Well ive been getting blue screens on start up over the passed little bit. I actually only get them when i turn on my computer right after all the bars pass by.

I have left it at stock for a while and still got them every once in a while, because at first i thought it was my mild OC, but it happens with and without the OC.

I have been told that they have been caused by "memory related" or "software related issues" from looking at the dmp files. If anyone wants to see them let me know and ill send you them. I actually only have 1 because Vista like to delete them

I have tried uninstalling video card and onboard sound drivers, booting into safe mode, running driver cleaner pro and driver sweeper, and then reinstalling the latest drivers.

I do currently have F6 BIOS. I am thinking about updating to the F11 BIOS, but im not sure if i should. I know you're only supposed to update if you have to.

Specs:
Core 2 E4500(@3ghz)
2GB DDR21066 Crucial Ballistix
250GB WD HDD
eVGA 8800GT
Corsair 550VX
Vista Business 32bit

I have also sent an email to gigabyte asking them if they know anything about it. But they're on some chinese new year so they wont get back to me until at least Feb 11th. I also made a thread in another forum, but it seems to be going realllly slow.

Thanks!

Btw...what is "ADD new version super I/O code."?

Did you up the voltage on the RAM? Those Crucial Ballistix run at about 2.1 or 2.2.(Check the RAM). Try runing Memtest86+ on the RAM and see.

"Add new ...I/O code" means that they included better Input/Output code in to the BIOS, I/O handles the CPU,etc.

I have a P35-DS3R and the P35-DS4 which both were acting unstable and giving me memory errors using memtest86+. I updated to F8 and everything was fine for both MB's.

FYI: I was seeing the same buggy memory errors with F9 and F10 for Both boards. So I had to stick with F8 until the latest F11 was released, and since then my systems have been normal/stable wile using the F11 BIOS.

Oh yeah, ive run memtest86+ on the RAM for just over 12 hours with no errors( i thought i posted it...). It's i think @ 1.9v currently and usually at stock (then again it's usually not running at the full 1066).


@coesowiki that's interesting...i may have to look into updating my BIOS. Last time i did i corrupted my BIOS chip or something(last mb a while back). I might stick with the in Windows flash. Im going to go read over how to flash the BIOS a couple more times...and engrave it in my head!

Its NOT recommended to flash from windows. There is more risk involved when you do. But even though I know better, I gave it a shot using @bios. It seemed to work pretty smoothly.

Also I'll note Im using the same memory (2GB DDR21066 Crucial Ballistix). Originally i had the voltage set to 1.9 but i bumped it up to 2.0 when i increased the fsb to 400.

Dont think thats your issue is with the memory, then again you never know. Since i have seen posts about the same issue it will give you a good starting point.

Well ive never had any sort of instability while just browsing around Windows, that could be the main reason why they suggest not to do it in Windows, incase your computer is unstable...?

I dont really know what to do in the BIOS to flash it.

But just to confirm, i do this right?


..and then?

Sorry for the questions, last time i flashed it a guy was trying to walk me through it and didnt do a good job at it.

And first i put everything at stock in the BIOS?

The download was pretty slow so i manually downloaded the bios from gigabyte, i didnt use the find BIOS option.

Then "Update New BIOS", you'll be prompted to locate the new BIOS and then flash.

Sorry for the lack of detail, I'm not home right now so its just from what i can remember. It should be pretty straight forward though just a couple of clicks.



And before when my systems were unstable, I would use them for a few hrs and then it would act up. It would vary

Alright, here goes.

One last question. It will flash the BIOS, then....what? It will restart..but does it need to do anything when it restarts?

I just flashed my 8800GT BIOS and that was pretty simple...is it sorta like that?

You should load the optimized default settings in the bios. And yup thats about it.

I DID IT! THANKS FOR THE HELP!

That was scary at first, @BIOS went to 'not responding' when it was downloading the file.

That's hilarious.

Let me get this straight, you have an unstable OS (Vista) and you chose to update the BIOS using @BIOS that runs on the OS. IMO that's not a very smart idea. Given the fact that you can brick your motherboard when updating the BIOS and your OS is unstable don't you think it would have been significantly wiser to use Q-Flash instead? That was a rhetorical question, of course it would have been wiser. I've got to hand it to you, you have guts. IMO it is always smarter to use Q-Flash than to update through the OS, and that goes up exponentially if you have an OS that blue screens.

I only get blue screens on start up.

I have never gotten a blue screen while in windows(except for when i put an OC too high)

Vista is not unstable. For me at least.

If you are getting blue screens on startup then, by definition, your OS is unstable. Even with a stable OS I recommend that you use the Q-Flash anyway, it is considerably safer. If you don't mind bricking your mobo, then don't worry about it.

Next time i flash ill try out Q Flash.

It's really simple.

What is the best way to FLASH the mobo, if you do NOT have a floppy? I tried it in the BIOS but it doesn't seem to recognize my flash drive.

I have a P35-DQ6 and had no trouble with it recognizing a compact flash card plugged into a USB card reader. I believe your BIOS is similar, at least your manual says so. Be sure that the Legacy USB Storage Detect in Integrated Peripherals is enabled. It is enabled by default. If you still can't see the USB then you will need to get a floppy for about $5-$10 or take your chances with the @BIOS. I used a front panel USB (on the USB mobo header) so it should certainly work with the rear I/O panel ones.

Good luck

jesse, your motherboard manual has detailed instructions for using Q-Flash, among other things.

I will read it through when the time comes.