Please Help - New System Fails when xfering 600+ Mb files

[CyanVT]

My old system was experiencing random lockups which I was unable to identify so I decided to build a cheap new machine.

The new machine seemed to work fine until I tried to install Medieval Total War 2. On the second disc there is a file named Voice1.dat that consistantly causes the machine to reboot itself or very rarely causes a bluescreen. (Note: Originally thought the problem to be the DVD/CD RW but problem occurs when trying to upload the same file via the network as well.)

To eliminate the possibility of it being an old component I have swapped out all the old pieces but still encounter the problem.

Right now I'm running it in a 'barebones' fashion to try and eliminate the issue.

Current 'barebone' specs...

Mobo - PCChips P23G Socket 775 (Supports the Core 2 Duo and DDR2/DDR) - Purchased due to it's AGP support
Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
RAM - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 675 (PC2 5400) Dual Channel 1.9V
HDD - Western Digital 300gb drive IDE
DVD/CD RW - NEC 7170A-0B
PSU - Coolermaster RS-550-ACLY Real Power 550W

I have upgraded the VIA IDE drivers and have not yet attempted to update the bios for fear of a problem flashing the bios.

I have swapped out the PSU (from my old 500W Antec) and the Coolermaster got great marks during THG's recent reviews for stability. I have swapped the DVD/CD RWs and IDE Cables. I even pulled out the Corsair RAM and put in 2x512 of PC2100 from my old box. All still result in failure. At this point I am inclined to think either the processor or mobo are causing the failure.

Any thoughts? Help is greatly appreciated. I've already begun looking at different mobos like the Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe (which would mean a new gphx card for a total of $300+ more).

 

[akhilles]

What makes you think the 2nd disk is free of defect? If this problem has been happening since you got the game, I would get it replaced.

If the disk played ok before, try to back track what you had done right before this problem started happening.

 

[CyanVT]

Originally I also thought that could be it. However, I was able to load it on my laptop. I also copied the files over to my laptops HDD and then attempted to upload the file over the network.

 

[Flying-Q]

Do you have any other unrelated files that large?

If so, you could test the transfer/upload using that for a comparison.

It reminds me of a similar occurance on a friend's machine a few years ago and he found it to be a setting in his network setup and firewall setup that was blocking the transfer of single very large files. It frustrated him for a good couple of weeks until we found this little tidbit. I don't remember the details, only that it was a weird network glitch combined with a firewall setting.

Hope it helps the diagnostics and good luck.

Q

 

[CyanVT]

Thank you for the responses. I will try another file to test it out. However, this file has failed to load on to the new machine using either the DVD/CD RW or the network (both cause the machine to restart/crash). I made sure the laptops firewall was disabled during the transfer process and the new machine only is running the windows firewall from sp2 currently.

My guess currently is that it is either the CPU, motherboard, or the RAM (although I have swapped the newer RAM for my older PC2100 just to test). I am leaning towards the motherboard since the current motherboard was very inexpensive and many times you get what you pay for. Just wanted to see if anyone here had seen this problem and had any idea which component would cause such a failure.

 

[Flying-Q]

Just a random thought as I was reading your last ...





? rootkit?

someone with more knowledge will confirm or quash

not my baby

Q

 

[CyanVT]

I apologize for being relatively new to some of the terminology but what is 'rootkit'? Some sort of diagnostic tool?

 

[Flying-Q]

A rootkit, if I understand it correctly, is a piece of software used by hackers to gain access to your machine. it resides in the root of your drive. Recently, Sony were found out using this methodology as part of a Digital Rights Management(Enforcement) on certain of their audio CD's. The gist of it was that if you played the CD in a PC it would install a kind of rootkit that was intended to prevent copying but had the problem of leaving the PC open to attack. My understanding from reading around the subject is that it caused much other wierdness too. Sony lost a huge class action suit as a result.

Your problem seems just the right kind of wierdness, hence the randon thought.

Like I said I only have a passing knowledge of it and that's about the limit of my understanding on that subject.

Q

 

[reddub]

Hi,

a rootkit is a piece of software that is used by people who write viruses and spyware to hide their virus or spyware from anti-virus and anti-spyware scanner software.

A rootkit can hide files, registry settings, running programs and network traffic from most scanner software.

They are being used more and more because of the stealth they provide. There are many antirootkit scanners out there and more and more anti-virus companies are releasing antirootkit software.

Google antirootkit software for a full list of rootkit scanner software.

reddub

 

[Dave262]

I noticed that you have an IDE hard drive... the 965 chipsets don't have native IDE support any more - only SATA. As a result, usually a third party chip (notably the JMicron controller, which is notorious for IDE issues) will be used, and will cause many, MANY issues with CD-ROMs/DVDs/IDE HDDs etc.

I have experienced this myself, where i couldn't even write a normal CD at 1x without it buffer underrunning! Also, when you installed windows, did you install the driver for the JMicron raid (assuming it is used on this board)? Also ensure in windows update when it tried to install that same driver, don't let it, as it will make things worse too!

I wouldn't be surprised if this was the problem, as there are many strange occurrences with them. Best suggestion to fix it is to try a BIOS update, and if you installed the driver for the JMicron raid (again assuming it is the chip driving the IDE on your board), then maybe try uninstalling it, or you may need to reformat and reinstall windows.

 

[CyanVT]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

As far as the rootkit, I will take a look to see if I can identify one. I do use Spybot (generally install/update/run that even before windows updates.)

As far as the 965 chipsets, I think this motherboard is built on the VIA P4M800Pro / 8237R chipset but the problem may be similar to what you are mentioning. I did update the IDE drivers provided from the mobo site. Do you think replacing this motherboard with either the Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe based on the nForce 4 chipset, or the ASUS P5N-E SLI based on the nForce 650i chipset? Both run 2 IDE channels and support SLI. I feel more drawn to the nForce 4 board since it has more PCI-E lanes and being a Second Edition, hopefully the 'kinks' are worked out. Both have great reviews and apparently both boards are still competitive with the newer nForce 680i boards.