EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

[onemanwaking]

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Well first off, please for now keep trying with only the one stick in slot one. What you should do is for sure go in the BIOS and set the ram voltage to 2.0-2.1 and set performance enhance on Standard.

That should get you some stability for a bit. If you do need to flash (Which you may or may not need to) DO NOT USE @BIOS. I know you do not have windows installed, just telling you no now incase you try it later. You can use a USB Stick to flash from Qflash. but I think you are fine for now with that BIOS as it surely supports your CPU. See here on how to use Qflash >>>

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f69/bios-flashing-how-qflash-guide-27576/

To get 2x2 Going you need to adjust several things, MCH Voltage to 1.2-1.3, trfc to 52-62, twtr 12, twr 14. And be sure Static tRead Value is high for now as well (10-12). Set driving strength profile to 1066-1200 the latter may be best. If you do not see this, then yes you are using a Older BIOS, no biggie for now though

Of course these can be lowered once you get going.

And if you have another PC it is always Best to test ram when you get it with memtest86+ at default speed, manually set spec timings and manually set voltages. Test one by one in slot one to be sure you do not have a DOA set, or dying stick in the mix >>>
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

If you get anywhere, or not please post me the settings you are using and I will post back some suggested starting points >>>

This is Just a template I use to ask people their settings, pay no attention to the numbers in it, replace with yours

[b][u]MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)[/u][/b]
Robust Graphics Booster ...............: 
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................: 
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................:.0
CPU Frequency ...........................: 


[b][u]Clock Chip Control [/u][/b]
[b][u]Standard Clock Control[/u][/b]
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled] 
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: Mhz
[B]PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:Set to 100[/B]

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


[b][u]Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter][/u][/b]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: <<< 
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: <<< 
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: <<< 
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: <<< 


[b][u]DRAM Performance Control[/u][/b][u][/u]
[B]Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD][/B]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: 
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

[b]Standard Timing Control[/b]
CAS Latency Time........................
tRCD .........................................
tRP'...........................................
tRAS..........................................

[b][u]Advanced Timing Control[/u][/b]
tRRD...........................................
tWTR..........................................
tWR............................................
tRFC...........................................
tRTP...........................................
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

[u][b]Driving Strength Profiles[/b][/u][b][/b]
Driving Strength ............................

[b]Channel A[/b]
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
 tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
 tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
 tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto 
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto 
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps

[b]Channel B[/b]
Static tRead Value.........................:7-10
 tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:<<< Leave for all below as well
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:Auto
 tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:Auto
 tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:Auto
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:Auto 
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:Auto 
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:Auto 
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:Auto  ps

[b][U]Motherboard Voltage Control[/U][/b][U][/U]
Voltage Type.………... Manual
[b]CPU[/b]
CPU Vcore….……….........................:
CPU Termination…..... 1.200V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU PLL…………………....1.500V*.......: <<< Leave
CPU Referen.…………....0.755V*.......: <<< .64% Of Vtt (Termination above)
CPU Reference2………,,0.800V*.......:<<< .67% Of Vtt (Termination above)

[b]MCH/ICH[/b]
MCH Core…………….....1.100V...........: << 
MCH Reference….…….0.800V...........; <<< Leave
MCH/DRAM Ref.…......0.900V...........: <<< Leave
ICH I/O……………….....1.550V............: <<< Leave
ICH Core…………...……1.100V............: <<< Leave

DRAM
DRAM Voltage ……....1.800V............: 
DRAM Termination .…0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel A Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave
Channel B Reference 0.900V............: <<< Leave

[b][U]Advanced Settings[/U][/b][U][/U]
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Disabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: [Disabled]
x C4/C4E State Support..................: [Disabled]
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Disabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Disabled] Enabled if you use Vmware/Virtual PC

[b][U]Integrated Peripherals[/U][/b][U][/U]
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Disabled] *Note* Must be enabled to flash from USB

[soldier]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Not to spam or anything in your thread, but it seems like alot of EP45 are giving trouble?

Bad batch maybe?

*crosses fingers on his EP35*

[onemanwaking]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Hi LSD,

Thanks for the suggestions.

I set the Performance Enhance to Standard and put the DRAM voltage from 1.8 up to 2.0. I saved the settings and exited. It rebooted and I was able to get into the BIOS again. I was just getting to the MCH voltage when everything froze again. Arrg! Back to square one.

A few things you listed that I couldn't find, so maybe my BIOS is pretty old.

Here are my settings anyway:


MB Intelligent Tweaker(M.I.T.)
Robust Graphics Booster ...............:AUTO
CPU Clock Ratio ..........................:9X
Fine CPU Clock Ratio.....................: N/A
CPU Frequency...........................: 2.40 GHz(266x9)


Clock Chip Control
Standard Clock Control
CPU Host Clock Control..................: [Enabled]
CPU Host Frequency (Mhz) ............: 266 Mhz
PCI Express Frequency (Mhz) .........:AUTO

C.I.A.2 .................................:[Disabled]


Advanced Clock Control [Press Enter]
CPU Clock Drive...........................: 800mV<<<
PCI Express Clock Drive.................: 800mV<<<
CPU Clock Skew (ps)....................: 0ps<<<
MCH Clock Skew (ps)...................: 0ps<<<


DRAM Performance Control
Performance Enhance...................: [STANDARD]
Extreme Memory Profile (X.M.P.).....: Disabled
(G)MCH Frequency Latch...............: [Auto]
System Memory Multiplier ..............: AUTO
Memory Frequency (Mhz) ..............: 1066
DRAM Timing Selectable ................: [Manual]

Standard Timing Control
CAS Latency Time........................AUTO
tRCD .........................................AUTO
tRP'...........................................AUT O
tRAS..........................................AUTO

Advanced Timing Control
tRRD...........................................4
tWTR..........................................4
tWR............................................8
tRFC...........................................72
tRTP...........................................4
Command Rate (CMD) ....................:2

Driving Strength Profiles
Driving Strength ............................???

Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:6
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:0
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:0
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:0
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:0
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:8
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:8
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:7
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:9
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:

Channel B
Static tRead Value.........................:N/A
tRD Phase0 Adjustment...................:N/A
tRD Phase1 Adjustment...................:N/A
tRD Phase2 Adjustment .................:N/A
tRD Phase3 Adjustment..................:N/A
Trd2rd(Different Rank)....................:N/A
Twr2wr(Different Rank)...................:N/A
Twr2rd(Different Rank)...................:N/A
Trd2wr(Same/Diff Rank)..................:N/A
Dimm1 Clock Skew Control...............:N/A
Dimm2 Clock Skew Control...............:N/A

Motherboard Voltage ControlCPUMCH/ICHAdvanced Settings
Limit CPUID Max. to 3.....................: [Disabled]
No-Execute Memory Protect............: [Enabled]
CPU Enhanced Halt (C1E)................: [Enabled]
C2/C2E State Support....................: ???
x C4/C4E State Support..................: ???
CPU Thermal Monitor 2(TM2) ...........: [Enabled]
CPU EIST Function.........................: [Enabled]
Virtualization Technology................: [Enabled]

Integrated Peripherals
Legacy USB Storage Detect ..............[Enabled]


Knock on wood, but the BIOS has remained running now for 10 minutes while I typed all this. Could this be a good sign?

Thanks again for any and all help with this!

[onemanwaking]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Well, it froze again.

Current status:

I was able to get in and change these settings -
tWTR - 12
tWR - 14
tRFC - 58

Sometimes it will last 10 minutes. Sometimes just 20 seconds. Seems like the longer I have it turned off, the longer it will last when I turn it on again.

I'm going to try both sticks of RAM and see what happens.

[PrairieDawg]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Just a shot in the dark ..... maybe the problem is heat related? Your words "Seems like the longer I have it turned off, the longer it will last when I turn it on again" make me wonder if the CPU is over heating. Is the heatsink placed properly and is the thermal interface compound properly applied?

[onemanwaking]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

To PrarieDawg,

I thought about that as well. The heatsink is properly screwed into place and my buddy helped me apply a thin, consistent film of Arctic Silver on the CPU. The times it has run for minutes at a time, I've checked the PC Health option and it seems the PC Temp levels out at about 45 degrees celcius, with the CPU temp hovering around 30 degrees. The case has two 120mm fans as well, so it should be well ventilated.

For an update:

I burned an Ubuntu Live CD (8.04.1 Hardy Heron) and used that to check the RAM sticks individually. Guess what? One of them was a dud! Nothing but a continuous stream of red error messages. I just went back to TigerDirect and exchanged for another set and am currently running the same test. So far so good. If both sticks are OK, I'll try booting into the Ubuntu Live OS and see how long I last with that...

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

@Soldier, na just P45 has MANY More settings then P35 so users seem to be lost. And when you set main timings this enables ALL the 3 pages of Subtiming/advanced timings, and in Auto some of these are just not correct for certain/many

@onemanwaking
Channel A
Static tRead Value.........................:6 << This is far to low for 1066, I would change this first off to 10-12 for now and then try again.

Sorry to hear you have a dead stick, did you try running Memtest86+? You can boot to it from CD or floppy so no Ubuntu would be needed and it is a more acceptable ram test.

Keep in mind, when testing, all advanced settings should be in auto with only one stick in slot one. Main timings, voltages, and speed should be manually set.

Let me know how you get along with your testing on your new ram, and if you get it up and running if you need help with the BIOS once you flash

[onemanwaking]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Success!!!.......Sort of.....

Thank you LSD, for all your help. I tested the new memory and both sticks are fine. The system is stable enough now that I have not experienced a single crash while looking at the BIOS. And I've had the machine on for hours straight now, so that's good. I think the combination of your settings plus (obviously) stable RAM was the key.

I'll make sure to change the static tREAD as well.

But my troubles aren't over quite yet. Looks like I have a bad DVD burner! Neither Windows nor Ubuntu will install, and when I try to install Ubuntu through a text-based installer it eventually tells me that it can't recognize the CD drive. I removed the drive and found that there is something shifting loosely inside, so maybe a part is preventing the drive from accessing the whole disc. Arrg! I'll try replacing with an old CD unit I've got kicking around here and see what happens.

Anyway, looks like I should be out of the woods soon enough. Thanks again to LSD and everyone for your help and suggestions!

[onemanwaking]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Quick follow up...

The DVD drive is actually OK, as I am now currently installing Windows XP Home.

For some reason, though, both my Ubuntu CDs as well as my XP Pro CD didn't get very far into the install process before giving me errors.

Strange...

Oh well, I can live with XP Home for now until I get the other issues sorted out.

Thanks again everyone!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Nice to hear you are getting things sorted. Sounds like you have a badly burned copy of those CD's maybe? Did you burn them yourself? If so, burn them again but this time Burn at the SLOWEST Speed you can, if you burn a OS too fast it will always error when installing.

[onemanwaking]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

That must be it, then. XP Home installed fine and is now running flawlessly!

Yay, I've got a stable working system!

Thanks again everyone!

[Lsdmeasap]

Re: EP45-DS3L owner needs help!

Glad to hear you are running smoothly!