Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H constant blue screens of death

juzdownunder · **17th August 2008, 08:32 PM**

Well, I officially give up, after a full weekend of trying to fix this damn thing...

Some history...I decided to replace the mobo in my (working) media centre, so I could install the new GA-M78SM-S2H...this would give me on-board DVI and optical audio outputs, and an nvidia 8200 on-board also, allowing me to stop using my noisy ATI x1650Pro.

Once up and running (didn't re-install Vista at this stage), I started to have an issue where my DNTV Live Hybrid S2 kept dropping out, which got really annoying. I decided to re-install Vista from scratch, and this is when things got really ugly....

I now have Blue Screen Of Death (BSOD's) happening often, with plenty of Vista messages saying "xxx stopped working", replace xxx with whatever you like, windows explorer, media centre, etc etc. The BSOD message is always "IRQL not less or equal"...googling turns up a heap of issues that seem to all point to Nvidia drivers, not just in Vista but other versions of windows.

I've installed the latest BIOS, nvidia drivers, gigabyte mobo drivers...have re-installed Vista 4 times now, sometimes I can get SP1 applied, other times (like now) windows update fails and causes the BSOD. I reboot, it BSOD's on startup, maybe once or twice, then boots up again.

At one stage i lost all my graphics, and the Vista "score" was telling my my card was worth 1.0, despite being an 8200. So i tried installing an old nvidia 7300GS i had, to see if it was the on-board video...the problems still exist. My ATI x1650 Pro has packed it in, so I can't try that.

Open to ideas at this stage? It blue screened once right at the end of installing Vista from scratch, so it can't be any 3rd party drivers i'm putting on?

Weekend wasted...and just to cap it off, the 8600GT silentpipe jobbie I put in my main PC is causing black screens when coming out of S3 standby...i'm having a bad run!

Juz.

juzdownunder · **18th August 2008, 01:20 PM**

Update....a few of the web sites i'd seen when researching the error suggested running "memtest", to test the RAM. I was doubtful it would show anything, but sure enough after 7 or 8 minutes i had a screen full of errors.

I pulled out 1 of the 1Gb sticks, re-ran, same errors. So i swapped the sticks over, and no errors! Re-ran Vista install with only the good 1Gb RAM, and all the IRQL blue screens have stopped...

That being said, I still have issues with media centre hanging. It does it after installing Vista afresh, then the nvidia chipset drivers....with nothing else installed...even without the DNTV live S2 card in the machine. Working on that issue now....suspecting the nvidia on-board video card.

FURTHER UPDATE:
Ok, everything seemed to be working other than media centre....every time I started it, within 5 mins it would simply hang, with the blue circle spinning. If i left it long enough, I would either get a black screen, or another blue screen of death (this time a "kernel inpage data error".

I still suspected the nvidia 8200 on-board video, so i dropped a spare ATI HD2400 into it, un-installed the nvidia drivers, and installed the ATI catalyst stuff. After a reboot, media centre is back to normal, no hangs, no blue screens...all good.

Now i'll have to keep an eye on whether the DNTV tuner card goes back to dropping out, that'll take a few days to confirm I guess.

wineds · **18th August 2008, 04:02 PM**

Could be a problem with your memory voltage not being set correctly. What CPU are you running? Please post a full machine spec including memory manufacturer and part number!

juzdownunder · **19th August 2008, 11:29 AM**

Thanks..but wouldn't that be evident in both memory sticks? I'm only getting an error with one of them.

Specs:

Gigabyte GA-M78SM-S2H
AMD AM2 Athlon 64 X2 4800+
2 x 1GB PC-6400 (800MHz) 240-pin DDR2 RAM OEM

The RAM has two stickers with codes:
Sticker 1: HF0000035520
Sticker 2: N11360 and underneath that, acc806013144

Oh, and the DNTV Hybrid S2 PCI-e tuner card has gone back to dropping out, so i'm back to square 1. Two emails to DigitalNow support have gone completely unanswered, so they're off the list...curious given I was actually asking which (if any) tuner cards they could sell me that wouldn't have the problem. Yes...I was asking to spend money with them and still getting ignored!

wineds · **19th August 2008, 12:56 PM**

If the voltage is wrong one stick may still work better than the other on the wrong voltage. You appear to have OEM RAM and goggling those numbers doesn't seem to help. I suggest installing CPU-Z then check the SPD tab to get the RAM voltage. Then check your BIOS settings to make sure it matches. If it is correct I would still try to increase it by 0.1 volt and see if that helps.

CPU-Z http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

Can't help you with the DNTV card although I have seen dropouts with that card too. Are you using the latest driers from the DN website?

By the way, you should set the the IGP memory buffer size to at least 256Mbyte in the BIOS for trouble free HDTV playback. Might be difficult with only 1GB of RAM though but if you can get 2GB stable do it.

wilsonj · **21st August 2008, 09:12 PM**

Well how are you going with this now??

I ask as I am having the same sorts of problems. I have had this board for a couple months running PDVD on a projector with no issues. But now I started using MCE, big problems!!

I get lots of blue screens, with no writing. I haven't done a mem test, but what I did do was set the bios back to default values.

I had increased the video memory to 512, in order to get bluray working smooth. But this seems to be the cause of many problems.

I especially have MCE hang when it started up. Then it would come back for a second, then freeze again. After the bios reset it works fine!! go figure.

Anyway hope this helps.

I have two of these boards. So I hope the other doesn't give me as much grief!

