Windows 7 x64 Rig problems

[ericmet]

Hello, long time lurker, first time poster. Actually, I had an account on here, but I haven't used that email address in at least 6 years. But, that's not important. What is is the fact that usually when I am absolutely stumped, I have pretty much always found the answer on here. Which brings us here, my first post in years.

So today, I came upon a problem on a Client's PC (a build a did awhile ago) that I cannot find an answer for. Here are the specs:

CORE I7 950 3.06GHZ w/stock HS/F and TUNIQ TX-4 RT Thermal Grease
ASUS Sabertooth X58 Mobo
(2x[2GBx3]) 12GB G.SKILL Triple Channel Kits F3-12800CL6T-6GBPI
600GB WD WD6000HLHX 10K VelociRaptor (System Drive)
(2)2TB WD Caviar Black HDDs set in RAID 0
PNY VCQ4000-PB Quadro 4000 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Workstation Video Card
PLEXTOR PX-B940SA-11 BDRW
CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W PSU
WIN PRO 7 x64
HAF X 942 Case
MS NATURAL 4000 Keyboard
Logitech Cordless Laser Mouse

It doesn't have much software on it. Just some basic stuff like 7zip, Firefox, etc., and Adobe CS5 Prod. Premium. Lately, they started having issues with the screens (2x24" Viewsonics, 1 connected via HDMI and the other via DVI) suddenly going black, and then coming back soon after, with the ongoing nVidia problem that seems to be getting widespread (I have started experiencing it myself on my 550 Ti) where it says the Driver has failed, but it recovered. They installed the latest driver from nVidia, but it continued to happen. It was also recently freezing intermittently before that every once in awhile. But, after the driver update, the system became extremely unstable. I went over to try and troubleshoot, and I got it to boot and load into Windows. But, it crashed soon after and I hard to hard reboot. It started up and again got into Windows, but immediately crashed. I went into BIOS and everything seemed ok, but then it crashed in post. From then on, it wouldn't past the Starting Windows screen. Then, it stopped seeing the System drive consistently. So I decided to try a system repair, but it crashed in the Windows is loading Files screen and wouldn't get past it. The System drive continued to show problems (the X58 has red LEDs that lights up for CPU, RAM, GPU and System Drive problems), so I took it out and put it in another PC to try and get the data off of it. When I connected it to the other PC, it didn't see it at first so I rebooted, and it was fine after that. We got the data off and the Client didn't mind if I reformat the HDD. I did a quick format and put it back in the original PC. When it got to the Windows is loading Files screen, it froze again.

Sorry for the large amount of detail, but I wanted to include everything. Does anybody have any ideas what could be going on? I suspected the System Drive is bad, and I'm sure the GPU driver issue was causing problems. But would it be enough to cause such huge problems? I am at a loss, here. Voltages looked ok in BIOS, the X58 has MemOK! on it, so I planned on trying that once it got up and running. But, since the PC is about a year or so old, and has been running beautifully (save for some Adobe Premiere related issues) up until this point, I have to rule out the BIOS, Voltage and RAM timing settings. Windows updates hadn't been done for a couple of months before this all started, so I can't blame MS.

If anybody can provide any info and/or suggestions, I would be extremely grateful!

 

[Dogsnake]

Try a new power supply.

 

[ericmet]

I don't have any extra PSUs of that size laying around. I am going to use a PSU tester on it to see what it comes up with. I am also going to try a new System Drive and fresh Win 7 install and see what happens. Thank you, DogSnake, for your suggestion, I appreciate it.

Does anybody else have any other ideas?

 

[Dogsnake]

The PSU tester may not tell you the truth. The PSU needs to be tested under load. If you have a smaller unit, you can still test the system. The system draws little power in the boot and you can disconnect 2 hd, and one monitor during the test. You might try the disconnect with the 850.

 

[ericmet]

Thank you for your continued attention, DogSnake. I know the PSU testers aren't always precise, so I went ahead and RMAed the PSU. I wanted to test another PSU in the system, but the Client is in need of the system in working order. I did try the system as you mentioned, though, with the secondary HDDs removed, 1 monitor and 1 stick of RAM at a time. The system was still malfunctioning, so I contacted Corsair. Rather than suggesting any other tests and/or possibilities, I was told to RMA it by them. So, once I get the system re-installed, I will post back here with the results.

Thanks again!

 

[Dogsnake]

ok will watch and wait gl

 

[ericmet]

Ok, I got everything up and running again last night. But, I encountered 2 problems that I could use some help with. First, this is supposed to be a dual display setup. One of the displays is using the DVI port on the Quadro 4000 and the other is using one of the Display Port ports. When doing the clean install of Windows, it kept hanging while I had both monitors plugged in. As soon as I unplugged the one monitor from the Display Port, everything went fine. I installed the newest driver for the card, but I had to leave before I could connect the other monitor and test it out. Could there be an issue with the card? Also, just to note, the 2nd monitor connected to the DP port is using the DVI to DP adapter that came with the card.

