line, but modern systems put a very high draw on the +12V line (most of the draw from the CPU and video card, as well as your hard drives, is on the +12V line). Many cheaper PSUs give a very high rating on the +5V and +3.3V lines to get a high overall wattage rating, but don't deliver enough power on the +12V line to be useful for high-end systems.

Your PSU is not "bad" -- but you are unlikely to be able to actually get it to output anywhere near 500W of usable power. Realistically, it's more like a 300-350W PSU in terms of usable capacity.

About changing RAM voltage, just would like to know if there's any side-effect for changing voltage (vdimm). What's the point of chaning the vdimm? If increasing the vdimm too much, will it cause hardware breakdown.

The same as with any electronic circuit -- increasing the voltage will make it run more stably, but will dramatically increase heat and power dissipation, and if increased too much can damage the circuit over time.

 

[WaiWai]

I don't know what you paid for it, but it was probably too much; given those specs, it should not have a "high price".

Yes true.
The performace/price ratio is bad... >_<
Some people told me that you may be able to get a cheaper PSU with the same performance.
But I just don't know how to choose. So I have to rely on the brand.
I know Antec is dear as well.

In fact, what brand of PSU will you suggest in your country (you are in the US, right?) ?

Watts (power) = Volts (potential) * Amps (current). If a device pulls 10A at 12V, it uses 10 * 12 = 120W of power. The amperage ratings tell you how much power can be delivered via each voltage rail of the PSU. On yours, you can get 210W (5V * 42A) on the 5V line, 86W (3.3V * 26A) on the 3.3V line, and 216W (12V * 18A) on the +12V line (the others are not really relevant). However, you are very unlikely to need more than 75-100W on the +5V line, but modern systems put a very high draw on the +12V line (most of the draw from the CPU and video card, as well as your hard drives, is on the +12V line). Many cheaper PSUs give a very high rating on the +5V and +3.3V lines to get a high overall wattage rating, but don't deliver enough power on the +12V line to be useful for high-end systems.

Your PSU is not "bad" -- but you are unlikely to be able to actually get it to output anywhere near 500W of usable power. Realistically, it's more like a 300-350W PSU in terms of usable capacity.

Yes, my PSU cannot go up to 500w for most of the time. It is just the max watt which is irrelevant. The average watt is said to be 420w. That's why the model name is HE420. Within its products, it is not the best PSU. I just purchased the above-standard one. There are better PSU in its shelf. The PSU it produces is said to be in high quality.

From what you say, I should always seek for higher amps at +5V, +3.3V and +12V. and I don't need to care too much about -V sides, right?

The same as with any electronic circuit -- increasing the voltage will make it run more stably, but will dramatically increase heat and power dissipation, and if increased too much can damage the circuit over time.

So the only side-effect seems to be heat! As long as I can cool my RAM well, I can set higher voltage. Am I on the right track?

 

[WaiWai]

How can I choose a good PSU?

In choosing a PSU, I will look for:
- stability of voltage supply
- average watt supply

What specifications should I look for?

Here's the sample specification of HE520 Pro III. Try to read the readable part only. Ignore all other unreadable parts.
http://www1.2themax.com/produc.../he_pro3/he520pro3.htm