GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

[MadMax2911]

Hi Guys I am having problems with this Build now, and I am asking for help. The Main problem was constant beeping and rebooting. I say was because I have been able to get it to startup and run now but still have problems with sound card and freezing plus other issues.

Onset of the problems began when I changed out some memory, while I was benchmarking my rigs with 3DMark06 and the online contest.

I wanted to move the PC to other location in a standing position due to space limitations you know(before it was lying on its side and working great). As soon as I hook up and startup, it starts to beep beep and restart. I am not sure how many beeps there were exactly, as I was trying to figure out why its was not working I only changed out the memory, I thought, so I will change memory to a different slot-no joy.

Maybe I will pull the video card to see if it will startup with success :) I try a different Video card(PCI) to get into BIOS. As soon as I get to BIOS I get the error message due to incorrect settings in the BIOS that cause a unstable state, press any key to continue. I find that I have overclock settings, which I back off to continue checking things out.

Now I remove PCI video and reinstall PCI-E video to secondary slot and startup. I am greeted with a good startup and notice after a while that the sound card is not working. I see the install hardware wizard open up and think to myself I thought I installed that driver?(not sure how this was caused at this point, but loose grounds may but culprit on the MOBO.) I pull my hair out trying to figure out why this problem is occuring again and again even after trying the update feature in creative software. I believe I have uninstalled the sound card and reinstall as well with autoupdate program which stated that driver was installed-I think. I continue to operate and search the web for solutions to this problem and found a uninstall guide on the creative forums. I will try the uninstall procedure as soon as I finish cooking turkey(HaHa). The sound card is a Sound Blaster ExtremeGamer Fatal1ty PRO series PCI connector.

As for the BIOS settings I already reset the CMOS and loaded optimized defaults and reset most important settings.

Another important thing is, while inspecting things inside my case and clearing the CMOS, I noticed the some standoff connections do not have screws installed. So when the tower is lying on its side the connections are made, but while standing up I am not sure that the connections are being made. I am wondering how important this is to normal operation. Is there not a common ground for the whole MOBO? Do these other connections have to be connected for proper operation? I am thinking yes, what do you Guys say? Did I just find the smoking gun?
Edit: I was also overclocking as well.
Max

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Which one is the problem child? Build #2? Build #3? A different computer.
Do these problems still exist if your system is horizontal?
I suggest installing the missing motherboard mounting screws and make sure that the mobo is aligned properly in the computer case.
The motherboard user manual has the beep codes near the end of the manual. Sometimes the number of beeps and the beep pattern helps determine the problem.
You might need to start over with a minimal hardware setup and gradually connect the remainder of the hardware.
It might help if you uninstall and reinstall the sound card drivers and software.

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Which one is the problem child? Build #2? Build #3? A different computer.
Do these problems still exist if your system is horizontal?
I suggest installing the missing motherboard mounting screws and make sure that the mobo is aligned properly in the computer case.
The motherboard user manual has the beep codes near the end of the manual. Sometimes the number of beeps and the beep pattern helps determine the problem.
You might need to start over with a minimal hardware setup and gradually connect the remainder of the hardware.
It might help if you uninstall and reinstall the sound card drivers and software.

This build is number 2. I horizontal position I got the problems to stop by pulling video card(which is the older video card of my bunch), then I put PCI video card in and rebooting stopped. I have since changed to the secondary PCI-E slot with the same 6600GT video card that was installed with reboot problem. I have not tried moving back to primary slot yet. I have been operating in XXXXXXXX Vertical position for a few days and still notice the wierd sound card problem. When I open creative panel the system will freeze(XXXXXXX Vertical). I have installed two mounting screws and will check that mobo is aligned next. I have not seen the new hardware wizard yet after installing screws, but I am still testing. Also will look into creative panel to see if it will freeze again BRB. Just tried to open Creative control panel and no freezing at all..

