Need Some Advice

EcPercy · Nov 23, 2003, 07:15 PM

I just put together a new system the other day and I seem to be having quite a few problems with it...
Here are the specs:
Gigabyte Ga7VT600-L
Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton)
512MB Pc2700 Geil
Radeon 9000 Pro 128MB
Antec True Power 330

So the problems start right after I swap out my old stuff and do a clean install of windows xp. I must also note that the fan on my Radeon 9000 Pro went out so i replaced the heatsink with a Vantec Iceberq CCB-A1C, which is the all copper vga chipset cooler. First the main problem is that my system files keep on corrupting and the system locks up and crashes at random. The other thing i noticed is that in Battlefield 1942 the grafx are wierd, I mean in certain maps i get these white patches of grafx like the card is having trouble drawing or something. Then the system locks up and I get a BSOD saying something to the effect of Driver_irql_not_less_or_equal_to... I tried reinstalling the via chipset drivers. I have the latest bios version. I turned off agp fast writes, and I also bumped up the voltage on the video card to 1.7v. I also set the bios to "fail_safe" to make sure that there arent any settings configured incorrectly, but i have the same problems if i set it to "top_performance" also.... I was thinking that the PSU could be the problem, but I am not sure...Would the PSU cause all of these problems?

At this point I am willing to take any suggestions!

tastyweat · Nov 23, 2003, 07:56 PM

I don't think that the PSU would cause those kinds of problems. I think you should re-enable fast writes, restore the AGP voltage to normal. I would suggest that you do a complete format of your hard drive (full NTFS - not quick). When you wiped your hard drive, if you used quick wipe and some sections were dodgy, that could cause file corruptions like you are having. Try that - then let us know.

tastyweat · Nov 23, 2003, 07:57 PM

Also - if you can get ahold of one (old or new) - just try a new graphics card in the system

**MIG-31** · Nov 23, 2003, 08:18 PM

for a low level format "killdisk" formats better than windows format system.

http://www.killdisk.com/

zerodamage · Nov 23, 2003, 09:12 PM

That normally happens with bad RAM. Try an alternate stick if you have one.

tastyweat · Nov 23, 2003, 09:22 PM

true ZD... could also be the one of the ram slots!

**MIG-31** · Nov 23, 2003, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by zerodamage
That normally happens with bad RAM. Try an alternate stick if you have one.

could be a possibility,i had similar situation when i put the one in my sig together,weren't faulty turned out it were inadequate voltage for the ram.

Dyre Straits · Nov 23, 2003, 09:25 PM

I was going to point to the RAM as well.

~~HawK~~ · Nov 23, 2003, 09:51 PM

And to add..
1 switching the Ram sticks might do the trick.
2 try one of the ram sticks, leaving the other one out.
if it is doing better, bring the other back to the store.
if not try the other one, if stilll no good check your Mobo.

tastyweat · Nov 23, 2003, 10:51 PM

Yeah - had a similar problem to this with a comp I was fixing yesterday - old 400mhz thing with pc100 ram - turned out to be a problem with the first dimm slot- yet the others were fine - so try different slots on your ram

EcPercy · Nov 23, 2003, 11:29 PM

thanks for the feedback... first i went and did another clean install and did the normal format vs. the quick format... now i am installing dx9 so that in can put in the cat 3.9's and we will see from there. I moved the ram over one slot, but luckily i have a stick of pc2100 here... i can use that if i need to test to see if the ram is bad or the slot on the mobo... the video card is fine, because last night i put all my old stuff back in (athlon 1.0ghz, gigabyte ga-7vx, pc 133 memory) and it worked great.. so there has to be something with the new setup that is causing this issue....

Dyre Straits · Nov 23, 2003, 11:42 PM

Be sure to read this News post item about Video BIOS Caching....

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=31627

EcPercy · Nov 24, 2003, 02:14 AM

ok so far so good... i was playing bf1942 on lowest grafx settings and all is well... when i pump it up to the max level i get those white triangles again... so tomorrow i am going to reseat that new heatsink and apply the thermal paste again... there could be a heat issue, but somehow i doubt thats it... thanks for all the replies... now that i moved the ram over a slot its working a lot better too... so now i am not sure if i should rma the mobo... since i need this pc badly...

Necrosis · Nov 24, 2003, 03:09 AM

Ram problems and IDE IRQ conflict problems normally have the same symptons. I would check & see if your IDE controller is sharing an IRQ with another piece of hardware. You also might want to try forcing your video to 4X. I know the KT400 chipset had issues with 8X ATI cards & it looks you've tried the solution that was standard to fix that issue. I also recommend you shut off anything you don't really need to free up some IRQ's as well.

Judas · Nov 24, 2003, 04:03 AM

I have 2 of those boards.... to say the least.... the bios options are EXTREMELY limiting... i sugest you go into the bios and select FAILSAFE settings or (defualt) depending on revision.... if it works...or doesn't.... give OPTIMAL a try..... you could also start pulling out unessary devices such as sound card/ onboard sound.... Disable Printer port and serial ports... As for the corruption.... check to see if your hardrive is setup as Master for sure..... i've come across one odd occasion when i found a hardrive setup as CABLE SELECT, and constantly corrupting.... switching to master fixed it.... (but it just doesn't make sence)... The overall problem.... sounds like a serious IRQ conflict...

EcPercy · Nov 24, 2003, 11:48 AM

checked the irq's with sisoft sandra and all is well... harddrives are set correctly.. the controller card i use wont let the drive function if it is not set to master or slave

EcPercy · Dec 9, 2003, 01:10 PM

I wanted to update this thread to let you all know that I appreciate your advice. I RMA'd the mobo and got a replacement from newegg... The replacement board works great with all the old stuff and the antec true330... its a sweet machine!!!!! I will be getting a true480 soon... within the next two weeks or so and I will be all set. I went to that one site that someone listed and my power requirements are a minimum of 390ish watts... LOL so needless to say I dont have everything hooked up atm...

