So I got all my components to my new build yesterday. I put them all together like a kid in a candy store and when I finally powered on, the system doesnt start. I'm used to this because I usually forget some stupid minute detail in the building process and then recall it and smack myself ont he forehead and fix the problem. I could find no such error this time. Everything was plugged in and ready to go.
So I checked on the back of the case on the LED screen and it reads "DET DRAM", So I can only assume it's a problem with my RAM. More accurately it is a problem with my RAM DIMMS on the motherboard. I tried two of the four different sticks in each of the 4 slots. A1 or A2 + any other slot = NO BOOT. B1 and B2 without A1 or A2 = BOOT. My next thought is BIOS update.
For some reason this was a severe pain in the neck even with the ASUS "EZ"Flash utility. The system would hang on very dang stage of the flashing process and I was worried I would have to get a new BIOS ROM chip.
I successfully updated from whatever the first version of BIOS was, I believe 1104, to 1301. Same problem. So from 1301 to 1502 then 1503. Same problems on each.
Ok so I now have the latest BIOS version so I figure Ill start messing with the voltages and timings etc. I set my RAM timings to the recommended 4-4-4-12 @ 2.2 volts. Same problems. Messed with the BUS speeds on both the processor and RAM. Same problems. Changed the NBridge voltage to 1.4. Same problems. I tried it with my friends memory. Same problems. And during this whole thing, my system will NOT reboot from a restart. It HAS to be a full power off to POST again.
I removed the battery/Cleared CMOS at nearly every stage in this process.
So I decided to stay with 2GB for now and test the other features of my computer. Well thats hard to do when it wont recognize your SATA to boot it. It reads it in BIOS and I have SATA enabled. I tried setting the SATA RAID on and off but it did nothing. Tried reinstalling windows, but the windows installation didnt recognize the SATA drive. (Both vista and XP)
Ok so Im ready to RMA, but I REALLY dont want to wait however many weeks that would take with ASUS's seemingly apathetic view to their customer support department. I need help and where else to turn but tomshardware?
System Specs:
Intel Q6600 2.4GGHz
Asus Striker Extreme BIOS 1503
Patriot PDC24G6400LLQK PC800 1GB x4 (4-4-4-12)
Rosewill 750W Powersupply
Samsung 500GB 3.0GB/s SATA HD (not in RAID)
MSI NVIDIA 8800GT
Message edited by slandew on 03-02-2008 at 02:28:25 AM
If you can reach the BIOS screens, tab over to "Hardware" and let the machine burn in for
20-30 minutes, while you watch voltages and
temperatures.
IF THE MACHINE IS STABLE AFTER 30 MINUTES,
now you're ready for the next checkpoint.
In the past, high-end ASUS motherboards required
SPD to be disabled, and DIMM timings set manually.
Try that one change, and test stability by
booting into the BIOS again. You may need
to start with only 2 x 1GB in dual-channel mode.
You can add 2 more 1GB DIMMs later.
If the machine is still stable, you're ready
to connect one HDD and one optical drive,
to run Windows Setup.
The Samsung may default to an interface
of 300 MB/second, but the BIOS default
may be expecting 150 MB/second
i.e. "Standard IDE" mode.
So, the next test is to add a jumper
to the Samsung (if possible) to override
the factory default and downgrade its
interface speed to 150 MB/second.
Now, if the BIOS recognizes the optical
drive after it's cabled, you should be
ready to run Windows Setup.
Be sure Windows is fully installed
before adding any more peripherals.
You should then be able to add more
peripherals, one at a time, allowing
Plug-and-Play to detect and configure
them automatically, or to prompt you
for the require device driver(s).
> For some reason this was a severe pain in the neck even with the ASUS "EZ"Flash utility. The system would hang on very dang stage of the flashing process and I was worried I would have to get a new BIOS ROM chip.
> I successfully updated from whatever the first version of BIOS was, I believe 1104, to 1301. Same problem. So from 1301 to 1502 then 1503. Same problems on each.
Also, something might have gone wrong when you
flashed the BIOS.
With the latest ASUS motherboards, it's generally
a lot easier to finish Windows Setup, and then
to flash the latest BIOS using the ASUS Update
program. ASUS Update allows the BIOS .ROM file
to be stored and read from the file system
e.g. C: system partition.
> I also dont expect its the power supply being as I had this in my other computer and it worked flawlessly.
So, you've reached the BIOS screens: G-R-E-A-T!!
Your voltages look OK: Antec makes a cheap PSU tester
for about $12 retail: a really good investment if you
build systems often.
I don't know the recommended specs for the other voltages,
but you should let the BIOS use defaults, at this point in your tests,
except for SPD (see above).