On another note I looked in the uninstall guide and it says to look for creative X-Fi sound blaster drivers and I see none? I thought, I installed the drivers, Oh well I am downloading them now. Installed Drivers and I see the found new hardware wizard again. I try the creative software auto update and it cannot find any creative products installed on my system? I did find the creative control panel S/W, in add remove programs, and I removed it.

I realize maybe due to the position of the 6600GT maybe it is too close to the sound card and it may be taking control of the IRQ and causing a conflict?
Just a thought for now, I will continue to pull my hair out tomorrow.
Max

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Driver Sweeper software:
Boot into windows safe mode and run Driver Sweeper to remove all RealTek and Creative Software.
Don't forget to disable on-board sound in the bios.
There might be a problem with remnants of video card drivers and software. Were both video cards Nvidia models?
It's probably best to remove the graphics drivers and software.
After Driver Sweeper removes the sound and graphics software, DON'T reinstall the graphics software.
See if you you can install the latest Creative software and drivers while running without any video drivers or software.

Next time I promise to look at the thread title to determine which system the thread deals with ;)

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Tried a conservative uninstall of the two parts (video and sound) but no success. I found a uninstall guide, which shows me just how much work is involved. I tried some of the steps with little success. http://nomoregoatsoup.wordpress.com/...tall-problems/

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Backing up my system before any hard tweaking of the registry. OK to make a long story short I uninstalled the programs in regular windows and took screenshots of Revo Uninstaller's registry cleaning choices. Then I try to go to safe mode to clean with driver sweeper etc armed with the information from online, only to be blocked by windows activation. If I havent told you by now yesterday I got a notice at boot that changes have been detected and win XP will need to be reactivated within three days. I have Microsoft security essentials installed an it too gives me a notice that it will stop operating unless I reactivate soon. Its a shame because, I have couple of good registry scanners to compare results and the online information as well. Now, If I reactivate now, I can continue with troubleshooting and may or may not fix this troublesome issue I worry that I do not want to find that a reinstall is needed and then have re activate one more time again. A reinstall would be a clean sweep and may allow a hard drive change too. this Western Digital drive is not very fast and I believe it has been recertified at the factory. Would it be good to continue with this recertified drive? I am attaching one scan from Revo Uninstaller for the viewers(who are following and can use). Its of the control panel which, I think is the important program to uninstall and clean.
BACKUP SOFTWARE: EaseUS Todo Backup 3.5
UNINSTALLER SOFTWARE: Revo Uninstaller Free

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Here is the other screenshot :)

Cleaning up after the creative updater software is a bit intricate as there are 20-30 entries to delete and I hope I dont have to worry too much about that program.
I just activated on the internet...
UPDATE ON PROGRESS: Tried to delete most items that I considered safe with DriverSweeper then rebooted(note Driver Sweeper seemed to hang after about ten minutes so I stopped it) A rescan of the system in safe mode revealed entries had been removed. In windows, I tried to install sound card SW drivers without video driver installed but no dice.
Max

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Here is the error message that I get running setup.exe

[profJim]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

What information does windows Device Manager show for your card?
Are there any IRQ device sharing conflicts (e.g. msinfo -> Hardware Resources -> IRQs and Conflicts/Sharing)
Have you tired using a different pci slot?
Does your card work in one of your other systems?
Are you trying to use the latest downloaded version? Earlier versions? XP versions?
Have you tried any of Creative's troubleshooting procedures?

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

What information does windows Device Manager show for your card?
Are there any IRQ device sharing conflicts (e.g. msinfo -> Hardware Resources -> IRQs and Conflicts/Sharing)
Have you tired using a different pci slot?
Does your card work in one of your other systems?
Are you trying to use the latest downloaded version? Earlier versions? XP versions?
Have you tried any of Creative's troubleshooting procedures?

