Night_Hawk-19
Gawd
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2004
- Messages
- 825
Really happy 
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NVIDIA nForce 680i Chipset Problems
- Thread starter FrgMstr
- Start date
Really happy
So would i. Additionally, it's odd that some X-Fi owners don't have the problem with the 680i and others do.
Guys, I have just finished building my rig with the following components and I am having this problem big time... don't know what else to do.
EVGA 680i Motherboard
Intel E6300
(2) BFG 7800 GTX OC
ThermalTake 650W SLI ready Power Supply
2 gig DDR2 OCZ platinum Ram
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 400gig HDD
Multi reader floppy
Acer AL2216W widescreen monitor
We finished building the rig last night and I have wasted all day today downloading the latest drivers from Windows XP w SP2, evga/nvidia nforce beta P23 bios, 93.71 Nvidia graphic drivers... (between locks, frozen screens and dump Stop Errors)
The first instance of the error (blue screen and windows dump initializing error) was last night when we started downloading the lasted windows update.
This morning, I finished download all the windows update and decided to transfer some of the backup data I had on my Maxtor 160gig External drive to my Seagate 400gig partition destined to have all the stuff I don't want on my main C:\ drive. Well, if I start to transfer small amounts of data at a time, nothing happens but as soon as I try to transfer a big file, the freezes and screen locks appear and I end up with the dreaded BLUE SCREEN ERROR again.
I thought it could be possible that some of the windows update could have corrupted my drivers for the graphic cards and the bios so I uninstall the video drivers, rebooted and installed a fresh copy of them again, I did also re install the p23 bios update just in case but to no avail.
I tried going to the Bios to see if I had missed something but everything looks good, also tried changing the SATA connector from the slot I had plugged it in last night to another one just in case... again, nothing.
Did I get a dud? I have never done this before so I don't know how to proceed from here... do I call evga or do I just get in contact with Newegg to see what they want to do for me? I mean, this time around, I did my homework and research the board and I found out about the issue but I also read that it was fixed with the P23 update.
What else can I try on my own and/or what would you guys recommend me to do?
Thanks
EVGA 680i Motherboard
Intel E6300
(2) BFG 7800 GTX OC
ThermalTake 650W SLI ready Power Supply
2 gig DDR2 OCZ platinum Ram
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 400gig HDD
Multi reader floppy
Acer AL2216W widescreen monitor
We finished building the rig last night and I have wasted all day today downloading the latest drivers from Windows XP w SP2, evga/nvidia nforce beta P23 bios, 93.71 Nvidia graphic drivers... (between locks, frozen screens and dump Stop Errors)
The first instance of the error (blue screen and windows dump initializing error) was last night when we started downloading the lasted windows update.
This morning, I finished download all the windows update and decided to transfer some of the backup data I had on my Maxtor 160gig External drive to my Seagate 400gig partition destined to have all the stuff I don't want on my main C:\ drive. Well, if I start to transfer small amounts of data at a time, nothing happens but as soon as I try to transfer a big file, the freezes and screen locks appear and I end up with the dreaded BLUE SCREEN ERROR again.
I thought it could be possible that some of the windows update could have corrupted my drivers for the graphic cards and the bios so I uninstall the video drivers, rebooted and installed a fresh copy of them again, I did also re install the p23 bios update just in case but to no avail.
I tried going to the Bios to see if I had missed something but everything looks good, also tried changing the SATA connector from the slot I had plugged it in last night to another one just in case... again, nothing.
Did I get a dud? I have never done this before so I don't know how to proceed from here... do I call evga or do I just get in contact with Newegg to see what they want to do for me? I mean, this time around, I did my homework and research the board and I found out about the issue but I also read that it was fixed with the P23 update.
What else can I try on my own and/or what would you guys recommend me to do?
Thanks
BillR
Born Again Cynic
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2002
- Messages
- 18,535
Pop on over to evga's website and go to their forums. Under Mainboards you will find a few posts that will probably clear up most of your problems at stock speeds.
As for overclocking, go to nvidia's website where they have a comprehensive overclocking guide in PDF format.
I had many of the issues you did and now they are all gone just from reading and tweaking.
I might point out that quite a few of the problems you are decribing could well be bad ram. Google memtest and run that from a floppy. Eliminate the simple stuff first
Luck
Went there but did not find much for my particular case but I'll return to it and try it again with more precision.
Not really interested on Overcloaking, don't know how and can't seem to find a good use for it since I am only an SP gamer.
Yes, I have been able to find a simple way around problems by searching and reading about but I was unable to figure this one out.
Did think of this one, I guess I took it for granted since the RAM was bought new and even though it wasn't listed on their site (maybe to new), it meet all the requirements I thought needed to meet... will do the test and comeback to post my findings.I might point out that quite a few of the problems you are decribing could well be bad ram. Google memtest and run that from a floppy. Eliminate the simple stuff first
Thanks for taking the time to help... much appreciated!
