GA-MA-770-DS3 SATA Conflict?

[josephezell]

I am using the Gigabyte GA-MA-770-DS3 motherboard (F5 BIOS,) Windows XP x64, two SATA striped array hard drives, and a Lite-On SATA LH-20A1L-06 DVD Burner. Before I installed the RAID zero configuration, the DVD seemed to perform correctly. Now that the RAID config is running, the DVD will stall the system whenever I insert a disc. If Il open 'My Computer' the new window never fully loads and goes into "Not Responding." In addition, I cannot reboot the computer … even from Task Manager. I have to press reset.

If I reboot the computer with a CD or DVD in the DVD drive, the drive performs perfectly. I can open My Computer and see the drive, look at the contents and play media files.

I have updated the RAID and chipset drivers, and installed the latest firmware for the DVD drive.

Checking the error logs, I see the system is having trouble with DCOM and ahcix64. The DCOM is running in services and, as far as I can tell, the ahcix64 is initializing okay. The ahcix64 is listed as timing out.

My assumption is the motherboard is having conflict between the SATA RAID config and the SATA DVD drive.

Has anyone else had similar problems and what avenue have you taken to correct?

Joe

The System: Windows XP (64-bit) with SP2 - Gigabyte ATX GA-MA770-DS3 Motherboard - AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core Socket AM2 5600+ Processor - Corsair CMPSU-550VX 550W PSU - Dell SE198WFP 19" Monitor - Asus EN8600GT GeForce 8600GT Video - 8-Gig OCZ DDR2 800MHz RAM - 2 Western Digital SATA WD1600AAJS 160Gig Drives (RAID 0) - Western Digital WD1600JBRTL 160Gig for backup - Lite-On LH-20A1L-06 DVD Burner - Thermaltake CL-P0200 Mini Typhoon CPU Cooler - 4 Cooler Master SAF-S84-E1 80mm Case Fans

[Lsdmeasap]

Do you have the PCI-e locked at 100?

[josephezell]

Originally Posted by Lsdmeasap

Do you have the PCI-e locked at 100?

At the time, I do not have anything in the PCIe (PCI Express?) slot. Is that something I need to set in the BIOS? I'm not sure what I need to do to set it.

Got home last night and 1) deleted the DVD drive from the Device Manager, 2) unplugged the SATA data connector from the motherboard to the DVD drive, 3) rebooted. The DCOM errors are still there, just not as many.

I found and installed a possible hotfix (Article ID : 949391) from Microsoft. It doesn't seem to make much difference right now. I am going to leave the DVD disconnected for the time.

A friend suggested getting an SATA PCI Express add-on card and run the DVD from it. The best price on better cards are around $20-$30. As I search for those who have tried using this method, they have a boat-load of conflicts as well.

Thanks.

Joe

[Lsdmeasap]

Yeah I meant PCI-e, it controls more then the graphics card, it also controls the disks and a few other things. It should be set to 100, especially if you are overclocking. But even if you are not it could be set a little to high

You should find it in the BIOS overclock page, if you do not see it go back to the main BIOS page and hit Control + F1 then the screen will flash and then go back into the overclock section and see if you see it

[josephezell]

Cool. I'll give it a try tonight (I'm at work right now.)

Just to make sure we are on the same page ... the SATA data access I am using is on the motherboard, not on a separate add-on card.

Joe

[Lsdmeasap]

Yeah I got ya, that is why I suggested to be sure about the PCI-e lane, SATA also goes thru there

[josephezell]

I'm still a little wet behind the ears when it comes to this particular BIOS. If I hit Ctrl+F1 while in BIOS, some of the additional features that appear are:

Advanced Chipset Features

HT Link Control
IH Flow Control Mode
HT Link Tristate
UnitID Clumping

PCIE Configuration

PCIE_16 Gen 2 Speed Mode
* Auto, Disable, SW Switch, HW Switch
PCIE_1 Gen 2 Speed Mode
* Auto, Disable, SW Switch, HW Switch
PCIE_3 Gen 2 Speed Mode
* Auto, Disable, SW Switch, HW Switch
PCIE_2 Gen 2 Speed Mode
* Auto, Disable, SW Switch, HW Switch
PCIE_4 Gen 2 Speed Mode
* Auto, Disable, SW Switch, HW Switch

PCIe Delay Time
* 0 - 255

SB600 Spread Spectrum
* Enable, Disable


PnP/PCI Configurations

PCI Latency Timer (CLK)
* 32, 64, 128

Is it the PCIe Delay Time you recommend me setting to 100? What about these other settings? What settings do you recommend? For the time, I'm not trying to over clock, just get the DVD to respond correctly.

Thanks.

Joe

[Lsdmeasap]

No, those are not the ones,

The ones I mean would be on the same page as your cpu and ram settings, it is called MIT section on Intel boards I dunno about your though, but whichever has the cpu settings in it is where you should be looking. It is called >>>

PCI Express Frequency (MHz)

[josephezell]

LSD,

Thanks for the info. I found the settings, made the changes and that did not clear up my problem. I still got the infamous system lockup.

I am really stumped. Any additional help is appreciated.

Joe

[Lsdmeasap]

Can you run Memtest86+ 2.01 on your ram? If not, try to do so on a different board, or borrow some other ram, it could be your issue