Wondering if anyone can help? I have recently been building my first computer from scratch, and have got it up and running to the point at startup where I get the 'verifying dmi pool data' message. The computer then comes up with the 'disk boot failure' message. After much head scratching and tinkering I succumbed and took it into my local computer shop, they had a look and said it was a RAM problem, and managed to get xp loaded and running onto my harddrive with a stick they had. I was happy that the problem was diagnosed, found that they were using standard Samsung RAM and promptly went out and purchased some more memory, it has arrived in the last couple of days but the problem persists! I have also tried another stick from my sisters computer that fails to work in mine (all 3 of the ones that fail to work on my mobo work fine on hers). I was wondering if there is 1)something simple I am doing wrong 2)If anyone else has had these problems and 3)does anyone know of RAM that is compatible with this mobo?

Cheers,

James

Are you lining up all the notches correctly and making sure both sides are secure?

How mant sticks of ram are you putting in. Some board require at least 2 pairs of ram to be installed at a time due to it being an all dual channel motherboard.

Yeah Im pretty sure that the ram's in properly as it recognizes it, I have even run memtest for a few hours without an error coming up, I will try using 2 sticks together in dual channel though.
cheers

The default RAM timings in the BIOS may be too agressive. Try backing off one of more settings.

What tweaks would you suggest? while I have messed around with computers for a while, this is my first build and I am not as familiar as I probably should be with the option laden DFI BIOS.

Well, I am not to familiar with that BIOS either. DFI has a reputation of being an entheusiasts board. IMO that means the defaults are pushing the standards to squeeze out a little more performance from default settings. Look at the factory specs for the RAM you have and set no more aggresively than that.
Let me give you an example, albeit the opposite. I just built 2 sytems using Winfast boards based on AMD64 939 w/ 430 chipsets. This board is advertised as a business platform.
I used PC3200 CL3 RAM in both. Booting up with RAM settings on Auto the boards set the RAM as DDR333 instead of DDR400. I assume that was done for a more stable platform. I used manual settings and reset to 400 and both are stable.
You could even go a step further and underclock the RAM temporarily to see if RAM is the issue.
There may be other underlying causes of your current issues.
Your original post indicated a disk boot failure. This means the BIOS couldn't find a bootable device. The only bootable device in your system would be the CD drive with the WinXP disk.
Check the BIOS settings to make sure the boot order is set for CD before harddrive, the Controllers for any and all drives installed are Enabled.
I ALWAYS clear the CMOS using the onbaord jumper and upon first boot I immediately enter the BIOS screens and adjust all values there. Be sure the jumper is in the RUN position. Don't assume it is right. When clearing power to the MBoard MUST be off.
If the POST doesn't progess past the verifying message you may have drive jumpers set wrong. If that isn't the case there is a setting in the BIOS called RESET configuration data. You can enable that setting for one boot cycle only.

Check out

http://www.diy-street.com/forum/ind...

The UT NF4 SLI-D is definitely an enthusiasts board. Do you have any intentions to overclock? If so, the Winchester was a poor choice. You would have been better off with a Venice or San Diego...or even a dual-core X2. If not, you're OK.

DFI boards are known to be finicky about RAM but the "DISK BOOT FAILURE" message probably is NOT due to a RAM issue. The fact that you're able to run memtest for hours (presumably from the BIOS?) pretty much confirms that the RAM is good. It's more likely that the error message is caused by an incorrect BIOS setting regarding boot devices or a problem with cables/jumper configuration on your HDD & optical drives. Are you using IDE or SATA HDDs? RAID configuration or not? If you're not using it, disable it in the BIOS.

Ive cleared the CMOS, turned the default RAM timings down a bit and aM still having the same issues, I did run Memtest from the bios, the odd thing is the place I took this into got it to work with a stick of ram, all the stuff I have used is unbranded, apart from one Samsung stick, could it simply be the problem of cheap RAM?

As I said, I doubt it's a RAM problem.

Explain again exactly what is happening when you try to boot the system.

"Your original post indicated a disk boot failure. This means the BIOS couldn't find a bootable device. The only bootable device in your system would be the CD drive with the WinXP disk.
Check the BIOS settings to make sure the boot order is set for CD before harddrive, the Controllers for any and all drives installed are Enabled."

The boot order was ok. As I say the Hard Drive I am using has a known good copy of XP on it installed for this system, when I try to boot from a cd first the system just hangs after you choose 'press any key to boot from cd'.

However, I have another Harddrive that is blank, which I have tried to install xp on with the same problem until I change my cdrom drive from a new dvdrom to an old cdrom drive I have as a spare, this allows me to start the process of loading windows but always at some point crashes to the BSOD durign installation.

Very confusing,
Thanks for everyones help.

Go to the DFI site and look for a RAM compatibility chart. That would be a list of RAM that has been tested on that series board and known to work.
What is the model# and specs of your PSU?

As was mentioned, this is an enthusiast's board...it's designed for performance & overclocking. The DFI site doesn't provide a list of "normal RAM", it has a list of RAM to use when overclocking. And the list hasn't been updated in a LONG time:

http://www.dfi.com.tw/Product/xx_pr...

Have you considered a BIOS update?

http://www.dfi.com.tw/Support/Downl...

Yeah, I am tempted to go out and buy some RAM DFI have tested and is known to work on this board, its just frustrating that replacing the RAM several times so far has failed to work.

My PSU is a Zalman 400w ZM400B-APS, it is only ATX 20 though, so I have a connector to switch it to an ATX 24 for the motherboard and also an adapter for my graphics card (ATI X850 GTO2).

"its just frustrating that replacing the RAM several times so far has failed to work"

It could be that RAM isn't the problem. You're so focused on it that you're not considering other possibilities...such as an inadequate power supply, improper BIOS settings, improperly configured IDE devices, etc.

http://www.cooltechzone.com/reviews...

In fairness, I was only saying that in response to a post that suggested I tried DFI tested RAM. I have been messing around with various settings for some time now but to no avail, I have changed the boot order, checked the jumper settings and have changed various BIOS settings. It seemed to me that the RAM was the problem as a computer shop said this, though having tried different sticks in various combinations the problem is probably elsewhere.

Post ALL your other hardware. Be specific on size and type. Also, how the drives are jumpered and connected.

Yeah, you really haven't given us very much to go on. To be honest, I think you're in way over your head.

1st of all (& this has been said more than once), you bought an enthusiast's board. The UT NF4 SLI-D is one of the hottest boards of it's kind, but setting it up is somewhat difficult, even for experienced builders.

2nd, you bought a weak CPU. I don't know why you would buy such a hot board, then get an A64 3000+ Winchester to go with it?

3rd, you PSU is inadequate. It only has a total of 18A on the +12v rail, plus it doesn't have the required 24-pin main plug...therefore you're forced to use adapters.

4th, you never once told us whether you're running IDE or SATA HDDs even though you've been asked, nor have you explained your HDD/optical drive configuration (i.e., primary master, primary slave, 2ndary master, 2ndary slave).

5th, you make statements such as "The boot order was ok", then don't explain what it is. Generally it should be floppy, CD-ROM, HDD, but you never stated that that's the case. Also, you've never stated whether your devices are being recognized correctly in the BIOS.

6th, you never explained your BIOS configuration. If you just clicked "load defaults", that could be at least part of your problem. A board such is this is designed to be manaully configured...default settings are never 100% correct.

I could continue the list but I think you get the idea of where I'm going with this.

Take a deep breath & start from the beginning. Post your system specs in detail, as was asked by OtheHill. The more info you give us the better. If we have to constantly ask YOU questions, this thread will creep on & on until people get frustrated & just stop trying to help.