Random crash, freeze, BSOD

[Frenchman]

Hi, I'm new to the DFI brand. I bought a nF4 Ultra-D to replace another board I wasn't satisfied with (not stability related though). I kept the same components, except the case/PSU (which is theoricaly better) and of course, the mainboard.

At first, with the BIOS that came with it, the system wouldn't boot with 2 memory modules. After flashing with the latest BIOS (06/23/05), the problem was solved.

Nevertheless, I keep having random crashes, freezes and BSOD, this regardless of the application (WoW, Firefox, nothing at all). I read that the Activearmor was buggy and troublesome and uninstalled it, without improvement.

I ran Memtest86 overnight, without any error. On the contrary, Prime95 gets errors within minutes under Windows. According to MBM, voltages and temperatures are okay (55-56C for CPU and chipstet and I have a Zalmann 7700CU).

The BSOD don't report any specific errors. I've seen BAD_POOL_CALLER, IRQ_LESS_OR_NOT_EQUAL, PAGE_FAULT_IN_NON_PAGED_AREA, etc.

I was wondering if the PSU would be too weak, but it's a 380W, 12V dual rails, with 16A on each 12V (max combined is 28A though) and my system is not overcharged (only 1 HDD, 1 optical drive). The CPU should use around 62W full load and the GC about 110W. The PSU should handle that. Plus Prime95 is not really graphic intensive and the Geforce 7800GTX doesn't suck that much in 2D. All connectors are plugged in, even the optional 12V and 5V on the MB.

Anyway, I don't really know what to do now. My only visible option is to bring the mainboard back and get another one. But what? Should I get the same model? Is this motherboard faulty?

Thanks for any input. I'd like to enjoy my system, not spend more time scratching my head about why a stock non-OCed system is not working.

[rldolph79]

55-56C for CPU

I'm assuming this is under full load? If not, something's wrong there, but I think you've got it pegged as a power supply problem. Check out this thread...

http://www.dfi-street.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10854

 

BTW 55-56 is still a little warm even under full load...mine sits at about 47-48 at full load. My house is at about 24 C most of the time...

[Frenchman]

I'm don't really think of a power issue. The system reboots randomly, even when it's quasi-idle (browsing with Firefox). But I guess I can try.

And yes, the temperatures are under load, with Prime95 running (when it runs long enough). Idle is 35C for CPU and around 41C for chipset. And the chipset fan gets really loud under load (7500+rpm at 55C).

[Worm]

Your BAD_POOL_CALLER is explained here. You'll find details pertaining to the other Stop (BSODs) errors in the left hand menu.

[rldolph79]

Also, make sure you have all four power connectors plugged into the board...

[CrucialLabs]

What BIOS rev do you have? Have you ran memtest?

[Frenchman]

I've checked Microsoft website for the BSOD errors messages. Unfortunately, this is not helpful as it doesn't point to anything specific. For Memtest , the BIOS and the power connectors, it's written in my first post. Memtest doesn't get errors overnight, the BIOS is the latest one from the DFI website (06/23/05) and all the 4 power connectors are plugged in.

 

Edit: I've got an e-mail from tech support that bluntly tells me to upgrade my PSU. Gonna do that and see. Hope this works (and another $100 gone...)

[none_other]

I had BSOD's very frequently when I first set everything up. I was about to give up and go and try to upgrade my PSU but i decided to give something else a try.

 

At first I was using the nVidia gigabit LAN but then I unplugged that one and plugged it into the Marvell gigabit LAN. I haven't had a crash or BSOD since.

 

Give this a try.....hope it works.

[Addiarmadar]

I've checked Microsoft website for the BSOD errors messages. Unfortunately, this is not helpful as it doesn't point to anything specific. For Memtest , the BIOS and the power connectors, it's written in my first post. Memtest doesn't get errors overnight, the BIOS is the latest one from the DFI website (06/23/05) and all the 4 power connectors are plugged in.

 

Edit: I've got an e-mail from tech support that bluntly tells me to upgrade my PSU. Gonna do that and see. Hope this works (and another $100 gone...)

