New build, hardware issues, what is the problem?

A

aem

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 4, 2007
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I've been struggling hard with a mostly new build I put together last week. My current thinking is that both the motherboard and one stick of RAM are no good. But I really am unsure so trying to see what others think.

These are my new components. Everything else came from my old build and definitely are working fine.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1055t
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H AM3
Memory: 8GB (4x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333MHz
Case: Cooler Master CM690 II Basic

I have installed XP, Vista, and 7 each a couple times while testing though most of my use has been in XP and Vista. Here are symptoms I have experienced:

Frequent blue screens and program crashes
- Most of the time Windows loads fine and I can use it for awhile, sometimes for hours, but I've gotten plenty of blue screens and random programs crashing
Often start up and shut down is extremely slow
- Sometimes it is fast but often it takes several minutes. It is almost always real slow in XP.
Network/Internet not detected at startup
-Vista sometimes reports no ethernet cable plugged in when it is after booting up. Have to reboot to restore connection. Never experienced this in XP.

My first thought was RAM and I've been testing with Memtest86+. Summary: At least 1 of the 4 sticks seems bad. I am pretty sure 2 are good and the other needs more testing.

However, when using RAM that appears to be good I am still getting blue screens. One more thing I've noticed is a floppy drive appears in Windows explorer when no floppy drive is plugged in unless I disable it in device manager.

Right now I'm running Memtest86+ again on the two RAM sticks I'm nearly positive are good. If I get no errors after at least another 12 hours or so I think I should return the motherboard to Newegg for replacement. I wish I had other parts to swap in to test but all the parts I have are Intel/DDR2. This is my first AMD build and first DDR3 motherboard. What do you think?
 
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Sounds more and more like a mobo issue.

Out of curiosity, did you update the mobo to the whatever BIOs supports the AMD CPU?
 
Yes BIOS update was the first thing I did when I put the system together.
 
disable all the unused hardware you can in the bios.. For example the Floppy Drive. What you are seeing in windows is typical of a floppy controller (not the blue screens, but the FDD showing when there isnt one connected). I have had alot of luck in the past fixing BSOD's by disabling whatever is not being used though. & since its not being used its not hurting anything.
 
What PSU are you using? just curious. I'd ask gigabyte for an updated bios if the disabled peripherals in BIOS gets rid of your BSODs. I'd also probably still RMA it to Newegg, lol. I'm OCD like that.
 
I have a very good power supply I've been using for over 2 years.

PC Power and Cooling S75QB Silencer 750W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

I'm at 13.5 hours, 14 complete passes, no errors with RAM in memtest86+. Unless someone is pretty sure the motherboard isn't the problem, its going back today or tomorrow.

I do have the onboard graphics and audio disabled in bios. It actually has seemed like windows still detects the audio even if it is disabled, but maybe it is detecting something else I'm not positive.


EDIT: UGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH, 10 minutes later 1 error. I pretty much just want to put my Q6600 build back together and return all this crap at this point. This sucks. I guess I am just going to have to run each stick for 24 hours each and it will take me forever to freaking have a usable PC. How can I test only the processor cache? I want to be sure it isn't that.
 
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try re-flashing the BIOS and manually set the memory timings/voltage.
 
I purchased memtest deluxe by hci designs yesterday and had been testing individual sticks. Just tried several times to check with 2 sticks in and it wont even load...just stops before it even starts testing.
 
So..got a replacement motherboard. I thought things were going better at first, but no I am still having problems.......

So the problem has to either be with the processor's cache or the RAM and the errors I've gotten today all seem to be memory related. I've tested the memory quite a bit, but will have to keep testing I guess. Is there any good way to test ONLY the CPU cache?
 
I glanced at your thread when it was new and my first thoughts were you have a heat issue and it still is the first thing that comes to mind.

And by that I mean a problem with the mounting of your heatsink on the CPU. Either you aren’t getting it mounted securely or your method for applying the TIM is failing. But it would explain the myriad of problems you are experiencing.

Granted it could be a bad CPU or incompatible ram or just a problem with the ram setting in the BIOS. But I assume BIOS setting were checked before you even posted. And since mounting a heatsink is so easy it’s often overlooked as a potential problem source it’s the direction I lean.
 
The CPU is not overheating. The temps are good. I've built a few PCs before and never had any problems. I know how to build them, just never had to diagnose any major hardware issues like this before. I already rebuilt it once with the old motherboard and then of course had to rebuild it when I got the new one in.

I am going to have to run memtest again, but I am so tired of RAM testing as I am going to have to let these run at least 24 hours per stick. I need this PC up and running to get work done. Its been over 2 weeks now since put this together. This is really causing problems for me as I've had to spend all my time trying to get this system stable.

