Hi, I apologize ahead of time if this question has been asked before, I've searched the forums but found nothing related (and it's a weird one).
I'm having a strange issue with a recent processor upgrade. My system specs are as follows:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Rev 2.0
Intel Q9550 Core 2 Quad (2.83 Ghz)
OCZ PC3200, 4 gb
Crucial PC3200, 2 gb
HIS Radeon 4870 (512 mb)
Soundblaster X-fi Platinum
380W Antec Power Supply
Running SATA drives in AHCI mode
Running Vista Business 32-bit
2 HDs are hooked up, one is a 10K Raptor and one is a 7.2K. Both are SATA
The processor is a recent upgrade from an Intel E2160 Core Duo (which was then overclocked @ 3.0 Ghz, +0.125V). This processor still works fine.
The mobo's firmware was flashed to the latest version (F9)
USB Keyboard and Mouse (seems irrelevant, but look below)
Here is my problem:
When I first installed the new processor, the system correctly identified it as an Intel Q9550, but attempted to set the clock multiplier to x8 (2.66 Ghz). I manually edited the Fine Multiplier setting under BIOS so that the multiplier was x8.5 to match the specs of the CPU (2.83 Ghz). After this, the system failed to POST and would not long enter BIOS setup. So, I was forced to reset CMOS by shorting the reset pins on the mobo, after which the system would again correctly identify and POST. Instead of mucking about manually in BIOS, this time I just chose Gigabyte's "Load Optimized Defaults" setting which correctly set the multiplier to x8.5. I did have to manually re-enable AHCI for my SATA bus (it is not enabled by default), but that is the only modification I made after restoring defaults. After this the system POSTed, loaded the AHCI drivers just fine, then after the OS selection menu, hung. The Vista loading screen never appeared, HDs did not seek, but the fans started spinning up as if the system load was increasing. I thought that perhaps this was an issue with the AHCI, so I disabled it once again (I'd reinstall the OS if need be), but this had no effect - same symptoms. I tried a variety of things after this, loading failsafes, switching on and off various mobo settings under BIOS, but none of it worked.
An interesting issue I discovered while troubleshooting is that my keyboard locks after a certain point - I found that after about a minute, my keyboard would stop working. No idea on mouse since I never got to boot into an environment with mouse enabled, but the keyboard thing seems consistent across any environment. For example, if I didn't get my BIOS settings dialled in fast enough, I'd be screwed, since I couldn't save & exit properly. Also, when I let my system proceed to the OS selection screen (not sure what it's called, the MSFT equivalent of GRUB), I can't hit enter to start booting right away, I have to wait for the timer to count down from 30... not that either does any good because the system hangs on a black screen right after that.
Given this unusual issue, I thought perhaps this was an power supply problem. In theory this is a smaller process chip, but there's 4 cores... well, I started unplugging peripherals at any rate (that 10K Raptor is a doozy) but this didn't solve either problem (I have a W7 RC1 disc I was trying to boot at this point).
Basically everything else works so I'm thinking the problem is either the CPU or mobo. I think i'm relatively sure it's not the CPU, as it has already been RMAed once (had the same issue with the last one, but figured since the old E2160 worked, it might be a processor issue - it appears not). I've sent this mobo in for a repair before (Gigabyte sent back a repaired board, and not a replacement), and I think chances are low that I can get two defective Intel parts with the SAME problem, twice in a row, though I'll defer to anyone that has more experience in the matter.
I've sent Gigabyte an e-mail about this, but thought I'd ping the community to see if anyone had run into anything similar. Thank you for looking through the long post!
I'm having a strange issue with a recent processor upgrade. My system specs are as follows:
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L Rev 2.0
Intel Q9550 Core 2 Quad (2.83 Ghz)
OCZ PC3200, 4 gb
Crucial PC3200, 2 gb
HIS Radeon 4870 (512 mb)
Soundblaster X-fi Platinum
380W Antec Power Supply
Running SATA drives in AHCI mode
Running Vista Business 32-bit
2 HDs are hooked up, one is a 10K Raptor and one is a 7.2K. Both are SATA
The processor is a recent upgrade from an Intel E2160 Core Duo (which was then overclocked @ 3.0 Ghz, +0.125V). This processor still works fine.
The mobo's firmware was flashed to the latest version (F9)
USB Keyboard and Mouse (seems irrelevant, but look below)
Here is my problem:
When I first installed the new processor, the system correctly identified it as an Intel Q9550, but attempted to set the clock multiplier to x8 (2.66 Ghz). I manually edited the Fine Multiplier setting under BIOS so that the multiplier was x8.5 to match the specs of the CPU (2.83 Ghz). After this, the system failed to POST and would not long enter BIOS setup. So, I was forced to reset CMOS by shorting the reset pins on the mobo, after which the system would again correctly identify and POST. Instead of mucking about manually in BIOS, this time I just chose Gigabyte's "Load Optimized Defaults" setting which correctly set the multiplier to x8.5. I did have to manually re-enable AHCI for my SATA bus (it is not enabled by default), but that is the only modification I made after restoring defaults. After this the system POSTed, loaded the AHCI drivers just fine, then after the OS selection menu, hung. The Vista loading screen never appeared, HDs did not seek, but the fans started spinning up as if the system load was increasing. I thought that perhaps this was an issue with the AHCI, so I disabled it once again (I'd reinstall the OS if need be), but this had no effect - same symptoms. I tried a variety of things after this, loading failsafes, switching on and off various mobo settings under BIOS, but none of it worked.
An interesting issue I discovered while troubleshooting is that my keyboard locks after a certain point - I found that after about a minute, my keyboard would stop working. No idea on mouse since I never got to boot into an environment with mouse enabled, but the keyboard thing seems consistent across any environment. For example, if I didn't get my BIOS settings dialled in fast enough, I'd be screwed, since I couldn't save & exit properly. Also, when I let my system proceed to the OS selection screen (not sure what it's called, the MSFT equivalent of GRUB), I can't hit enter to start booting right away, I have to wait for the timer to count down from 30... not that either does any good because the system hangs on a black screen right after that.
Given this unusual issue, I thought perhaps this was an power supply problem. In theory this is a smaller process chip, but there's 4 cores... well, I started unplugging peripherals at any rate (that 10K Raptor is a doozy) but this didn't solve either problem (I have a W7 RC1 disc I was trying to boot at this point).
Basically everything else works so I'm thinking the problem is either the CPU or mobo. I think i'm relatively sure it's not the CPU, as it has already been RMAed once (had the same issue with the last one, but figured since the old E2160 worked, it might be a processor issue - it appears not). I've sent this mobo in for a repair before (Gigabyte sent back a repaired board, and not a replacement), and I think chances are low that I can get two defective Intel parts with the SAME problem, twice in a row, though I'll defer to anyone that has more experience in the matter.
I've sent Gigabyte an e-mail about this, but thought I'd ping the community to see if anyone had run into anything similar. Thank you for looking through the long post!
I had planned on doing it after this hardware upgrade!
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