First I found this in Dev Mgr in the properties page and device information area.
"Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)"

Here is the IRQ information......
System Information report written at: 11/27/11 09:39:31
System Name: Xxxxxxxx
[IRQs]

Resource	Device	Status	
IRQ 9	Microsoft ACPI-Compliant System	OK	
IRQ 16	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	OK	
IRQ 16	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37	OK	
IRQ 16	Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 3A40	OK	
IRQ 5	Video Controller (VGA Compatible)	OK	
IRQ 21	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A38	OK	
IRQ 18	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A39	OK	
IRQ 18	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C	OK	
IRQ 18	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36	OK	
IRQ 17	Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 6 - 3A4A	OK	
IRQ 17	Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller	OK	
IRQ 23	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34	OK	
IRQ 23	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A	OK	
IRQ 19	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35	OK	
IRQ 19	Intel(R) ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26	OK	
IRQ 7	Creative SB X-Fi	OK	
IRQ 0	High precision event timer	OK	
IRQ 8	High precision event timer	OK	
IRQ 13	Numeric data processor	OK	
IRQ 6	Standard floppy disk controller	OK	
IRQ 14	Primary IDE Channel	OK	
IRQ 4	Intel(R) ICH10 Family SMBus Controller - 3A30	OK

Here is the sharing information.....
System Information report written at: 11/27/11 09:40:31
System Name: Xxxxxxxx
[Conflicts/Sharing]

Resource	Device	
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7	PCI bus	
I/O Port 0x00000000-0x00000CF7	Direct memory access controller	
		
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	
I/O Port 0x000003C0-0x000003DF	VgaSave	
		
Memory Address 0xF4000000-0xFBFFFFFF	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	
Memory Address 0xF4000000-0xFBFFFFFF	Video Controller (VGA Compatible)	
		
IRQ 23	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A34	
IRQ 23	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3A	
		
IRQ 16	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	
IRQ 16	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A37	
IRQ 16	Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 1 - 3A40	
		
IRQ 17	Intel(R) ICH10 Family PCI Express Root Port 6 - 3A4A	
IRQ 17	Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller	
		
Memory Address 0xE0000000-0xE7FFFFFF	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	
Memory Address 0xE0000000-0xE7FFFFFF	Video Controller (VGA Compatible)	
		
IRQ 18	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A39	
IRQ 18	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Enhanced Host Controller - 3A3C	
IRQ 18	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A36	
		
IRQ 19	Intel(R) ICH10 Family USB Universal Host Controller - 3A35	
IRQ 19	Intel(R) ICH10 Family 2 port Serial ATA Storage Controller 2 - 3A26	
		
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	PCI bus	
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	
Memory Address 0xA0000-0xBFFFF	VgaSave	
		
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB	Intel(R) 4 Series Chipset PCI Express Root Port - 2E29	
I/O Port 0x000003B0-0x000003BB	VgaSave	
		
I/O Port 0x00000290-0x0000029F	Motherboard resources	
I/O Port 0x00000290-0x0000029F	Motherboard resources	
		
	Yes I have tried other slots for the PCI sound card.  Yes it did work before but have not tried to swap to other systems recently.  Will consider doing that. As far as I know I am using the most recent driver and yes its for XP.  Have looked at creative website but have not tried any recomendations yet.  I will try to sqeeze some quality time in today, thanks tons Guy

EDIT: found infor on other forums that directed me to go to windows update for and update to the Sound card. I installed this update and checked the dev mgr properties page and found the driver is properly installed, but sound still eludes me :( Spent much time on sunday doing a clean boot of the PC and uninstalling the drivers, according to the support forums at creative. I also empty the C: Windows\Temp\ folder of any creative files. I was advise to install drivers then return to a normal boot state. Next I went to windows update for an update to this device. Still more information advised to check settings in the sound properties pages. Wow, think I will stick to the good old onboard sound next time or find a good soundcard manufacturer next time.
Sound Blaster X-Fi Issues Explored This link deals with the various issues with SoundBlaster products and the warfare (flaming?) that is occurring on the forums. Thanks Max

