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Questions about GIGABYTE products => Motherboards with AMD processors => Topic started by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 08:21:38 am

Title: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 08:21:38 am
Hi,
I bought GA-880GMA-UD2H(rev. 2.0) MOBO connected them to Samsung hdd (HD502HJ)
This Is all Spec:

GA-880GMA-UD2H
AMD Athlon 2 X3 435 2.9Ghz Triple Core AM3 BOX
ADATA 2G Ram DDR3 1333 MHZ (1 stick)
SAMSUNG 500GB (HD502HJ)
450W PSU

every 4-5 times I turning my pc On I got weird problem my HDD starting to make knocking noise and my computer say "Please insert disk..."
It's special happening when I disable CQN or unlocking hidden core.

I dont know what to do and i can't find anything in forums.
This MB is only one week old...

I'm lost can you pls help me?
Thanks&Regards.
Asher
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: Dark Mantis on July 11, 2010, 08:33:25 am
It sounds like it might be the fault of the hard drive rather than the motherboard. Even though it doesn't do it every time the noise is to do wioth the drive and so I would suspect that first. Take it back to the retailer and get it changed. If you still get the same problem afterwards then at least you have ruled out that possibility and it makes the diagnosys more straightforward.
It's possible that it's to do with the extra core being faulty but I would rule out the obvious first.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 08:52:38 am
Thanks,
But if I dont open the 4th core OR disable the CQN the computer always boot 
Does disabling the CQN can make this problem ...
And if it does... why after 7 reboots when the HDD finally stop "tiking" and the system start everything are working and even make PRIME95 tests successful?
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 09:13:12 am
Hi,
Unlocking your 4th core is probably causing the problem.

The system could well be trying to access information on the Hard-drive but, the 4th core is unable to work properly (why it was locked off during manufacture) causing the Hard-drive to stutter and make weird noises.

The reason why it sometimes seems to BOOT OK is again, most certainly due to the faulty core on the CPU. Think about it. You don't unlock the core, everything's fine; You do unlock the core, you have problems.

AMD locked the core off because it didn't pass their Quality Control Checks and, if you try unlocking the core, there is no guarantee that it will work and, if it does, that it will be stable.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 09:31:55 am
OK....
I will make a little test today.
I got linux on DOK, I'll disconnect DVD\HDD and try to boot, If the problem is with the hidden core the linux will failed to boot, BUT if the linux will boot....  ??? ??? ???

Another thing is when the system start ok in CPU-Z everything looks OK file att.

Do you still think that the problem is hidden core?
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 10:13:05 am
Hi,

The problem with the locked cores on newer AMD CPU's is that they are usually faulty. This wasn't the case in the early days and AMD locked off perfectly good cores because they couldn't manufacture enough CPU's. The reality is that some of these locked cores may well work when unlocked and seem to be perfectly OK but, every now and then they will fall over causing some, if not all, the problems that you describe. If you want a quad core, with stability then you should buy a quad core not an X3 with the hope of running with an unlocked core.

When you do get it running, and check in CPU-Z, everything looks fine because, at that moment, everything is fine. It will most probably even pass some benchmarking tests but this is more due to luck than anything else.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 11:25:21 am
 :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

1. Is this sure thing?
Is there any software that can make some tests and tell me unequivocal that this CPU case the problem

BTW
I bought 2 AMD 435 cpu and it's happen on both of them...

2. Does the "linux try" worth a try ?
3. I read somewhere that ACHI can me this problem OR connect my HDD to wrong SATA port (this MOBO support 6GB/SATA) can this be the problem?

Regards.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 11:33:37 am
Hi,

This is as sure as I can be without having your PC in front of me to play with.
Unlocking cores is not straight forward and like everything to do with overclocking it is more an art than a science. You can spend a lot of time tweaking voltages, timings etc., and still have no success.

If you want to try out some software, to see if you can get it to run with all 4 cores unlocked, then I would recommend AMD's Overdrive ( http://game.amd.com/us-en/drivers_overdrive.aspx ) It's better than EasyTune 6 and if any programme can get it to work then it should be this. If you can get a stable system with AMD Overdrive, you can then transfer the settings into BIOS.

Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: Dark Mantis on July 11, 2010, 11:48:21 am
I would agree with what absic has told you regarding the extra cores. When you unlock them you do so at your own risk and as he says sometimes they work fine for a while but you can get intermittent faults with them when they will suddenly fall over. If you are sure it isn't down to the hard drive then this is the most likely cause.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 12:06:20 pm
And yo sure the the ACHI \ SATA can be the problem?
I have read that because of I connect 3Gb SATA to 6Gb Sata connector it can cause problems...

Can this be my problem?
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 12:14:23 pm
Hi,

Sorry if I misunderstood but I thought the problem only happened when you tried to unlock the core on your CPU.

