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8T8 · 27-09-2006, 17:25

Oh boy

Read this it focuses on DDR not DDR2 but the principles are the same.

Okay how to put this easily, basically the RAM module is programmed with certain timings to operate at.

The bios reads the SPD of the RAM module which contains the timings so it knows at what settings to run the RAM at when plugged into the motherboard and ensure stable operation.

In some rare instances due to bios bugs or mixing/matching different brands of RAM you can encounter issues, sometimes these can be eleviated by increasing the timings of the RAM e.g. default
CAS latency = 5 (try changing to 6)

So with that in mind if Memtest+ finds nothing wrong with the RAM, then go into the bios change the control of the RAM timings from Auto/SPD to manual and start increasing the timings and see if anything improves, simple

Ginger · 27-09-2006, 17:35

I wholeheartedly endorse this service or product!

If your memory timings are too agressive it could be throwing the whole thing out altogether!

**ScumLord** · 28-09-2006, 10:17

8T8 I owe you a pint shaft, your a fuppen ledged so ya are!

Ran memtest and it went up to 500000 errors. I had gotten a load of guides on memory timings but I threw caution to the wind and just started changing settings. The only way of changing it was throught the "system memory multiplyer", it was set at 800mhz so I tried most of them and it started running perfectly at 888mhz.

Ran Fear first, couldn't run it with all setting maxed out but most setting where at least at medium.

It's not perfect yet one hardrive and the cd rom I installed from are missing but I should be able to get those up and running.

Thanks for all the help lads!

8T8 · 28-09-2006, 11:42

Thats what I suspected but..

If your getting errors registered in the RAM with memtest+ it is a strong possibility the RAM is defective and you wont have stable operation until it is replaced.

Your Crucial BallistiX RAM is specified to run at DDR-2 800 but is running at 888Mhz so you are overclocking your RAM as this is DDR. You see everything is double clocked so DDR-2 800 = 400Mhz so 888Mhz is 444Mhz.

Why it would be stable at 888Mhz instead of 800Mhz is a bit of mystery and doesn't sound right.

Try running the RAM at DDR-2 533 speeds by setting the system memory multiplier to 3.00 under the 533Mhz section (I'm working off the manual here so that may not be exact).

Also while in the bios if you press the Ctrl+F1 keys it will reveal the hidden settings in the bios which Gigabyte hide these include the RAM timings.

**ScumLord** · 28-09-2006, 14:06

Ok heres a pic of me Bios.

The SMM was originaly set to 2.66 I think, I tried 2.5 but that stalled the PC during Memtest, then I tried 4 but the PC wouldn't even post, then I tried 3.33 and it worked! 3 and 2 are the only ones I didn't try.

The problem is everything is on Auto so I don't know what the current values are.

I'm going to go to Eason this evening to get PCFormat or something like it, they should have some of that bench marking software. I also have PCdoctor. I'm guessing that at this stage it's going to be a matter of trial and error??? At least I have a working PC now.

Changing these setting won't blow up the PC will it. I've already had one of my builds go on fire.

It was only a little fire though and it still worked.

8T8 · 28-09-2006, 21:50

No wont set it on fire as long as you leave the voltage controls alone

Run CPU-Z and take a screenshot of the CPU, memory and SPD tab (in the SPD tab you must select the bank the RAM is in to see the timings programmed into it)

That should tell us what exactly the system is running at.

Do you get a clean pass with memtest with the system running at DDR-2 888 ?

**ScumLord** · 29-09-2006, 14:15

No, not yet I've been to busy loading games on it to see what they look like.

I'll have a chance to sit down with it tomorrow and and Sunday to spend the day mucking about.

Opened up the performence tab in task manager and it actually had two CPUs in it doing different stuff.

8T8 · 29-09-2006, 16:06

Oh yeah in regards FEAR make sure you disable v-sync and soft shadows both hurt performance in that game (& soft shadows aren't worth the penalty they incur)

**ScumLord** · 02-10-2006, 12:28

I forgot to take that CPU-Z home with me on Friday but I ran Pcdoc and memtest and it passed with flying colours.

The only problem with it now is the 2nd Hard drive and 2nd Dvd rom won't show up in XP. The hard drive shows up during boot up and I've even installed Windows Vista on it but there's no sign of it at all in XP, It's not even in disk management.

I tried searching for new hardware and it found the dvd and it loaded but when I restarted it was gone.

8T8 · 02-10-2006, 13:05

So there is no sign of the drive even as an unformatted volume in disk management ?

Have you only got one DVD drive or more than one either way try setting the drive(s) to cable select, then in the disk management make sure the drive letters are ones that will not conflict e.g. try setting them as x, y or z.

