*** Official ASUS P5W DH Thread ***

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: The111
I think I'm running like 1205 or something. Was going to update to something newer just for good measure, but all these problems make me hesitate. If I don't O/C, is there any compelling reason for me to update?

When everything goes OK, 'just for good measure' is also OK.

Apparently, if there are issues once you do it, just flash back to the one you were using and don't ask for advice (except for forums like these) about what went wrong.

Although, maybe they'd be nicer to you and look to see if 1305 etc. included some fix you needed...

 

[Ealdric]

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"

 

[phile]

I'd like to make a suggestion for everyone coming to a forum like this for help: please include a complete summary of system specs in a signature or link. Providing suggestions, or troubleshooting requires this information, and I'm sure most are as loathe as myself, to search back through the thread to get this information from the original post.

-phil

 

[lewesian]

I have been using this motherboard with XP Pro X64 succesfully for a month or so now, but I got my first BSOD the other day when my son was playing on it. The game is Simpsons Hit and Run which works fine up to a certain point in the game and then every time there is a BSOD which mentions RTKHDA64.SYS - the Realtek HD driver. I have tried updating the latest audio drivers from the Asus site but the same thing happens. Has anyone any ideas (apart from disabling the sound of course!)

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: lewesian
I have been using this motherboard with XP Pro X64 succesfully for a month or so now, but I got my first BSOD the other day when my son was playing on it. The game is Simpsons Hit and Run which works fine up to a certain point in the game and then every time there is a BSOD which mentions RTKHDA64.SYS - the Realtek HD driver. I have tried updating the latest audio drivers from the Asus site but the same thing happens. Has anyone any ideas (apart from disabling the sound of course!)

Under XP, Properties (right-click) for the icon should include Compatibility, and maybe Win 98 compatibility will help. I have a few programs that now give a divide-by-zero error on a Core 2 Duo unless they are in Win 98 mode. Don't recall that detail before the changeover...

 

[mikepaul]

Well, I've hit a couple of walls. My board won't go past 1.65V MCH so 2.94Ghz would be tops, except that to keep memory at 1:1 I have to stop at 410 FSB. My Corsair is just like others have reported, where 820 is all it'll take before Orthos reports errors.

I did have a choice between 410@1:1 and 420@4:3, and I picked the former due to snappier memory response. Not sure the tiny extra CPU power would be worth less snappiness.

One thing I did stumble across: Vcore at AUTO is good enough for 2.87Ghz. Things run a lot cooler (43C or so at idle), but is it an issue that will bite me someday? Orthos ran over 11 hours this way, but maybe that's not rigorous enough?...

 

[imported_TheDuke]

Hi All,

My setup:

* Asus P5W DH Deluxe
* Intel Core 2 DUO LGA775 E6600 2.40GHz
* 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2 Dual Channel (2 x 1Gb)
* MSI GeForce 7900 GTO SILENT 512MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express)
* Antec Sonata II Piano Black Quiet Case - 450W Smart Power PSU (also tried with Tagan 480W)
* 2 x Samsung SpinPoint T HD401LJ 400GB SATA-II 16MB Cache - setup RAID0
* Plextor PX-755A 16x16 Dual Layer DVD±RW ReWriter
* Dell Ultrasharp 2007WFP 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor

I took delivery of this lot on Saturday. I've built serveral machines before, although not for a couple of years!

I followed all the instructions and had the machine put together and booting up to POST.
I started to install Windows Vista RC1 and had a problem where the machine shut down unexpectedly. No problem, I thought, and tried again.
All seemed Ok this time but I did notice that the machine didn't soft reset - only cold boots, the machin appeared to restart but after the HDU light lit up it would power off.
I ignored this having read a few threads and read about the known issue [ahem - feature] that might be fixed in future BIOS updates.

Anyway, after trying to boot the machine several times and reading more threads I made a post on the ASUS site where someone reccomended I try another PSU.So I bought a Tagan 480W (it was all I

could buy on a Sunday afternoon).
Still he same problem, no difference.

I then decided to update my BIOS to the latest one 1407(beta) using EzFlash. I followed the instructions to the letter, the BIOS update said it had comepleted and the machine powered off.

Now, when I try to boot the machine (eventually now with only the CPU and video card connected), the machine looks like its booting - power LED comes on, fans whir etcI get no monitor activity - so I

can't see anything on the screen (the monitor does not leave standby mode) then after about 10 seconds of 'non activity'. I have plugged all the cables in for the power (the 24pin connections and the

P4 connector near the CPU)

I have tried booting with no DIMMs, one DIMM in slot A1, one DIMM in B1. I've tried a CMOS reset. Powering the machine on for 10 seconds with no CPU (to reset factory settings - according to a thread

in another forum). I've tried the video card in both slots, but STILL NO POST.
I've seen that other people in this forum (MikePaul - being one such unlucky user) have had this problem, and users in other forums, which makes me think that I don't have a faulty MB, CPU or memory.
I HAVE tried putting the CD I used to update the BIOS in the drive and pressting <alt + F2> at start up also... Well NO joy or I wouldnt be here I guess!

