Edwin

This one has me stumped, so I come searching for opinions and advice.
For refernce here is what started it all:
http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/17186

The jist is I'm having tons of problems with the PC.
*Ram R/W test failing during POST
*Front USB ports don't work
*Front Firewire doesn't work
*Massive MD5 errors when installing BF2
*Files that won't copy when installing XP from multiple CD's
*Funky business in general
*Not posting with the removal of IDE drives (even with a cleared CMOS and newly flashed BIOS)
*Crashing BF2 when optimizing shaders

The RAM checked out good. I'm running chkdsk on all the hard drives now. I was thinking of replacing the SATA cables to see if that would stop the MD5 errors when installing BF2 but it happened on a IDE drive too. Only thing I can think of are bad CD and DVD drives which I highly doubt both went bad on me, OR the motherboard isn't working all the way.

I am just thinking of picking up a new motherboard unless someone else can think of something else that may be causing all these issues. Any recommendations for a socket 478 Intel board? Full specs of my pc are below.

RandomGuy

My advice is don't try to do anything like install an operating system until you solve this problem. Errors in main memory could reasonably cause just about any other problem you are experiencing. Try removing all but one stick of RAM and try it in different slots. If that still fails try a different stick. If that still fails you could try adjusting the RAM timing and voltage in BIOS. If that fails replace the mainboard.

To thoroughly test the main memory, try MemTest86

Wulfyn

I'm interested in discovering if the RAM failure occurs when say only 1 hard disk is plugged in. With 6 drives, and a 3Ghz cpu as well as a 3d gfx card I am wondering if power might be the problem.

480W is a lot of power, and that is a good PSU, but 6 drives can get really hungry for power. I have a 500W PSU, with 4 drives (2 SATA HDD, 2 IDE Optical), a 2.4Ghz northwood, and a Radeon 9700 Pro, and even then I get the odd VBatt error (although I'll admit my PSU is not the greatest).


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If it turns out to be a bad motherboard then I can recommend the AOpen AX4SPE Max II. I got the first version some time ago, and it has never had a problem, and is good, stable and fast. My housemate picked up the Max II on my suggestion, and although he has only had it for a couple of months it has had no problems either. Tons of features and goodies on the board, ranging from all the normal stuff (800FSB, Dual Channel memory, AGPx8, resettable BIOS, Gigabit LAN), to a few slightly weird but cool extras (4 capacitors for smoother power supply, a mercury fuse so if your board does have a power surge and the fuse goes it will reset back solid instead of killing the board). Well, they are not so uncommon now, but it was 2 years ago!

Also their website is the best I have seen for driver updates. Choose your board and all your drivers are there, with previous versions as well in case you need to roll back. There are also some nice utilities (Silentek fan control, 1Mhz overclocking) if you are into that sort of thing. Also the boards are pretty cheap now too.

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Edwin

Like I said in my original post both sticks of RAM have been tested to be fine. Besides Memtest86 hasn't been updated since 2002. From now one please use memtest+. http://www.memtest.org/

Edwin

I unplugged two hard drives, and one optical drive to see if it maybe the PSU but I am still receiving MD5 errors on installing BF2 and just random crap.

Edwin

=DdogG=

IDE cable, IDE channel, CDROM's (every time I have had these issues, it has been either the drive or the cable...... once it was the mobo..... well 4 times, but it was the same exact mobo they kept putting in the machine. (stupid best buy)

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Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former. -Albert Einstein
The two most common elements in the universe are Hydrogen and stupidity. -Harlan Ellison

If all else fails: "rm -rf /"

Edwin

All drives and cables work fine on another PC. I bought a new motherboard already and it should be here Monday or Tuesday. Abit IC7-G.