Legit Reviews

I bought a $3k computer thinking I would be able to have some fun this summer. Instead, I have embarked on a journey to Computer Hell. Windows installed, after a fashion. Then, I started installing drivers for various devices. All was well for a while, then a "PCI Modem" showed up with a big exclamation mark in my Device Manager. I found that a BIOS update would make this go away, but had a heck of a time flashing the BIOS because MSI's Live Update HATES Firefox 1.5 and my computer can't boot from floppy for some reason even though the BIOS is configured correctly.

The next issue arose when Windows XP Pro SP2 started hanging ENDLESSLY at the splash screen. After enabling /NOGUIBOOT and /SOS I found that the driver loading stopped after "MUP.SYS." Upon examining the Boot Log, I discovered that the system attempted to load "ACPI Multiprocessor PC" driver after MUP.SYS but did NOT load this driver. The OS then repeatedly attempted to load drivers for my 7900GTXs, X-Fi and other things but failed. The system tried two, three, four or five times to load each driver. Now, the system will only boot in Safe Mode. Trying to boot into regular XP gets the Hang of Death. I have tried the following:
1. Remove drivers with Driver Cleaner and reinstall. Could not complete because the system only boots into Safe Mode and some installers don't work in Safe Mode.
2. Remove X-Fi. Heard some PCI cards cause issues, but removing the X-Fi was just an annoyance that did not help.
3. Tried installing the AMD Dual Core Driver on my Opteron 170. Either did nothing or made it worse.

I thought I had the problem solved until I went to install drivers for my MX1000, then the problems resumed.
Specs:
Opteron 170 @ stock
2GB DDR500 G.Skill
150GB Raptor and 2x250GB WD Caviar RAID0
MSI K8N Diamond Plus
2xeVGA 7900GTX SLI
NEC 3550a DVD
BenQ 52x32x52/16x
PCP&C TurboCool 850 SSI
Thermaltake Armor black version
X-Fi soundcard

I used to do the same thing, but I find now it's usually smoother to install components one at a time, like when upgrading.

Too many new devices and drivers all at once might screw with Windows a bit. Try with just the motherboard, RAM, CPU, video, and one HDD, then go from there if that works ok.

Should make finding the problem much easier.

I know you're not going to like this, but the best thing would to be reformat and start again.

Kerri's suggestion seems a good idea too
Start with the basics, upgrade the drivers and install something else.

Dan

i'd suggest uninstalling all the drivers and just installing the mobo drivers, bios, and network drivers. then, let windows download all the drivers it wants automatically for you. whatever it misses, manually install (after you know it's running smoothly and created a restore point).

Agreed - reformat and reinstall

I would also suggest - do not install ANYTHING else - firefox included - until you have the core system running.

Install windows, install the drivers for your MB form the disc it came with or from a file you downlaoded, reboot if needed. GO TO WINDOWS UPDATE and get everything major and some minor if you want...reboot..GO BACK TO WINDOWS UPDATE - repeat above...keep doing that till there is nothing left. THEN get the latest drivers for your nvidia cards - reboot....then go and check for updated drivers for all the other hardware. At this point if you have had problems please post back exactly what step you were at and what problem.

Mike

Oh - does your floppy work in windows..hehee...floppy...havent had one of those in years If your floppy doesnt work in windows, maybe the cable is upside down - trust me, I have done that MANY times in previous builds.

OH - and DO NOT use beta drivers - i.e. nvidia!!!

Mike

or send it to me and I will be happy just looking at all those shiny high end parts

KnightRid wrote: Oh - does your floppy work in windows..hehee...floppy...havent had one of those in years If your floppy doesnt work in windows, maybe the cable is upside down - trust me, I have done that MANY times in previous builds.

you have no idea how many hours i spend ripping my hair out wondering why in the hell my floppy drive wouldn't work.... with my previous motherboard (asus), i need a floppy drive in order to update the bios. so, i took the floppy out of my roommate's daughter's computer and installed it in mine just to update the bios and it never worked.... the light was on and everything, but it was never recognized in "my computer"... i had to have spent at LEAST 4 hours trying to figure it out.... i even reformatted cuz i thought windows was fvcking with me. then, i realized that the cable could fit updside-down as well as right-side-up... idiot.

If you re-install windows be sure to install things in order like this...

1) Install Windows XP
2) install the Service Pack(s)
3) drink a pint
4) disable System Restore
5) Reboot and do nothing but update your chipset drivers. (Open no other programs first.)
6) After rebooting, go into your device manager and click on your Universal Serial Bus Controller. Double-click on the controller to get into the Properties, and select the Driver tab. Click on the button labeled Update Driver with radio button in Install Software Automatically. Reboot.
7) Install DirectX drivers
8 ) Install drivers for your network card/adapter (or whats left on the mobo CD)
9) Plug in the network cable and open Internet Explorer
10) Go to Windows Update and download all critical updates first
11) Update your video card drivers
12 Activate Windows.
13) Download and install a firewall and/or spyware programs
14) run a defragger of choice
15) use a registry cleaner if you would like (Norton WinDoctor)

Boom you are done.

personally i install a firewall before going online.
Ive had a few incidents where i got the a worm within seconds of going online with a new installation of windows, u know the one with windows is going to shutdown bla bla!

I basically did what Apop said (I reformatted.) The Event log shows a lot of this:
An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk0\D during a paging operation.
Should I RMA? I used SpinRite 6 to try to iron these out. There are fewer of them but they are still there.

i wouldn't rma... i'd contact wherever you bought it and ask for an exchange. it's be much quicker than an rma.

It appears I misdiagnosed AGAIN. The paging issue goes away if I remove one 7900GTX. Both cards work fine by themselves. Does it matter which way the SLI connector goes on? It appears to fit both ways.

Is there an option for "SLI broadcast apenture" or something in the bios?

It's a long shot, but make sure it's set to on or auto

AFAIK the SLI bridge can go on in any direction, I have 2 different ones here and they don't have any markings etc.

You could try installing xp using a different SATA port + make sure you don't disable any unused nforce sata ports.

ALSO make sure all auto overclcok options in the bios are disabled, disable core cell if you can too. in the bios, make sure the HTT settings are for 16x up and down and the NB/SB link is @ it's max setting........it's another longshot, but mayby the hdd's are starved for bandwidth when in SLI and the bios defaults the sb/nb link too slow (like the asus board does)
These are long shots, but worth a try.......sorry my brain is fried after work