A8N32-SLI. My Story.

[Pez D Spencer]

Ok. So I finally got my A8N32-SLI mobo. I had one a few weeks ago but had to RMA it because the CPU fan header was DOA. 12 days later I finally get my replacement and have it installed. However, my headaches continue.

Before I tell you my ordeal let me fill you in on my system specs:

A8N32-SLI Deluxe mobo
Opteron 170 CPU
Zalman CNPS9500 HSF
2GB Corsair XMS PC3500LL RAM
Ultra X-2 Connect 550W PSU
Seagate 200GB 7200RPM HDD
Sony Dual-Layer DVD-RW/CD-RW drive
Dual eVGA 7800GT video cards
Current 1009 BIOS

I get the system together, everything starts up fine and I go about installing XP Pro. The version of XP Pro that I have is the original version with no service packs installed. I have always meant to slipstream it but never got around to it. It's no big deal to me, after I reinstall I just go to Windows update and get the latest service pack.

Anyway, after copying setup files during the text-only portion of setup and rebooting I get the now infamous BSOD which informs me that my BIOS is not ACPI compliant and that I should press F7 when prompted for storage drivers at the beginning of setup. So I start the installation process all over again and press F7. Viola, it works. Setup completes without a hitch. However, even though setup completed, I now get random BSOD's when starting Windows. I have gotten BSOD's with at least 10 different error messages. It seems that whether or not the computer will boot into Windows is completely random. Sometimes it will and sometimes it BSOD's with a new error message.

I cruise over to the Asus support forums and it seems that many people are getting the "non-ACPI compliant" BSOD when installing Windows. In addition, there are more solutions to this problem than I have fingers or toes. Strangely enough, not one solution I read said to just simply press F7 during setup as I did. On top of this, I have seen nothing where Asus formally adresses this problem.

So now I have an OS that will start sometimes and craps out with a BSOD other times. Not really sure what to do I decide that maybe if I install the drivers from the disc that came with the mobo it will help. But here's the thing, when I put in the driver disc and run the Asus InstALL program not one of the drivers or utilities shows up as an installation option. To get around this I decide to browse the disc and just install drivers manually. The chipset drivers will install but when I reboot I get a BSOD everytime saying that I should check my PC for viruses and now Windows will not boot at all. I use the "Last Known Good" startup option and am able to get back into Windows.

Next, just out of curiosity I try to install the Asus Probe utility. But guess what? I get an error message during setup that says no Asus mobo is detected!! WTF?!?! Finally, I decide that maybe if I slipstream my XP Pro disc with SP2 and install from that I will have better luck so I slipstream SP2 burn a new disc, reformat, and try a reinstall.

When installing with the new slipstreamed disc I still get the "non-ACPI compliant" BSOD after the text-only portion of setup, but just as with the non-service pack install disc, pressing F7 when prompted for storage drivers does the trick. Guess what else? I get no more BSOD's whatsoever and I was able to install all my drivers/utilities without any problems. As a matter of fact I'm typing this on my new system right now. I still have an uneasy feeling about things but I have rebooted at least 20 times due to updates and driver installations or for other reasons and have not had any problems yet. My fingers are crossed.

So heres a few questions/concerns. Let me start off by saying that this system is running completely stock at this time and is not overclocked in anyway at all. After a few more tutorials I will start overclocking but I'm still pretty new to overclocking and haven't really overclocked anything except my video cards in the past. Ive been working with computers for about 5 years now, am A+ certified (for what thats worth), and have built numerous systems in the past. However, this is my first 64-bit machine as well as my first AMD machine (yes I am an ex-Intel fanboy).

It's my understanding that ACPI allows for the OS to control the power consumption of various devices within the PC. But what exactly does this mean and how does ACPI work? When I pressed F7 during setup and disabled ACPI, what does this mean in terms of my system now? Was it bad for me to do that? Ive been running close to 12 hours now and had no problems at all. Can someone clear this up for me?

The thing that really has me stumped is that after looking at the Asus forums, some people dont get the ACPI BSOD at all and some do. There seems to be no clear cut reason for this problem nor a clean cut solution.

Thanks for reading. I look forward to your input on this.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Weird. My install went flawlessly. Never pressed F7 and no ACPI BSOD. I'm also using bios 1009. My system is rock stable at 2.75ghz and probably has more headroom. I also have a old Windows XP cd w/ no service packs. I just download and install the updates.

Have you tried running your system w/ only one video card?

 

[irev210]

get rid of that power supply. I would start there.


Edit: YES, get rid of that powersupply... dear god.

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: irev210
get rid of that power supply. I would start there.


Edit: YES, get rid of that powersupply... dear god.

I dunno, I have heard pretty good things about the newer models *shrug*


Sorry pez, no input for you. I have a fairly similar system *different power supply, CD, HDD, and memory* and my works beautifly.

 

[Tweakin]

If my mind isn't failing me, I thought there were some issues with the 300GB Seagate HD's out there. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

[Jorakal]

I am not familiar with F7 during install. Could you perhaps mean F6 to install additional drivers during install?

Now I don't have the SLI board and have the ultra board, but I would use the same procedure for either of WinXP doesn't have the service packs. When I installed Server 2003, with no service packs, I used F6 to install the 2 drivers which I had created by booting from the ASUS motherboard cd-rom. That allows you to install the Nvidia SATA/IDE drivers and Raid drivers. After that I tend to boot into safe mode while installing the motherboard drivers and upgrading the BIOS. Once all that is done then I come up normally, connect to Windows update and install everything. Once all of that is done, I install the additional software from the ASUS cd-rom. That has worked fine in Windows 2000 and server 2003.

So no BSOD for me on the ultra board. Of course I don't have 2 graphics cards in SLi either. But again I install the F6 drivers and the initial install, then install chipset drivers and BIOS (with ALT-F2 at boot) in safe mode, then windows update, then the rest of the ASUS software.

 

[XxooxX7447]

I have a A8N32-SLI, and I had the same ACPI BSOD problem. I also have a friend who just made a computer with the same board and he had the same problem. My friend fixed it by resetting the motherboard and setting the bios to defaults, before reinstalling windows w/ SP2. I found the ACPI BSOD problem on my computer when I installed the original windows XP w/o SP1 or SP2. I got a copy of win XP that installed SP1 and SP2 along with windows and it worked fine, with no hardware changes from the previous install other than resetting my bios to defaults. Give that a try, I think that SP2 has something to possibly do with it...

 

[Yreka]

Found this on Hard Forum :

PROBLEMS DURING BUILD:
ACPI non compliant issues.

SOLVED PROBLEM BY:
Installing my Hard Drive on the SIL SATA port under the CPU socket to the left. Above first PCIe slot. *Must use F6 drive on CD when installing windows.


thread is here.