Ongoing problems with Shuttle SB95Pv2 - Resolved!
Hello all.
I apologize in advance by the rather lengthy post, but I'm wondering if anyone has run into the same type of issues I have with my newly-built Shuttle SB95Pv2.
I've posted in the past regarding possible heat issues with one of my hard drives, but I was able to correct the problem by properly venting the case. The current issue, however, is much more critical and frustrating than anything I can think of.
Here is the system configuration:
- Shuttle SB95P v2
- Intel P4 3.2GHz with 2MB cache (640 edition)
- 1GB OCZ Platinum Enhanced Rev. 2 Limited Edition DDR2-PC4200 (model OCZ25331024EBPER2)
- Sapphire Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3
- Samsung SP1213C 120GB / 8MB cache / 7200rpm SATA drive
- Maxtor 7Y250M0 250GB / 8MB cache / 7200rpm SATA drive
- LG 16x Dual Layer DVD burner model GSA-4163BK
Nothing is overclocked. I'm using all the current drivers from Shuttle and Intel for the motherboard/chipset, and Sapphire for the graphics card. Nothing is overheating, all the cables are properly seated, Windows was patched to the latest recommended patches. The hard drives are brand new, SMART reports no errors with 100% fitness on both, and I am able to run HDTach on them w/o any problems.
The video card performs flawlessly in 3DSmark03 and 05 and in games (WoW and CS:S).
During the past week or so, my Shuttle will randomly lock up and then reboot itself, often times resulting in a CHKDSK upon reboot, and in at least three instances, serious file corruption. These crashes have randomly ocurred while playing World of Warcraft, moving some files from the OS disk to the data disk, running Aquamark, or just sitting idle.
Here are the symptoms:
1) I can usually tell when the Shuttle is going to die on me, because the drive activity LED in front will light up, the Shuttle freezes, and stays lit the entire time the box reboots itself. Oddly enough, the mouse can still be moved around the screen, but of course, you can't click on anything.
2) During the reboot, everything is painfully slow, taking as long as 5 minutes just to get to the Windows login screen. Once I log in, everything is still painfully slow, and it's almost impossible to do anything. The drive activity light will stay lit during this entire process.
3) I can sometimes try to shutdown the system, which takes another 5 minutes, and power it off. Once I power it back on, everything seems back to normal.
4) The Windows system log has a number of instances where Windows complains that it can't read off the main disk, and reports a timeout message. These are random, and they don't coincide with all the crashes, but I believe they're definitely part of the problem.
Just last night, I upgraded the BIOS on the Shuttle to the new version posted on Shuttle's support site in hopes that it would help fix this problem. The new BIOS is available here. . There was no change in the system, and it actually crashed last night, forcing me to reinstall Windows XP. This morning, I woke up to find that the executable that manages the login process for Windows XP (lsass.exe) is corrupt, so I can't even log in anymore. Safe mode also doesn't work, which means I'll have to, once again, reinstall the OS.
So, after this lenghty ramble, I'm wondering if anyone has been having similar issues, or am I just a very unlucky person. If you ha(ve/d) these problems, how did you fix them, or are you still looking for help?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
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- Shuttle SB95P v2
- Intel P4 3.2GHz with 2MB cache (640 edition)
- 1GB OCZ Platinum Enhanced Rev. 2 Limited Edition DDR2-PC4200 (model OCZ25331024EBPER2)
- Sapphire Radeon X850XT 256MB GDDR3 (OEM)
- Samsung SP1213C 120GB / 8MB cache / 7200rpm SATA drive
- Maxtor 7Y250M0 250GB / 8MB cache / 7200rpm SATA drive
- LG 16x Dual Layer DVD burner model GSA-4163BK
The problem has been resolved
Hello all.
I was able to isolate the problem to a damaged SATA cable. The SATA cable plugged between the motherboard and the primary disk was apparently damaged when they zip-tied it and the power cables to the Shuttle's chassis.
I replaced it with a better quality cable and I'm happy to say the system is currently rock-solid, even after 14 hours of non-stop benchmarking and burn-in testing, followed by several multi-hour-long gaming sessions and protein folding.
Thank you for all of the replies. I will try to address them one at a time.
Stephen B:
- Thanks for the advice, however, as I mentioned in my post, the problem I was experiencing was not related to the video card, but to the main OS disk randomly 'dropping off' and the OS reporting that it can't read off the main disk.
Also, the 6800GT is more demanding on the power supply, generates a lot more heat, and is physically longer, so it would not be an acceptable choice for this Shuttle system, unless I proceeded to invest in additional cooling solutions both for it and the internal disks, which I really would like to avoid.
Matt D.
- There is no X500XT. Maybe you're referring to the X600 or X700? Also, the X850XT is not specifically listed in the approved by Shuttle list for use in the SB95Pv2 systems, but it is offered as one of the graphic card options on their complete systems that they sell to the public, namely the P9500G. You can see this here.
The P9500G is nothing more than the SB95Pv2 pre-built for you, which is the same system as mine.
As far as Shuttles not being for gamers, I can say that I'm getting scores over 12900 in 3DMark03 and almost 8K in 3Dmark05. I'd say that's very respectable, and I didn't overclock any of the parts in the system, nor had to install neon or see-through windows.
I do have both Intel Inside and a Fueled by Sapphire stickers in the case, does that make a difference?
So much for it not being for gamers.
P9500g is NOT for gamers.
I am someone who has bought one of these P series Shuttles direct form Shuttle themselves. The P9500g to be exact. Through their "Gamming" tab on their site last Oct.
I left everything at the Default settings upgrading Nothing EXCEPT the video card (to a G-Force 7800GT).
To be fair... this system is a dog. it has returned to Shuttle for repairs 3 times each time they have replaced 1-2 major componants.
So far Shuttle has replaced (in order)
1 G-Force 7800 GT Card (PNY. Burned out)
1 Mother Board, 1 Dammaged hard Drive.
1 G-Force 7800 GT Card (replaced with one from ATI)
and now the second Hard drive is dammaged again and will not reboot.
Shuttle has blamed me, UPS, PNY, the SATA cables, Firmware for the Card, the games I am playing... you name it.
I started out with the Symptoms above. I also was having troubble with Bad Sound, Video Freezes up to 15-45 Seconds, and of course the Blue Screen "Physical Memory Dump"s.
As far as this system not being for gammers. I have to say I would agree with that statement 100%.
This computer has been a nighmare for going on 4 months now. Just because Shuttle insists this system is good for games, does not make it so.