Try removing the IDE controller from the device manager to which the DVD drive is attached same goes for the HD and see what happens when Windows re-detects it.

**ScumLord** · 02-10-2006, 15:00

Yup the disk don't show up at all.

It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that theres only supposed to be 2 IDE thingies with two things on each thingie (sorry my brains mush today, long weekend)? In effect I'd have 3 thingies because each sata drive is a seperate thingie isn't it?

I'll try deleting the IDE controller and see what that does.

8T8 · 02-10-2006, 16:32

A real IDE controller allows two devices per channel hence the reason for setting one as master and the other as slave.

The SATA controllers are not "real" IDE controllers they emulate one so the bios treats it essentially as a single channel IDE controller with the HD as the master.

But none of that should affect the drives showing up in the drive manager.

Thinking on the DVD drive issue double check the master/slave settings that they aren't wrong as it sounds like that problem when they are set incorrectly the machine boots but you get all sorts of weirdness with the other drive not showing.

Try swapping the jumpers around with the second DVD drive as the master and the first drive as the slave.

Snake Plisken · 02-10-2006, 21:00

think i had a similar problem on my Abit board, think its as your emulating IDE on SATA, it overwrites the native IDE controller on your MB, think your going to have to mess around a bit, maybe even install the SATA controllers on an XP reinstall and then you system should see the Optical and missing harddrive.

Snake

**ScumLord** · 03-10-2006, 11:53

Tis working! Deleted the Gigabyte controller restarted and everything was working fine. Well that's it now she's up and running I can start copying all me booty over from my old PC now.

Man that gigabyte board was a bit of a hassle I wonder are these problem common or did the board just not like the look of me.

Cheers for the help lads

8T8 · 03-10-2006, 13:57

I've used a fair few Gigabyte boards over the years and never really had any trouble from them though I have heard complaints from various quarters that in general the Intel 965 chipset was rushed out the door and certain issues are not contained to just one brand.

But at least you are up & running now

BTW you did after installing Windows install the Intel chipset drivers ?

27-09-2006, 17:25	#16
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	Oh boy Read this it focuses on DDR not DDR2 but the principles are the same. Okay how to put this easily, basically the RAM module is programmed with certain timings to operate at. The bios reads the SPD of the RAM module which contains the timings so it knows at what settings to run the RAM at when plugged into the motherboard and ensure stable operation. In some rare instances due to bios bugs or mixing/matching different brands of RAM you can encounter issues, sometimes these can be eleviated by increasing the timings of the RAM e.g. default CAS latency = 5 (try changing to 6) So with that in mind if Memtest+ finds nothing wrong with the RAM, then go into the bios change the control of the RAM timings from Auto/SPD to manual and start increasing the timings and see if anything improves, simple Last edited by 8T8; 27-09-2006 at 19:15.

29-09-2006, 14:15	#22
ScumLord Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: T�r n� Marachuan Posts: 18,186 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Zombie Survival	No, not yet I've been to busy loading games on it to see what they look like. I'll have a chance to sit down with it tomorrow and and Sunday to spend the day mucking about. Opened up the performence tab in task manager and it actually had two CPUs in it doing different stuff. Last edited by ScumLord; 29-09-2006 at 15:02.

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27-09-2006, 17:35	#17
Ginger Registered User Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Stavanger, Norway Posts: 2,821 Adverts \| Friends	I wholeheartedly endorse this service or product! If your memory timings are too agressive it could be throwing the whole thing out altogether!

28-09-2006, 10:17	#18
ScumLord Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: T�r n� Marachuan Posts: 18,186 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Zombie Survival	8T8 I owe you a pint shaft, your a fuppen ledged so ya are! Ran memtest and it went up to 500000 errors. I had gotten a load of guides on memory timings but I threw caution to the wind and just started changing settings. The only way of changing it was throught the "system memory multiplyer", it was set at 800mhz so I tried most of them and it started running perfectly at 888mhz. Ran Fear first, couldn't run it with all setting maxed out but most setting where at least at medium. It's not perfect yet one hardrive and the cd rom I installed from are missing but I should be able to get those up and running. Thanks for all the help lads!

28-09-2006, 11:42	#19
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	Thats what I suspected but.. If your getting errors registered in the RAM with memtest+ it is a strong possibility the RAM is defective and you wont have stable operation until it is replaced. Your Crucial BallistiX RAM is specified to run at DDR-2 800 but is running at 888Mhz so you are overclocking your RAM as this is DDR. You see everything is double clocked so DDR-2 800 = 400Mhz so 888Mhz is 444Mhz. Why it would be stable at 888Mhz instead of 800Mhz is a bit of mystery and doesn't sound right. Try running the RAM at DDR-2 533 speeds by setting the system memory multiplier to 3.00 under the 533Mhz section (I'm working off the manual here so that may not be exact). Also while in the bios if you press the Ctrl+F1 keys it will reveal the hidden settings in the bios which Gigabyte hide these include the RAM timings.