Nov 23, 2003, 07:15 PM	#1
EcPercy HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iraq Posts: 1,535 Rep Power: 0	Need Some Advice I just put together a new system the other day and I seem to be having quite a few problems with it... Here are the specs: Gigabyte Ga7VT600-L Athlon XP 2800+ (Barton) 512MB Pc2700 Geil Radeon 9000 Pro 128MB Antec True Power 330 So the problems start right after I swap out my old stuff and do a clean install of windows xp. I must also note that the fan on my Radeon 9000 Pro went out so i replaced the heatsink with a Vantec Iceberq CCB-A1C, which is the all copper vga chipset cooler. First the main problem is that my system files keep on corrupting and the system locks up and crashes at random. The other thing i noticed is that in Battlefield 1942 the grafx are wierd, I mean in certain maps i get these white patches of grafx like the card is having trouble drawing or something. Then the system locks up and I get a BSOD saying something to the effect of Driver_irql_not_less_or_equal_to... I tried reinstalling the via chipset drivers. I have the latest bios version. I turned off agp fast writes, and I also bumped up the voltage on the video card to 1.7v. I also set the bios to "fail_safe" to make sure that there arent any settings configured incorrectly, but i have the same problems if i set it to "top_performance" also.... I was thinking that the PSU could be the problem, but I am not sure...Would the PSU cause all of these problems? At this point I am willing to take any suggestions!

Nov 23, 2003, 07:56 PM	#2
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	I don't think that the PSU would cause those kinds of problems. I think you should re-enable fast writes, restore the AGP voltage to normal. I would suggest that you do a complete format of your hard drive (full NTFS - not quick). When you wiped your hard drive, if you used quick wipe and some sections were dodgy, that could cause file corruptions like you are having. Try that - then let us know. __________________

Nov 23, 2003, 07:57 PM	#3
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	Also - if you can get ahold of one (old or new) - just try a new graphics card in the system __________________

Nov 23, 2003, 08:18 PM	#4
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,850 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	for a low level format "killdisk" formats better than windows format system. http://www.killdisk.com/ __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Nov 23, 2003, 09:22 PM	#6
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	true ZD... could also be the one of the ram slots! __________________

Nov 23, 2003, 09:12 PM	#5
zerodamage HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 3,478 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	That normally happens with bad RAM. Try an alternate stick if you have one.

Nov 23, 2003, 09:51 PM	#9
~~HawK~~ Banned Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 2,092 Rep Power: 0	And to add.. 1 switching the Ram sticks might do the trick. 2 try one of the ram sticks, leaving the other one out. if it is doing better, bring the other back to the store. if not try the other one, if stilll no good check your Mobo.

Nov 23, 2003, 10:51 PM	#10
tastyweat Lurking Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: The void Posts: 4,794 Rep Power: 75 System Specs	Yeah - had a similar problem to this with a comp I was fixing yesterday - old 400mhz thing with pc100 ram - turned out to be a problem with the first dimm slot- yet the others were fine - so try different slots on your ram __________________

Nov 23, 2003, 11:29 PM	Thread Starter #11
EcPercy HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iraq Posts: 1,535 Rep Power: 0	thanks for the feedback... first i went and did another clean install and did the normal format vs. the quick format... now i am installing dx9 so that in can put in the cat 3.9's and we will see from there. I moved the ram over one slot, but luckily i have a stick of pc2100 here... i can use that if i need to test to see if the ram is bad or the slot on the mobo... the video card is fine, because last night i put all my old stuff back in (athlon 1.0ghz, gigabyte ga-7vx, pc 133 memory) and it worked great.. so there has to be something with the new setup that is causing this issue....

Nov 24, 2003, 02:14 AM	Thread Starter #13
EcPercy HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iraq Posts: 1,535 Rep Power: 0	ok so far so good... i was playing bf1942 on lowest grafx settings and all is well... when i pump it up to the max level i get those white triangles again... so tomorrow i am going to reseat that new heatsink and apply the thermal paste again... there could be a heat issue, but somehow i doubt thats it... thanks for all the replies... now that i moved the ram over a slot its working a lot better too... so now i am not sure if i should rma the mobo... since i need this pc badly...

Nov 24, 2003, 03:09 AM	#14
Necrosis HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Ohio Posts: 8,838 Rep Power: 131 System Specs	Ram problems and IDE IRQ conflict problems normally have the same symptons. I would check & see if your IDE controller is sharing an IRQ with another piece of hardware. You also might want to try forcing your video to 4X. I know the KT400 chipset had issues with 8X ATI cards & it looks you've tried the solution that was standard to fix that issue. I also recommend you shut off anything you don't really need to free up some IRQ's as well.

Nov 24, 2003, 11:48 AM	Thread Starter #16
EcPercy HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iraq Posts: 1,535 Rep Power: 0	checked the irq's with sisoft sandra and all is well... harddrives are set correctly.. the controller card i use wont let the drive function if it is not set to master or slave

Dec 9, 2003, 01:10 PM	Thread Starter #17
EcPercy HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Iraq Posts: 1,535 Rep Power: 0	I wanted to update this thread to let you all know that I appreciate your advice. I RMA'd the mobo and got a replacement from newegg... The replacement board works great with all the old stuff and the antec true330... its a sweet machine!!!!! I will be getting a true480 soon... within the next two weeks or so and I will be all set. I went to that one site that someone listed and my power requirements are a minimum of 390ish watts... LOL so needless to say I dont have everything hooked up atm...