dexter72209

If any of you are more tech savy than myself I'm up(begging actually) for suggestions, here is what is happening and why I have almost pulled out what little hair I have left . First off here are my system specs:

Intel q6600 Core 2 Quad
8GB G Skill Pi Black DDR2 800 RAM (PC 6400 )
Asus P5N-D Motherboard
700W Rocketfish PSU
Nvidia 9800 GTX+ 1GB Factory OC
1TB ST31000340AS Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 HDD
Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit OS SP1

Here is what has been going on, the P5N-D mobo is new to this machine, so I install it Monday afternoon, (flash the newest BIOS,move the jumpers on the mobo and clear the CMOS), format the hard drive and take off, Windows installs no problem, reboot, I install the drivers for my motherboard/chipset, reboot, no problems. Next I move on to the GPU drivers since windows is only recognizing it as an 8MB generic VGA adapter at this point, as soon as I go to reboot after the GPU drivers install the system slows down and I either get just a black screen after the Windows bar scrolls af few times or sometimes I even make it to the Welcome screen before it locks up and eventually BSOD's with a Windows error, but it is recognizing the GPU at this point b/c the resolution is much higher b/c instead of giant fonts, everything is back to like it was before this madness. I can then boot from my CD, restore Windows to before I installed the driver for the GPU and it boots and everything is back to resolutions like my grandfather would like so he could see. Here is a list of things I have done and already tried so I dont waste anyones time:

1. I have tried using some older nVidia drivers after scrubbing the new one off.

2. I ran a Windows mem test with no errors.

3. I put Artic Silver on the CPU before installing my Freezer Pro 7

4. Tried using Windows repair from the CD and it tells me some nonsense about a camera etc.. being installed on the system?? (There is none)

5. Popped the card in my old set up to make sure it didnt flake out.

6. Checked my BIOS settings over and over

7. Bumped the RAM manually to the optimal levels- 1.8-1.9v per manufacturer

8. Disabled my 12-1 Media reader on the case since it is reconized as a USB device.

ericeod

Have you installed the NVIDIA chipset drivers?

Have you added some voltage to the ram to compensate for running 4 memory modules?

Have you bumped the SPP (or Northbridge as it is called in the ASUS bios) to compensate the memory controller for 4 memory modules?

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eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z

dexter72209

Yes, I downloaded the latest chipset driver from Nvidia for the 750i.

I did bump the voltage to 1.9 on the DRAM, I was running all of the same hardware/software on my P5N-E with no glitches for about the last year or so.

No, I have not messed with the NB at this point.

ericeod

The default NB voltage should be 1.25v, so try bumping it to 1.30v and see if that helps.

__________________
eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z

dexter72209

Ok, I will try that when I get home, I'm assuming that it could be messing up only after I install the GPU driver due to bottlenecking perhaps?

ericeod

It could be that the memory is unstable due to the memory controller integrated into the NB not getting enough voltage to manage 4 memory modules. This can make your memory unstable, which can cause issues similar to what you are describing.

__________________
eVGA 680i Overclocking guide .......... ASUS P5E/Maximus Thread.......... 4.4GHz CPU-Z

dexter72209

Well, I'm back in safe mode and have bumped the NB voltage in increments and I'm up to 1.38v atm, maybe this board just wont deal with this memory even though it and Windows recognizes it.

grishkathefool

1.38v is high for stock clocks with 8GB of RAM. At least, it is on my board, but it's the same chipset, so it should be similar. Did you try using only 2GB of RAM? That would tell you if you have a NB voltage issue or not.

Is there an option in your BIOS to set the video adapter to PCI instead of onboard?

When I did my VISTA 64 install, I installed the Motherboard and GPU drivers during the VISTA install, not after a reboot... not sure if this matters, but thought I'd mention it.

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dexter72209

What is your NB voltage running at if you dont mind me asking?

Also there is no onboard VGA it just recognizes the 9800GTX+ as that with no drivers installed, the only option I have in my BIOS is to boot off of PCI or PCIE, I have it set to the latter.

Oh, and yes I tried booting with 2GB and got the same result. The whole thing that is throwing me for a loop, which isn't hard to do, is that I don't think anything is busted, the mobo posts, the BIOS reconizes the RAM, as well as Windows in safe mode, I put the GPU in my old board again to make sure it did not crap out. I can even boot Windows in normal mode if I take out the GPU drivers. All of the exact same hardware was running for over a year in my P5N-E.

dexter72209

Im starting to think maybe this board doesnt like this particular RAM, it isnt on the QVL and I have read posts both ways, some folks say they are running it with no problems, others state the board is very picky. So I may pick some RAM off the QVL and see which is cheaper 8GB of that or another board that isn't so picky