Hi. I just buil my first PC about 3 weeks ago. The Hardware: - Q9450 Intel; - EX38-DS4 Gigabyte; - OCZ Reaper PC2-8500 1066Mhz; - Antec Nine Hundred; - Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB; - Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-215D; - HiperPower 880W Quad Sli Certified; - Radeon HD 3870 Toxic. After installing Vista 64 I installed some of the programs I normally use and everything was running fine, so it seemed. A couple of days later I started experiencing constant freezes (randomly, sometimes 6 hours sometimes 10 hours and sometimes even less). Since I am new to the whole building PC scene i thought it night be a bad OS installation and I have reinstalled Vista 4 times since. I also get blue screens and green screens randomly however the freezing issue is more constant. Then I started testing the hardware and I ran memtest86 v3.4 and HUTIL 2.1 for the Samsung Hard Drive. Both tests Passed. Then I tried Google to search for similar problems and came across a thread indicating some standard BIOS settings to try out. Tried that but the computer automatically reset the memory to AUTO and it indicates 5-7-7-20 Timing. I seen this agter it froze once more. The most peculiar thing about this whole issue is that every time the PC freezes, when i restart the computer and go into windows i check the Hard Drive space and its reduced by 20GB or whatever random number. What shall I do guys?
I just went through troubleshooting that same CPU+ mobo combination, I may be able to help. Do you have most recent BIOS, F3? If no, get it. Then reset your CMOS either by jumper or by taking the batttery out for a few minutes. Unplug your SATA Pioneer burner. Start everything up again, pressing delete to get into setup again. At the main screen set everything to optimized default. Now I dont know where you found the BIOS settings to try, but now would be the time to start small like setting your memory to proper speed and voltage. To make a long story short, my computer would run perfectly fine and passed all stress tests. As soon as I would try to enable the clock cycle speed controls my computer would refuse to work. I pinned it down to my Lite-ON SATA DVD/CD burners. I took them out and swapped in IDE drive burners and the problem went away. Try doing everything you did before, just take out the plug from the MOBO and reset your settings first.
Thanks for your reply. I think I do have the latest BIOS F3. Let me run through your suggestions and see where it takes us. Question. Would you happen to know the memory and voltage setting for my hardware or shall I try and check OCZ website? Cheers
Those OCZ should run at 5-5-5-15 at around 2.1-2.2v. What program do you use to check these readings? I like CPU-Z but not sure if it likes Vista. You will most likely need to boost you memory voltage +.25 or .3 to get there, mine auto ran at 1.8v same timings you listed. Set your memory multi at 3.2B, make sure the number under it hovers around its rated 1066. Then just set your timings to manual, and change them. Do you also know about disabling, C1E and EIST in the advanced options screen? They are power saver options that throttle your system a bit.
I'd try using some different RAM, such as Corsair Dominator - PC2 8500 RAM is very brand specific, certainly with Gigabyte boards, and I don't think the Reapers are on the approved list. Corsair are.
Deadrum33, I have just reinstalled Vista Ultimate x64 because I realized maybe my drivers weren't up to date. I installed the latest drivers from Gigabyte website and the one driver I didn't install was the latest graphics driver from the ATI website for my 3870 Toxic. The reason for this is that I did try its installation previuously and for some reason after it was sucessfully installed the screen resolution which is 1680x1050 was present on the display settings but it didn't actually cover the whole screen. This I don't understand. I followed your instructions as per BIOS settings with the exception of the DVD RW drive replacement which is the one area left to explore. Is there a type of drive I should purchase? As soon as he latest installation of Vista was up and running the computer has already frozen 3 times when I was running the Sisoft Create report Tool. One thing to note is that when I check the Event Viewer it still has logs of the events that ocurred in the past 7 days even though this is a fresh installation. Do you know anything about that? Another thing reported in the Event Viewer is that most of the errors logged are related to the SideBySide application event ID 78, few HTTP events ID 15016 and few WMI events ID 10. Does this mean anything to you? Many Thanks
sammorris---I dont know about PC8500 Reapers, but I know OCZ platinum PC6400 work from other threads I researched about past problems. I kinda looked past RAM when floss said he ran Memtest even though I probably shouldve mentioned it not being on the list as you did. Floss313---You dont need to go buy anything yet, since you have your OS installed, just go ahead and unplug the drive from the mobo and see if anything is better. Although that was my problem, I'm not sure if it is yours anymore. I googled those 3 error messages and they all have something to do with Vista, usually service pack 1 (not ALWAYS). Does your Vista 64 come with SP1 or have you installed it after you loaded the OS? I'm not much with Vista but I can attempt to help troubleshoot.
I remember reading about this when Rob had issues - the list of compatible memory sticks for PC6400 speed is huge, but the list of compatible PC8500 is tiny.
Thanks for your help guys. Deardrum, I do have SP1 that already came in the installation disc. I have taken some readings from EasyTune and decided to post them here in case they mean something more to you guys. I do have a question. Why do the memory readings shoe PC2-6400-400Mhz? One thing guys. How do I upload pictures from my desktop, here? Cheers
You are correct about the memory list SAM http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/FileList/MemorySupport/motherboard_memory_ga-ex38-ds4.pdf They dont have much in there, technically my 1GB Dominators arent even, but the "family" is so I bought them. I thought nearly all 8500 were just OC'd 6400's anyway? Thats why they are listed as such in that list and also why CPU-Z sees them as 6400's @ 2x533 1066mhz. I was using that same logic since OCZ 6400's were listed too. Do you have any any helpful hints about that vid card and drivers for floss?
It's that very reason why they're not there. Overclocked RAM responds better to some boards than others. As a fellow 3870 owner, I've had my fair share of issues, but unfortunately haven't experienced what floss has. However, I'm not using Vista. All I can say is try various revisions of Catalyst, specifically 8.4 and 7.11.
Hey guys. I unplugged the DVD RW last night and after 9 or so hours I had a green screen and 20 minutes later again my computer froze on me. Cheers
Try grabbing version 8.4 off http://www.filehippo.com - it's not the latest but seems to work the best.
One thing Sam. I had a message in Vista Maintenance saying that I had compatibility problems with ICH9 Intel so I followed that message through and installed an earlier version of the chipset drivers. Another thing I have also done is that I installed the latest driver for my mouse (Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 5000) since, most of the freezing ocurred when I was using it and also because I have read some threads that indicated others experiencing the same issue. I will wait to see the outcome of this (it has now been 2h40m) and if it doesn't work out then I will proceed with the 8.4 Catalyst update unless you advise me otherwise. Many Thanks.
