Enabling Quad SLI in Windows 7 Causes crash

[soule77]

Ok, So I just installed windows 7, upgraded from XP-pro 32 bit. Everything was going great, I got all the most updated drivers installed for all of my components. Then I updated windows with the latest updates as well. When I went to enable quad SLI however the computer froze, it would show portions of the desktop and then quit and have to be rebooted.

Tried several times with the same result. Rolled back the drivers with the same result. Pretty sure the hardware is fine because it was working with XP less than 24 hours ago. I also updated the chipset drivers with the same results. Any ideas? I know my setup (outlined below) is a notorious Diva but I have had great success getting it to perform...but I have been stymied by windows 7 though. Oh I also cracked open the CPU case and checked all connections, dust etc.

ASUS P5N32-SE-SLI Deluxe (MB)
4 GB RAM
X6800 Core 2 Duo extreme edition 2.93 Ghz
Nvidia 7950 GX2 (2x)
Creative X-FI series Soundcard
1 Kilowatt power-supply
recent BIOs upgrade
Liquid cooling for CPU and Chipset
Western Digitial raptor 500GB (2x) RAID 0, Nvidia RAID Controller

 

[Mousemonkey]

It may sound like an odd thing to ask but have you tried it without the sound card in?

 

[multiscreenz]

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Sometimes those extra sound cards conflict with the graphics. I don't know exactly why, but I use a lot of Multi-Card systems and I have run into a lot in the past. In most cases I have found the HD Audio to be just great. It kinda made the sound card obsolete to me. And I don't get a lot of crashes or hang ups any more.

 

[photonboy]

Did you format your C-Drive then install Windows 7 or did you try to upgrade an existing XP installation?

It's best to upgrade from a freshly formatted C-Drive.

I assume you have the 64-bit version of Windows 7? (Otherwise you would not have the ability to map all the memory which mainly includes the System RAM and Video RAM)

 

[soule77]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Since my last post I have done the following:
1. Removed the sound card: Had no effect
2. Did a clean install of windows 7 64 bit (this was a goatrope but I finally got it on there and working properly): Had no effect

Frankly I am stumped. anyone got anymore ideas?

 

[soule77]

Would a bad SLI Bridge cause this?

 

[soule77]

VICTORY...Everything is working as it should now. I rolled my drivers back even further than before and v191.07 works properly

 

[soule77]

NVM, I spoke too soon...it is back to freezing

 

[soule77]

Ok so I have basically given up on this. I have tried the following:

1. Nvidia Drivers 185-the latest
2. Tried every bios configuration I possibly could
3. Tried the cards independently (both work fine)
4. Took out the sound card
5. Nuked the system and did a clean install.
6. Plugged the CPU directly into a wall outlet to see if my surgeprotector was starving my system
7. Ran a memory test

I am fresh out of ideas. Looks like I will be stuck with one card until new drivers are published.