 

Im not certain which SATA controller you are using but if you are using the Nvidia SATA controller then uninstall the Nvidia IDE/SATA drivers and just use the MS stock versions. Try doing such if true..

[Frenchman]

I'm not using LAN, I'm on WiFi. And I'm staying away from nVidia IDE drivers since my nForce 2 board.

[Worm]

I've checked Microsoft website for the BSOD errors messages. Unfortunately, this is not helpful as it doesn't point to anything specific. For Memtest , the BIOS and the power connectors, it's written in my first post. Memtest doesn't get errors overnight, the BIOS is the latest one from the DFI website (06/23/05) and all the 4 power connectors are plugged in.

 

Edit: I've got an e-mail from tech support that bluntly tells me to upgrade my PSU. Gonna do that and see. Hope this works (and another $100 gone...)

OK, I can understand that the messages are difficult for a novice to interpret, so if you can go to Event Viewer --> System and post the data from the binary file, I'll try and explain it in layman's terms. To get to Event Viewer, go to Start --> Run, type eventvwr.msc and click OK. You're looking for events with either a yellow warning triangle of a red X in the "System" category.

 

One of your other errors namely "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" is specifically a disk file system error. To eliminate it as a hardware problem, you'll need to follow these steps:

 

Install the Recovery Console to your hard drive by inserting the Window XP CD (exit the menu when it appears) and then go to Start --> Run, copy/paste the following command (blue font), but change the drive letter of your CD/DVD drive to that on your own PC (my CDROM drive is "F"): f:i386winnt32.exe /cmdcons

 

If you don't want to install the Recovery Console to your own PC, you can run it directly from the Win XP installation CD, but that will mean going into the BIOS each time and enabling CDROM as first boot device and HD second every time you want to run a command which isn't very convenient.

 

Having done either of the above, type "1" when the Recovery Console loads and then type in your Adminstrator password. At the C:Windows prompt, type CHKDSK /P and hit Enter. CHKDSK will write a report to the screen when it finishes. If it says it found errors, run the same command again to verify that those were fixed. If it says it found errors again, run CHKDSK /R because you've probably got a bad sector on your HD which the utility can't fix. The "/R" switch is capable of marking bad sectors so that they won't be used.

 

Once you're satisfied that no more errors exist, type EXIT (and Enter) to reboot.

 

If you installed the Recovery Console to your hard disk, you'll get a menu where you can choose to enable it again, together with a Windows XP boot option. Hit Enter to boot normally.

 

If you ran the Recovery Console from the CD, then you'll have to go back into the BIOS and change the boot sequence to Removable /hard drive / CDROM again.

 

If the system continues to malfunction in spite of taking the above steps, then you've probably got a hardware problem.

[Frenchman]

So, here is the follow-up and end of the story. I went to buy a new power supply on friday evening, an Antec Smartpower 2.0 500W. I installed the thing in the tower, plugged everything and fired up. Checked Prime95, same thing: crash after 1 min (torture test, blend mode). Tried to play WoW during the rest of the evening: got 1 freeze and one BSOD. I said to myself I spent too much time with this P.O.S.

The mobo and the new PS went back to the store on saturday morning. I bought another mobo with the refund (I won't tell what brand/model, I'm not here to advertise, but it was in the same price range than the DFI). Built the rig AGAIN. And tried. No problems. At all. Works just fine out of the box. And with my underrated, overcharged Truepower II 380W.

Now, it's what I think. The mobo I had was just faulty and needed to be replaced. But I don't like to be taken for an idiot. You (on this forum and the tech support) told me that I needed an ATX 2.0 480W power supply. Not only it didn't work, but I don't believe that it was even necessary. I'd like to see one of the engineers that came with those lucridious requirements come here and explain me how in hell my system can withdraw more than the 360W my PS is rated for under continuous load. Really. Unless DFI nF4 mobo have some huge power requirement compared to the competition. The same exact system worked fine with another nF4 mobo without the super-duper 480W PS, and it's again working fine on a third mobo, still without the super-duper 480W PS.