This computer is fucking me off

[SMOKEU]

Did you try setting the SSD back to IDE mode instead of AHCI?
What was the dealio with the RAM testing?

I haven't tried IDE mode.

The RAM wouldn't play nicely together in Memtest until I updated the BIOS to the latest version, and now both sticks are fine according to Memtest so that should rule out a RAM issue. When I installed Windows 7 onto a HDD I ran Prime95 for 7 hours in large FFTs mode and then 4 hours in blend mode running 8 threads each time (2600K) with no errors. I'm running everything at stock clocks and volts.

[steve_t]

I guess changing to IDE mode and then doing a reformat and installing windows again is worth a shot. Nothing to lose I guess. It loses NCQ I think but will still be a shyteload faster than a HDD

[SMOKEU]

I guess changing to IDE mode and then doing a reformat and installing windows again is worth a shot. Nothing to lose I guess. It loses NCQ I think but will still be a shyteload faster than a HDD

Cheers, I'll give that a shot. I did have it set as AHCI with the previous motherboard without any problems.

[Gremlin]

Must be the season for it... my home machine somehow shat itself yesterday evening...

A strong smell of burnt plastic and it won't start (it was running then I found it off).

So yes... I feel your pain I'll have to troubleshoot next week in the office with all the extra resources.

[steve_t]

2 of my mates had PSU's go in the last couple of weeks. Granted one was 4 years old and ran 24/7 and the other was over 5 years old but I started to wonder if we might have been having some shit electricity or something. Both use surge protecting power boards though. I have a UPS at home that shows the voltage and it's been down around 222v recently where it was a steady 230v a while ago. I figured the cold weather might be taking its toll on the national grid.

[SMOKEU]

If it is a PSU problem then it still doesn't explain why Windows works fine off a HDD but not a SSD. Or why Linux Mint 12 and 13 work fine off the SSD. If the PSU was at fault then I'd expect it to crash the system when my CPU and GPU are working hard. It's a 950W PSU so I can't load it up to even half way with the hardware I've got, and I bought a good quality PSU (Corsair) to avoid the problems with the cheap, nasty PSUs.

[Gremlin]

If you have another PSU, I'd still check. It's obviously a critical component, and it doesn't matter whether or not you can fully load it. Bear in mind there is a certain amount of power on each rail, and you can still overload one rail and have issues.

We use a lot of components with years of experience, and still don't trust them when fault finding. Treat everything as suspicious until proven otherwise... there are always duds.

[SMOKEU]

If you have another PSU, I'd still check. It's obviously a critical component, and it doesn't matter whether or not you can fully load it. Bear in mind there is a certain amount of power on each rail, and you can still overload one rail and have issues.

We use a lot of components with years of experience, and still don't trust them when fault finding. Treat everything as suspicious until proven otherwise... there are always duds.

It's only got one 12V rail. It puts out 78A. But yes, I will try to hunt down another PSU and try it.

[steve_t]

Corsair make pretty damn good PSU's.
Did u try in IDE mode? Or at least tried different SATA ports? I believe there are some SATA3 and some SATA2 ports. Tried the other SATA3 ports?

[SMOKEU]

Corsair make pretty damn good PSU's.
Did u try in IDE mode? Or at least tried different SATA ports? I believe there are some SATA3 and some SATA2 ports. Tried the other SATA3 ports?

I will try IDE mode and a different SATA port tomorrow. You're correct in saying that there are SATA2 and SATA3 ports on my board.

[nadroj]

My PC kept crashing and rebooting it'self a month or so ago. I had the luxury of using my son's PC while he is on his Contiki but bit the bullet yesterday, replacing the suspect power supply with imediate results. Similarly my PC runs 24/7 and is about 5yo, so I suppose that is the lifespan of a PSU.

[Akzle]

I guess changing to IDE mode and then doing a reformat and installing windows again is worth a shot. Nothing to lose I guess. It loses NCQ I think but will still be a shyteload faster than a HDD

that will reduce your throughput, thereby nullifying any advantage of an SSD. and if you install winblows under IDE emulation it will shit if you switch it to AHCI., better to get the OS working with the hardware config you WANT.

[steve_t]

that will reduce your throughput, thereby nullifying any advantage of an SSD. and if you install winblows under IDE emulation it will shit if you switch it to AHCI., better to get the OS working with the hardware config you WANT.

Seriously?? You think an SSD running in IDE mode will be the same speed as a HDD?? It's just another trial to see if we can positively ID the faulty component.
In fact, if you read some reviews, throughput under IDE mode can be marginally faster than AHCI mode BUT... and of course there's always a but.... IOPS is generally reduced. It's a last straw suggestion to try and get Smokeu's computer actually running. Hell, it might not work but if it does, we get some more info

[Akzle]

IDE (ATA) throughput=133mbyte/s
native/via AHCI comparable speeds.
(native SATA throughput =3GB/s-6 GB/s)
pci-e throughput= 16GB/s .real world.
average mech drive read/write speed = 100MB/s (depend RPM)
average SSD read/write speed = 250MB/s

so will it bottleneck running AHCI/IDE.... you tell me.

[SMOKEU]

IDE (ATA) throughput=133mbyte/s
native/via AHCI comparable speeds.
(native SATA throughput =3GB/s-6 GB/s)
pci-e throughput= 16GB/s .real world.
average mech drive read/write speed = 100MB/s (depend RPM)
average SSD read/write speed = 250MB/s

so will it bottleneck running AHCI/IDE.... you tell me.

Gb/s, not GB/s!