Computer Problems

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum but I've been having this problem for awhile and I don't know where else to go. If there is another forum this should be in please feel free to move it. Also, sorry for the book you have to read but I think its necessary so people can hopefully help me figure this problem out.

First off, here are my system settings. The PC was purchased about 3 months ago.

ASUS M2N-SLi Deluxe (Nforce 570 SLI Chipset)
AMD 3800+ X2 Socket AM2
2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR800 Ram
XFX 7600GT
2x Maxtor 100Gb SATA 1.5 drives in a raid 0 configuration
Coolermaster 550W power supply with over 38 amps total on the 12v rails.

THat was the system I built. It ran flawlessly and I could run games like Battlefield 2 at full settings with a solid 30-40 FPS. Now on to the first issue.

I purchased a Creative X-FI Extreme Music about a month later. The instant I put this card in it started causing crashes and other miscellaneos hang-ups. I tried the updated drivers and everything and it just did not work. So, as a final measure I decided to try a reformat. I built a new ra id array and tried to start the setup in Windows XP. It would hang up when it was loading the miscellaneous files in the beginning of the setup, always on a different file. So after a couple days and alot of research, I found that the reason it was hanging up right there in the setup was due to the Hardware Application Layer getting caught up. People recommended I try manually selecting the HAL but after selecting evry option they had that did not work either. I could not get setup to load. So, on a hunch I removed the X-Fi and it installed flawlessly, or so I thought.

Now on to the problems I am having now. Since the reformat I have been having some very weird errors, mainly one with winlogon.exe which has been popping up fairly frequently. It's usually after my computer restarts or crashes for no reason. The other problem I have been having is with overall system performance. The system is slower now for some reason. Very recently I purchased another XFX 7600Gt to do SLI and noticed a performance decrease instead of increase. Now I was not expecting the world with another 7600GT but I was expecting another 10 frames per second. This card was installed on the same "fresh" install of windows XP that is giving me all the problems. Benchmarking software registers an increase in numbers but that is it.

For example, since the reformat I had to turn down the settings in BF2, mainly the lighting and dynamic lights and shadows settings and it still barely keeps it above 30FPS. SOmetimes it dipps into the 20s during action. This is with the additional 7600GT card in there.

Just so people know, this is my procedure for a fresh install.
1. INstall Windows XP with Service Pack 2 slipstreamed.
2. Download and install the AMD dual core driver and the dual core optimizer
3 Download and install Nforce Drivers, Graphics, and sound drivers in that order.
4. Get all windows updates in order.
5. Defragment.
6. Install various applications

Now the only thing that I can think f that I did wrong was I installed vanilla windows XP, not the sp2 version. COuld this be causing all my problems?

Also, the X-fi is still causing crashes and system stability. If anyone is thinking about purchasing an X-fi, I would not recommend it if you have anything remotely similar to my setup. Just FYI.

ANyhow, what I am looking for from the experts/amateurs/anybody who has touched a pc in the last five years is ideas on what to look for to fix this problem. I am going to do another fresh install tonight to see if I just got a bad install but if that fails I want as many reasons as I can possibly find so I can fix this as soon as possible. SO if you have an idea or need alittle more info in a certain area please let me know.

Thanks for any and all help I receive. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.

Actually, I have not tried physically removing the card. I have tried disabling SLI. I'll try that later.

Yeah, I'll contact creative about their crappy card. Thanks for the help.

If anyone has any other ideas please feel free to chime in

you've gotten some good advice so far


the onboard sound disable question was just what I was going to ask you.



in my experience and opinion RAID 0 is a total waste of time on the desktop .... I really don't like booting off of RAID 0.


have you checked for updated raid controller drivers? are you using the nfvidia one or the JMicron JMB363 controller?


have you tested the memory (run m$ memory test or memtest x86) to check for memory issues?

is the powersupply SLI certified?


