Random HD errors, even after a chkdsk? What the heck?

[MDesigner]

Is there some way to test a CPU? The damn thing cost me a crapload, I wanna make sure I know what the problem is before I do anything with it.

 

[MDesigner]

memtest86 results: ran for 17 hrs, 29 passes, not a single error, no lockups, nothing.

Tomorrow, the plan is to put in the new 160GB drive, install XP on it, then pop in the old 160GB and see if large files copy over properly. When I install XP on the new drive, I will make it a point NOT to install the nVidia IDE drivers. Just the SM Bus driver, and the Ethernet driver. I think the whole AMD Cool 'n' Quiet stuff is OK, right?

 

[MDesigner]

Wow..after a very long & stressful journey, someone on the Abit forums helped me solve it.

Get this.. the Abit AN8 has six SATA ports. Four of them are together, and two are up near the CPU. The group of four are the nForce SATA, the two by themselves are the SiI (SiliconImage) BIOS-based SATA. I plugged the drives into the SiI SATA ports..and bingo. NO issues. I duplicated a 360MB file about ten times, and the CRCs all matched up perfectly. Go figure.

Now, pardon me while I go chkdsk /F /R on both disks and FINALLY fix up any filesystem errors, then go relax & celebrate. Thanks for the input, everyone.. and I hope this info is useful to anyone else having the same problem.

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: MDesigner
Wow..after a very long & stressful journey, someone on the Abit forums helped me solve it.

Get this.. the Abit AN8 has six SATA ports. Four of them are together, and two are up near the CPU. The group of four are the nForce SATA, the two by themselves are the SiI (SiliconImage) BIOS-based SATA. I plugged the drives into the SiI SATA ports..and bingo. NO issues. I duplicated a 360MB file about ten times, and the CRCs all matched up perfectly. Go figure.

Now, pardon me while I go chkdsk /F /R on both disks and FINALLY fix up any filesystem errors, then go relax & celebrate. Thanks for the input, everyone.. and I hope this info is useful to anyone else having the same problem.

Cool. Glad you found it. Is there a firmware fix for the bad controller logic yet?

 

[MDesigner]

I don't know where the problem lies.. either it's the nForce4 drivers, or the motherboard chips (hardware level). Hard to say. I'll do some calling around to find out..

 

[MDesigner]

Update: After a fresh install of Windows, looks like the problem is still there..even after NOT installing the nVidia IDE drivers. Seems to be a hardware issue. Maybe Abit just RMA'd me a lemon. Nice. I'm not sure I'm going to RMA this one in though. Sure I have only 2 usable SATA ports out of 6..but I'll probably (for now) not need more than two drives anyway. I just don't want anymore of this hassle, I just want to USE my f'ing computer. And when I upgrade in a couple years, I'll ditch this board in the trash and probably not buy Abit again.

 

[Tegeril]

Just to clear something up. /F /R is redundant. /R implies /F.

 

[memories2002]

Um....i just bought a 200GB PATA 7200.8....should i be worried?
All this talk abt the 7200.8s being unreliable........

 

[MDesigner]

No, my 7200.8 works fine and has given me zero trouble. It's a SATA though, not a PATA..

 

[Bozo Galora]

the smart charts you posted showed 47 and 53 degrees for the two HDD
thats double what they should be
no HDD will last at 53

 

[MDesigner]

My HDs are both at around 42C right now. Please show documentation that states 47-53C is a dangerous range for Seagate SATA 7200RPM drives.

 

[Bozo Galora]

sorry, cant link you to my life experiences
disregard my post

 

[MDesigner]

Quoting Seagate's web site: "With our newer model drives the maximum temperature is now at 60 degrees Celsius."