I am now leaving the battery out of the machine overnight without the video card installed in a last ditch attempt to reset the CMOS.

Could it be that something is fried on my MB

Please, if anyone can think of anything else I could try - I'd really appreciate it! Otherwise it looks like I will be spending a lot of time on the phone to the reseller and possibly ASUS, followed by

dismantling the PC and sending stuff back!

Thanks for your time!

 

[mikepaul]

in another forum). I've tried the video card in both slots, but STILL NO POST.
I've seen that other people in this forum (MikePaul - being one such unlucky user) have had this problem, and users in other forums, which makes me think that I don't have a faulty MB, CPU or memory.

I HAVE tried putting the CD I used to update the BIOS in the drive and pressting <alt + F2> at start up also... Well NO joy or I wouldnt be here I guess!

I am now leaving the battery out of the machine overnight without the video card installed in a last ditch attempt to reset the CMOS.

Could it be that something is fried on my MB

Did you remove the battery then move the CMOS reset jumper from run to reset? It's in the manual on page 2-26.

I'd suggest getting the 1305 BIOS from wherever you can. http://wiki.p5wdh.de/doku.php?id=downloads:bios looks promising...

 

[imported_TheDuke]

I HAVE tried putting the CD I used to update the BIOS in the drive and pressting <alt + F2> at start up also... Well NO joy or I wouldnt be here I guess!

I am now leaving the battery out of the machine overnight without the video card installed in a last ditch attempt to reset the CMOS.

Could it be that something is fried on my MB

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Did you remove the battery then move the CMOS reset jumper from run to reset? It's in the manual on page 2-26.

I'd suggest getting the 1305 BIOS from wherever you can. http://wiki.p5wdh.de/doku.php?id=downloads:bios looks promising...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi MP,

Yes, I tried removing the battery and then moving the jumper from normal to clear. It doesn't seem to make ay difference.

To install the BIOS (seeing as I cant seen anything on my monitor) do I just need to burn it to a CD (renaming it to PW5DH.ROM) put the CD in my DVD Drive and then hold down Alt+F2 when he machine powers up?

Thanks again !

 

[phile]

I still think there's something wrong with the EzFlash module. So many people are unable to boot after flashing with this method.

TheDuke,

Thy using the CrashFree BIOS recovery. If I recall correctly, it did not work for mikepaul, but it's worth a try. See the manual for an explanation.

I wouldn't immediately conclude that any of your components are faulty.

-phil

 

[imported_TheDuke]

Cheers Phil,

Unfortunately, like MikePaul, I can't see anythin on my monitor - It appears to get no connection to my PCIE card, even though the fan on it is spinning.

So even though I put the ASUS MB support CD in the drive I can't see what is happening.
It doesn't seem to help though!

Can anyone think of anything else? I'm going to leave the Video card and the CMOS battery out overnight to see if that makes any difference.

 

[phile]

Yeah, I really do not understand how CrashFree is supposed to work when the machine will not POST. And, if the BIOS is corrupt, the machine will not POST. Looks like you need to order a new BIOS chip.

If you have a floppy drive, I would suggest using the AFUDOS method for BIOS flashing. I have never had a bad Flash when using a DOS based method. Even ASUS Update has always worked for me.

-phil

 

[imported_TheDuke]

Thanks Phil - do you think I will b able to get my reseller to send me a new BIOS chip?

As for the AFUDOS method, how can I do this if I can't get my screen to display a picture?

 

[imported_TheDuke]

For the record, I have just tried again, one last time and now the machine doesnt reboot! I still get no POST, no video but the keyboar responds to capslock being pressed, the dvd ejects fine, the HDUs all seem to spin as do al the fans (including the graphics card fan).

I would suspect that this is a problem with the Gfx card - but it seems strange that this only started losing video after a BIOS update and that other users have had the same issue.

could this be caused by the heatsink on the processor not being seated correctly or by me not connection any of the components properly?

 

[phile]

It sounds as though this BIOS version has some compatibility issues your vidcard. It seems to me that everyone with this problem is using a recent version nVidia based vidcard. I don't remember a single example of this "no POST after successful BIOS flash" problem occurring with a ATI card. Interesting.

Likely, you're going to need to order a new BIOS chip from ASUS. Call the US support number and ask for the BIOS department. Make sure to request a BIOS other than 1407. 1305 should be a safe choice - it's the previous official BIOS release.

As for AFUDOS, I was suggesting that for future BIOS flashing.

-phil

 

[phile]

I meant to ask if you tried the CrashFree procedure? Just booting with a floppy containing a BIOS file named P5WDH.ROM. I wouldn't try it using the P5WDH CD, as it might contain a BIOS revision that does not support the Core 2 Duo CPUs. They are only supported on this board starting with version 0604.