2 memtest running at the same time (824megs each) for about 1:30 hours and no erros so, at least, I know my issue is not with my ram.
Now, How can I check the speed the RAM is running?
I am on the EVGA message boards but people seem to be talking about heat issues, ram issues and O/C issues and not much about the SATA issues.
There is a new P24 bios update out... I'll try it and see what I can get out off.
My Seagate is making a funny clicking noise (ver intermittent but it is there), I tried to go to the support page on S/G but they seem to be having a problem because I keep getting a 404 error (page not found)... yes, today is my lucky day
Now, How can I check the speed the RAM is running?
I am on the EVGA message boards but people seem to be talking about heat issues, ram issues and O/C issues and not much about the SATA issues.
There is a new P24 bios update out... I'll try it and see what I can get out off.
My Seagate is making a funny clicking noise (ver intermittent but it is there), I tried to go to the support page on S/G but they seem to be having a problem because I keep getting a 404 error (page not found)... yes, today is my lucky day
My Hard Drive seems to be the culprit here as I was just able to do the Self Test on the Seagate site and it came back with a S.M.A.R.T. alert error. Now, being that they are having issues with the site being down all day, I don't know if I am completely satisfied with the test but so far, those are the indications... maybe them clicking/chirping sounds I was hearing mean something after all.
You have done it probably already, but I'll say it anyway, just in case.
You might try to swap the sata cable with another one, or try to stick it in another connector. If you have a spare HD, you can try it at the "bad" place also to see. Also the power wiring might be bad so try another one also. All your problems good be just a small bad wire.
Just a thought.
You might try to swap the sata cable with another one, or try to stick it in another connector. If you have a spare HD, you can try it at the "bad" place also to see. Also the power wiring might be bad so try another one also. All your problems good be just a small bad wire.
Just a thought.
Go into bios and disable SMART, check your PSU, that clicking is usually a PSU issue. Make sure the SATA is connected via a SATA power cable not a molex.
Check all your power connections, make sure you dont have a short somewhere where the MB is attached to the case panel. That stuff sounds electrical and not software related, but update your BIOS and go to the nvidia website and download the patch for SATA issues.
idiotekniQues
Limp Gawd
- Joined
- Jan 2, 2007
- Messages
- 135
i had failed write delay and then straight up reboots with the p5ne-sli and sata drives not run in RAID. i couldnt even install windows for awhile.
i disabled teh command queue feature via windows once i finall got it installed after 3 days of hell and it has been running stable. however, i am still worried that data corruption may be occuring so i think since nVidia's track record is so poor with something so valuable as my data i am going to an intel chipset.
i disabled teh command queue feature via windows once i finall got it installed after 3 days of hell and it has been running stable. however, i am still worried that data corruption may be occuring so i think since nVidia's track record is so poor with something so valuable as my data i am going to an intel chipset.
I have been getting similar instability issues with my new setup. It'd been a while since I had a nice new machine and thought I'd treat myself to a new rig, setup below:
Asus Striker Extreme (rev 0701)
Intel C2D E6600 @ stock
Zalman CNPS9700-NT
2GB Corsair Dominator PC2-6400C4
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX
3x 150GB WD Raptors -> RAID 0
Enermax Galaxy 850W
I get a blue screen in the windows desktop maybe only once every day or two but when gaming I get a blue screen maybe every 20 minutes. I usually get the bsod which says "If this is the first time you've seen this screen..." or I get the one which says "page fault in non paged area". Other times the game will just crash and hang, then I get data corruption of my saved games.
It's been a while since I've got in to in-depth hardware troubleshooting so bear with me but I'd appreciate help as it's frustrating me greatly. What information would people need to know to help me?
Also I'm going to try rebuilding without the RAID to see if that helps.
Asus Striker Extreme (rev 0701)
Intel C2D E6600 @ stock
Zalman CNPS9700-NT
2GB Corsair Dominator PC2-6400C4
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX
3x 150GB WD Raptors -> RAID 0
Enermax Galaxy 850W
I get a blue screen in the windows desktop maybe only once every day or two but when gaming I get a blue screen maybe every 20 minutes. I usually get the bsod which says "If this is the first time you've seen this screen..." or I get the one which says "page fault in non paged area". Other times the game will just crash and hang, then I get data corruption of my saved games.
It's been a while since I've got in to in-depth hardware troubleshooting so bear with me but I'd appreciate help as it's frustrating me greatly. What information would people need to know to help me?
Also I'm going to try rebuilding without the RAID to see if that helps.
Actually I've just noticed that ASUS have released BIOS revision 0802 for the Striker Extreme, I'll try that and see what happens.