BTW, I have installed vista at least 10 times over the last week. Talk about a waste of time...

wilsonj · **21st August 2008, 09:49 PM**

Nope spoke too soon. It still locks up.

Might do a memtest, but otherwise this motherboard is rubbish. I've had enough.

wineds · **21st August 2008, 10:32 PM**

What is the make and part number of your memory? What CPU are you running? Please post a full system spec.

wilsonj · **22nd August 2008, 08:22 AM**

corsair cm2x1024-5400 x 2
AMD MA2+ 4850e
LG bluray/HD dvd player
Tinytwin2 USB tuner
Linksys WG111V2 USB wireless stick
WD 320gig HD
SIlverstone LC-11 case
USBUIRT

Installed software
Girder 3.3
AnyDVD
imon
Vista SP1 with all available updates installed.

I notice when I run cpuz that it says the ram is 1.8v. Is it telling me what it should be run at, or actual voltage?

It has been suggested to me that I should try increasing the voltage on my ram, as the board gives it 1.8v, and Corsair often likes 2.0V. I have done this and am testing to see if its stable.

Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Jamie

wineds · **22nd August 2008, 08:54 AM**

Hi Jaime,
Yes according to the datasheet you need 2.0V :

http://www.corsair.com/_datasheets/CM2X1024-5400C4.pdf

I would even try 2.1 if that does not work. You memory seems to be DDR2 667, not DDR2 800 so it could be a bit underspec for this MB. CM2X1024-6400 which runs at 800Mhz might be a better option. It is also on the supported memory list here : http://www.giga-byte.com/FileList/Me...-m78sm-s2h.pdf

Also, what timing are you using for the RAM (this should be settable in the BIOS) ? The datasheet says it supports 4-4-4-12 at 667Mhz.

You should try setting the voltage and timing as per the datasheet, then run Memtest86 to see if all is well.

Paul

wilsonj · **22nd August 2008, 07:25 PM**

Hi Paul, thanks for your reply. I did try the ram at 2 and 2.1v with the same issues. I'm not sure of the timing though. I have left it stock.

Might be worth getting some ram that is on the compatibility list. But I have never had a motherboard not work due to incompatible ram. I guess there is a first time for everything!?

Can't help but think that if this doesn't work I would have been better off buying a motherboard that is compatible with my ram!

wineds · **22nd August 2008, 07:55 PM**

Ok Jaime so what is the timing currently set to? The BIOS should tell you. It should be something like 4-4-4-12. The Memory page of CPU-Z will also tell you what it is currently set to and give you an idea of the names of the timing parameters. Essentially they (should be for your memory at 2.0V, 667 MHz) are :

CAS# Latency (CL) : 4 clocks
RAS# to CAS# delay (tRCD) : 4 clocks
RAS# precharge (tRP) : 4 clocks
Cycle time (CR) : 12 clocks

This is where the 4-4-4-12 terminology comes from.

I would persevere with this board as your RAM is getting a bit dated. If setting the timing doesn't fix it I would try to borrow some DDR2 800Mhz RAM to try out first before giving up on this board. I have an Abit 8200 chipset board and it is great. A few others on this forum have had good success with the Asus and ECS 8200 boards too. They are a great solution for HTPCs

Cheers, Paul

PS : What kind of power supply do you have? That could be the cause of the problem too! Is it the stock LC-11 240W powers supply? If so, I think there is a VERY good chance that it could be your problem. You may need at least 400W for this class of MB.

wilsonj · **23rd August 2008, 07:36 PM**

Hi Paul,

In the bios the timing says 5T.

But I think this may not be the problem. As I said I have another one of these boards, which I decided to try today. I used the same cpu and ram, just a different HD and PSU.

So far no real problems, at least nothing I would associate with ram or mb.

So I have to say its either the PSU, which I hope it isn't. I never found an upgrade or replacement for the LC-11

I will try with a different HD later when I have time.

Good to know its not that motherboard. Or at worse I guess it could be a faulty one....

Still can't get anything but 2 channel digital out spdif though. Thats with the hdmi into a plasma and spdif into a receiver. I think it is getting confused somewhere.

Thanks for the help so far btw.

wineds · **23rd August 2008, 09:44 PM**

Ok Jaime sounds like you are on top of things now which is great to hear. I guess your receiver is not HDMI capable? Much cleaner to route both audio and video via HDMI via the receiver if you can. Indeed the best feature of the 8200 chipset Mobos is the 7.1 ch LPCM audio via HDMI feature. If you must run spdif, did you have a look at the Sounds aplet in the control panel? Did you enable DTS and Dolby for spdif? I actually haven't used the spdif so I cannot verify if it works but maybe someone else on this forum can. Also if you are using the PowerDVD bundled with your LG drive I think it only supports 2 ch. I think you have to upgrade it to get >= 5.1.

wilsonj · **25th August 2008, 12:05 AM**

Well Looks like it was the HDD. Put a new one in and its working perfectly!

For some reason the receiver wasn't seeing multi channel audio. Weird. Anyway set it to auto and it works fine now too.

My receiver does have hdmi, but I have two hdmi display devices, and only one output. So I use spdif for TV and the second HTPC that I use for bluray/HD uses hdmi.

Yeah I have the full version of pdvd, not the silly crippled oem one.

Got the second PC all done tonight about 1 min before the closing ceremony!! Nice timing. Although it would have been good over the last two weeks!!! grrr. Oh well.

Thanks again for the help.

Cheers
Jamie