BSOD on boot up. Need some help...

[papapet_2000]

Hi

I have built a new system all parts purchased from newegg.
Here are the main components:

MSI X58A-GD45 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model AD-7260S-0B - OEM
hec X-Power Pro 600 600W Continuous @ 40°C ATX12V V2.2 SLI Ready CrosFire Ready Power Supply
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Inteand 4G ramrnal Hard Drive
Intel Core i7-940 Bloomfield 2.93GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
and 4G Ram

I had WinXP (32bit) on here to test things out and everything worked great
Then I reformatted and installed Windows 2003 (32bit) again all worked great.

Now I reformatted again and installed Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit and I get BSOD on boot up randomly.
It happens only at initial display of the Windows animation at bootup. Happens 50% of the time. The rest of the time it boots up fine.

Once it boots up it works without issues. Did a memtest and check disk no problems found.
Not sure what the problem is. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ubercake]

I had a bad video driver install that caused that. Are you running with generic video drivers or did you download and install the AMD drivers?

 

[papapet_2000]

I installed the ones that came with the video card

SAPPHIRE 100283-3L Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card

Here is the weird thing when it first boots up there is the windows 7 animation and it pauses for a second. Sometimes that pause lasts for 10 seconds and it goes into the BSOD. Other times it makes it through the 1 second pause and boots up just fine. But it pauses in the exact same spot every time.

I will try to download updated drivers. I'll post the results here.

By the way the BLue Screen error is:
MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION 0x0000009c

 

[ubercake]

There's also usually a two-character error code (ie 3B). One is associated with the video drivers. Can you boot into safe mode no problem?

 

[papapet_2000]

I have more info. I can boot into safe mode. Also after a BSOD windows takes me into a disagnostic screen where it does some test to repair the problem and it comes up with File Integrity Error Error Code =0x490

Im not sure .. maybe I should re install the OS?

 

[ubercake]

That seems like a driver issue, disk issue or a corrupted installation.

Many times, the disks that come with your components contain drivers that are buggy. If you have another PC available, download the drivers from the manufacturer web sites (including your motherboard) for your components and put them on disk.
Once you get windows installed try to see if things work OK with the generic drivers. Most things should. If things are working without blue screening, you know one of those drivers is buggy. By using the drivers you download from the manufacturer sites, you know you have the latest and - in most cases - greatest.

Since you just put it together, it wouldn't be a bad thing to reinstall the OS and see how it works. Machinery is pretty consistent though. But by doing this, we can rule out the drivers as the problem.

Then upgrade the
1)motherboard chipset
2) the motherboard sound
3) LAN
4) USB
5)video
drivers in that order using the latest from the manufacturer web sites.

 

[papapet_2000]

OK Here is what I found out....

Currently I have 2 Corsair DDR3 XMS3 ram modules each one is 2G. So I have a total of 4G in my system.
One module is on Channel A and one is on Channel B. If i remove the one from Channel B and go with just 2G total ram on Channel A everything works. If I replace that module with the one I removed everything still works. If I put both back in one on Channel A and one on Channel B then it locks up again. I dont think any of the ram modules are bad because either one works on Channel A by itself. Maybe there is an issue with the motherboard or power supply not strong enough.

Any other isdeas?

 

[ubercake]

Unless it's faulty, your power supply has enough power for your components.

Does the system ever lock up during POST or other checks prior to beginning the Windows load?

Do you ever get blue screens in safe mode?

How much "Installed Memory" shows when you go to 'Control Panel'->'System and Security'->'System'?

 

[papapet_2000]

UPDATE:

After digging for many days I think I figured it out. There is a setting in the BIOS called "Spread Spectrum" that was enabled.
I have disabled this setting and everything has been working great since then.

I think this is some kind of compliance setting to prevent interference with other electronic devices.

The question is... does this mean my board is defective? Should I do an RMA? Looks like alot of people have issues with this setting.

Thanks
Pete

 

[ubercake]

Yeah. You manual says it should only be enabled if you have an EMI problem. Enabling it should not cause it to lock up though. What if you did have an EMI problem and needed to use the feature?

You could run some benchmarks and put it through some paces today. See if it blue screens, locks up, or there's any performance issues, then make the determination whether or not to return it. Here's a quote from your manual regarding spread spectrum:

The greater the Spread Spectrum value is, the greater the EMI is reduced, and the system will become less stable. For the most suitable Spread Spectrum value, please consult your local EMI regulation

It appears it could have had everything to do with the instability of your system (I learned something through this exercise!).

Now that you have it running, try running a Windows Memory Diagnostic and see if you get the same results as memtest. This will provide further proof the RAM was never the issue.

 

[papapet_2000]

Best answer selected by PAPAPET_2000.

 

[papapet_2000]

Thanks for all your help. It has been over 24 hours now and I have rebooted the box at least 50 times and it continues to work.
So I guess that was the issue.

 

[ubercake]

Hey that's great. Have fun with your new system.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey