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p5b-vm exceedingly very strange problem

D

des

n00b
Joined
Oct 13, 2006
Messages
5
[Now Ive also updated bios with NO-effect... oh.. this is hell]

Hi
first yes this is my first post here:
been throlling round for ages, since im SFFfan and was unsure about not beeing able to use my Gmail account for registration. and this is a really sad first post -But- im falling apart over here.

strangest computer problem Ive had the last 12 or so years Ive been into computers, last time I felt this lost was sometime in the early 90s with my first amiga.

I´ve read a lot here the last months since I was getting the first new comp in years. Really good forum guys lots of good intel here.

[note I just go it a few days back never gotten it to work]
hardware:
Q-pack Chassie
CPU: core2duo 6400
Motherboard: asus p5b-vm
Memmory:
Xtreem Micron 4-4-4-10 800mhz 2x512
http://www.memory-configurator.com/products/10586.html
GPU: radeon x1900xt
cooling:
zalman7700cu and stock fans (and its not overheating from what I can tell in bios and Q-packs sensors)
PSU:
(350-450W)tried a few different power supplys(yes I tried with the crappy one you get with the chassie too) even "jump started" one so I could run 2 at he same time to power the system. But mostly I tried to get the comp started without the x1900xt in it so I would be sure there was enough power.

But whats the problem then? well..

first I install win XP and.. all is well winXp on the seagate IDE harddrive. and its the last reboot:
and here we go.. the comp reboots and the millisecond the windows logo shows its loading, crash-reboot.. no BlueScreen of death no nothing just..
BAM reboot..
then I stop at the usual "F8" menu
and whatever I Choose here.. its more or less like choosing an instant reboot button.. as thats what it does.

so what have I tried to fix this, problem
different hardware:
3different PCIgrafics and the onboard one.

2 different harddrives. and reinstalling windows on them
2different systemdrives from my othercomputers, just hoocked up to see what can be done, same problem there after lilo / grub its instant reboot if I choose ubuntu DMSlinux or windows.
Tried to install Ubuntu Dapper drake..
and THATs impossible i get to see the menu and choose install and get to see "uncompressing kernel..... DONE"
here something happens the system dosnt freeez or reboot, I can type text on the except for the "" above empty black space..
When I try a "cleaner" windowsInstall that is a non-streamed one with extra utils that requires an extra reebot.
I get to stay in windows.... until. the very first reboot or shutdown.. next time I have the same trubbles as before.


memory, I tried different cas frequenxy 533 677.. and a lot of different settings vcore.. only with one ram-stick to see if one of them is bad..

I ran memtest from the linuxCD for an hour without any problems at all.

I resetted CMOS.. tried all I could bloody hell think of..

the only thing I havent tried is updating bios.

So what is this? anyone have an Idea? I would be very very grateful if someone would see that I forgot something easy, or just anything any Idea. whatever, thoughs.
just please any suggestions?
 
have you verified the operating voltage of your ram? the p5b-vm only supports ram with voltages between 1.8v to 1.95v. although some have been able to run ram with higher voltage requirements on this board, it's a hit-or-miss thing if you're above the specc'ed requirements for vram.

try to go back to the bios and manually set your vram to 1.95v, or just 1.8v, and see if that improves stability.
 
first thank you for taking time out to answer this confusing post.
(I realise I was pretty irritated when I posted and its a bit of a hard to read item)


operating voltage of your ram:
yes well I actually read about the memory recs. before I ordered the ram (the post on this forum)
and I tried to runn the system mostly on the 1.95 setting even though I tried a lot of other settings.

When I ordered the ram it said it had a 2.0V rating.. (and I suppose I guessed that a 2.0 pair would run on 1.95.. my bad to begin with)
But I see now that on the box it states "2.0V-2.2V" ... So I suppose that is my misstake.

and Im happy to have found this out but before I go get another set of ram..
Dont my 1h memtest runn without any faults or errors.. prove that the memory is working?

I just whant to be very sure since the company wount exchange my ram if the box was opened.. and it was.(I didnt open the box carefully enough to re-seal it seamlessly:) ) so I cant return it but have to try and sell it of to someone. or wait for the next paycheck to get my new ram.

funny thing is I was really happy bout the ram, read some reviews it is the micron memory and so on..

[moderator: seems now to me that I should have posted this in the "memory rec p5b-vm" thread, but wasnt sure it was the memory, sorry.]
 
des said:
When I ordered the ram it said it had a 2.0V rating.. (and I suppose I guessed that a 2.0 pair would run on 1.95.. my bad to begin with)
But I see now that on the box it states "2.0V-2.2V" ... So I suppose that is my misstake.
Click to expand...
To be honest, I would have made the same mistake!
Dont my 1h memtest runn without any faults or errors.. prove that the memory is working?
Click to expand...
1h is not enough to be sure your memory is completely stable. But it should give some indication.
A few years ago I bought an Asus board and had almost the same problems you have now! I couldn't install XP and sometimes the system rebooted like three times before it even booted from the install-cd. I tried different BIOS settings (different timings, rising the voltage to but nothing helped, flashed the BIOS and even needed to do a BIOS auto-recovery because the BIOS got corrupted when the system crashed while I was changing some BIOS settings! Strange enough, the system never crashed when I ran memtest and memtest didn't show errors. Although the $ 300 memory worked flawlessly on an Abit NF7-S, I still suspected the memory to be the source of all those problems. I tried some Corsair memory and all the problems disappeared! I tried the "bad" memory in another system for a few weeks but the system worked flawlessly.
So I contacted Asus support to report this problem because I was sure the memory was OK. It was a compatibility problem but they kept telling me my memory was bad even when I told them I already tested the memory with two different mobo's. Eventually they told me they didn't gave support for memory that wasn't on their compatibility list. Bullshit of course because my memory wasn't different from standard PC3200 memory.
I've already had contact with support from different manufacturers but I was never treated so bad! They kept telling the same standard sentences instead of giving real support even when I mailed them links of posts of people who had the same problems with the same board. So I didn't sell my memory because it costed more then the mobo. I sold the Asus board and I'm not planning to buy an Asus product again!
So your problem could be a compatibility problem and not a voltage problem because I expect the memory to work with 1.95V. But don't expect support from Asus. You need memory that is on their compatibility list to be sure it works.
 
First thanks a lot for a very informative and helpful post!

mm yes I re-read the "Asus P5B-VM Memory Recs?" and was starting to think that it wasnt the memory since cyrana got the board working with one 2.1 patriot stick in and mine I get the same problem even if I try with only one of the extreem sticks (and there was somebody else on that tread thinking about buying the same memorys to the board).
Statchi on the same thread writes he decided on the same memory I have and ray-zor was also interested in them, seems like both didnt bother with the mobo though.

so I suppose I need to go get another motherboard.. well thats easier then exchanging the memory atleast. (never been a fan of asus anyway)
but then there are not many mATX compatible conroe(800mhz) boards around :(
could always go with a p5ld2-vm se or one of those versions. :/
 
There are some Intel boards and the Gigabyte GA-965GM-S2. That are the only ones I know of but I wouldn't recommend the Intel boards because they don't support high voltage mem like you have. Dunno about the vdimm options of the gigabyte though, I've heard there are almost no overclocking options but some timing and vdimm options should be available.
 
great! thanks.
havent read mutch bout the gigabyte one. but from what I can see it would be good.. and yea well right now I dont even care about clocking.. just whant the damn thing running.
Anyway researcing the gigabyte on now. again thanks for helping with this. :)

[something irrelevant that really buggs me]
after reading asus qualified Vendors list... I see the micron memmory I have... is on it..
yes, I cant be sure since I havent removed the heatsinks to check what exact chip is on. but
amongst the 800mhz ones asus condone there is 6 micron chips..
Upon further thinking .. I suppose there probably some obscure low volt ones.
 
I can pretty much guarantee its the ram.. I wouldn't reccomend getting a new board as it has the same poopy chipset. I am using Mushkin EM ram that is rated at 1.95v and it works perfectly. Good luck. :)
 
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