Trouble with new build (VIDEO FIXED NOW ITS WINDOWS)

[motorace]

Hi! First time poster...I have been a programmer for a number of years, but just recently decided to build my first computer. I am having issues with my video setup for some reason. When I turn the computer on everything seems to come up fine and I get video, however if I reboot or try to load windows the computer seems to lose the card settings. I have to turn off the computer, reset the BIOS (using the jumper) and turn it back on.

- ABIT IP35 Pro LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Intel Motherboard
- Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850
- PNY - Verto GeForce 8500 GT Graphics Card

Any thoughts?

 

[LiLithTecH]

What is BIOS version?
What (brand/mfg) Ram?
Are you trying to overclock?

 

[motorace]

Sorry for the late reply, I was away on vacation.

I figured out that some of the Ram wasn't seated correctly and I was actually getting a checksum error. This caused the BIOS to load the defaults so everytime I turned the computer on the first time it would pick up the card, but if the BIOS wasn't reset it would lose the information. Once I got rid of the checksum error the card information was stored to the BIOS, end of problem.

Now I am having a heck of a time getting Vista to install. It keeps freezing up when its trying to do the intial file install.

I am gonig to check and make sure I have the latest bios tonight and update if I don't. I will update the thread with more info and questions if I am still having issues.

 

[robisbell]

did you run the windows vista checker, to verify your system can support it?

 

[motorace]

How do I run the Vista Checker? I have an Abit IP35 Pro board with an E6850 Conroe Chip, 4 Gigs of G-Skill ram and two 320 gb Western Digital hard drives. I would think that should work with Vista...

Do I have to allocate a drive or format it before I install vista? I have updated the BIOS to boot from the CD ROM but it keeps hanging when its says Installing Windows Files.

 

[mrblotto]

Make sure you do not install Vista with more than 2 Gig of RAM installed. There is a patch from MS for this. I believe it is called KB929777

If that isn't the problem......well, then.....*shrug*...lol

 

[motorace]

I currently have only 2 gigs installed and it just hangs....no error messages.

 

[robisbell]

http://www.microsoft.com/windo...de/upgradeadvisor.mspx

 

[motorace]

The weird thing is it seems to hang at different times. Sometimes it hangs before the bar makes any progress. Other times it makes some progress and then quits...never any errors though.

 

[motorace]

Originally posted by: robisbell
http://www.microsoft.com/windo...de/upgradeadvisor.mspx

This is a brand new install not an upgrade.

 

[robisbell]

is there any OS on it?

 

[motorace]

Originally posted by: robisbell
is there any OS on it?

thanks for the prompt replies, I appreciate the help!

No there currently is no OS on the machine. everything is brand new and just assembled in the last week.

 

[robisbell]

hmmm. not sure if you'll be able to verify it meets the version of vista you're running. will need to see.

 

[motorace]

Originally posted by: robisbell
hmmm. not sure if you'll be able to verify it meets the version of vista you're running. will need to see.

I am at a loss at this point. I don't know what to do. I have a copy of Win XP Pro...I will try installing that.

 

[motorace]

XP appears to freeze as well.

"Setup is loading files (Kernel Debugger DLL)"

 

[robisbell]

make and model of ram?

 

[motorace]

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ

 

[robisbell]

okay, gskill has no memory matching option on their site, it seems the sites more geared for returning their ram.
corsair doesn't have any ram that will work in that motherboard. kingston does tho.
I suspect the issue is incompatible ram, there's a few postings online about other mobo brands having issues similar to yours with that ram.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...howthread.php?t=120319
http://www.xtremesystems.org/f...ndex.php/t-117762.html

http://www.ec.kingston.com/eco...butor=0&submit1=Search

I'd suggest replacing the ram.

 

[motorace]

I just wanted to post back so others have this information. Even if RAM is the suspect returning it might not be necessary. I increased the voltage setting on my RAM from 1.8 volts to 1.9 and set the latency and timing according to the RAM specs and everything is now up and running perfectly. My system is smoking and I haven't even attempted to overclock it yet.

 

[robisbell]

so, you're overclocking the memory, that means the memory can not run on that board at stock settings. I see a problem waiting to happen, good luck.

 

[motorace]

Dropped it back down to 1.8 volts and its still running fine. I guess it was just the auto settings for the RAM latency and timing that the BIOS chose didn't jive.

 

[robisbell]

I'm glad it's working, I'm concerned that it did that. let me know if it does it again, or you have any issues.

 

[motorace]

I haven't been able to do a lot with the computer so I am not sure how stable it is just yet. Here is another question for you. I have 2 GB in there now, but I do have another 2 GB I can add. Is it even worth it with a 32 bit installation? I have heard of people have problems with 4 GB so I am not sure I should even bother.

 

[robisbell]

well, you need to see if the board supports 4Gb of ram, make sure they'll work with the ram you already have and to make use of 4Gb you'll need XP 64Bit or Vista 64Bit

 

[motorace]

I just wanted to reply back to this thread so that if others experience issues they have more information. I made the mistake of buying different RAM thinking it was causing some weird issues with my setup. Turns out I was missing some network drivers. The system has been up and running flawlessly for a while now.