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Well I am getting a bit beaten up by this sound card and am still searching for solutions.
Here is an update on my progress of swapping card out to another PC. started up my other rig (The UD3LR) and Uninstalled the Audio Software for onboard sound. I checked the settings in the BIOS prior to resetting with a reset switch I have routed to the front panel (30 secs). I booted to the BIOS and loaded optimised defaults and then reset all settings. I made sure to disable the "audio Codec" as well, then boot back to windows.
After installing the X-Fi, I tried to go to windows update to install any updates for this X-Fi card. Win Update tried installing, but then froze, so I had to force shutdown. I rolled back to my prepared restore point complete with ERUNT back up (Registry).
At this point, I thought I will try to install the current approved (non beta) driver. started the install and was greeted with the "Setup is unable to detect a supported product on your system. Please ensure that your product is properly installed before running this setup program" Then I ask myself, are you serious?
Looking back at creative forums, I found a thread that deals with the problem of "no audio device detected " it is here -->> "No Audio Device Detected" Proble - Page 4
Some say to check the services.msc for services that will not restart on their own like windows audio. I also checked other services and some were set to manual, so I set to automatic and started them. Some were related to installing devices (windows installer, windows driver foundation-this one will not start up due to a problem etc), but I reset most of them just to try for now. Another, poster said that XP needs the original install disc and later OS versions just need the DLed driver and Apps. Still another said to try the clean boot method to clean up a previous install and then reinstall etc etc.
Still others say to do a clean reformat of the hard drive and reinstall windows XP. They say to watch what programs that are installed that relate to the audio device(they may cause problems).
I am making some conclusions now that there may be serious problems with this device or some other reasons may be interfering with this installation routine. I recall the DS3R PC had only the X-Fi card available during windows update(yes I reinstalled that OS recently). It worked after install for a while and then came the problems sometimes thinking it was plugged into wrong port(speakers). I got it to work for a while before it stopped working altogether. Now as I can surmise the card may be damaged or, as someone explained on the forum, XP does not support certain sound cards. Still further, what about the article that explained the driver issues that were present in the early drivers and the IRQ sharing problems I provided that link in the last post.
EDITED POST at 5:52PM
Contacting Creative support but this product is well out of warranty.
Madmax2911 out

[Conners]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Just off the top of my head I think you have some sort of grounding issue....Still

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

Just off the top of my head I think you have some sort of grounding issue....Still

Thanks Conners for the information, and looking at this scenario the grounding issue in the other PC could have damaged this card. Also, I have heard that the power needs to be unplugged when installing PCI cards and that may not have been done(but the power was switched off). Maybe its time to look for another card?

[wazza300]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

i would buy some extra stand off screws and screw your mb down fully just to make sure its secure and earthed,then i would unplug your soundcard and clean the gold contacts with alcahol and then try and see if it gets detected by windows,i would wait on buying a new hdd nows not the best time regarding prices,you can re activate windows as many times as you like,maybe you will need to phone them after so many activations but its fairly easy process,try unplugging/rebooting/installing the sound card a few times just to see if it gets detected

[MadMax2911]

Re: GA-EP45-DS3R Reboots and Beeps-No Startup

i would buy some extra stand off screws and screw your mb down fully just to make sure its secure and earthed,then i would unplug your soundcard and clean the gold contacts with alcahol and then try and see if it gets detected by windows,i would wait on buying a new hdd nows not the best time regarding prices,you can re activate windows as many times as you like,maybe you will need to phone them after so many activations but its fairly easy process,try unplugging/rebooting/installing the sound card a few times just to see if it gets detected

Hi Wazza300, thanks for replying with more information. I just got through scouring the forums at creative and thought a clean boot install, then uninstall and reinstall would work but it did not. It still gave the error of not detecting the card. At least I was able to install the software this time. I can try other things as you say, one would be to reinstall windows just for the sake of seeing if its some windows files that are missing. I remember seeing a youtube video about a sound card that works and then stops working, but he said that he had a corrupted driver. If this is a defective batch of cards why dosent creative just say something about it? Oh yeah then they would have to put out more money in the form of products replaced. It always comes down to money issue in my opinion. And dont forget that some experts are blaming shoddy drivers and IRQ sharing issues. I am tired good night. Sleepy smiley :)