I must say that the mobo appeared more unstable after upgrading the BIOS, I think it was on something like 0502 and BIOS 0701 was claimed to stop the crackly sound so I upgraded and that's when this major instability set in.
I must say that the mobo appeared more unstable after upgrading the BIOS, I think it was on something like 0502 and BIOS 0701 was claimed to stop the crackly sound so I upgraded and that's when this major instability set in.
According to the release notes for 0701 the sound card issues weren't addressed at all. 0802 actually fixes the sound issue from what I am seeing. You need to be aware that if you flash through the ASUS update software, your board might end up dead. Mine did.
Sorry my mistake Dan_D, I must've misread comments hoping that it would fix the sound update .
Kinda scary what you said about the board ending up dead. Are you referring to the ASUS Update tool in Windows or the EZ Flash tool in the BIOS? So far I've been using the EZ Flash.
I went home at lunch and flashed it to 0802 and all seemed happy so I've left it updating Windows. I'll post up whether or not it solves any of my problems.
.Kinda scary what you said about the board ending up dead. Are you referring to the ASUS Update tool in Windows or the EZ Flash tool in the BIOS? So far I've been using the EZ Flash.
I went home at lunch and flashed it to 0802 and all seemed happy so I've left it updating Windows. I'll post up whether or not it solves any of my problems.
Sorry my mistake Dan_D, I must've misread comments hoping that it would fix the sound update
Kinda scary what you said about the board ending up dead. Are you referring to the ASUS Update tool in Windows or the EZ Flash tool in the BIOS? So far I've been using the EZ Flash.
I went home at lunch and flashed it to 0802 and all seemed happy so I've left it updating Windows. I'll post up whether or not it solves any of my problems.
I am referring to ASUS update in Windows. Do NOT use it. I did because for years it's worked fine for me and it has always worked on my Striker for two or three other BIOS updates.
Now I have to pay some money to ASUS in order to get them to send me a new BIOS chip.
Why P21? I'd grab P24 personally.
P24 is giving a load of crap error messages. Like USB Big Error is all over the place, i switched back to P23 and now USB Bug Error is gone, but still system is not stable. So i was trying to find P21 to see how it works.
680i Sucks big time.
Just a small warning for the people with the Striker Extreme
I did some checking and the version 0802 is actually a Beta Version. Also it exists only in DOS version, so you can't use the Windows update tool.
And yes! It should take care the sound issue, but maybe it's best to wait for the full version. I guess it will come quickly after the beta.
0802 Beta Version
OS DOS
1. Enhance memory compatibility
2. Fixed power Fan can't work after S3.
3. Set DDR2 Termination Max default Votlage to 1.25V (Memory Voltage is 2.5V)
4. Add patch to support Creative X-FI sound Card
5. Speed up S3 resume time.
6. Change CopyRight year from 2006 to 2007.
7. Fixed memory clock mode option may disappear when SLI ready memory is used
I did some checking and the version 0802 is actually a Beta Version. Also it exists only in DOS version, so you can't use the Windows update tool.
And yes! It should take care the sound issue, but maybe it's best to wait for the full version. I guess it will come quickly after the beta.
0802 Beta Version
OS DOS
1. Enhance memory compatibility
2. Fixed power Fan can't work after S3.
3. Set DDR2 Termination Max default Votlage to 1.25V (Memory Voltage is 2.5V)
4. Add patch to support Creative X-FI sound Card
5. Speed up S3 resume time.
6. Change CopyRight year from 2006 to 2007.
7. Fixed memory clock mode option may disappear when SLI ready memory is used
Is it recommended to update to the P24 BIOS? I put together my system on the weekend and immediately after installing windows I flashed the BIOS with that fix from nVidia's site and I am guessing that was the P23?
If my system is working perfectly with no problems should I just keep it as-is for now?
If my system is working perfectly with no problems should I just keep it as-is for now?
I built an eVGA 680i dual 8800GTX system the other day for someone. P24 worked fine and the onboard sound indeed works with SLI enabled, and I encountered no stability issues.
I installed the Striker Extreme 0802 BIOS and my system is now 99% stable. It occasionally blue screens when doing something like playing video or moving large files but it's a lot better.
With regards to the sound issue it's better but by no means gone. It seems to depend on the app, some things are fine, some things are actually worse.
With regards to the sound issue it's better but by no means gone. It seems to depend on the app, some things are fine, some things are actually worse.
Clearly there is still some lingering configuration issue. A machine shouldn't blue screen performing simple tasks like that.
The eVGA 680i is considerably better than it was when I had one. Not considering the defective aspects of my specific boards.
In my opinion the only outstanding flaw in the design has to do with the CPU socket area on the back of the motherboard PCB. Having anything on the back of the board in that area is a bad idea.
