TOTALLY FRUSRATED -- Vista basically unusable

O

Oudein

New Member
So, new build. Really excited, going for the whole hog. The specs are:

CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
Intel E8500 Wolfdale 3.16 GHz
EVGA nForce 790i Ultra
EVGA GeForce 9800 GX2 1GB
2x 2GB PATRIOT DDR3
750GB Seagate 32MB Cache
ABS Tagan BZ 1300W PSU
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Fatal1ty

... and, of course, Windows Ultimate 64 bit. This is about my fifth build, and it went great: loaded up the OS and updated all drivers (using only 2 GB RAM), started (cautiously) loading up all my software, taking care to only load software that had 64 bit driver support, as far as I could tell. I am a graphic designer and creative director, so I use Adobe CS3 and Office and game a little. Use Skype very frequently.


First off, SoundBlaster had no 64 bit support (I have never had much confident in Creative), so I simply took out the card and thought I might wait or scratch it.

More importantly, the system freezes. Hangs. Stalls, what-have-you. Just stops and needs a hard reboot. Any sounds playing at the time would stutter like a broken cd. I tried many things and am not overclocking. Eventually, needing to get work done, I simply figured there wasn't enough 64 bit driver support and yesterday fresh installed the 32 bit Vista using the alternate DVD that came in the package. Unfortunately, the system is behaving in exactly the same way.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions at all? I am pulling my hair out and need a working system soon. Please? Pretty please?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
    Memory
    Patriot DDR3 4GB (well, only 2 working so far)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 1500
    Caviar 7500
    2x Maxtor 2500

    Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
Maybe RAM failure, do a MemTest, had the same problem with any OS (including XP) that my PC would just crash all of the sudden, problem : Faulty RAM stick.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5B-E Plus
    Memory
    4GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-667
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN8800GT 512
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Packard Bell Maestro 190W
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 @ 75Hz
    Hard Drives
    WesternDigital 200GB 7200RPM + Iomega Desktop HD 360GB 7200RPM
    PSU
    Xilence Power 600W Gaming Edition
    Case
    Coolermaster Centurion 534 Black
    Cooling
    Standard Coolermaster Case Fans + Standard Intel CPU Fan.
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 V1
    Mouse
    Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue
    Internet Speed
    100.0 Mbps
Axon said:
Maybe RAM failure, do a MemTest, had the same problem with any OS (including XP) that my PC would just crash all of the sudden, problem : Faulty RAM stick.
Click to expand...

Axon, thanks for the suggestion. I'll boot into safe mode with cmd and try that now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
    Memory
    Patriot DDR3 4GB (well, only 2 working so far)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 1500
    Caviar 7500
    2x Maxtor 2500

    Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
Well, it won't get past .3% of available RAM tested before freezing in ANY mode that I have tried. Looks like that might bbe it, I guess?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
    Memory
    Patriot DDR3 4GB (well, only 2 working so far)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 1500
    Caviar 7500
    2x Maxtor 2500

    Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
Also try it with 1 stick a time, then you can find out which one it really is, because it may also be 2 sticks.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5B-E Plus
    Memory
    4GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-667
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN8800GT 512
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Packard Bell Maestro 190W
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 @ 75Hz
    Hard Drives
    WesternDigital 200GB 7200RPM + Iomega Desktop HD 360GB 7200RPM
    PSU
    Xilence Power 600W Gaming Edition
    Case
    Coolermaster Centurion 534 Black
    Cooling
    Standard Coolermaster Case Fans + Standard Intel CPU Fan.
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 V1
    Mouse
    Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue
    Internet Speed
    100.0 Mbps
Have you tried it at stock CPU speeds?
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State
    Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD
    HP CP1515n Color Laser
    Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer
    Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
    APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4400
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
He said he didn't overclock :).
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5B-E Plus
    Memory
    4GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-667
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN8800GT 512
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Packard Bell Maestro 190W
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 @ 75Hz
    Hard Drives
    WesternDigital 200GB 7200RPM + Iomega Desktop HD 360GB 7200RPM
    PSU
    Xilence Power 600W Gaming Edition
    Case
    Coolermaster Centurion 534 Black
    Cooling
    Standard Coolermaster Case Fans + Standard Intel CPU Fan.
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 V1
    Mouse
    Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue
    Internet Speed
    100.0 Mbps
Well I just did a quick google and it says the stock speed for that cpu is 2.66Ghz not 3.16GHz as it states in the OP
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State
    Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD
    HP CP1515n Color Laser
    Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer
    Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
    APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4400
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
E8500 eh, not E6500.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5B-E Plus
    Memory
    4GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-667
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN8800GT 512
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Packard Bell Maestro 190W
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 @ 75Hz
    Hard Drives
    WesternDigital 200GB 7200RPM + Iomega Desktop HD 360GB 7200RPM
    PSU
    Xilence Power 600W Gaming Edition
    Case
    Coolermaster Centurion 534 Black
    Cooling
    Standard Coolermaster Case Fans + Standard Intel CPU Fan.
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 V1
    Mouse
    Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue
    Internet Speed
    100.0 Mbps
So it is :o I just skimmed the page lol
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State
    Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD
    HP CP1515n Color Laser
    Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer
    Microsoft LifeCam Cinema
    APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4400
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
Yep, I switched out sticks to no avail. The thing is, it has been increasingly worse. the first couple of days it would only freeze when it was running multiple processes or when I tried Assassin's Creed. Now, it last more than a minute or two. I was figuring that it was a driver conflict, but I can't see any drivers that would be doing it. I think I may try reinstalling 64 bit and seeing how that goes again only installing very, very few programs, and then running it for a while after each one to see if I can find the one doing it. By the by, how do I eventually install 4 GB of RAM in Vista?
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
    Memory
    Patriot DDR3 4GB (well, only 2 working so far)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 1500
    Caviar 7500
    2x Maxtor 2500

    Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
By the by? Hehe...

Just go to BIOS -> Chipset -> Northbridge Configuration -> Enable Memory Remapping and then you will see and use the full 4GB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5B-E Plus
    Memory
    4GB Kingston ValueRAM DDR2-667
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS EN8800GT 512
    Sound Card
    Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Packard Bell Maestro 190W
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900 @ 75Hz
    Hard Drives
    WesternDigital 200GB 7200RPM + Iomega Desktop HD 360GB 7200RPM
    PSU
    Xilence Power 600W Gaming Edition
    Case
    Coolermaster Centurion 534 Black
    Cooling
    Standard Coolermaster Case Fans + Standard Intel CPU Fan.
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15 V1
    Mouse
    Razer Copperhead Tempest Blue
    Internet Speed
    100.0 Mbps
Thanks, Axon! I'll do that as soon as I can.

Y'know, it just gets weirder and weirder. I wiped the drive and am trying to reinstall the 64 bit, and it has frozen on the Installing the Updates stage. The thing is, I have reinstalled a couple of times already, as I said, and have never had a problem. So, if there is a problem with the RAM it is progressively getting worse, which seems strange to me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
    Memory
    Patriot DDR3 4GB (well, only 2 working so far)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 1500
    Caviar 7500
    2x Maxtor 2500

    Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
Oudein said:
I wiped the drive and am trying to reinstall the 64 bit, and it has frozen on the Installing the Updates stage.
Click to expand...

Hello Oudein,

Try not letting it install updates until after it has finished installing!

It's worth a try.


Later :confused: Ted
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics Card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Thanks, Ted. The install went pretty cleanly, and got all the way through the 3 stages, to point where I updated options, like Windows Defender. Then, just as I was creating (what I thought was a clean) Restore Point, it froze again. I had reset the BIOS to defaults before beginning, , and didn't update any of the Nvidia drivers for the mobo or graphics driver, so I really don't know what driver might be conflicting with the OS. The really frustrating thing is that it just freezes, so I never have a chance to see a log or process report of any kind. At this piont, I am letting it rest and am wondering if it anything is overheating -- even though I am recording 30s and 50s C for the mobo and cpu. I really just don't know what's going on or where to turn to find any answers.

I really appreciate all of the support and suggestions on this thread, though. Thanks a bunch to one and all!
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel Core 2Duo E8500 3.16 GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra SLI
    Memory
    Patriot DDR3 4GB (well, only 2 working so far)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GX2
    Hard Drives
    Barracuda 1500
    Caviar 7500
    2x Maxtor 2500

    Case: CoolerMaster Cosmos 1010 ESA
Noticed you are using 9800 gx2. I get the same lockups and sudden reboots with this card. All i could find is that it is southbridge heat related. The card sits too close to the heat sink. The card itself gets very hot too because its two chips sandwiched against each other with the airflow in between. In a cooler environment the system is much more stable.
 

My Computer

System One

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