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Now the only thing that I can think f that I did wrong was I installed vanilla windows XP, not the sp2 version. COuld this be causing all my problems?
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hmm... I would make a Slipstreamed SP2 disc (nlite) and reinstall windows cleanly ... cause well random reboots don't really do it for me.


after testing the memory that is.


have you checked the output on the PSU ?? indeally w/ voltmeter or at least in the bios / speedfan to see what it doing voltage wise?


did you try the sound card in anyother PCI slots?

I had a similar problem late last year. A64 x2 4400+, A8N32-SLI, onboard sound for initial Win2k install, then Xi-Fi installed with driver upgrade (because the onboard sound was awful). Even with onboard sound disabled from the BIOS, sound from the Xi-Fi became inconsistent (needed a few reboots to establish sound), and blue screens started to pop up during heavy activity.

I proceeded to move the Xi-Fi from the 2nd PCI slot (below 2nd graphics slot) to the lowest slot and simultaneously disabled the 2nd onboard Ethernet link (in BIOS), which I didn't need. I then reinstalled Win2k and the system has been extremely stable.

Since during my reinstallation, I knew I wouldn't be using the onboard sound, I did not install the Asus sound drivers at all.

Usually the busmaster slot is called PCI 0. But definitely switch cards around. When you go to sleep do you put the PC in standby? Is the noise a beep or does it seem like it's coming from the PC speaker?

I'm not sure if his board has a busmaster slot, his layout is:

Slot 1 PCI-E - X1
Slot 2 PCI-E - X16 Blue
Slot 3 PCI-E - X1
Slot 4 PCI
Slot 5 PCI-E - X16 Black
Slot 6 PCI
Slot 7 PCI

However, I did find it does have a feature, that maybe turned on, that does not work with soundcards, but only onboard sound.

Its called Asus Music Alarm. When you go into the bios, it should be under tools. I wonder if that might be causing some problems if it is enabled.

I never used the Asus Music alarm, but I checked and it was not turned on. Also, the sound drivers have never been installed at all. I never used the motherboard sound. I had a sb live 24 bit which is why I did the reformat because I thought that was what was causing the problem.

I'm going away for the weekend but I have a few things I am going to try. I'll bring the damn thing with me. I'll let you guys knwo on monday how it all worked out.

Thanks alot for all your help and if anybody has any more suggestions I am more than open to them.

Thanks

MemTest

Try either the floppy or CD version, and run it for at least 4 hours, or when you go to sleep. The program is to run outside windows, or in other words before windows loads to test the RAM.

That would be more of the bios or flash memory for its settings. I don't think that would be a cause. Seems as though its just that sound card, from what I am understanding, from the very beginning.

Are you sure you disabled everything associated with the onboard sound in your bios? (i.e. Game port and Midi)

Heh, since you don't seem to have windows installed, I guess you never got the chance to look at the system info, to check IRQ's and what conflicts it may be having?

Also, when installing windows on RAID, are you providing windows the drivers it needs for the nvidia chipset? That would more then likely have to be done by floppy, unless you used BartPE to include those drivers.

I may not have explained this, the issue is no longer the sound card. The only thing I have attached to the motherboard is the cpu, ram, and one video card. I cannot get anything to boot from cd or floppy if I have raid enabled. If raid is not enabled I can boot from mostly any cd or floppy except the maxblast cd that came with my maxtor hard drive.

Usually though, when I install onto the hard drive when it is not in raid I usually get a buggy windows installation, the last one had problems with winlogon.exe.

COuld I be looking at a major hardware failure? Like the motherboared or cpu. I am pretty sure the memory is ok but like I said I will not know until tonight. It should have run for about 17 hours by that time.

I will check the irq conflicts but I can't see it having any conflicts with so few components installed.

"Percussive Maintenance"

please explain. Do you mean beat it with a hammer? Because I have considered it.

