Name: briank Date: March 18, 2008 at 10:40:57 Pacific Subject: New Computer Issue OS: Windows XP(32 Bit) CPU/Ram: Intel Core 2 Duo E6850
Comment:
I recently just built my first computer from the ground up. Here is the specs Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard NZXT Nemesis Elite Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower APEVIA ATX-CW500WP4 ATX 500W Power Supply PC4200 533MHZ Ram(4 1GB Chips) 80 GB Sata Hard Drive 200 GB Sata Hard Drive
The issue I am having pertains to the installation of Windows XP(32 Bit). The problem that occurs is I get lock ups at different intervals during the installation of the OS. I tried installing on both hard drives to no avail. I did check for any errors on the drives. Came up negative. Now I also made sure it was not an issue with the PSU. The memory I am currently using was taken from an old machine. It is DDR2. The issue I am having is the motherboard maker does not officially support PC4200(533mhz) ram chips. Now Im wondering. The machine picks up the memory fine and sees it. Could it be that the motherboard is seeing the memory BUT overtime it is causing issues with the memory in terms of locking up the machine?. I did order some Kingston(667mhz) DDR2 2 2GB Chips that are supported by the motherboard. Im just wondering if it is indeed the old memory I was using from my previous machine that was causing the computer to lock up. It not only locked up during the Windows XP Install. When I tried to use Ubuntu Linux it also did it. Im hoping its not the motherboard seeing as I dont want to return it.....Any ideas or help would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch. FYI I have yet to install the new memory. Hasnt arrived yet. Will do tonight or tomorrow.
Try running a memory test for a few hours. http://memtest86.com/ There is a version to create a bootable floppy diskette and/or an ISO for creating a CD.
Also disconnect any external devices while doing the install.
I would also try just installing two of the sticks of the old RAM and see what happens. It seems that some motherboards don't work well with 4 sticks of RAM.
I did memtest86 and the memory came back fine.....I also tried with two sticks of my original DD2 512mb ram that came with my old Dell. Even then it started to lockup...Now I didnt test those with memtest. The problem is that the P35-DS3L Mobo only supports 1066/800/667 Ram and nothing below. I have seen people who have run 533 and lower ram with their P35-DS3L Motherboards fine while others have issues with the older memory. Alas I have tried installing with just the bare minimum of memory installed, turned off all onboard sound & lan in the bios. Also I took out the only non essential part which was my PCI TV Tuner Card. Even then it still locked up. I checked the temps for the machine and they are in the proper range. I guess Ill just have to install the new ram and go from there. If it works then I know its a ram issue. If it doesnt them Im guessing I have to return the MOBO and get a replacement. Do you think its a memory issue? Im leaning towards it being that. But one last thing. Memtest86 did work. My memory was working fine in my old Dell. Do motherboards sometimes see memory fine but cannot properly use it?
The DDR2-533 (266MHz) RAM is definitely not a good match for your 1333MHz FSB (333MHz) CPU. The very least you should have is DDR2-667 (333MHz). And if you ever plan on overclocking, you should be getting DDR2-800 or better.
Your PSU is not a good one, in fact, it's a cheap piece of crap. You spent all that money on a decent motherboard, CPU & video card & then connect it up to a $25 PSU??
Well the PSU. A few people told me it was good for the price. I hope they are right. Ill look into getting a decent PSU. As for the install. I currently installed the new ram. Kingston 667 2GB(2 chips) in the machine and Im currently installing Windows XP. I hope the install goes as planned and doesnt lock up. Ill let you know what happens. So far its at 34 minutes and still going but alas last time it got to 14 minutes and locked up so who knows. I hope it goes through 100%. If it does Ill be a happy camper
EDIT: Im a gamer. But Im not a huge PC gamer like I used to be so I really am not looking right now to overclock the system. I have an Xbox 360. I mainly use my computer for graphical work and for creating my music you know. With the odd PC game here and there but alas Ill take your word on the PSU and pick up a better one a few weeks. Im kinda strapped for cash after this. I basically used up two paychecks for this machine right now. Thanks for the help....And The Install is going pretty good....aah damn. Went through. Restarted and I got a Stop 0x0000007B Error. I gotta look that up now :(!
briank: How are your SATA hard drives configured in the BIOS ? Do you have the SATA mode set to IDE, RAID(I don't think your board supports RAID), or AHCI ?
Well I have AHCI disabled in the bios. I do not use it. I have been getting alot of errors with the first hard drive I have. Its an old SATA Seagate. 80GB. I mean even before this I was getting BSOD on it and I had to repeatedly use chkdsk with it. The hard drive itself is on its last leg anyways. its dying a slow painful death which sucks. I took it out of the machine and Im now about to install Windows XP on my 200GB SATA drive I have :)!
"Well the PSU. A few people told me it was good for the price. I hope they are right. Ill look into getting a decent PSU". look at the link jam posted. you have 16a on 1 12v rail & 18a on the other. You do realize they are not combined. I no expert on graphics cards but I'll bet that doesn't meet the minimum required amperage.
To add to the above...with a split rail design, the +12v1 is strictly for the CPU, the +12v2 is for the rest of the system. As larry pointed out, they are NOT combined.
The Corsair PSU that I linked to has a single +12v rail of 41A. This will explain:
Well I have installed windows BUT now the machine only works for a few minutes then I get artifacts/garbled screen and then I get a BSOD with the error 0x0000008E. My EVGA Nvidia 8800GT is my GFX card and its causing the issue. Is the card defective? Its did it even outside of windows. nv4_mini.sys also appears during the BSOD!
So what your saying basically is I should return this CRAP PSU and get a fairly decent one. I do not want to spend more then $70 bucks on one. I really do not. I managed to get the PC running for a good hour or so before I shut it down to go to bed. I had the GFX fan running at full speed and underclocked it since the 8800GT is known to be overclocked by nvidia. Now Ill definately get a new PSU. Most definately. I bought everything I needed and then skimped on the PSU. I didnt at the time have enough cash to purchase a proper PSU. So I got one that from what I read looked and worked good. Obviously it doesn't work that well. Thanks for the info. Ill definately get a new one. Any recommendations other then that $90 one? Any good brands? Im not great with knowing whats a good PSU brand. This is my first actual personal build of a PC. So yeah. Thanks again!
Just wanted to let you all know I fixed the issue. It was two things. I had the wrong memory installed the first time(PC4200 Ram from an old machine), and a crappy tier 5 Power Supply. Thanks to Jam I got the machine running properly. Still have the Power Supply installed but I ordered a Corsair 650TX power supply from newegg. Should have it tomorrow. Will install it and RMA the POS PSU for a refund. Thanks to everyone who has helped me get my new build to work. Much love :D!
Well I'd like to thank everyone who has helped with the issue. Especially Jam. I replaced the PSU with a Corsair 650TX. I bought a new Hard drive. Western Digital 500GB Sata. I ghosted the old hard drives data to the new Hard drive and got rid of the old one(It was dying). Everything now is up and running perfectly fine. I tested all the components and they work great. I thank all of you for the help. Without I probably would have not gotten far!
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