Do you have any suggestions as to where I should start looking for the problem? Like I say it's been a while since I've had a computer this up-to-date and buggy.
Do you think the RAID might be a problem?
Also my monitor runs at 1440 x 900 and I have been using custom timings (because the damned nVidia cards won't run at that res) do you think that might've caused some problems?
I'm no expert, but I'd go back to my basic bios settings and see if it still BSOD's. You don't say how you got your e6600 to 2.87Ghz. Use your CMOS reset button when the comp is not running...make sure that the jumper is enabled to allow the reset button to work (info in manual)...then see if you have any problems.
I used the System Update function in the NTune software. You have to download the update center add-on to do that, but eVGA has a link to it on their website.
I had no issues using this method.
Previously, when I was using an eVGA 680i motherboard, I ended up with some stability problems. I always had error messages concerning my RAID1 array, but never the RAID0. While it was clear that the RAID0 array worked better than the RAID1 array on my board, I do suspect that the instabilities did in fact stem from SATA issues. I could find nothing else wrong with the system, and Orthos would run for hours and hours, and even with my system clocked at 3.6GHz, I never had any errors. Unfortunately running programs and using applications would cause random instability. It wasn't consistent enough to pin down to anything.
Really? I'll have to look into that. I didn't really look at the one I built the machine out of the other day. The stock Intel heat sink was used in that build so I didn't pay any attention to it.
Has anyone solved, or is anyone having the same serial ATA problems associated with their 680i motherboard? I havent flashed the bios to version 24 yet, but 23 is still giving me raid ata troubles. Sometime she works, (for hours) and sometimes she wont boot. It seems to be a fairly comon problem. Im trying to get two 150 raptors to work in raid0.Thought Id shout out around here and see if there were any takers.
Thanks.
TB
Thanks.
TB
Well, the board I used the other day didn't have the RAID problems, and the Striker Extreme I have in my machine has never had that issue either. I thought P23 was supposed to correct the SATA issues.
I did the P24 bios update and installed another Sata drive and I have only had 1 instace of the dreaded blue screen, I did noticed that I didn't had the latest audio drivers for my Onboard HD audio so, that could have been the cause. Another issue could be that I am playing an old game all maxed out and the game is the culprit for crapping out on me and not necessarily the system (I was playing KotOR 2... yeas, I know!).
I have been very busy at work so I am not playing much or using the pc when I get home but I will install Rainbow Six Vegas or GRAW (really a HOG of a game) to see what the rig can do compared to my old, but trusty, rig
Tornadojoe
n00b
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2007
- Messages
- 9
I just ordered a EVGA 680I Board I just cant sit and look at this Antec 900 case with the Pc1kw in it empty HOPE I DIDNT MAKE A BIG MISTAKE. I hope P23 Does it, Are they shipping the newer boards with the P-23 update in it ? I just ordered from Tiger.
Tornadojoe
n00b
- Joined
- Jan 18, 2007
- Messages
- 9
Yeah i mean P-24 * FLOPPY (Floppy Disk and Disk Drive Required)
o Download the following executable: NF68_P24.exe
o Insert blank floppy disk into drive and run executable
o Restart machine, and set floppy as the primary boot device
o After flash, power off PC completely, on reboot load defaults in BIOS
* NVIDIA System Update Tool
o Download the following executables: updatecenter.exe and NF68_P24.bin
o Select browse and locate NF68_P24.bin
o Select load bios
o Power off PC completely, on reboot load defaults in BIOS
This can all be done before loading windows?
o Download the following executable: NF68_P24.exe
o Insert blank floppy disk into drive and run executable
o Restart machine, and set floppy as the primary boot device
o After flash, power off PC completely, on reboot load defaults in BIOS
* NVIDIA System Update Tool
o Download the following executables: updatecenter.exe and NF68_P24.bin
o Select browse and locate NF68_P24.bin
o Select load bios
o Power off PC completely, on reboot load defaults in BIOS
This can all be done before loading windows?
Hells yes.
The one I picked up the other day for a friends system build came with P23 already on it. I updated it to P24 without problems and everything is working great.
My EVGA 680i came with P23 Beta 2 installed. I had intermittent problems with that, mainly SATA related. Then I installed P23 final. After a day or two I lost all my BIOS settings and USB stopped working. I re-flashed to P23 Beta 2 and everything worked (mostly). I tried P24 and that has fried one memory stick and won't even post at all now so it's going to be RMA'd.
Next motherboard may be a Striker (I know), or Abit IN9 32X-MAX or the P5N32-E Plus SLI.
Bah.
Next motherboard may be a Striker (I know), or Abit IN9 32X-MAX or the P5N32-E Plus SLI.
Bah.