Hardware failing-one or more devices???

[smarteyeball]

Thanks Chappy, but the situation has changed somewhat

Here's a bit of an update:

I went and bought a THERMALTAKE Toughpower Q Fan 650w. Got it home and realised that It was a 20+4 pin and did not fit my 20pin Motherboard. That was enough to make me snap, through logic out the window and go back to the shop....

After spending a considerable amount of money (that I couldn't really afford ) I have basically ended up with an entire new system. But not any new HDD'ss :D

I ended up buying :

Asus P5Q PRO

Asus EAH4850 512MB (Not top of the range of course, but I didn't want to spend any money originally The other odd thing is that i've always been an Nvidia person :huh:

Q9550

4GB Kingston 1066 RAM

After spending all that dough, the guy in the shop said "We'll put your system together for $70". That's when MR. Clever CLogs suddenly became a tight arse....

Long story short - The Flapping thing won't even POST! I get no video, no beeps unless I remove the RAM and then it beeps. It's entirely possible "dumbassball" has fried his shiny new motherboard

As much as i hate to wuss out, logic (that belatedly returned) tells me to take the PC in, pay the $70 and whatever it's going to cost for parts replacements. Plus i'll get a new HDD for the hell of it. I just hope to hell and I haven't damaged the Q9550

It hasn't been a lucky week

 

[KrossX]

Well, they could've given you defective RAM just to make you come back and spend the $70 bucks plus lots lots and lots of extras.

BUT! No matter what, you should have warranty!

 

[NormCameron]

Thanks Chappy, but the situation has changed somewhat

Here's a bit of an update:

I went and bought a THERMALTAKE Toughpower Q Fan 650w. Got it home and realised that It was a 20+4 pin and did not fit my 20pin Motherboard. That was enough to make me snap, through logic out the window and go back to the shop....

After spending a considerable amount of money (that I couldn't really afford ) I have basically ended up with an entire new system. But not any new HDD'ss :D

I ended up buying :

Asus P5Q PRO

Asus EAH4850 512MB (Not top of the range of course, but I didn't want to spend any money originally The other odd thing is that i've always been an Nvidia person :huh:

Q9550

4GB Kingston 1066 RAM

After spending all that dough, the guy in the shop said "We'll put your system together for $70". That's when MR. Clever CLogs suddenly became a tight arse....

Long story short - The Flapping thing won't even POST! I get no video, no beeps unless I remove the RAM and then it beeps. It's entirely possible "dumbassball" has fried his shiny new motherboard

As much as i hate to wuss out, logic (that belatedly returned) tells me to take the PC in, pay the $70 and whatever it's going to cost for parts replacements. Plus i'll get a new HDD for the hell of it. I just hope to hell and I haven't damaged the Q9550

It hasn't been a lucky week

BRAINSNAP! But, at least you're getting a new system:D

 

[smarteyeball]

But, at least you're getting a new system:D

And I'm paying for it too... D Although it will be worth it in the end. I guess that i7 system will be put on hold for quite a bit longer

The RAM itself was brand new and boxed so they didn't intentionally sell me dodgy stuff.

The fact that the screen failed to come out of power saver is what worried me the most. I'm just of to the shop with my tail between my legs. This is going to be embarrassing

One thing is now certain to me though, I am no good with fiddly bits. Cards, RAM, drives etc = no worries. Everything else.... Hardware is just not my forte

 

[smarteyeball]

Honor, Ego and Masculinity has been restored!!

It turns out that not only had the PC been put together correctly, I'd done a pretty job of it too :D

The failing to post was caused by RAM. It wasn't faulty, just incompatible. So I swapped it for a lower clocked Transcend 4GB kit and it worked. The bonus here was that by going with cheaper RAM, I only had to spend $16 to pick up a new Samsung 640GB HDD (I've never tried Samsung, so it will be interesting to see how it performs. TBH, at that stage I couldn't give a sh*t anymore )


After seeing it post at the shop, I raced on home to finish the build. So I added the HDD and DVD, fired it up... and the flapping screen wouldn't turn on

So after a fair amount of swearing, I disconnected the HDD and DVD and it still wasn't POSTING correctly. So after a bit more swearing, a different monitor, plus a few other things I removed the 2nd 2GB stick. Bingo! it POSTED correctly.

So now in goes the Vista Ultimate x64 disc and as at the time of this post, it's been stuck at the 'completing installation' section for over an hour....

At least there is progress. When this is all set up, I'm going to have a good laugh. But that is then. This now......

The really funny thing is that I still don't if my (now old) HDD is failing. It's been an exspensive way to troubleshoot :D

 

[NormCameron]

But think of the great advice you can give!

​

 

[smarteyeball]

LMAO!!! I like it! :D hmmm, new Avatar Perhaps

There really is nothing like delving in the deep end to gain knowledge and experience

I'm currently 'eyeballing' the parts from my old PC and thinking. Hmmm. hello new seedbox

PS I currently gave up on the Vista install and went straight for the beta. Still only have the 2GB installed, but she's running like a dream

 

[mansrm81]

Yeah sound like a good idea I'm also thinking about that too. 7 rocks doesn't it.

 

[smarteyeball]

Yeah sound like a good idea I'm also thinking about that too. 7 rocks doesn't it.

I must be infectious. Causing a bit of upgrad-itis :D I'm starting to understand the 'glow' people have after sucessfully building thier own system. I'm still ecstatic that I didn't fry anything

I still can't believe how damn quickly 7 reboots and is at a usable desktop That aspect alone doesn't just rock, it Flapping Rocks!


