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Board replacement. Everything's fine, except, DFI mobo driver disk wo


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Hmmm......ok.....

 

After using the different discs multiple times, to delete and create the partition, it finally came back as 250GB available to partition.

 

Weird.

 

When formating I was being given two choices to format with:

 

Format an NTFS partition (QUICK)

Format an NTFS partition

 

I had been choosing the "non-quick" format.

 

Getting the full 250GB back available, I opted this time to use the "QUICK" format.

 

It looks like its working....

 

More to follow....

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Cleremond,

 

As soon as you can swing it you really need to consider upgrading your psu. I see that Aspire being problematic for you in the long run. Opt for something in the 520+ range, high quality with at least 26A on the 12V rail.

 

Now, I'm not dogging your psu, so don't get offended, just a recommendation that in the long run will make you a more satisfied DFI user.

 

Also, there's an awesome free utility out there called BOOT IT NG Disk Partition Utility. Sometimes it can help you deal with hard drive issues that Windows cant.

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Thanks for the tips on the PSU, I'll deffinitely keep that in mind.

 

Looks like everything is ok.

 

System has been up for 3 days straight now with no issues, freezes or crashes.

 

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

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Good news.

 

Glad to hear you've been up and running solid for a few days now.

 

It'd be a good idea to run through a full suite of stress and benchmark tests now to confirm stability.

 

Start with MemTest from your BIOS. Run tests number 5 and number 8 about ten loops. If it's all clear let MemTest run overnight, all tests 1-8. If all of that passes move on to Prime95 torture test (blend) and let it run overnight also.

 

If both of the above tests pass, run 3DMark -01 and -03 and -05. SuperPi 32M and you're done.

 

If everything has passed at this point you've pretty well got a toaster stable rig.

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When formating I was being given two choices to format with:

 

Format an NTFS partition (QUICK)

Format an NTFS partition

 

I have found that pretty confusing about XP also. I have generally always used the "Quick" format and have generally had XP install smoothly. Glad to see that you resolved your snags.

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I ran memtest86 (all tests) for roughly 18 hours straight before I even loaded XP. Didn't get any errors, so I know the board is playing nice with the memory and the memory itself is good. I made sure I got both dimms in slots 2 and 4. I'm assuming that is to get both dimms into 1T and dual channelled. If I hadn't been reading about that on this forum, I would have made the mistake of putting them in 1 and 3. The manual is actually quite vague regarding how to properly place memory with regard to optimal performance. It states:

 

"A dimm's SPD is originally fixed at 1T. When modules are inserted in DIMM 1 and DIMM 3, the SPD must be 2T for better system stability. We recommend inserting DIMM's in DIMM 2 and DIMM4."

 

How this is worded seems misleading to me when the chart above clearly states that dual dimms should be put into slot 1 and 3 for DDR400 speeds.

 

Anyway, I got them in the proper slots and they appear to be working fine.

 

I don't have Prime95 or the other 3DMark tests, but I'll do a search on that when I get home, get them downloaded and give them all a run.

 

I was reading that the Aspire PSU's are not recommened but no real explanations as to why. 500 watts is 500 watts. I'm not overclocking or running SLI so it doesn't appear my PSU is problematic at all. The only things in the box really taking any juice are the two optical drives, the two SATA drives, the 6800 GT, and the Audigy 4 Pro so its not like I'm squeezing it for amperage.

 

When the Price Break drops again for vid cards, I'll most likely be replacing the 6800 GT with a 7600 GT (maybe even two of them for SLI). The 7600 GT doesn't even require external power connections.

 

Anyway, thanks again for all the help, assistance, and suggestions. Its REALLY appreciated.

 

:)

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You're welcome. The primary reasons for a quality psu are;

 

1. Clean power

2. High efficiency

3. Truth in advertising

4. Adequate amperage on each of the voltage rails

5. Consistent power delivery without major spikes or drops in voltage or amperage (which are very hard on your hardware)

 

Advertised or claimed wattage is only a very small part of the story.

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Cool man. I have a couple PSU's in mind if I end up having problems.

 

*laughs* This bucket of bolts is working right now, so, I'm not gonna rock the boat any by trying to swap a PSU just yet, unless it goes belly up on me again.

 

Once again, thanks for all the help.

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