DFI + Corsair = No Boot...HELP, please!

PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
edited June 2005 in Hardware
While installing my DFI Lanparty nF4 SLI-DR motherboard today I had some serious memory issues. I have two 512 MB Sticks of Corsair PC3200 (CMX512-3200C2) which have worked great in my NF7-S. They are running at 2-2-2-7 timings although CPU-Z says the sticks are rated at 3-3-3-8. I checked on DFI's site and unless I'm misreading it, this memory should work. As soon as I put either of the Corsair sticks in (I've tried single sticks and duals in both Dimm slots 1/3 and 2/4), the system hangs at start. I can't get into the BIOS and the RAID screen just sits there taunting me with its continuous searching. If I put in an old stick of OCZ PC3200 512MB, the board boots normally. I've heard this board is tempermental about memory. I'm open to any ideas....:scratch:

If new memory is required, I'm thinking OCZ EL Platinum Revision 2 1GB (2 x 512MB)(TCC5)....BUT I'm really interested in the best overclocking 1 GB of memory for this board I can get for 200$.:thumbsup:

I'm not overclocking and I'm using the 3/10/05 DFI BIOS.

Comments

  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    With the other stick in, set the dimm volt to 2.9, save and shut down then install the Corsair in 2 and 4 (Orange slots). But overall you WILL do best with the OCZ EL Platinum as it is the best fit for the board short of TCCD based modules.

    You may want to re-flash the 3/10 bios yourself to see if it helps.
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Thanks again, goat. I'm a DFI padawan to your Jedi status. Can you recommend some good TCCD modules? Would they be better than the OCZ EL Plats? I'm not looking to do any extreme overclocking, just whatever I can get on air with a Thermalright XP-120 and a Coolermaster Stacker case.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Unfortunately TCCD is just about extinct. The original OCZ EL Platinum (rev 1) had the Samsung TCCD modules where as the Rev 2 is TCC5 and doesn't OC as high but is still real nice ram. My Patriot XLB is TCCD and the newer XLBK is TCC5. G. Skill was another big producer of sticks w/ TCCD.
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    You think some of the PQI, G-Skill, or Corsair TCCD would be compatible and work well?

    Newegg has quite a few choices...
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145523
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145522
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141148

    This last one looks extremely interesting....although it's $80 more than I want to spend it looks like it does well on the DFI boards.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231008

    "If you're considering getting these at all. Don't hesitate and just do it. Samsung is discontinuing TCCD and these won't be around much longer. Anyway, they run great. On a DFI Lanparty SLI-D I can get
    DDR600 2.5-4-4-7 1T @ 2.9V vDimm.

    Needless to say it is very impressive. I was also able to run these at the LE standard timings at DDR550 no problem. One word of caution though. FYI, They are rated at DDR600 but with a 2T command rate, many of them can run this speed at a 1T, but it isn't guaranteed. Just thought you should know this."
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Preacher wrote:
    ......
    This last one looks extremely interesting....although it's $80 more than I want to spend it looks like it does well on the DFI boards.

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231008

    "If you're considering getting these at all. Don't hesitate and just do it. Samsung is discontinuing TCCD and these won't be around much longer. Anyway, they run great. On a DFI Lanparty SLI-D I can get
    DDR600 2.5-4-4-7 1T @ 2.9V vDimm.

    Needless to say it is very impressive. I was also able to run these at the LE standard timings at DDR550 no problem. One word of caution though. FYI, They are rated at DDR600 but with a 2T command rate, many of them can run this speed at a 1T, but it isn't guaranteed. Just thought you should know this."
    If you can afford it and are willing to pay get it as it is the best available right now! It had been out of stock for a while and I didn't think it wa coming back. The PQI would be my second choice of what you found ATM.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2005
    I am running corsair twinmos in my DFI and it works fine. I had some geil in it before and it wouldnt with the latest bios after setting up the cmos and saving it. I could clear the cmos... it would boot... save it and no boot. Even taking safe defaults. Flashed back to the older bios and it cleared up.

    Tex
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Thanks, mtgoat and Tex. I upped the voltage in the BIOS to 2.9, switched out the RAM, and the problem seems to have resolved itself.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited June 2005
    Yeah, for some odd reason, the DFI defaults to 2.5 volts at first boot, which is not enough most low latency sticks. You'll notice that the memory voltage tends to switch back to 2.5v with the retail bios as well (a bit of a bug). As mentioned by mtgoat, flash to 3/10 when you get her up and running stable.

    Btw, OCZ Platinum Rev.1 is based on CH5 modules (used to have it in my old A7N8X-E system, 2-3-2-5 at stock). I believe the new TCC5 ram is still called Rev.2, even though the original Rev.2 had the wonderful TCCD ICs in it. I've had really good luck with my modules. Stable past 310MHz, but my chip can't take the abuse at reasonable clock speeds :shakehead
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Lemonlime,
    I'm glad I waited so you all could figure out these "issues" before I borked a bunch of equipment.