BTW, Thanks to everyone for their input I always appreciate other peoples time and effort

If nothing else, I hope my week has given a few readers a bit of a giggle :P


EDIT:

BOOYA! Got Vista x64 to install without a hitch

 

[smarteyeball]

Failing HDD update:

I worked out which drive was failing because it just died and crashed my PC (one of the maxtors). It had to happen during the middle of installing Windows updates didn't it? Not to mention all that data I hadn't got around to transfering to the new drive

I'm going to be clever and try the other maxtor and see if I can't repeat the performance

aye currumba. Talk about sh*ts and giggles

 

[NormCameron]

You are one smart smartyeyeball you are. What a clever way to get a new computer system. I'm gonna try that one on "She who pays the Bills"

"Well it wasn't my fault. How could I possibly know my problem was a faulty hard drive. I followed ALL the correct troubleshooting procedures by replacing every possible part EXCEPT the actual faulty one. And that PROVED it was the hard drive, had to be, didn't it?"

​

 

[smarteyeball]

LOL I like that pic even better

As I said back in my original post, I was itching to upgrade and this failing HDD was the "subconsciouss rationale push" I needed. I did have semi-good intentions with the new power supply, but I just knew that I wouldn't have been happy when the best thing in my PC was a PSU......

I'm also very lucky that I have a very tolerant partner. She doesn't even bat an eyelid now...

I've also never ever been accused of doing things the easy way :D


I really am seeing the funny side now. I'll do anything to amsue myself

 

[mansrm81]

Now that should be your profile pic

 

[Chappy]

Hey Smarty!

Wow...what a week eh..

The only thing I have to ask now is are you able to get that full 4G's of RAM working yet?
When you first posted about it not booting like it was, if I were here and read that I would have immediately told you it was probably incompatible RAM for that MB, h'ware is my forte
There's no reason that all your RAM should not work, if you have 4 slots and only 2 x 2G sticks, make sure they are both in the same channel slots since it's most likely dual channel RAM. That means if one stick is in the 1st slot (nearest the CPU), then the second stick should be in the 3rd slot and not just the next slot beside the 1st stick...try that. Most boards are color coded slots per channel and Asus usually are coded this way so make sure the sticks are in the same colored slots.
Also, in many Asus boards you have to set the Remap Memory value in the BIOS on 64bit systems. If I remember correctly it's in the Northbridge setup section, I'll boot to BIOS and post the exact location in a little while for you. This setting just remaps any overlapped graphics memory allowing the system to see and use the full 4G's correctly, but shouldn't have caused the original issue of not booting with 4G's.

 

[smarteyeball]

Hey Smarty!

Wow...what a week eh..

The only thing I have to ask now is are you able to get that full 4G's of RAM working yet?

You can say that again mate

I'm still only running on 2G at the moment. As soon as I put the 2nd stick in the dual channel slot (3rd yellow) that's when it fails to post. I've swapped the sticks over and they work, so the RAM is good.

From the quick searches in between software installations /updates etc I've been reading that this P5Q PRO can be very finicky indeed. I had a look in the BIOS at all the options and it felt like I was reading an alien language I've never had a board with so many options!

As you suggested, some Northbridge settings will have to be changed. I'll also flash the BIOS to a later version too. In this area, I'm more than happy to defer to h'ware experts like yourself while I've still got my training wheels on

Others have also reprted that with this board, altering RAM voltage settings is enough to bring it to life as well as changing timings (?)

When the bloke in the shop first got it to post (and to make me smile) I honestly can't remember if he had just the one stick in, or two.


Give it a little while though and I'll be throwing my hat into the ring with confidence about h'ware too. Although I'm a bit of a ways off there ATM

 

[smarteyeball]

Now that should be your profile pic

You'll see it on the sevenforums

 

[smarteyeball]

Success! I was just about to flash /upgrade the BIOS when I decided to reset to factory defaults and do one last quick check. It worked! It looks like the bloke at the shop changed a setting without re-booting to test it

Sweet

EDIT:

Oh bloody hell. Now Vista is unstable. It keeps bloody freezing

This rig is making me work for it

 

[NormCameron]

Seems like it's either memory or HDD, both can cause freezing. If they are new HDD check the cables. Did you check on ASUS to see the RAM was compatible (Telling you how to suck eggs I know.

 

[smarteyeball]

Yep all cables are secure.

It's definitely the memory. It was very stable with only 2GB. As soon I added the extra 2GB (and got it to POST, that in itself was a small victory ) it became unstable.

Initially it froze after a few minutes at the desktop, then it froze at the loading bar. It seemed stable in safe mode however.

Now I'm currently in the beta and so far it seems fine. The x86 version even detects and appears to use the whole 4GB. It even boosted my WEI score from 5.4 to 6.0

Needless to say, Google has been getting a workout So has my brain

I don't know yet if this makes a difference, but I did fully Update x64 (Sp1 etc) BEFORE I installed the extra stick.

(Nothing wrong with being told how to suck eggs, some times you forget the one still stuck in the chooks bum

 

[NormCameron]

Yep all cables are secure.

It's definitely the memory. It was very stable with only 2GB. As soon I added the extra 2GB (and got it to POST, that in itself was a small victory ) it became unstable.

Initially it froze after a few minutes at the desktop, then it froze at the loading bar. It seemed stable in safe mode however.

Now I'm currently in the beta and so far it seems fine. The x86 version even detects and appears to use the whole 4GB. It even boosted my WEI score from 5.4 to 6.0

Needless to say, Google has been getting a workout So has my brain

I don't know yet if this makes a difference, but I did fully Update x64 (Sp1 etc) BEFORE I installed the extra stick.

(Nothing wrong with being told how to suck eggs, some times you forget the one still stuck in the chooks bum

Did you install with just the one stick? I don't know the reason why, but the smart guys here will tell you thats what you do!