The only thing I can think of doing is buying the cheap AMD Sempron 140 CPU off newegg for $33. I am broke right now and am trying to avoid buying anything extra just to test this with. Or I could possibly buy a 1GB stick of RAM but that is going to be $30 too. I bought 4 2GB sticks though so I guess I'll just run each 24-48 hours to figure if one of the two I'm using now is bad.

This RAM isn't on the list of supported memory for the motherboard, but many others are using it and I'm the only I've heard that has any problems. A bunch of great deals on these components came around the same time so a lot of people are using the same parts as me.

To clarify my issues right now are:
1) Very slow shutdown, startup also slower than normal
2) On my first Vista install on the new mobo music didn't play right on in Creative Media Source player when I installed drivers for my SB X-Fi card. Music played a lot better in Windows Media Player, but not positive if it was playing exactly as it should.
3) A new problem for today soon after second Vista install: Windows was stuttering really bad, every couple minutes it would freeze up except for the mouse and take a few minutes before it would catch up with whatever simple task it was doing. I didn't notice this until after installing X-Fi drivers. However music played fine.
4) Blue screens of death (probably once every few hours during constant use) and the errors are mostly random. Today the stop errors were 24 and 1a, but I don't think I ever got either of those on the original mobo. I'm not sure I've even seen the same one twice.
5) Chkdsk made corrections to the file system on both Vista installs today. The first chkdsk I initiated and the second windows did. But this was on two separate WD hard drives I used on my old build with no issues and SMART reports them as being healthy.

The first 3 problems may be an issue with crappy SB X-Fi sound card drivers, although I never experienced any problems on my previous Intel/DDR2 build. The two blue screens I got today I believe occurred when X-Fi drivers were installed so maybe I need to run Vista with the onboard sound for awhile (yes it is disabled in bios when I'm not using it).

I am sure I ran it without it for awhile on the old mobo, but maybe I'll try it again with this one. Actually I know I had blue sceens immediately after OS install before so I'm sure that isn't it.
 
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Well again one of the reasons I suspect a problem with the heatsink being seated properly is that you have experience. Experienced builders almost never give it a second thought since it’s one of the easy steps. Also always the chance the heatsink is faulty from the factory. But if you’re monitoring the temp and it is fine then sure scratch it off the list.

With bad hardware even getting the OS to install can be a serious challenge. Typically bad ram will result in corruption during the install phase and often a crash.

Your symptoms in my opinion indicate either a heat or power issue. Try another PSU?
 
I was having similar problems, try running HDTune, does the performance spike down to like 1 or 2 when it should be at 60+?

My problems are very similar and it's looking like it's my CPU. I'll know in a few hours.
 
I'm running memtest86+ and it just doesn't seem to be getting any errors again. If memtest is getting no errors, I've eliminated pretty much everything else. So I figure it has to be the CPU. Unfortunately I can't exchange that now. I guess I'd have to go through AMD. Hopefully their warranty service is good and fast.

I'm still going to run memtest longer on each stick. I'm currently at 18 hours with no errors on the 1st stick. On the two sticks I was using I did get one error before when I ran memtest86+ with them together. However I've ran them both for long periods ~15 hours with no errors individually. When ran together the one error popped up around 13 hours.

I'm debating if I should order the cheap $33 AMD AM3 CPU on NewEgg just to throw in there to test. If I needed to RMA the CPU I could at least get everything set up on the computer and ready for the replacement 1055t to be swapped in right when it gets here.

I don't think it would be a PSU issue since this is a pretty good PSU that I used with no problems with my last build. I don't know if I ever got a BSOD in the two years I used it. The only other PSU I could swap in is in the PC I'm posting on and its a cheap PSU that came with a case for a budget build. Not sure it is worth the effort.

I'm not sure what HDTune is but I will look into it after memtest86+ has run for 24 hours on this stick. I've ran various CPU tests and benchmarks and they seemed to look OK.
 
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aem said:
I don't think it would be a PSU issue since this is a pretty good PSU that I used with no problems with my last build. I don't know if I ever got a BSOD in the two years I used it. The only other PSU I could swap in is in the PC I'm posting on and its a cheap PSU that came with a case for a budget build. Not sure it is worth the effort.
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Click to expand...

Even good quality PSUs can be become defective over time.

[Testing the PSU]
Buy and use a digital multi-meter to monitor the voltages coming from the PSU. Follow the instructions for "Using a multi-meter to check voltages":
http://www.bfgpower.com/troubleshooting.html#DMM

Or just try another PSU (not one that came with case)
 
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