    The BIOS that was on the board when I first booted is the one dated 3/10/05. Isn't this one the latest?
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited June 2005
    Preacher wrote:
    Lemonlime,
    I'm glad I waited so you all could figure out these "issues" before I borked a bunch of equipment.

    The BIOS that was on the board when I first booted is the one dated 3/10/05. Isn't this one the latest?

    That is indeed the latest 'Retail' bios. There are countless numbers of BETA bioses online, but I'd recommend keeping it where it is for now. The 3/10 has corrected the vdimm bug. I always kick up my memory voltage to 2.8-2.9volts, regardless. My TCCD for example is not stable at 2.6 volts with 2-2-2-5 timings, even though it was on my old board. The DFI actually set it to 2-3-2-5, and ignored the SPD timings. I cranked it up to 2.8 and never looked back :D
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2005
    Crap I want the beta bios's ! maybe I can get my friggin pci-e raid controller working.

    Got any cool links for this rumored beta bios's?

    tex
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Tex wrote:
    Crap I want the beta bios's ! maybe I can get my friggin pci-e raid controller working.

    Got any cool links for this rumored beta bios's?

    tex
    Tex,

    I thought you found the answer to that so I never replied back to you with what I found. As long as you have a graphics card in the top slot you won't be able to run your controller card in the lower slot or vise versa. By default the top slot is 16X and the lower long slot is 16X but as soon as you put any 16X card in either slot the other defaults to 8X. That will not run your 16X controller card. If you were to remove your PCI-e16X vid card from the system and use a plain old PCI vid card you will then be able to run the controller in the top 16X slot. I came across this in the on disc manual as well as on DFI street. This happens because the Video 16X PCI-e bus is only a single 16X bandwidth and vid cards can and will run @ 8X where your controller won't. For this to work with a vid card in one slot they would need to make the bus a total of 32X. You may try seeing if someone has found a trick with the SLI jumpers located between the 2 long slots but I don't think it exists. :bawling:
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited June 2005
    mtgoat wrote:
    Tex,

    I thought you found the answer to that so I never replied back to you with what I found. As long as you have a graphics card in the top slot you won't be able to run your controller card in the lower slot or vise versa. By default the top slot is 16X and the lower long slot is 16X but as soon as you put any 16X card in either slot the other defaults to 8X. That will not run your 16X controller card. If you were to remove your PCI-e16X vid card from the system and use a plain old PCI vid card you will then be able to run the controller in the top 16X slot. I came across this in the on disc manual as well as on DFI street. This happens because the Video 16X PCI-e bus is only a single 16X bandwidth and vid cards can and will run @ 8X where your controller won't. For this to work with a vid card in one slot they would need to make the bus a total of 32X. You may try seeing if someone has found a trick with the SLI jumpers located between the 2 long slots but I don't think it exists. :bawling:

    NO.

    It does not work with the raid controller and a regular pci video card. Nothing in the other pci-e slot at all.

    I complained to the DFI tech support for NA. Who forwarded it to TW. FOUR TIMES with no response.

    DFI tech support in TW is a joke. I got much better response wailing to my dog in fact.

    Tex
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited June 2005
    I know it will be a little 'out of topic' here but you were talking about DFI and their BIOS version 3/10 and the BUNCH of beta bios that are also available.

    I was suppose to have my computer TODAY but it seems like they encounter some problems with my PC at the store where i'd buy it. I don't know the exact problem (i'll be set tomorow for sure) because the guy at the phone was not the one who 'work' on my computer. Anyway, their is the real thing of my intervention, i've read A LOT on dfi-street and it seems like many complains that the 3/10 bios version is NOT san diego proof and only barely support it (allow to boot... not much more)

    Seems like for that we must go with the beta 510-2 or something like that, wich is not a real release...

    I just want to know if some of you have san diego core and still use the 3/10 with success and stability ?

    I must admit that the fact that most of the bios version are BETA and that their's no official date on the next official bios (i personnaly think it'll be long) make me say that for good performance with those new cores we will be in the obligation to use beta bios... those that we use 'at our own risk'.

    Maybe the problem with my new pc comes from the fact that they're trying to install it with the 3/10 bios :scratch:
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    GooD,
    Feel free to post away. I have a 3700+ San Diego, but I haven't gotten around to finishing my computer build. I should have the OS done (hopefully) tomorrow and I'll let you know how it goes.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited June 2005
    Yeah i will post on dfi-street when i'll get my hands on my pc. I've just post here to collect some information because they were talking of dfi & bios version. I won't post a real topic about it before i can get an eye on this 3/10 bios and the performance of my 4000+ SD with this bios...

