IP35 Pro being problematic

[BobF64]

Ive just assembled a new PC, but already there are problems.

Trying to install XP hung, but on the 2nd attempt it installed correctly, I also installed Vista x64, without issue.

However, there seem to be a few "issues".

Firstly, the System Event log on XP is being filled with errors relating to the disk and paging operations, also similar errors are being spat out by the atapi driver.

Now, ive looked this up and people have reported that its commonly caused by poor SATA cables, im using the ones Abit provided with the board, or a defective HDD. I know its not the HDD as I was using it in an existing PC and its reported no such errors, also the Western Digital diagnostic software reports no problems with the drive.

So, either the board is faulty or the cables are...

Secondly, under Vista, it will randomly just restart.
For example, I tried to open the Control Panel and the PC acts like its "thinking" a bit, then suddenly I get the IP35 Pro boot graphics and the PC has restarted, definately not a driver induced BSOD.

All of which has left me scratching my head a little.

Its also reported that it was unable to boot the HDD a few times, a quick Ctrl-Alt-Del seems to fix it though.

The board arrived with BIOS 14, which i flashed to 16 and reset the CMOS.

The settings for the CPU and memory are all set to auto, and look to be correct for stock settings.
I ran the Vista "memory test" from the boot menu, and it reported no problems.

Components:
IP35 PRO
Q6600 G0
Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5DHX
WD SATA HDD
Pioneer SATA DVD-RW
XFX 8800GT
Be-Quiet Dark Power Pro 650W PSU

Im not really sure what to try with regards to fixing, at the very least, the stability issues and the disk error events.
Every previous PC Ive built just works, lol, this is the first time ive had any issues at all.

Any advice on what to try would be useful.

[Abit_NL]

What do you have as DDR Voltage? Can you set it to 2.1 Volt? Some disk errors can be caused by memory issues.

Latest Intel chipset drivers are installed as well?

For testhing you can set your HDD to S-ATA1 mode (if it's a SATAII HDD).

[BobF64]

The DDR was running at 1.8v as per its SPD, Ill try 2.1v and see if it helps.

Yes , I think its a SATA-II drive, so I can try that, the problem seems to affect the DVD-RW too, at least the event logs have errors for it also.

The drive was being used on a SATA-I port on the old PC, using an IC7-G board.

Interestingly enough, when I tried to boot Vista last night, it started booting then promptly told me that it couldnt find ntfs.sys, so I rebooted to XP which started fine and the Vista drive was still there and intact.

[kalniel]

I definitely recommend setting SATA to IDE mode in BIOS - not sure how to do that on this board, but I've come accross a number of problems (mostly on Vista systems) when SATA drives are in AHCI(?) mode rather than IDE/legacy.

[gilgamesh]

It does sound like faulty memory to me. If you have made a FRESH install fo xp since the upgrade and you had problems even then. Usually that is a memory fault.

gilgamesh

[Blitzen]

Vista handles and checks your memory far more intensely than XP ever did.

If the memory was a little 'iffy' then the chances are XP would ignore it, whereas Vista will notice these quirks and intervene.

I agree with Gilgamesh. Run memtest under Vista and see what that throws up.

[BobF64]

I ran the "memtest" from the Vista bootloader, it showed nothing was wrong. I could run the Microsoft memory test CD, unless theres some other test software youd recommend?

The SATA controllers are set in IDE mode already, no floppy drive and im too lazy to build a custom OS image to include the AHCI drivers.

The PC was installed clean, only the HDD is being reused, all others are brand new parts. On the old PC it was being used as a dedicated swap partition and random junk storage, so any issues there would have come to light at some point.

[BobF64]

Ok, ran "memtest+" from a bootable CD, over 4 passes and 3hours, no errors.

Ran "memtest" from within Vista, which booted ok, after about an hour the PC BSODd with stop code 0x00000101 (A clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor within the allocated time interval.).
I left Vista just sat at the desktop, nothing running other than default services/tasks, so no load on the system.

This was with all the settings on "auto" in the bios.

Will try setting the ram to 2.1v and repeating the test from Vista.

[BobF64]

Hmm, I may have found the problem.

Whilst checking everything was definately secured and attached coorectly, i noticed that the SATA power connectors were pushing the data cables so they were no longer straight.

