Help on new build

[Danl]

This is my first post here but Rob's info and the help I've received just lurking has been great! Thanks

This is my first build and it's going great so far, with your help. Just did the first boot and all went well. Now I have a few questions that I have not found the answer to.

My system is
Sonata III case
Asus P5N-E SLI mobo
Intel E6750 CPU
Zalman CNPS9500 CPU fan w/ arctic silver 5
e-GeForce 7600 GT Graphics Card
2048MB Crucial PC2 6400 DDR2 RAM
2 WD 320G 7200 SATA2 HD
Sony DRU-840A DVD/CD burner
Sony DDU1632 DVD/CD ROM
some unknown brown box 3.5 floppy drive
And I am going to try to install Vista Home premium.

I am now installing the optical drive and the hard drives and the assembly insructions say connect the ide ribbon cable from the optical drives to the 2nd ide connector. Since I will be installing SATA HHDs the 1st is available, which should i use. The two on by mobo are labled primary and secondary ide.

And while I have your attention any suggestions on the SATA config, ie, RAID 0, 1 or JBOD. I think I am leaning toward RAID 1 or JBOD.

TIA, I could/would never have tried this with the help from Rob's site and this forum.:)

[The Wise Monkey]

Glad you decided to go ahead with the build - hope the rest of it goes smoothly. :)

It doesn't really matter which IDE you use, as it will be detected no matter what. Still, putting it in the primary slot never does any harm.

Lots of people have had trouble with that CPU fan, so I hope that it works OK for you. Just be aware that if there are any overheating problems with your system, then that should be one of the first things that you check.

I've always had a problem with RAID in that people always seem to use it for no real reason. RAID 1 offers much better data security, but it is slower in both read and write. JBOD isn't really a RAID method, but just a way of organising your space.

As long as you regularly back up your data, I would recommend RAID 0, as it offeres faster read and write speeds.

[Jamie Nixx]

Yes any overheating problems its most definately the cooler.

I agree with WM, backup your data regularly (you should anyway) and opt for RAID 0.

[Danl]

Thanks for the advice and encouragement, I need it.

The first boot went perfect. (even got the front panel speaker wires correct, it beeped once) The second boot went okay. Lots of guessing in the BIOS setup since Rob's examples on the EPoX mobo and my Asus are similar but not identical.

The cr_p hit the fan when I started installing Windows %&*&%$ Vista. It said something about no system volume for the SATA drives and I needed a driver! After all morning looking at the WD website, Microsoft KB and finally ASUS I found a driver. It took another hour or so to figure out how to download, unzip, copy to floppy but I got er done and windows recognized the driver but still would not continue with the install.

I persevered and I think I wore it out. I don't know why but it finally recognized it and next worked. Then it crashed about three times at around 80% unpacked and I stopped to eat dinner.

After dinner i got after it again. By now I can enter that 25 digit key by memory so I figure it will go faster, and bang it loads all the way through and I've got that piece of ____ installed. Well sort of.

In all the massaging the hard drive setup I ended up with both drives recognized in the BIOS and in device manager (no RAID and same description for both). But my computer only sees one c: hard drive.

I don't know if I have heating problems. The CPU temp is 34C but I don't know what is normal. If it's too high I'll have to remove the whole mobo to get the Zalman off and replace it with the cooler that came with the CPU. That Zalman was a bitch to install, too?

I guess going with Vista was kind of going against the flow but I've got XP Pro on 4 computers in my office and this computer is supposed to be a trailblazing experience for me. It's only a home computer so my business won't suffer if I stumble around a while to get it right.

Again thanks for the help and kind words.

[The Wise Monkey]

Hahaha, now you have experienced the true frustrating power that is Vista. :)

You CPU temp is normal - should be less than 35C idle, maybe about 50C under load. Zalman fans are always very difficult to install - I nearly broke my old motherboard trying to install one.

The reason for not seeing both of the HDs is probably because they didn't come pre-formatted. To fix this, go into the Disk Management snap in for Vista (I think this is accessed via Run...->mmc->File->Add/Remove Snap-in->Disk Management, but I'm not positive) and you should see both drives there. Format the non-windows drive with NTFS and it should get assigned a drive letter and be available for writing.

I work as a technician for a school, so I can remember the product keys for XP, Vista, Office 2007 and Server 2003. Quite a depressing thought, really. :)

[Jamie Nixx]

Danl your temps should be under 30 DegC.

I am building a comp for a friend and the stock cooler for an E6750 performs better than the temps you gave.

The Zalman maybe a bitch to install, but its even more of a bitch to install right :rolleyes:

I would send it back if you can, and get the arctic cooling freezer 7 pro, it well under half the price of the Zalman and it performs a lot better.

[Danl]

Thanks WM, formatting the 2nd HD did the job.
Now I'm updating Vista and the various drivers. It crashes off and on but as I update things it seems to crash less. The temp on the CPU is 31C today so maybe the Zalman is working. I really don't want to have to change it out.

Thanks again, I'm stumbling around in Vista so much I don't know enough to ask a question but I think/hope I'm going forward.:)

[Danl]

Note to Rob:

I started collecting components, mostly at Newegg, two weeks ago and at the same time ordered your book from Lulu. After I had all the parts assembled I considered waiting for the manual to arrive. After about 10 minutes I dove in to assembly, (who can wait when all those parts are screaming to be put together?). Besides reading the directions is cheating!

Anyway, I just got an Email that they mailed the book today. But at the rate I am going I'll still need it when it shows up.

