Testing a PCI slot

[tomvtx1300c]

is there a way to test a PCI slot? my computer can not see the sound card I have inserted. I tried downloading drivers from creative web site but was told I don't have a sound card connected. the mobo is a p8z77 v pro thunderbolt. the computer is in a tight spot and hard to get to and disconnect so any input you can give would be great.

tom

 

[clutchc]

That sounds like a driver issue. Have you tried disabling the on-board sound first? Then re-boot and see if Windows detects your card. Look in Device Manager to see if it is present.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

That sounds like a driver issue. Have you tried disabling the on-board sound first? Then re-boot and see if Windows detects your card. Look in Device Manager to see if it is present.

thank you I just tried it. I went to device manager and disable auto devices in 3 areas. 1 was on top of the list (I forgot name) these didn't come back after reboot. 2nd was in sound,video and game controllers which also lists the nvdia high definition audio controllers. I disabled the unnamed controllers and they didn't come back after reboot, 3rd was in system devices and they came back after reboot.

 

[clutchc]

Uhh.... I wasn't referring to disabling any devices in Windows. I was talking about booting to BIOS setup and disabling the integrated audio on the motherboard. Then re-booting to see if Windows detects the discrete card in the PCI slot. I have no idea what you disabled in Device Manager, or if they are needed.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

I just tried that and still the computer was not finding the sound card so I put the card in a different pci slow and it works . bad news is that in the future if I ever want to use the wifi with this computer I believe I will need that slot and my best guess is its not working. right now I am thinking I have to return it.

 

[clutchc]

If you can still return it, that would be the thing to do. A pain, but best in the long run.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

If you can still return it, that would be the thing to do. A pain, but best in the long run.

thankfully I can and already ordered the new one, it should get here tomorrow. Not really a pain I always liked taking things apart and putting them back together or trying to put them back together. the first time I was just worried I would connect something wrong and burn it out. I wonder how things will change the next time I try to build one.

 

[clutchc]

thankfully I can and already ordered the new one, it should get here tomorrow. Not really a pain I always liked taking things apart and putting them back together or trying to put them back together. the first time I was just worried I would connect something wrong and burn it out. I wonder how things will change the next time I try to build one.

One's first build or two is always a bit worrisome. Not to fear. You will quickly master throwing the 8 or 9 components together that constitute a gaming PC. My first concern with building is always the motherboard. Since it contains the majority of integrated components, it is the most likely to have issues. That's why it is always a good idea to 'breadboard' the system first outside the case.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

watching the "how to build a pc" from Newegg on YouTube showed how to breadboard and you are right it is a good idea. new motherboard is here . is there a way to make the usb stop suppying power when computer is down? my spyder calibrator's blue light stays on all the time. is there a setting in the bios?

 

[clutchc]

watching the "how to build a pc" from Newegg on YouTube showed how to breadboard and you are right it is a good idea. new motherboard is here . is there a way to make the usb stop suppying power when computer is down? my spyder calibrator's blue light stays on all the time. is there a setting in the bios?

Not having access to that new board, I can only provide a guess. You might have the 'always on' USB ports designed for charging devices when the PC is off such as cell phones. Or the board may have a setting in BIOS under power management that allows you to turn it off. Look for something like EuP Ready. It may be in a different section. It should allow you to enable or disable that feature. It may also be called 'Energy Saver 4.0C Support'.
As a last resort, you could always turn off the PC's power switch on the back of the PSU.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

Not having access to that new board, I can only provide a guess. You might have the 'always on' USB ports designed for charging devices when the PC is off such as cell phones. Or the board may have a setting in BIOS under power management that allows you to turn it off. Look for something like EuP Ready. It may be in a different section. It should allow you to enable or disable that feature. It may also be called 'Energy Saver 4.0C Support'.
As a last resort, you could always turn off the PC's power switch on the back of the PSU.

last night I installed the new motherboard. I believe this one is much younger because it came with bios from 8/2012 and my first mobo's asus tools disk read... windows 7 ready. I was never able to get asus suite disk to run but this new one runs without problem. while installing I think it was Asmedia SATA Controller Driver my computer reset to a restore point. I am afraid to try it again.

I think I might change fan controls from manual on case to motherboard. I am now thinking that is a better choice. I had to call Microsoft today to reactivate windows and might have to do the same with my adobe programs. Thank you for the input on the usb power. I believe when I powered down my older computer that the syder calibrator also powered down so I will look into what you said.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

Not having access to that new board, I can only provide a guess. You might have the 'always on' USB ports designed for charging devices when the PC is off such as cell phones. Or the board may have a setting in BIOS under power management that allows you to turn it off. Look for something like EuP Ready. It may be in a different section. It should allow you to enable or disable that feature. It may also be called 'Energy Saver 4.0C Support'.
As a last resort, you could always turn off the PC's power switch on the back of the PSU.

same thing is happening again with computer not seeing the sound card. I am getting if I change pci slots all will be good. there is a clue here somewhere.
perhaps if I would have first updated the rest of he computer and later installed sound card all would be good. sound card is in location that worked in last motherboard.

 

[clutchc]

Just to verify, when you say PCI slot, you are referring to the legacy PCI slots not the PCIex1 slots right?

 

[tomvtx1300c]

first it was in the PCIe 2.0 x1_2 slot and didn't work ( same slot that didn't work on last motherboard) now its in the PCIe 2.0 x1_1slot and works fine.
I made a mistake in the last post when I thought the sound card was in the slot that worked in the last mobo.

