Ok. I entered BIOS and set the voltage to 1.66. (it is the DRAM Bus Voltage, right?)
With that setting, it wont boot with three sticks of RAM, only 2. It boots, running lots of checks, then says: "No physical Drive! No Virtual Drive! No HDD Detected", and then proceeds into bios at my click.
I got my new HDD today, the WD Velociraptor 300GB. In bios, it is listed on SATA 3, like this:
And then I can change this underneath, everything is set to auto, except 32bit data transfer, which is set to enabled.
If I don't enter BIOS, it proceeds to load windows from the DVD. It brings me to a screen similar to the Vista log-on screen, but there is nothing there, just the background, and a mouse pointer, that I can move around.
I took out the Vista DVD and booted again, without doing anything.
It then says: "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected device and press a key"
Any combo, as long as it is just 2 sticks. Add the third, and it craps out. Altough it's weird, it seems quite random.. This is the first time I've managed to boot with this precise stick with no problems..
But, I don't quite get it... (I'm slow, I know) It says it doesn't detect a HD when booting.. How can I install Vista.. And why does it show up in Bios?
And why does the memory act up? Could the slot on the MB be broken?
For the HD, it's probably not detecting the device on normal IDE, and is instead being detected as an AHCI device which will not show up on the POST screen.
Boot with 2 of the modules, open SPDTool, go to File > Read > choose 1st module, once it is done reading, go to File > Save > name the file and save it. Repeat on second module.
Now boot with the single module and repeat.
After a little tweak session just now, Ryder and I have found the RAM to be faulty somehow. Will try to return it tomorrow. I will be going away next week, so don't expect any update until mid-april. Thanks for all your help and suggestions so far guys! You're great!
Comments
Memory voltage is down at the bottom, under where you set memory speed, etc. just keep scrolling down.
With that setting, it wont boot with three sticks of RAM, only 2. It boots, running lots of checks, then says: "No physical Drive! No Virtual Drive! No HDD Detected", and then proceeds into bios at my click.
I got my new HDD today, the WD Velociraptor 300GB. In bios, it is listed on SATA 3, like this:
SATA 3
Device :Hard Disk
Vendor : WDC WD 3000HLFS-01G6U0
Sixe :300.0GB
LBA Mode :Supported
Block Mode:16Sectors
Async DMA:Multiword DMA-2
Ultra DMA :Ultra DMA-5
SMART Monitoring:Supported
And then I can change this underneath, everything is set to auto, except 32bit data transfer, which is set to enabled.
If I don't enter BIOS, it proceeds to load windows from the DVD. It brings me to a screen similar to the Vista log-on screen, but there is nothing there, just the background, and a mouse pointer, that I can move around.
I took out the Vista DVD and booted again, without doing anything.
It then says: "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected device and press a key"
Can you use any combo of the 3 sticks or only 2 of the sticks will boot in the board?
Vista will have a fairly long pause when it boots.. how long did you wait at the screen with the mouse cursor?
Will check Vista again now, please hold.
Odd about the 3 sticks though.. once you get Vista installed.. update the bios, that could be it.
Installing now.
And why does the memory act up? Could the slot on the MB be broken?
Build date:12/18-08
System Memory
Usable Size : 2040MB
Boot with 2 of the modules, open SPDTool, go to File > Read > choose 1st module, once it is done reading, go to File > Save > name the file and save it. Repeat on second module.
Now boot with the single module and repeat.
Email me all 3 files: eryder at ocztechnology.com
Go to your vendor and exchange the memory if you can. If they won't help you, then email me and we will get it taken care of.
If possible, see if you can get your hands on some DDR3, this still could be a board or CPU issue.