    For now all i have is some little fear and i want opinion of those who post in this thread since they seem to recommand 3/10 bios.

    But you can for sure let me know if all goes well for you :p
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    GooD wrote:
    I know it will be a little 'out of topic' here but you were talking about DFI and their BIOS version 3/10 and the BUNCH of beta bios that are also available.

    I was suppose to have my computer TODAY but it seems like they encounter some problems with my PC at the store where i'd buy it. I don't know the exact problem (i'll be set tomorow for sure) because the guy at the phone was not the one who 'work' on my computer. Anyway, their is the real thing of my intervention, i've read A LOT on dfi-street and it seems like many complains that the 3/10 bios version is NOT san diego proof and only barely support it (allow to boot... not much more)

    Seems like for that we must go with the beta 510-2 or something like that, wich is not a real release...

    I just want to know if some of you have san diego core and still use the 3/10 with success and stability ?

    I must admit that the fact that most of the bios version are BETA and that their's no official date on the next official bios (i personnaly think it'll be long) make me say that for good performance with those new cores we will be in the obligation to use beta bios... those that we use 'at our own risk'.

    Maybe the problem with my new pc comes from the fact that they're trying to install it with the 3/10 bios :scratch:


    I am running the 3/10 bios w/ my SD and it is working just fine! I am even getting better overclocks than some are saying is possible. So I don't know where some of this stuff is coming from and know several others who are not haveing any problems with it.
  • GooDGooD Quebec (CAN) Member
    edited June 2005
    Great mtgoat ! Just hope it'll be my case too :D
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited June 2005
    I've tried almost every tccd friendly beta bios, trust me guys, save your sanity, and stick with the retail 3/10. 5% gains in OC here and there, I didn't gain anything overall, and wound up going straight back to the 3/10. AFIK, only 3/10 fixes any real issues, including some USB quirks, vdimm bug, and some other misc issues.

    Tex: If you want to try some out, I'd suggest anything based newer starting with the 3/16, as it was redesigned from the ground up. Try the new 5/10's perhaps? Big list of beta mirrors here: All are 'use at your own risk' sort of material, but I have not had one bork my system yet (knock on wood)

    http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showpost.php?p=61045&postcount=3

    Each beta seems to be geared towards a certain type of ram. Generally speaking, the '-1 and -3' bioses are for TCCD and lower voltage memory, and the -2 are geared towards VX and other UTT based ICs. Take a look around dfi-street, and start a thread there, they might have some ideas for you on that controller issue..
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Okay...next rest stop on my road to DFI Nirvana or Purgatory as this case may be...

    Started finishing my DFI system this weekend, and after installing Windows XP Pro, I immediately went to install SP2. Everything went fine, but after the install and reboot, the computer hangs at the loading screen. I'm not overclocking at all. Everything seems to work fine until I install either of the Service Packs. Also, I can boot into Safe Mode fine.

    Here is what I've tried so far:
    XP Home and XP Pro
    More voltage for the memory
    Underclocking the memory
    Full memtest on the PNY memory with no errors
    Tried all 4 slots
    All the suggested memory settings from RGone and Angry's BIOS threads at DFI Street
    Updating the firmware on my Plextor SATA DVD Burner
    Disconnecting my Plextor SATA DVD Burner
    Switching the USB jumpers to 5VSB
    Connecting all four power connectors
    Slipstreaming SP2 into XP Pro

    I have some G.Skill TCCD on the way, but the only other thing I can think to try is different BIOSs.

    Anyone have this happen and fix it? Thanks for any help or advice.

    Specs:
    Lanparty NF4 SLI-DR
    AMD San Diego 3700+ w/XP-120
    eVGA 6800GT
    PNY 512MB PC3200 (Until my G.Skill TCCD arrives)
    Maxtor 120GB SATA
    Plextor PX-712SA SATA DVD Burner
    PC Power and Cooling 510 SLI
    :scratch:
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Preacher,

    If yoy don't want to wait and want to play with your rig now, you can try the 1/25 bios (original) as it worked well for everyone but TCCD users. It was the bios my board s well as lemonlime's came with and di fairly well for users of non-TCCD modules. Just remember to flash back to the 3/10 before installing your G. Skill TCCD.

    Also, try this thread as it may help (can't hurt).
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    I'm going to try those settings now, goat. One question though...I'm running the 3/10 BIOS, but I don't see a Command Per Clock (CPC) option any where in the Genie BIOS Setting group. Did they remove it or is it somewhere else?
    :scratch:
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    Genie Bios > DRAMM Settings, then about 10 items or so down.
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    I must have a different BIOS then. According to the manual, it is right under "DRAM Frequency Set", but it isn't there or any where in DRAM settings.

