hi all, this is my first post here.
i hope this goes into the right section..
 
i've got a really annoying problem, which i would like to get feedback on.
 
symptoms:
(this happens only under Vista, not under XP)
system installs and boots fine, everything is fine, except i get these random hangs.. no matter what i've been doing, even if no programs are running, my hdd led becomes frozen solid, hdd does nothing (makes no sound), and though the system doesn't actually freeze up, i can do whatever i want, as long as that particular action doesn't require hdd activity. i can move the cursor, type, bring up start menu, even work with open applications: right until it wants to read or write from/to the hdd. then i get the busy cursor, and the waiting begins.. the time the system recovers all by itself vary from around 20 seconds to several minutes, after that, like nothing happened, everything works fine.. until the next random occasion, when it starts all over again. no error messages or entries in event log either..
it seems like the request sent to the hdd times out without response.
 
this error is present even with a clean install.
 
things i've tried so far:
- drivers: native vista drivers, mobo drivers that came with mobo, latest chipset drivers from nVidia website
- samsung hdd check utility (HUTIL): did a complete surface scan (took 3 hours :s): reported no errors.
- other sata cable, other sata port
- two different psu (400w and 430w), with every combination of sata power cables possible
 
i tend to think it is more a software issue than a hw issue, because under xp, this error didn't occur..
 
my system is:
cpu: amd athlon x2 6000+ (stock speed, @3.GHz)
mobo: gigabyte ga-m52l-s3 with nforce 520le chipset
memory: 2x1gb ddr800 kingmax (only @750Mhz, because of cpu)
hdd: samsung sp2504c, 250gb sata2
gpu: msi geforce 8800gts 320mb oc edition
 
any suggestions are welcome, i have spent tha last 2 days googling, and found nothing. closest case was a dell pc issue, where the guy had the exact same symptoms as me, but plugging the sata cable to another slot fixed his problem, but not in my case..

I used to have exactly the same problem. It went away when I installed Intel Matrix Storage drivers and chipset drivers from Intel's site on my 965 ASUS Commando M/B. Before this, I used microsoft's drivers and it seems they created the problem. If you cannot find proper nVidia drivers that fix the problem, try changing your SATA mode in your BIOS. If it is Native or AHCI turn it to Compatible or ATA mode, or the opposite. It might help.

i checked just now, no settings in the bios regarding sata, only 'enable onboard sata controller', which is of course 'enabled'.
 

yes. i created two equal size partitions with vista installer's partitioner, formatted the first, and installed vista there.. the seocnd one is not in use yet..
 

 
psu.. the 400w was a codegen psu, i just replaced it with a 430w hkc: 12V output rated at 22A..
 
i just installed vista a few days ago, before that i was using xp for about a month, i played a lot, back then with the 400w psu, no signs of underpowering, no hangs, no strange things..

check this thread out
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ta-damaged
 
Microcode update is like a firmware update?

i just checked gigabyte's site, the vista drivers available for download are the same as the drivers on the cd that was in the package..

 
i did, thank you!
 
though i don't think that's my problem, the drive is over a year old, and never have i had any data errors in my documents or files. but i will check out samsung's site for this fix.

 
just did, didn't find anything of this matter..

 
i'm sure you're right. but how come this wasn't an issue, not even with my old 18A psu? like i said, no hiccups during playtime..
 
but this hdd issue occurs at desktop.. i didn't even get to starting up a game..

maybe, i don't know about that..

strange thing is, i used vista (or more like 'tried') on my previous pc, with this exact hdd, and there were no issues. that was also an amd setup with msi board with nforce250 chipset..
so it's gotta be the motherboard that's acting up. or rather, the chipset (driver).
 
but isn't it a bit weird, that for 2 years, the guys at gigabyte haven't made a new driver for vista? (driver's date on the site is 2006 something) and as we see, the current driver is far from perfect..
yet, the error persists even with the latest official nvidia driver..
 
it's a real head scratcher..

I think this is a vista issue. My pre-loaded Vista Ultimate install on a lenovo T-61 had this exact problem. Lenovo even replaced the mobo and it didn't solve the problem.
 
I wonder if it is part of the ultimate build - are you on ult?

 
nope, business. i have an msdnaa (student) key.