But if it was bad memory, wouldn't the memtest program have caught it? Granted I only ran it for about half an hour, but it had 0 errors. THe problem just seems so random, I am think ing of reverting back to 3.06 bios version. Hopefully that will help a little. Does anyone know how to completly delete everything that is stored there. Like now, when I flash the bios my settings are all still there. I want everything that is there wiped.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I bought this system for Battlefield 2142, and I just got the call that my preorder has arrived

Sorry let me explain further. It posts, goes through the ram test, loading the nvidia raid driver, and starts to boot the cd (any cd whether it be the hard drive disk, windows, anything bootable). However, that is as far as it gets. It just stops working completely at random. For example, when I try to boot from the Windows XP sp2 cd, it gets past the part where you have to hit F6 to load the drivers, but then it freezes on windows executive or kerneldebugger.dll. MOst of the other cd's will not even load fully. the cd drive spins, there is some activity, then it just stops(I have tried a different Cd-Rom, same result.

SO am I just that unlucky that I found a problem that noone has ever heard of?

Whatever the result, thanks for the help guys, I appreciate the time people have put into trying to help me.

actually I have covered this somewhat. I went into the memory settings to manually set them because the automatic settings were incorrect.

My ram has timings of 5-5-5-12 according to manufacturer specs. The auto sets my ram to 5-5-5-18. So, I set it manually to 5-5-5-12.

This had no effect either way so I can change it back if it is an issue.

Thanks for the help.

Its not that type of freeze. The system doesn't lock, it just does nothing. Its like it sits there confused about what to do next.

Thanks anyway tho

The 'Standby' button gets greyed out when there is a component that won't allow standby. That means that either you don't have APCI enabled in the BIOS or more likely, since you just installed Windows you need to install an updated driver for the component that won't let you go into standby. This is usually the video driver, but it could be another component. I've had this happen to me with the chipset drivers not being up to date. Did you install all of your drivers?

Anybody correct me if I'm wrong on this.

Well, I do agree rwpritchett is correct with the ACPI. That will cause windows to install the different HAL support in windows, which would also affect not having the stand by function.

That would even cause your AMD AM2 3800+ to have performance problems.

Can you tell us if ACPI is enabled in your bios?

If it is enabled, there is a chance that you may have had ESD (perhaps while installing the sound card) cause some unseen damage to the MB chipset, which would indicate RAID problems, and data corruption.

Really hard to say. Might want to RMA since its fairly new, and your having problems with no answers.

Not even sure if one of those PCI diagnose POST cards would help determine chipset problems.

No problemo... I like trying to at least help.

Trouble shooting systems, is kind of a hobby for me, since I like to figure out problems or how things work, ever since I was a kid.

Ya, RMA the motherboard. Try to take ESD (Electrostatic Discharge) precautions as well, just not sure how informed you maybe with it.

Its just that you had a running system for a good while (4 months?). I think the point to where when you installed the soundcard, there might have been some unseen ESD going on, and usually that causes problems in trouble shooting abit harder when everything is assumed in working order.

As long as you remember to grasp the metal frame of the PC, that should be good enough to discharge static from yourself. Working on it on solid ground would be better then on carpet.

The wrist band is an okay idea for reassurance, but not entirely good. One time, I did use one, but the band wasn't adjustable, and I have small wrists. . o O (push the band up my arm for contact.. slides down.)

Also, having the PC plugged into the outlet, but with the PC power down, and the PSU Power Switch OFF, helps to be certain your PC frame is properly grounded.

One last thing to understand about ESD, from what I read a long while back in A+ Certification, it take 3000 volts for you to realize you discharged static (feel). So if you were to discharge say 50-100 volts or even 1000 volts, you wouldn't feel/hear/see it. It actually takes 9000 volts of static electricity for you to see the spark.

So taking that into consideration, if you discharged 50 volts onto the MB, which is only designed to handle (depend on the component) 3.3 / 5 / 12 volts, it becomes quite scary.

Anyways...GL on your RMA/Rebuild.