I disconnected all the drives and used a smooth edged data cable, rather than the curved Abit ones, and reconnected just the HDD.

Booted XP, no event log messages.

So, its either a problem caused by the DVD-RW drive, since i havent reconnected that, or its due to conflicting connector designs...

[BobF64]

Ok, new cabled fixes the "Event 11" disk problems.

However, the PC still isnt stable.

Tried setting the DDR voltage to 2.1v, and the PC still just "died" and restarted whilst running 3D Mark, one second it was running, next its just showing the BIOS boot screen, no warning, no BSOD.

Ive checked and double checked the connections between the PSU and the board, and that the heatsink is secure on the CPU.

[Abit_NL]

Tried setting the DDR voltage to 2.1v, and the PC still just "died" and restarted whilst running 3D Mark, one second it was running, next its just showing the BIOS boot screen, no warning, no BSOD.

Did you check if the "auto restart" option in Windows is disabled? It will reboot instead of giving you a bluescreen when it's enabled.

Also try to set some more relaxed timings (5-5-5-18 for example).

You had a reboot with 3DMARK, it isn't stable in other benchmarks (like Sisoft Sandra or Prime95) either? If it's with graphics orientated benchmarks only you might want to check for some newer VGA drivers.

[BobF64]

Even if "auto restart" was on there would be an event written into the event log and also Vista whines at you saying it recovered from a crash, none of which happens.

Its just as if someone pressed the reset button on the case.

Its not just under benchmarks, it also does it if the PC is just sat there idle, just takes longer to happen.

I reinstalled Vista last night and part way through the install it just reset, and I had to start again.
I know it wasnt an Install reboot, because it hadnt reached that stage yet.

The memory is set manually to the Corsair spec, 5-5-5-18.

If it is a problem with the memory, it seems pretty odd since the memtest boot cd ran for over 3hours without a single error or reset, but Windows cant manage to stay up for more than an hour.


*edit*

I have "aqquired" some other parts to test with, namely a gfx card (7300GS i think), 2 x 512MB Corsair DIMMs, a spare PSU and if really necessary a different CPU. I figure that if I try changing things 1 at a time, I might eliminate them as problems.

[BobF64]

Ok, i used SiSoftware Sandras burn in, set it to run 3 times, no problems.

However, maybe the software is wrong, but it seems to think that the +12VDC is 9V, which is very odd, since uGuru and the BIOS think its around 12V.

I ran 3DMark, and caught a very brief glimpse of a BSOD, however Vista doesnt record it, no entry in the event log and no memory dump...very very strange. (auto-reboot is turned off, so i dont know why it seems to BSOD then just reset).

Going to try changing the Gfx card drivers, then the gfx card, then the ram, then the PSU.

[BobF64]

Managed to run it for just over 1hour yesterday with Prime95 running, before Vista restarted and reported in the event log that it "restarted unexpectedly".

Id removed 1 of the RAM sticks, just 1 2GB stick in the first slot.

Tried setting the VDIMM to 2.1v, and manually setting the timings to 5-5-5-18 (its rated speed) and the board just C1s and i have to wipe the CMOS.

Do you think that if I got a shotgun and blew holes in the board that it would still be covered by the warranty?

*sigh* I wish Id bought a Dell.

Ive also found that the cold boot CPU temp is hitting 50C just from booting to the bios...it used to be about 35-40, and I havent changed anything related to the CPU.

If theres any other suggestions, Id like to hear them.

[dexstar]

Have a look in uguru or better abit eq in BIOS, there may be an option ticked which will reboot the pc if a certain parameter is reached, eg cpu fan under 300RPM etc.

[BobF64]

Hmm, ill check that

The CPU and memory worked fine in another board, the Intel DP35DP.

And a lower spec CPU, Intel E4300 1.8Ghz Allendale, worked fine on the IP35Pro.

Even weirder, with the Q6600 Vista refused to install one of the Windows updates, KB950759 an IE7 update, but with the E4300 in it worked just fine...

Only thing I havent tried yet is using a different PSU, since i dont have a suitable one lying about.
At 650W, and 20A on each of the 4 12V rails, the PSU should give more than enough to run things, right?