shuttle problems II

[pcg79]

hi there

remember i had some problems with my shuttle; it kept rebooting and stuff? well, ebuyer gave me new bits (a new shuttle, and a new processor (xp 3200+)) so ive reinstalled it all... only to have the same shit happen.

yesterday, i installed it; no problems during install but this morning it wouldnt boot to windows ! it would get as far as before the windows xp screen with the sliding blue thing. that was it.

so ive reinstalled windows; HOW CAN I STOP THIS HAPPENING?!

the harddrive seems fine; ive used it in another machine with no problems of this sort, the memory chip ive checked with windows memory diagnostic thing, so its either the shuttle, the processor or my installation (but i really cant see what ive done wrong).

also, when the computer gets into windows it tends to be rock solid?! i dunno! ive gotta restart to install windows patches... (could that be the problem?!)

 

[Panda On Smack]

Never had a shuttle but is it overheating?

 

[sibanac]

never believe memory diag programs, goes twice for ones running under windows.

I had mem86 tell me my memory was fine, ended using a profesional tool from a friend who has a pc shop and that found the mem problem.

Only way to be sure is to plug it in another pc and see if it behaves the same or plug another module in the pc with problems

 

[Jonty]

Hi pcg79

Just a flying visit. Did you remove the protective blue film on the ICE heatpipe cooling? It covers the block which makes contact with the CPU, but is often so finely applied that you'd not even notice it (indeed the Shuttle manuals don't make reference to it). Having this still on would cause your system to overheat and for the automatic cutout on the motherboard to be engaged (usually noticable due to the indicator light on the motherboard which comes on).

I doubt this is the problem, given the varying amounts of time your system is able to run (usually overheating will only take a few seconds) but you never know.

Kind Regards

 

[pcg79]

well in the bios thing all temps (cpu, system and something else) are all around 40*C

memory diag programs; i see, but i dont have another computer i can check it in! why would this cause reboots anyway!?

jonty; um, i dont know if i saw a protective blue film :/ i dont see an indicator light either!

 

[Jonty]

Any joy pcg79?

I'm guessing it's not heating by what you've said, it would be more apparent if it was. Did reinstalling Windows help? (I presume you used the Windows setup from the CD and formatted etc. rather than reinstalling over the top?).

Kind Regards

 

[pcg79]

Any joy pcg79?

I'm guessing it's not heating by what you've said, it would be more apparent if it was. Did reinstalling Windows help? (I presume you used the Windows setup from the CD and formatted etc. rather than reinstalling over the top?).

Kind Regards

no not really; the problems just re-occur

im thinking it could be memory! i often get errors when loading up; like 'this file is corrupted so windows could not start' but then rebooting and trying again works fine (so maybe the copy in memory has been corrupted).

further to that, im getting lots of problems like, all devices in device manager missing (due to a corrupted registry entry; i got it back by doing a system restore) and stuff

 

[pcg79]

Greetings once again.

when i went home at easter i found out that my brother had a pc that uses DDR RAM so i nicked his sticks to test them here.

guess what!? problem solved! the shuttle booted into windows first time!

now; ive deduced that my stick of RAM is the problem, i need to get a new one BUT...

-my brothers ram is PC2700 or PC2100 (333mhz it said booting up) and mine is PC3200. could the problem have just been that the shuttle doesnt like pc3200? further to that, i think his CAS is 2.5 and mine is 3, would that make any difference?
-or could it be that its just a faulty stick

so what should i do? buy 2x256 of PC2100/2700/3200? or 1x512? product recommendations appreciated

also, i will try and ebay my old stick (hey i need to recouperate some money here) or maybe if i get a new 512 i can stick them both in or something?

its a SN45G by the way, with an XP3200+ in it...

thanks!

 

[Jonty]

Hi pcg79

Some of the older models only support up to 333Mhz (PC2700) RAM, but in your case your Shuttle will run 400Mhz (PC3200) (as far as I know using PC3200 RAM in a PC2700-supporting system will just means it runs at a less than optimal rate (don't quote me on that, though)). Similarly with the CAS timings, unless you're BIOS is configured incorrectly, the timings ought not to cause too much trouble when set to their default settings.

As for recommendations, DDR (double data rate) RAM means having two sticks of RAM will give you a slight performance advantage over just one (it is usually slight) but obviously having just one stick means upgrading is often less hassle (just add another identical stick of RAM) and the price of two sticks is marginally higher than just one (again, only slightly more).

Anyway, depending on your budget I'd be tempted to go with 2x512MB PC3200 (400Mhz) DDR RAM. MicroDirect are selling some nice Geil RAM with that spec., complete with an aluminium heat-spreader (useful for overclocking), for £32.89 each. If you budget doesn't stretch that far, just one stick should be alright for now (N.B. if you ever bought another stick of RAM you really should try and match it identically with what you have, e.g. same CAS timings, same capacity (256/512/1024MB etc.) and preferably the same brand; mixing different RAM can create trouble). There are plenty of places selling good, reasonably priced RAM, though, so shop around (for example, MicroDirect don't seem to offer the timings on the Geil RAM, so that's something to consider as the lower the CAS ratings the better the potential performance).

Kind Regards

 

[Ch3tan]

when you ebay your old stick, be sure to mention its faulty

As for the geil value stuff, it's very good I have it and you can push it past its stated limits with no problems.

 

[pcg79]

2xgeil 512 it is!

edit/

gnaarrh microdirect wont send to different shipping address (different to billing) on first order and ocUK is £80 incl deliv (microdirect is about £70)... any other places that does geil?

 

[pcg79]

well i couldnt be arsed; 2x512 geil from ocUK - ill be getting it in the next few days!

cheers gents!

(oh and chet, yeah i was gonna say its faulty!)

 

[Ch3tan]

once the RAM is running, and your sure its ok, change the timings to 2.5,3,3,6. By SPD default is something silly like 3,4,4,8.