New build crashes, will not install items properly?

[ScubaSteve86]

Greeting forums,

I am having some issues with my new build. It has been crashing and it will send me the the "blue screen of death" briefly before restarting. I am able to load the system up and peform tasks. After downloading all the drivers I tried to install Starcraft 2. It would get around 86% and then say I had Hard drive error, DVD-CD error, or a damaged disc. After a third try the game installed and I was able to play for a couple hours. The next day the system crashed and it would not start up again. However, I've also experienced crashes when downloading windows updates.

Is it possible that my DVD/CD drive is not installing things properly? Could it have installed most of the operating system and left out things that would cause crashes?

My motherboard (MSI 750N-G55) has five SATA connectors, SATA 1 &2 and 3&4 are stacked on top one another. SATA 5 is off to the side and is in blue as opposed to black. Should SATA 5 be the connector to my hard drive?
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=prodfaq&maincat_no=1&cat2_no=&cat3_no=&prod_no=1874

Everything is powered in the case. All fans are working. Nothing feels hot or anywhere near overheating.

I would greatly appreciate the help.


Here are my specs:
-Windows 7
-AMD II x4 955
-Radeon HD 5850 1GB video card
-MSI 750N-G55 motherboard
-Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 500GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM (TSD-500AAKS)
-Coolmax RM-750B 750-Watt Power Supply - SATA-Ready, PCI-E Ready, 120mm Fan, Active PFC (T13-1107)
- 4 Corsair XMS3 TW3X4G1333C9AG 4GB Dual Channel DDR3 RAM - - PC10666, 1333MHz, 4096MB (2x 2048MB), 240 Pin, Dual-Channel (C13-8220)
- MSI DH-24AAS-17 Internal DVD Writer - DVD+R 24X, DVD-R 24X, DVD+RW 8X, DVD-RW 6X, DVD-RAM 12X, CD-R 48X, CD-RW 32X, SATA (M452-5004)

 

[asven1]

all 5 sata ports are the same it should not matter which one your hard drive is plugged into

usually the os installs or it does not if it was an installation error i believe you would be getting a something .dll not found error. missing file etc.

sounds like a driver or ram error to me.

my 2 cents

 

[ScubaSteve86]

What would be the best way about figuring out this problem? Do I need to buy a new hard drive and reinstall everything? Windows 7 says the device is working.

Should I try to detect if a memory stick is bad?

 

[banthracis]

0. Remove Any OC setting you may have.
1. Make sure all drivers are up to date.
2. Make sure no virus/malware.
3. DL HW monitor from CPU ID and get Load Temps for CPU and GPU. List ambient temp too.
4. DL Prime 95 to test CPU. Run 12 hrs min.
5. DL Furmark to stress GPU for temp testing.
6. DL memtest and run minimum 8 passes to test RAm stability. Make sure RAM setting such as votlage and timings are manually set to manuf specifications.
7. Read SMART data off the HD. You can view it in BIOS or grab passmark.
8. WD also has a utility on their website to check HD.

 

[lothdk]

Sounds very much like faulty/not correctly configured ram modules. Did you remember to correctly enter all settings regarding memory in BIOS when you first started the PC?

Go through this list step by step, and hopefully you will be able to get it up and running perfectly.

 

[ScubaSteve86]

I purchased a new hard drive and reinstalled everything. No crashes and no installation errors. I will run some of those stability and benchmark tests. However, it seams like it was just a faulty hard drive.

Thank you for your help.

 

[ScubaSteve86]

Best answer selected by ScubaSteve86.

 

[asven1]

bummer man hard drives usually work or do not work. hardly ever intermittent.