Does it happen even if core is locked?
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: Dark Mantis on July 11, 2010, 12:19:53 pm
Quote
I have read that because of I connect 3Gb SATA to 6Gb Sata connector it can cause problems...
All SATA ports and drives are backwards compatible so that wouldn't be a problem in itself.
But I must admit that I am getting confused a bit.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 12:22:13 pm
Lets clearing that its happen not only when I'm unlocking.
When I disable the CQN it's happening too (even the 4th core is locking)

and for your Q.
it happens 2 times ... after unlocking the 4th core and lock it again...
maybe the configuration wrong  and unlocking it \ disabling CQN just making the situation get worse.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 12:27:41 pm
OK,

I think I understand now but just to make sure could you answer the following questions with yes or no:

1. You have built your own new PC?
2. After installing your OS you have had problems with the PC failing to BOOT properly?
3. Trying to solve this BOOT problem you tried unlocking the 4th core on your CPU?
4. When you installed the OS you were using AHCI Mode?

One last, quick question which OS are you using and is it 32 or 64 bit?
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 12:30:39 pm
1. You have built your own new PC? - YES
2. After installing your OS you have had problems with the PC failing to BOOT properly? - NO
3. Trying to solve this BOOT problem you tried unlocking the 4th core on your CPU? NO
4. When you installed the OS you were using AHCI Mode? I think YES

One last, quick question which OS are you using and is it 32 or 64 bit? - Windows 7 ult. 32BIT

I have connect the hhd to SATA_0 and CD to SATA_1
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 12:41:42 pm
OK,
Sorry but I misunderstood what you were facing when I first read your post and thought you were trying to unlock the 4th core on your CPU.
I don't know how you feel about taking a step back but if I were you I would:

Re-set BIOS to optimised defaults.
Set all the SATA channels to IDE (There could be issues when using AHCI mode. I can't get it to work properly on my GA-790XTA-UD4 it's an intermittent fault and am still trying to resolve the problem)
Re-install the OS

Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 12:57:57 pm
Ok,
Thanks I'll try this when i got home.
1. Does sata connectors place can make this problem to happen?
2. Does disable CQN ONLY can make this problem?
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 01:21:11 pm
1. Does sata connectors place can make this problem to happen? Where you connect your SATA drives should not cause this problem.


2. Does disable CQN ONLY can make this problem? Not really sure what CQN is or what it does so can't answer that one. But, if it is enabled by default then I would leave it enabled until you are sure the system is OK
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 01:39:22 pm
This is the CNQ
http://www.amd.com/us/products/technologies/cool-n-quiet/Pages/cool-n-quiet.aspx...

I got new HDD I'll let it a try and check if this happening to in this disk
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: Dark Mantis on July 11, 2010, 02:06:48 pm
After having a read of the Cool 'n Quiet technology I wouldn't say it should make a difference in the way you are experiencing but it is a bit suspicious in that it is all to do with the same technologies eg chip core control.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: absic on July 11, 2010, 02:54:00 pm
Ah, why didn't you say Cool n Quiet? Something a little lost in translation I think. CQN? CnQ!

I doubt very much that this is causing the problem. I have Cool n Quiet turned off on my rig and do not experience any adverse effects.

However, AHCI is proving difficult and I don't believe replacing your hard drive will make any real change, but I am prepared to be proved wrong. I am using Western Digital Black 640 Gig SATA3 6G/bs hard drives and I still have BIG issues with AHCI and, when I try to implement it, my system goes from being rock solid in IDE Mode to constant hangs, crashes and other problems with AHCI.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 06:42:04 pm
I Think I found the problem....

Look at this link (HD502HJ):
http://www.samsung.com/global/business/hdd/faqView.do?b2b_bbs_msg_id=308

and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=22-152-181&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=100&SelectedRating=-1&PurchaseMark=&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&Page=1&Keywords=%28keywords%29

(Search for knocking...)

I'll update the FW and let you know how its end.

Thanks.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: Dark Mantis on July 11, 2010, 07:11:31 pm
Well it would certainly appear that the problem is drive based and let's hope that a firmware upgrade will fix it.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: asher_pa on July 11, 2010, 07:17:38 pm
And the Oscar goes to ..... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

It's solved the problem and now my hidden core working too.... (knock on wood - not on disk... :D) 

Maybe I'll change the subject to "SB850 & Samsung disks" => OK,,, I can't change that subject.... - maybe one of you will do it and stick it...

Thanks you all have a good day.

Asher.
Title: Re: New Compuer - HDD knoking head
Post by: Dark Mantis on July 11, 2010, 07:19:44 pm
Well that's a great outcome. I like it when a thread has a good ending and a definite solution.