Hey everyone,
Before I get into the details of what is probably the most frustrating computer problem I have ever faced I would first like to say hello because this is my first post and I give you my system specs.
Windows 7 ultimate x64
GA-M61PME-S2P (rev 1.0) MOBO
2x 120GB Mushkin SSD @3.5gbps Raid 0
AMD Phenom II x4 @2.2 GHZ (Old processor that I replaced)
AMD Phenom II 1090T x6 @ 3.2GHZ (New processor that replaced the Phenom x4)
MSI Cyclone GTX 550 TI OC (Nvidia)
8 Gigs 800mhz DDR2 RAM (Computer Bay)
I have had a GA-M61PME-S2P (rev 1.0) board for several years now and have never had any problems. I recently bought a brand new AMD phenom II x6 1090T processor because it was listed as being supported by my board. The BIOS version that I had installed before purchasing this processor (version F5) was unable to recognize my new processor and boot so I had to update to the latest version (version F7b). After flashing my BIOS with the new version I was able to boot and my computer recognized my processor with the correct name and clock speeds. Unfortunately it now no longer recognizes one of my standard PCI to PCI bridges. Of the two standard PCI to PCI bridges listed in device manager one of them has a yellow exclamation point and reads "error code 35 firmware does not contain enough info to configure this device". I have tried everything I can think of but just cant seem to get my processor and graphics card to work under the same BIOS version. I will now list every step I have taken;
1.) I have re-flashed several times between versions F5 and F7b but always get the same results
2.) I have used Driver cleaner in safe mode to wipe all drivers and then double checked programs and features to make sure nothing was still installed.
3.) I have installed all drivers for the board from Gigabytes website (
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/product-page.aspx?pid=3009#ov), although when I try to install the VGA driver i get an error saying that no device could be found that supports the driver.
4.) I once again wiped everything in safe mode and then found the latest chipset drivers for nvidia Nforce from NVidia's site but got the same results.
5.) I tried downloading the F7b BIOS from some random website just in case the file from Gigabyte was somehow broken but this did not change anything. (I know that's generally a bad idea but I am desperate)
6.) I uninstalled the problem standard PCI to PCI bridge in device manager and restarted my computer but got the same results.
7.) I tried installing my graphics card drivers from MSI but got an error saying that no supported hardware could be found.
8.) I tried installing a number of different versions of the Nvidia graphics card drivers for my series but kept getting that same error message
9.) I downloaded the Graphics card detector program that NVidia provides on their site but it told me that it could not detect my graphics card.
10.) I tried Flashing my BIOS to the F6 version for the rev 1.3 board but this turned out to be a huge mistake because my computer would no longer post after this and I had to use a FAT32 flash drive and the q-flash utility to bring it back to life.
11.) I checked over and over and over again that my BIOS settings were right and nothing was setup to only use on-board graphics.
12.) I tried downloading a driver that was supposedly for the PCI to PCI bridge but im fairly sure this was just a trojan because the install did not complete and I found tons of fun plugins installed afterwards (I reformatted shortly after this).
13.) I made sure that my new processor was plugged in and that my BIOS was version F7b and then completely wiped my hard drive and re-installed windows 7 ultimate x64 but got the same results.
14.) I made a bootable DOS flash drive and tried updating my Graphics card BIOS but found that I already have the latest version.
What I don't understand is that my graphics card works perfectly with BIOS version F5 and my processor works perfectly with BIOS version F7b but under no circumstance do they both work at the same time. It may be worth noting that with version F7b installed I am still able to use my graphics card ( my Monitor is plugged into it via DVI) It just gives me the error under device manager and I can not install any drivers.
If anyone out there can help me I will be insanely grateful and will refer to you from then on as the master of all things Gigabyte. I'm at my wits end, The gigabyte help desk opens back up tomorrow but I have a feeling that they will just tell me to get a new board. If you need any further info just ask and I will provide.