    Then again this may just be another sign of my senility setting in... :scratch::confused:

    Edit: Some posts on DFI Street claim San Diego CPUs don't have this option.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited June 2005
    Hey Preacher, just so that I understand correctly, the system fails only after SP2 is installed?

    Does the system appear stable prior to SP2 installation? If so, this could be a driver issue of some kind. Did you install the nvidia nF4 drivers before SP2 installation?
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    lemonlime,
    it seems to be fine until I install either SP1 or SP2. I originally thought it might be due to SP2, so I tried SP1 and got the same lockup. I've also tried XP Home and XP Pro and even slipstreamed SP2 into Pro, but no joy. I have installed nothing else. I booted to the CD-ROM, installed XP, it rebooted fine, and seems to have no issues. The very next thing I did was to install SP2 (as recommended), then I get to the XP loading screen and the little moving dot stops and the loading hangs. I can, however, get it to boot via Safe Mode.

    I seem to remember having similar behavior on one of my older NF7-S boards, but as soon as I backed off on my overclocking or gave the system a little more voltage, it would boot. Problem here is I'm doing no overclocking, and I've actually tried downclocking. I hope it's my memory which I'll be replacing tomorrow. If that ain't it, I think it might be my Maxtor SATA hard drive. I've even tried switching the Plextor SATA DVD Burner and Maxtor SATA hard drive to all 4 of the Nforce SATA ports.

    Any ideas are welcome and appreciated. :scratch:
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited June 2005
    Preacher wrote:
    lemonlime,
    it seems to be fine until I install either SP1 or SP2. I originally thought it might be due to SP2, so I tried SP1 and got the same lockup. I've also tried XP Home and XP Pro and even slipstreamed SP2 into Pro, but no joy. I have installed nothing else. I booted to the CD-ROM, installed XP, it rebooted fine, and seems to have no issues. The very next thing I did was to install SP2 (as recommended), then I get to the XP loading screen and the little moving dot stops and the loading hangs. I can, however, get it to boot via Safe Mode.

    I seem to remember having similar behavior on one of my older NF7-S boards, but as soon as I backed off on my overclocking or gave the system a little more voltage, it would boot. Problem here is I'm doing no overclocking, and I've actually tried downclocking. I hope it's my memory which I'll be replacing tomorrow. If that ain't it, I think it might be my Maxtor SATA hard drive. I've even tried switching the Plextor SATA DVD Burner and Maxtor SATA hard drive to all 4 of the Nforce SATA ports.

    Any ideas are welcome and appreciated. :scratch:


    Hmm, that is an odd issue. If you can get into safe mode, I would run a chkdsk /r from the command prompt and let a full file system scan occur. It is possible that SP2 is writing files to a corrupt portion of the file system. Since it seems to only occur when you install SP1 or SP2, I don't think it is a voltage or clocking issue. You could try to boost the vdimm a bit, but you ran loops of memtest correct?

    One thing you may want to try: copy your SP2 install file to the hard drive if it is sourced on the cd drive, and disconnect the SATA DVD burner. See if SP2 installs correctly after that..
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    First off, thanks for all the help and advice.

    Based on what I read on DFI streets and other websites, I was reasonably sure it was either my crappy PNY memory or the SATA DVD Burner. It was in fact my Maxtor SATA Hard Drive. I got the TCCD memory and the same problem occurred, so I went "back-to-basics." I installed to a regular IDE Drive and everything seems to be working like a champ. :thumbsup:

    Now, I just need to image an OS installation from my Western Digital SATA Raptor to the Maxtor SATA Diamondmax. Then I'm going to try the Raptor as the boot drive for the DFI board....

    Can someone please recommend a good, reliable imaging program that will create an exact image of a primary Win XP partition? :scratch:
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited June 2005
    I was able to use Ghost 2003 without a hitch on the DFI NF4 platform. When you launch ghost, you have to the the -ffx -ffi flags, and it'll read the array and stand alone disks just fine. Been backing up my boot partition like that for a while without issue.
  • PreacherPreacher Potomac, MD Icrontian
    edited June 2005
    ll,
    I don't have a RAID array setup. Just one SATA drive that I want to clone an image to the other. I'm assuming that will work fine though.

    Edit: Forgot to mention that I'm doing the image on an Abit NF7-S. Basically, I'm trying to image my Raptor which is the boot drive on the NF7-S to the Maxtor Diamondmax that has issues on the DFI. Then I'll remove the Raptor and boot the NF-7S using the Maxtor. If that works fine, then I'll try installing the Raptor as the boot drive on the DFI.

    Clear as mud?!
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