The 2nd issue is there are 2 HDDs in the system that were set up in a RAID 0 configuration. After everything was installed and running, the 2 HDDs were not showing up in My Computer, and in Disk Management, they are showing up as foreign drives. The data on them is extremely important, and even though I installed a RAID 10 cabinet for backups, it was never utilized. Can I import the disks without losing the data? Basically, what is the best solution for at least being able to access and back up the data without losing anything (I'd prefer to be able to recreate the RAID 0 setup with the data intact, but if that is not possible, is there a way to retrieve the info)?

 

[ericmet]

Just wanted to add a quick update.

I got a call today and it seems that the system is now extremely unstable. They said it either just reboots during post or gets a BSOD right after post. They were unable to get me any of the error codes, so I am not sure what could be going on this point. When I left it last night, it was functioning very well, like when it was a brand new system. It was installing Windows updates (it had 105 to do) when I left, and supposedly it crashed as soon as they began to use it and never recovered. This is very frustrating, because I can't quite seem to pinpoint what is going on. I was thinking this thread should be moved over to Systems, but now I'm not sure. Especially without error codes. But anyway, the system has a new mobo and PSU, so the only pre-existing components from the original build are the RAM and the Graphics Card. PNY has yet to contact me back about the possibility of the card being bad, so I will make an update once I hear anything, and/or get a chance to check the system out for myself.

 

[ericmet]

Ok, I am going to have to move this problem over to Systems, because this thing is acting extremely odd, in ways I've never seen. Basically, tonight, it booted up fine and I was able to install SP1 and a few other updates. Then, after it configured SP1 and did the final reboot, I got a blinking cursor after POST. After trying multiple configurations in BIOS, and even a Windows repair, I reset BIOS and started over. I was able to reinstall Windows, and applicable drivers for the mobo. Then, I downloaded MemTest86, ImgBurn and the applicable driver from NVidia for the Quadro 4000. The download was going to take about 15 mins, so I left the PC. When I got back, it was frozen and completely unresponsive to anything from the keyboard and mouse to the reset button. I did a hard reboot and started MemTest. It began to run and got up to 3%, when it froze! The cursor was blinking, but it stayed on 3% Pass and 97% on Test 1 for like 3 minutes. What could be going on?

 

[Dogsnake]

Pretty simple (rofl); one or more of the following is bad-MB, PS, Memory, Vid. Card or CPU. Since you have swapped a few of these the list may be shorter. How are the temps under full load? Just an idea. After all this back and forth moving the system, have you considered taking it all apart and doing a clean assembly? A connector that is not tight can cause all sorts of problems. This is very common on modular PS where a loose plug or socket can play havoc with voltage and regulation.

 

[ericmet]

I know, pretty simple The only parts that haven't been RMAd are the CPU, Memory and Video Card. I haven't heard the results of MemTest yet, but I am not expecting good news. What should I use to accurately monitor the temps? In BIOS, they are hovering around 32 degrees. As far as rebuilding from scratch, I have done it, but I will do it again when I am back over there.
Thanks again for your efforts, man!

 

[Dogsnake]

You should be able to install windows with only 1 stick of ram in. Have you tried the system using them 1 at a time? Real Temps does the job (http://www.techpowerup.com/realtemp/). I only asked cause it would be good to rule out a thermal problem. I would also swap in another video card if you have one. CPU is the last thing I would blame. Unless (rofl) someone has been fooling with it as in took it out and bent a pin putting it back in. Did you replace the MB? Are you comfortable with the cpu installation? Check to see that the cooler is properly tightened. Just re-read all the posts, the memory issues sure point to memory. I would defiantly check each stick by itself. Also if you determine a stick is good (passes memtest even for a short run) move it to each slot just to be sure.

 

[ericmet]

That is the strange part (well, one of them anyways). The PC will not boot without all 6 sticks in it. Not sure what is going on there. I may try to reset BIOS and try it from there.

On a side note, I don't want to abuse the Forums in any way by having more than 1 active post about the same problem. Should I close this thread, or is it ok because they are in 2 different Forums? If it is a problem, I will close this one and continue on here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/335183-31-figure#t2505578

 

[Dogsnake]

better to close one.

 

[ericmet]

Thanks for your efforts, Dogsnake. I will close this one.

 

[ericmet]

Best answer selected by ericmet.

 

[nikorr]

This topic has been closed by Nikorr