MSI Nforce2 Crashing

[Victory]

Ok folks I need some help here!!

System stats:

MSI K7N2G-L
XP 2100+
2sticks Kingston ValuRam DDR333 Cas 2.5
creative modem
IBM 180GXP 60GB
Lite-On CDRW
sony floppy
Windows XP with SP1
L&C 350 PSU in Atop Gamer Case

Ok now, I'm getting random crashes with XP. No specific points of crash, just dumps. The two most common error messages I receive are

PFN_LIST_CORRUPT (possibly bad ram, but ran through memtest with no issues) only did a few cycles though I may need it to run overnight.

nv4_disp.dll Nvidia display driver? I am using the onboard graphics chip.

I'm running out of things to try. All voltages seem fine(-12v is a little low). Temps are good, system mid 30's cpu mid 50's. I also have 4 case fans 2 front, 1 rear, 1 side.

I'm running out of things to try any suggestions????????



Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[sturm]

Have you tried running it with only one stick of ram? Try one and then put the other one in by itslef. I had a stick go out on me. Would run fine with just one in but when I had both in sometimes it wouldnt boot or I would get memory errors.

 

[fiask0]

I'd let memtest run overnight and see what happens. Also, did you do a clean install when you bought this motherboard or did you just let winXP pick up the new drivers. I'd recommmend looking to update all of your drivers, do the windows update, and look at your power supply. Alot of people have problems with power supplies. If you try everything else to no avail, it may be time for a quality power supply. The good thing about purchasing a quality power supply is that you can use it for 3-4 future upgrades probably. I'm using an Antec TruePower 430W, The Antec's and Enermax's are among the best.

 

[soulprovider]

Check out your event viewer located in admin tools and look in the system and application logs - here it might give you a clue if the problems software or hardware related.

If you suspect it's your RAM then try running it at 133(266) - this will more than likely fix it if you're using 512meg modules as there seems to be an issue regarding some NForce2 boards and some 512's

<b>Vorsprung durch Dontwerk</b>.....<i>as they say at VIA</i>

 

[Victory]

It is a fresh install of WinXP. I haven't tried the single stick of ram yet, but have moved the ram to just single channel setup. I'm also currently running the ram at 266 speeds. I just found a BIOS update that didn't show up via the live update, but addresses a kingston memory issue. Hopefully this will settle my problems.

If not I've got some Corsair XMS that was a factory defect replacement that I'm not using. I may have to give that stick a whirl for a while to see if it is a ram issue.



Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[fiask0]

yeh, try switching out the ram, then if that doesn't fix it, at least you've eliminated it.. I'd look next towards that power supply.

 

[Victory]

well I've got the guy on his way over now to do some more debugging. I also found a BIOS update (3.4) that address the use of KVR333(kingston ddr). Hopefully it's a memory controller issue. He ran memtest for me all night and not one error. I'll keep everyone posted on what happens, in case any of you come across a similiar situation. Hopefully I'll find a fix soon, I'm getting sick of seeing this guy!

Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[fiask0]

If you ran memtest and it had no errors, then its probably not the memory. I would recommend looking at other addon cards and seeing if they have the updated drivers. Also, There was a very nice writeup this guy did explaining the amps that each line uses, and how many generic power supplies don't supply the proper power. I would recommend an Antec TruePower series or an Enermax power supply and this will probably rectify the problem

 

[RCPilot]

<A HREF="http://firingsquad.gamers.com/guides/power_supply/" target="_new">Link to the guy.</A>

If it ain't broke, take it apart & see why not!

 

[fiask0]

That's a decent one, it was a reply to someone's post here though, only a few days ago. I can't seem to find it though. It gave detailed things of how many amps certian devices used. His totals were about 14-15 amps, and this guys generic power supply only produced 12 amps on the 12v rail.

 

[RCPilot]

I read the post myself. I do like the article that I posted & use that myself to make sure I'm ok.

Cya

If it ain't broke, take it apart & see why not!

 

[JimmyDean]

I had that happening to me with my shitty mx440. Thats whats integrated on the k7n2 and it seemed to happen after I installed DX9 for no reason. Also Kind of after I installed the latest nvidia drivers. If you have dx9 or the latest nvidias then try reinstalling xp and installing the mobo drivers which includes the video drivers

<b><font color=red>Remember kids, if you see a downed power line, suck on the end, candy comes out!</font color=red></b>

 

[RCPilot]

Hope that helps this guy, I'm not having any problems myself.

If it ain't broke, take it apart & see why not!

 

[Victory]

the power supply is as follows

3.3v 24a
5v 35a
12v 12a

Not the greatest, but with only 1 cdrom(a liteon cdrw)
and the only expansion card at the moment is a creativ modem, power shouldn't be an issue.

Anyhow the BIOS update addressed an issue with KVR333 ram(which is what is in the machine). It ran like and champ and played everything that he told me it wouldn't after the update. It's only 2 days later, but so far no issues. Time will tell.
The bad thing about building systems for people is that everyone wants it cheap as possible. I do my best to give them a well rounded system, with room for the future. For the $600 he spent on this system, it's more than adequate(if it ever runs correctly!).
Anyhow I'll continue to keep all posted, and see if the way the BIOS handled the ram(and the update) took care of the issues.


Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!

 

[Victory]

Well the 3.4 Bios seems to have taken care of the BSOD errors. It's been almost a week now and he just reported to me that all is fine. So although I've never been an MSI fan, kudos to them for fixing this error so quickly. Whatever they changed in the memory controller of the BIOS to accomodate the KVR333 series worked. Overall it's a good board, runs Autocad/Illustrator/Photoshop quite well(even with the IGP) and I've have to give it a 'strong buy' recommendation.

The funny thing is that another fix in the BIOS is the CPU temp reading. It went from mid 50's to mid 30's. They did something to change how it reads CPU Temps. Not sure if it was a before hand bug, or if they altered it's readings to read lower.

Thanks to all that offered up advice

Save heating costs on your home, overclock your PC!!!