 

[clutchc]

Oh! You kept referring to it as the PCI slot. I thought you were talking about the legacy PCI slot. You were talking about the PCIex1 slots. The PCIe x1_2 slot shares bandwidth with SATA6G_E12. SATA6G_E12 is enabled by default for system resource optimization. That's why the slot is dead.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

Thank you Clutchc, for now on I will call everything by its full name. I also looked into shutting off power t the usb ports when system is shut down and the only thing I could find was under USB Support. I can make it so all usb devices will not be available until OS boot up. but my keyboard and mouse are wireless and use the usb port. with other things I have read in that section my newbie guess is that this is not what I am looking for.

 

[clutchc]

Thank you Clutchc, for now on I will call everything by its full name. I also looked into shutting off power t the usb ports when system is shut down and the only thing I could find was under USB Support. I can make it so all usb devices will not be available until OS boot up. but my keyboard and mouse are wireless and use the usb port. with other things I have read in that section my newbie guess is that this is not what I am looking for.

Can't you just disable SATA6G_E12 in BIOS? That should enable PCIe x1_2 slot and make it available. I'm assuming this is your board:
http://usa.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8Z77V_PROTHUNDERBOLT/#specifications

If you scroll down to "Expansion Slots" you will see a 'note 4' by the slot in question. Scroll down to note 4 and you will see what I was telling you. Your manual should instruct you how to disable the extra SATA slot(s).

 

[tomvtx1300c]

right now my sound card is working fine in PCIe x1_1. I am guessing it does not matter which of the 2 PCIe x1 slots it is in. I wouldn't have known that it was ok to disable the SATA6G_E12 for myself up and have everything ok. I am working but did give quick google on trying to understand just how disabling or leaving it enabled will effect the rest of my set up but couldn't find anything. is there a quick answer? I might need that slot if I install a network card as I can connect to my back up computer.

 

[clutchc]

It all depends on how many SATA drives you plan on using (i.e. RAID). The native Intel SATA ports are your grey (SATA III) and blue (SATA II) ports. The 3rd party SATA controller are the navy blue ports (SATA III). By disabling the 3rd party ports you free up bandwidth to enable the other PCIe X1 slot. So it boils down to which you need more; the other PCIe X1 slot or the extra 3rd party SATA III ports.

You can just leave it as is for now and make that decision when the time comes. The good news is that there is nothing wrong with your board. It is suppose to work that way.

The instruction as to enabling/disabling the 3rd party ports are found in your MB manual in the BIOS section.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

I ended up using the Asmedia for the SSD's and the blue for the hard drive. I feel bad that I returned a perfectly good motherboard. thanks for taking the time to explain that. I really enjoy learning about this stuff and wish I had more time to spend on it.

 

[clutchc]

I can't help but jump in with some advice about a SSD on Asmedia SATA III ports. Not the best idea for fast throughput. Use the native (Intel) SATA III ports for the SSD, especially if it is a SATA III SSD.
And there are a few pitfalls to avoid when installing a SSD that most folks overlook. A few variations from a HDD installation are warranted, along with some changes to the O/S. In case you are interested, here is an interesting article outlining what I am referring to:
http://www.computing.net/howtos/show/solid-state-drive-ssd-tweaks-for-windows-7/552.html

And here is another: http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

 

[tomvtx1300c]

I can't help but jump in with some advice about a SSD on Asmedia SATA III ports. Not the best idea for fast throughput. Use the native (Intel) SATA III ports for the SSD, especially if it is a SATA III SSD.
And there are a few pitfalls to avoid when installing a SSD that most folks overlook. A few variations from a HDD installation are warranted, along with some changes to the O/S. In case you are interested, here is an interesting article outlining what I am referring to:
http://www.computing.net/howtos/show/solid-state-drive-ssd-tweaks-for-windows-7/552.html

And here is another: http://www.overclock.net/t/1156654/seans-windows-7-install-optimization-guide-for-ssds-hdds

I will take your advice on the SSD's and Asmedia SATA III. The next couple of days is going to be crazy around here but hope to soon
make the tweaks on those links and am guessing that they would work the same for my windows 8.
I enjoy learning about these things and making any machine as fine tuned as I can make it so thanks again.

 

[clutchc]

I can't vouch for all the tweaks with Win8. I don't have Win8. (tried it, didn't like it) But if the options are available in Win8, then I'd go ahead and do them. If you missed doing some of the more important ones during your original SSD installation, you may want to consider the hassle of a complete clean install of Windows.

 

[tomvtx1300c]

I can't vouch for all the tweaks with Win8. I don't have Win8. (tried it, didn't like it) But if the options are available in Win8, then I'd go ahead and do them. If you missed doing some of the more important ones during your original SSD installation, you may want to consider the hassle of a complete clean install of Windows.

I like win8 it sorta has a nice clean feel and I like the way I can pin programs to the taskbar. I will be doing the reinstall soon. I still have not downloaded all the updates from ASUS and guess it might be better to update the mobo and of course the bios like on those pages you sent me before I do the reinstall. computer freezes up and I hope this stops after the tweaks and the updates. a complete install shouldn't be that bad. mind if I ask your thoughts on virus and spyware protection for a small business that is in the public eye and gets lots of mail from strangers? my first thought is how does Norton 360 compare to windows 8 defender and also what about others types of protection.
my clients send me lots of personal information that I need to protect as best I can.

 

[clutchc]

System security is not my strong suit. But if you pose that question in the IT Pro/Business Computing/Security forum here, I know you'll get some good advice.