More CRC errors and data corruption after motherboard replacement. Thoughts and suggestions?

Forums › Desktop computing › More CRC errors and data corruption after motherboard replacement. Thoughts and suggestions?

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#1267784 25-Mar-2015 16:59

Thanks GM - I'll do this initial testing first and get in touch if I need it. May call on a friend with a modern PC I build who lives near me first, just because he's closer.

timmmay

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#1267888 25-Mar-2015 20:26

Ok, I have some interesting results:
- I downloaded all the official drivers and installed them. With only the OS SSD plugged in I still get the errors.
- I booted from a boot DVD into Windows XP, disk had to be in IDE mode. Ran the tests. No problems at all - all tests passed on two SSDs.
- I booted back into Windows 10, AHCI disk set in BIOS, safe mode. All tests passed perfectly, not a single error.
- I tried to boot W10 in IDE mode - it wouldn't boot.
- I booted into Windows 10 full (not safe), AHCI mode - the failures all come back.

That strongly suggests it's OS or drivers, rather than a hardware problem. I think there's a tool that will do something similar in Linux, badblocks, so I'm going to try Ubuntu and run that.

I'm also going to try installing Windows 7 again to see what that does.

Thoughts very welcome!

freitasm

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#1267890 25-Mar-2015 20:35

What AHCI drivers are you using? Windows or the manufacturers?

If this is an Intel board, have you tried using Intel's AHCI drivers instead?

timmmay

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#1267900 25-Mar-2015 20:48

It's a Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H motherboard. I first used whatever W10 installed. I then installed every driver on this page - an AHCI driver isn't listed.

I have what are marked "Intel SATA Preinstall driver (For AHCI / RAID Mode)". They're two sets of of cat, inf, and sys files with no installer (see attachment). I've just right clicked on "iaAHCIC.inf" and chosen install... I'll restart and see what happens if I run another test. If there's a better way to install, or something else to install, please let me know.

Update - installed those AHCI drivers, restarted, did the test, still getting errors. At least now I know it's not the disk, CPU, or motherboard.

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#1267905 25-Mar-2015 20:59

timmmay: - I booted into Windows 10 full (not safe), AHCI mode - the failures all come back.

Thoughts very welcome!

I find it curious that you have waited until the third page of posts before mentioning you are using a pre-release OS.

freitasm

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#1267909 25-Mar-2015 21:05

Go to the Intel Drive Update Utility page, check your system and download the latest Intel AHCI driver.

timmmay

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#1267910 25-Mar-2015 21:06

Should've made that more clear sorry - it's been an ongoing problem that most people will be aware of. Older thread here. I hadn't actually intended to start a whole new thread, this was just meant to be asking people to try something for me, but it evolved.

Windows 7 typically does exactly the same thing - have a look at the other thread for details if you're interested.

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timmmay

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#1267936 25-Mar-2015 21:34

freitasm: Go to the Intel Drive Update Utility page, check your system and download the latest Intel AHCI driver.

None found. It recognizes I'm using W10 technical preview, which is a bonus, but no updated drivers. No W10 drivers at all as far as I can see.

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#1267941 25-Mar-2015 21:37

Tried on Windows 7?

timmmay

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#1267945 25-Mar-2015 21:42

freitasm: Tried on Windows 7?

Will do tomorrow - better get some sleep now. Thanks for the help Mauricio, and everyone else :)

timmmay

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#1268683 26-Mar-2015 21:23

Ok, new information.
- I have Windows 7 installed (that took a lot of doing - BIOS mode and IDE disk was the key).
- I ran the Intel driver update wizard: nothing.
- For reference, the AHCI driver is Intel Series 7/C216, 1/8/2013, v12.8.0.1016. I can't find a more up to date driver, but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

Results:
- With W7 SP1 installed, still in IDE mode, running the disk testing utility I get errors.
- With W7 SP1 installed, AHCI mode with the manufacturer recommended driver, running the disk testing utility I get errors.
- In Ubuntu latest release (14.10 64 bit), running BadBlocks to test the disk I received no errors.
- With an old Windows XP boot disk running the disk testing utility I get no errors.

At this point I'm reasonably convinced that the problem is in software, likely a driver. However I have no idea what driver or how to track this down. Any help would be appreciated.

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#1273159 30-Mar-2015 08:17

Very curious. Bad IDE controller drivers sounds like 1998 all over again :P

timmmay

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#1273163 30-Mar-2015 08:27

I'm reasonably sure it's RAM related. I have HCI Memory Test as recommended by the guys on Hardforum. When I leave it running overnight it finds memory problems when I have all four DIMMs in. When I have only two DIMMs in (any combination of the four) it works fine, no errors at all no matter what the test.

It was suggested I give the DIMMs a bit more voltage, which Crucial suggests themselves multiple on their forum. Apparently some motherboards undervolt RAM, and some RAM just needs a bit more power when all four slots are in use. When I increase it from 1.5V to 1.56V it seems slightly more stable, so I'm trying 1.58V today and I'll try 1.6V tonight. Max is 1.65V with this CPU.

Could just be that it's older design RAM, because it's happening with two different motherboards and two different chipsets.

I've set a deadline of Friday before I give up testing. At that point I run it with 8GB of RAM and replace the computer with a Xeon/ECC system before my next wedding season. 8GB is fine for almost everything I do, but bulk photo processing does benefit from more RAM.

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#1273291 30-Mar-2015 11:28

timmmay:
I've set a deadline of Friday before I give up testing. At that point I run it with 8GB of RAM and replace the computer with a Xeon/ECC system before my next wedding season. 8GB is fine for almost everything I do, but bulk photo processing does benefit from more RAM.

Glad you're getting somewhere. It really does seem to be boiling down to a driver issue. I recently dropped down to 8GB of RAM having donated the other 8GB to get my girlfriend's system running. It made quite a difference to how much I could do across Photoshop/Illustrator/After Effects. I had After Effects complaining at me about RAM for the first time in years.

I'll be replacing board/CPU/RAM this year, so I'll be making sure all the hardware is compatible and performs well first to avoid the kind of trouble you are experiencing.

timmmay

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#1273336 30-Mar-2015 12:03

DravidDavid:
timmmay:
I've set a deadline of Friday before I give up testing. At that point I run it with 8GB of RAM and replace the computer with a Xeon/ECC system before my next wedding season. 8GB is fine for almost everything I do, but bulk photo processing does benefit from more RAM.

Glad you're getting somewhere. It really does seem to be boiling down to a driver issue. I recently dropped down to 8GB of RAM having donated the other 8GB to get my girlfriend's system running. It made quite a difference to how much I could do across Photoshop/Illustrator/After Effects. I had After Effects complaining at me about RAM for the first time in years.

I'll be replacing board/CPU/RAM this year, so I'll be making sure all the hardware is compatible and performs well first to avoid the kind of trouble you are experiencing.

Did you mean to say it's a driver issue or a RAM issue?

I did test this when I built the machine a few years ago, and recently. Apparently memtest x86 sucks and can't detect memory errors even when run for 24 hours +.

I will likely build a new machine either in the next couple of weeks if it can't be sorted, or later this year if it works ok on 8GB for now.

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