28-09-2006, 14:06	#20
ScumLord Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: T�r n� Marachuan Posts: 18,186 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Zombie Survival	Ok heres a pic of me Bios. The SMM was originaly set to 2.66 I think, I tried 2.5 but that stalled the PC during Memtest, then I tried 4 but the PC wouldn't even post, then I tried 3.33 and it worked! 3 and 2 are the only ones I didn't try. The problem is everything is on Auto so I don't know what the current values are. I'm going to go to Eason this evening to get PCFormat or something like it, they should have some of that bench marking software. I also have PCdoctor. I'm guessing that at this stage it's going to be a matter of trial and error??? At least I have a working PC now. Changing these setting won't blow up the PC will it. I've already had one of my builds go on fire. It was only a little fire though and it still worked.

28-09-2006, 21:50	#21
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	No wont set it on fire as long as you leave the voltage controls alone Run CPU-Z and take a screenshot of the CPU, memory and SPD tab (in the SPD tab you must select the bank the RAM is in to see the timings programmed into it) That should tell us what exactly the system is running at. Do you get a clean pass with memtest with the system running at DDR-2 888 ?

29-09-2006, 16:06	#23
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	Oh yeah in regards FEAR make sure you disable v-sync and soft shadows both hurt performance in that game (& soft shadows aren't worth the penalty they incur)

02-10-2006, 12:28	#24
ScumLord Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: T�r n� Marachuan Posts: 18,186 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Zombie Survival	I forgot to take that CPU-Z home with me on Friday but I ran Pcdoc and memtest and it passed with flying colours. The only problem with it now is the 2nd Hard drive and 2nd Dvd rom won't show up in XP. The hard drive shows up during boot up and I've even installed Windows Vista on it but there's no sign of it at all in XP, It's not even in disk management. I tried searching for new hardware and it found the dvd and it loaded but when I restarted it was gone.

02-10-2006, 13:05	#25
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	So there is no sign of the drive even as an unformatted volume in disk management ? Have you only got one DVD drive or more than one either way try setting the drive(s) to cable select, then in the disk management make sure the drive letters are ones that will not conflict e.g. try setting them as x, y or z. Try removing the IDE controller from the device manager to which the DVD drive is attached same goes for the HD and see what happens when Windows re-detects it.

02-10-2006, 15:00	#26
ScumLord Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: T�r n� Marachuan Posts: 18,186 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Zombie Survival	Yup the disk don't show up at all. It wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that theres only supposed to be 2 IDE thingies with two things on each thingie (sorry my brains mush today, long weekend)? In effect I'd have 3 thingies because each sata drive is a seperate thingie isn't it? I'll try deleting the IDE controller and see what that does.

02-10-2006, 16:32	#27
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	A real IDE controller allows two devices per channel hence the reason for setting one as master and the other as slave. The SATA controllers are not "real" IDE controllers they emulate one so the bios treats it essentially as a single channel IDE controller with the HD as the master. But none of that should affect the drives showing up in the drive manager. Thinking on the DVD drive issue double check the master/slave settings that they aren't wrong as it sounds like that problem when they are set incorrectly the machine boots but you get all sorts of weirdness with the other drive not showing. Try swapping the jumpers around with the second DVD drive as the master and the first drive as the slave.

02-10-2006, 21:00	#28
Snake Plisken Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,329 Adverts \| Friends	think i had a similar problem on my Abit board, think its as your emulating IDE on SATA, it overwrites the native IDE controller on your MB, think your going to have to mess around a bit, maybe even install the SATA controllers on an XP reinstall and then you system should see the Optical and missing harddrive. Snake

03-10-2006, 11:53	#29
ScumLord Moderator Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: T�r n� Marachuan Posts: 18,186 Adverts \| Friends Mod: Zombie Survival	Tis working! Deleted the Gigabyte controller restarted and everything was working fine. Well that's it now she's up and running I can start copying all me booty over from my old PC now. Man that gigabyte board was a bit of a hassle I wonder are these problem common or did the board just not like the look of me. Cheers for the help lads

03-10-2006, 13:57	#30
8T8 Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 4,743 Adverts \| Friends	I've used a fair few Gigabyte boards over the years and never really had any trouble from them though I have heard complaints from various quarters that in general the Intel 965 chipset was rushed out the door and certain issues are not contained to just one brand. But at least you are up & running now BTW you did after installing Windows install the Intel chipset drivers ?