Thanks anyway for the help so far. (I do not mean that sarcastically, I mean thanks)

[Danl]

The computer is built and running but it is not very stable. The BSOD shows up, sometimes when the computer is on but idle. Vista stops working and then repairs itself?? I would say it has a hiccup about every 30 - 60 minutes. It has improved from day one though.

In my research two issues keep being raised. Overheating and Ram problems. Jamie raised the question of the Zalman cooler so I have been watching the heat like a hawk. Every time it crashes I check the CPU temp and it is always between 28C and 34C depending on what it was doing when it crashed (I don't think I have really pushed it because I have run no software that stresses it). The motherboard temp is usually 33C.

I thought I would reseat the RAM. I have 2Gb, 1GB in bank 1 and 1GB in bank 3. Instead of just reseating the I switched them (they're identical)
Big mistake, I would not load Vista. BSOD every time. I returned them to their original slots and it works again. But like before not very stable.

I am starting to run the testing programs Rob recommends and no problems have been detected. Next I guess I will run one of the RAM stress tests and see if it holds up.

Any suggestions? Thanks for any help.

[Jamie Nixx]

Run memtest if you can...

As for the ram, go into the bios and change the command per clock from auto to 2.

[Danl]

Thanks Jamie

I downloaded memtest86 and created a bootable floppy disk to run the mem test outside of Windows.

The output is pretty cryptic to me but I ran it for and hour and it generated 255 errors. Rob's manual says any errors means is likely the RAM is bad. I suppose I'll call Newegg and see about returning/exchanging it.

I did not make the change from auto to 2 in the BIOS. Would it make any sense to change it and run the memtest again or is that rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?

Thanks for your help.

[Jamie Nixx]

Yeah definately sounds faulty to me, change it for some nice shiny corsair XMS2 :D

Does the BSOD say IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL when it comes on?

[Danl]

Yes the BSOD usually says IRQL_...when in crashes. but not every time.

[Jamie Nixx]

Ok, i hope you haven't sent the ram back yet.

Go into the bios and change the command per clock from auto to 2, and run memtest again.

I don't think the ram is at fault, a few people have come to me about this problem and changing the command per clock to 2 usually works.

This motherboard can sometimes be picky about what voltages the ram ect is set at, its no biggy and it only happens sometimes.

Do what i suggested before you send it back, or if you have sent it back, and the new ram does the same thing do what i suggested.

:)

[Danl]

:o Uh Oh.

Jamie, I'm a step ahead of you, and I've created a minor problem for myself. I called Newegg and got a RMA to return the crucial memory and I ordered 2G of Corsair memory. $104 with a $40 dollar rebate so I figure I'm going to get arguably better memory for $45 less than the Crucial.

Then I started browsing the forum and found your advice to harotoast going on at the same time. Anyway I went inot the BIOS and canged the command per clock to 2 and reran memtest. I started it and checked it about two hours later. YUP, no errors. I don't know how long it ran but it had terminated and diplayed a message "Pass complete, no errors, press escape to exit"

I'm running it again now and it has been going for 45 minutes with no errors. Oh, it has not crashed since I changed the BOIS. It just completed the second run with no errors.

Just because I have a RMA does not mean I have to return it. I just have to decide to return the corsair and pay the 15% restocking fee or keep it and use is as an excuse to start building another computer.

I would not have this minor delemma if I wasn't so impatient. Thanks for your advice, Jamie.

[Jamie Nixx]

Glad i could help.

So what memory are you using in your system now?

[Danl]

Right now I still have the Crucial Ballistix 2GB 240 pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800(PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit installed in slots A1 and B1 and it's working just fine now (at command per clock = 2) But... I called Newegg and got a RMA number to return it as defective which evidently it is not.

I also ordered Corsair XMS2 2GB 240 pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800(pc2 6400) Dual Channel Kit. It will be here in three business days.

So I have several options...

1. Go ahead and return the crucial memory and install the corsair when it comes. (I don't like that option, I am returning memory as faultly which apparently it is not)

2. Stay with the crucial (assuming it keeps working without crashing) and return the corsair.

3. Or, and this is a question, can I install the corsair in slots A2 and B2 and have 4GB of RAM. That is, can I mix crucial and corsair memory in the same system?:confused:

I am going to run much as I can (I don't have any games) to see if the computer is stable until the corsair ram shows up.

At any rate I am happy with the way the computer is running right now, hopefully it will stay stable.

[Jamie Nixx]

Memtest is good, it stresses the ram very hard.

Are you using Vista? if you are then just put the Corsair in when it comes, as long as the latencys are the same it should be fine with no hiccups.

[Danl]

Jamie

I've run memtest several times and it always comes up no errors now the I reset the command per clock to 2

Yes I am running Vista Home Premium and all the parameters on the two memory types are the same.

I'm not a big fan of Vista but big M makes you change sooner or later whether you want to or not. I'm much more comfortable with XP(I said that about 98 when XP came out) but I figured this is as good a time as any to convert. If I was not building a computer I would not even think of upgrading:rolleyes: until the first service pack is released.

Maybe it's because I have not yet learned how control Vista but it is annoying. Every time it goes through a bunch of queries like, You just ... did you mean to do that? then Really? then Are you sure? It asks for an administrator's permission to do practically everything. I'm sure there's some way to turn this crap off but I haven't looked for it yet. Sorry for the rant.

Thanks again for your advice :D

[Jamie Nixx]

Glad i could help :)

If you want slightly more performance you can set the command clock to 1 and increase the voltage by .3, although it may be safer to just stick with the settings now seeing as its working :D