Another test to try, is to run the memory at the next slower
speed e.g. DDR2-675. See the motherboard User Manual
for all DRAM speed options.
When I set the RAM timings should I also set the voltage to the recommended 2.2V? Also will SPD automatically be disabled when I change the settings or do I have to set that yourself?
When all 4 DIMM slots are populated,
the Intel Northbridge on ASUS motherboards
cannot be set to ultra-high speeds or to ultra-low latencies. That's just the
nature of the beast.
For example, on our P5WD2 Premium,
we have 4 x 512MB of Corsair DDR2-800, and CPU-Z reports 5-5-5-18-21 timings;
and, this machine is very stable with these
settings (runs all day without halts).
When all 4 DIMM slots are populated,
the Intel Northbridge on ASUS motherboards
cannot be set to ultra-high speeds or to ultra-low latencies. That's just the
nature of the beast.
For example, on our P5WD2 Premium,
we have 4 x 512MB of Corsair DDR2-800, and CPU-Z reports 5-5-5-18-21 timings;
and, this machine is very stable with these
settings (runs all day without halts).
> When I set the RAM timings should I also set the voltage to the recommended 2.2V?
If Patriot recommends that voltage, that recommendation
may assume the tighter timings of 2-2-2-12; but, you should
relax those timings, which in turn suggests to me that you
should let the BIOS choose a default DRAM voltage, for now.
> Also will SPD automatically be disabled when I change the settings or do I have to set that yourself?
I don't own your motherboard, but on the other
ASUS motherboards I've built, the User Manuals
describe how to override SPD and to set the
memory timings manually.
SPD = Serial Presence Detect (a small chip
on each DIMM module that informs the BIOS
what timings should be set by default).
If SPD on your Patriot DIMMs is trying to activate
2-2-2-12 timings, then you should definitely relax
those timings by overriding SPD (for now), until
you can isolate the problem you've been having.
The sweet spot on modern PCI-Express motherboards
like yours is DDR2-800 at 5-5-5-18 (starting out).
Ok so I set it to 4-4-4-12 and it was stable but when I restarted it hung before POST so I set to 5-5-5-18. It restarted fine then I put my SATA and DVD drive back and it hung again. Right now Im waiting to see if Vista will recognize the HDD.
> It restarted fine then I put my SATA and DVD drive back and it hung again.
What's the default interface speed of that Samsung?
You wrote: Samsung 500GB 3.0GB/s SATA HD
It looks to me as if the default speed is 300MB/second,
but your BIOS defaults may be expecting 150MB/second.
Also, to which SATA port is the Samsung cabled?
At this stage, you should confirm that the on-board SATA ports default to "Standard IDE".
If the Samsung is cabled to a SATA port that
is connected to a non-native controller, that controller won't work until you have
correctly installed the required device driver.
In general, ASUS motherboards with Intel chipsets
have 2 sets of SATA ports: one set has "native"
and they expect HDDs to run at 150MB/second
by default. The other 2 settings are AHCI and RAID,
and those usually expect HDDs to run at 300MB/second.
The other set of SATA ports are controlled by
an on-board controller that is NOT "native" because it needs a device driver to be installed
from the Support CD before it will operate correctly.
So, I'm guessing here that your Samsung has
2 problems: its factory default is 300MB/second,
and it's cabled to a NON-native SATA port.
If the latter is true, fix that first, and continue testing.
It's an nvidia chipset not intel. I believe they are native SATA ports being as they are on the main board and the BIOS seems to recognize it no problem. I'll try to find a way to change it to standard IDE. But its still hanging on every restart.
... and, if I'm correct about the 3132 controller,
then try DISABLING that controller in the BIOS before running Windows Setup.
You can always enable it later, after Windows is installed and
when you're ready to attach more peripherals to it.
Similarly, if your optical drive is SATA (NOT PATA)
it should also be cabled to one of the "native"
SATA ports on that motherboard, and NOT to any SATA ports controlled
by the 3132.
Please allow for the fact that I have no
direct experience with NVIDIA chipsets:
I'm just trying to help where I can.
South bridge supports:
- 1 x Ultra DMA 133 / 100 / 66 / 33
- 6 x Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s
- NVIDIA MediaShield™ RAID supports RAID 0, 1, 0+1, 5 and JBOD span cross Serial ATA drives
Silicon Image® 3132 SATA controller supports
- 2 x External Serial ATA 3.0Gb/s port on back I/O (SATA On-the-Go)
It appears the 3132 only controls the 2 eSATA ports
on the back I/O panel. So, again I would DISABLE
that controller, until after Windows is installed.
I still think the problem is a setting that is preventing
either the Samsung or the optical drive from working
properly.