If the floppy drive is accessed after powering-up the machine, that would be a very good sign. If you think the flashing is working wait a good 3 minutes before rebooting to see if it worked. The manual says one minute, but it takes longer than that, for sure.

-phil

 

[imported_TheDuke]

Hi Phil,

I have also managed to get an old Nvdia PCIE card for a few days to try out. I'm going to see if the PC will boot using that, and if so I'll update the BIOS to 1305, restart and if all is working I'll put the new video card back into the box and see what happens!

If this doesn't work, then my alternative is to take my floppy drive out of my old PC and put it in the new one and try the CrashFree procedure from the floppy. I did try this on the CD, but as I don't get any monitor display, it's pretty difficult to tell what is going on! (The CD appears to be accessing but difficult to say!

I've read about people flashing BIOSs on other machines and may even be tempted to do this - although I'm worried about it invalidating my warranty on the board.

 

[mikepaul]

My issue with 1407 always cleared up by removing the battery and jumpering to reset the CMOS, so I guess yours is different.

Unfortunately, I was hit with the USB failing to initialize this morning, and even after I got that to complete once by powering on with my one external USB cable removed, the HD search didn't complete before I had to leave. I really wish this had been diagnosed by now, so a solid do-this-and-it'll-go-away solution was posted somewhere...

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: TheDuke
If this doesn't work, then my alternative is to take my floppy drive out of my old PC and put it in the new one and try the CrashFree procedure from the floppy.

I can tell you from experience that the CrashFree procedure requires that the computer power on and notice that the BIOS image is corrupted, then ask for an image to replace it. If you get zero activity out of the computer other than fans spinning, you aren't going to see any CrashFree stuff...

Oh, what HAD been working for me was to reset the CMOS, get 1407 to finally start, then quickly hit ALT+F2 to flash back to 1305 from a USB dongle. Prep the dongle with 1305 and hope for the best getting restarted...

 

[imported_TheDuke]

----------------------------------------------------
Oh, what HAD been working for me was to reset the CMOS, get 1407 to finally start, then quickly hit ALT+F2 to flash back to 1305 from a USB dongle. Prep the dongle with 1305 and hope for the best getting restarted...
----------------------------------------------------

Thanks MikePaul. I'm beginning to wonder if I need to reseat everything, as the CMOS doesn't seem to do what yours did. I'm using the reset jumper towards the bottom right hand side of the mother board, placing the jumper on pins 2 & 3 and then rebooting, is this right?

I'm hoping by using a temporary video card I can either work out what the problem is resolve it! Are there any other good threads or newsgroups like this one that might help?

 

[phile]

Trying a different videocard will, at the very least, give us an idea whether or not this problem is related in any way to specific vidcards.

Regarding CMOS reset, moving the jumper is usually sufficient. However, you should try removing the battery, as well. Sometimes that seems to help.

-phil

 

[mikepaul]

Originally posted by: TheDuke
Thanks MikePaul. I'm beginning to wonder if I need to reseat everything, as the CMOS doesn't seem to do what yours did. I'm using the reset jumper towards the bottom right hand side of the mother board, placing the jumper on pins 2 & 3 and then rebooting, is this right?

You jumper the right two pins (as seen in the illustration) for 15 seconds, then move the jumper back to the left two to restart...

 

[nrs251]

I needed some general advice.

I am setting up a machine with Win XP Pro (I have the SP 2 disk on a separate CD). I am installing to 2 WDC Raptors in RAID 0 on the ICH7R controller.

I am considering 2 Options

1) Install to an IDE Drive first then use Kronos Drive Image to copy it over to the RAID.
Advantage: no RAID driver headaches

2) Install straight to the RAID 0
This has been a problem for me in the past as Windows Setup does not respond when I hit F6, it just keeps right on going (I was wondering why it does that). I tried it with a USB keyboard and a PS2 keyboard and got the same wacky response. This is the main reason why I am reluctant to go this route. What the hell?? Why does Winblows just ignore the F6 keystroke?

I got the drivers for the ICH7R from here.


Lastly,

Is a Win XP Pro Upgrade Disk with a SP2 disk OK or do I have to have a new Win XP with SP2 already integrated onto the disk for this mobo?

Thanks,

Neil

 

[nrs251]

Also can you install RAID 0 on the EZ Backup then just move it over to the ICH7R after the install. That was the third option and a lot of people say that that install was smooth. Its the switching the drives over to the ICH7R that makes me nervous. I cannot afford another Windows Install heahache. I only have 1 bottle of ES Tylenol and I am saving that for the install headache that I know I will have at 7PM tonight.

 

[phile]

I can't help with any RAID specific questions, but your F6 problem... could that be due to the keyboard assigning dual functions to your F keys? On my Logitech, after each power-up I need to press a key in order toggle the F-key functions.

-phil