P4C800-E dlx & Maxtor HDD problem

[Dave]

Hi all,
Before I start here's my system spec

P4 2.8c @2.8
OCZ PC4200
Asus P4C800-E Dlx w/ 1016 bios
2x Maxtor 160gig (6Y0160 something) @ RAID-0 on Promise P-ATA
2x WD 100 gig (WD100 something) @ RAID-0 on Promise S-ATA using PATA->SATA
converter
Enermax 450watt PSU
Radeon 9800 Pro
Soundblaster Live 5.1
Pioneer 16x DVD
LG 48-24-48 CDR

Ok.. here's my problem, usually during game(KOTOR, Empires etc) my system
freezes up for a second or two and I can hear clicking noise from my HDD, at
first I thought my HDD is failing. But I tested it using Powermax (Maxtor
utility) and it's fine. I even did the advance burn in test, both hard drive
completed the test succesfully. Oh and I did try this out with and without
the 2x WD 100 gig but it doenst help the clicking and freezing still there.

Any idea?

Thanks

 

[Paul]

Hi all,
Before I start here's my system spec

P4 2.8c @2.8
OCZ PC4200
Asus P4C800-E Dlx w/ 1016 bios
2x Maxtor 160gig (6Y0160 something) @ RAID-0 on Promise P-ATA
2x WD 100 gig (WD100 something) @ RAID-0 on Promise S-ATA using PATA->SATA
converter
Enermax 450watt PSU
Radeon 9800 Pro
Soundblaster Live 5.1
Pioneer 16x DVD
LG 48-24-48 CDR

Ok.. here's my problem, usually during game(KOTOR, Empires etc) my system
freezes up for a second or two and I can hear clicking noise from my HDD, at
first I thought my HDD is failing. But I tested it using Powermax (Maxtor
utility) and it's fine. I even did the advance burn in test, both hard drive
completed the test succesfully. Oh and I did try this out with and without
the 2x WD 100 gig but it doenst help the clicking and freezing still there.

Any idea?

Thanks

The power cable that feeds the 9800 Pro, should not be shared with disk
drives. Bring a power feed directly from the PS to your ATI9800 and
don't share the power cable with a disk drive. While no exact power
numbers are available for all of these high power video cards, some
example numbers are [email protected] and 5V@10A while gaming. If the 10Amp
number is true, then the +5V on that piece of cable will have
a lot of voltage drop on it, and won't be suitable for running other
hardware at the same time. In a way, the fact that the graphics cards
that will be coming out soon, will have two disk drive connectors
on them, is a good thing.

It could also be the power supply itself. Install either MBM5 or
Asus Probe (one program, not both), and enable the "log to .TXT file"
option. This will allow you to record voltage readings every 10 seconds
to a text file, while you are gaming. After the disk drive hiccups,
exit the game and examine the log file from MBM5/Asus Probe, and
see how the +12V and +5V voltages are holding up. It is possible
the PS just isn't doing what it is supposed to. Regulation to the
ends of the cable should be around 5% - check the label on the
PS to see what the manufacturer uses for specs.

HTH,
Paul

 

[sheer]

On a seagate 160GB Sata on a P4C800E I had a similar problem. The drive was
not in raid though. It got to a stage where it was clearly a problem with
one of the partitions I had created on it(even though it passed the seagate
disk test after it had failed a previous time), so I bit the bullet, moved
all the data off it and reformatted, this time just as 160GB partition. The
drive is working ok now but I noticed that when I get to within 10% of its
capacity the odd clicking noise reappears, so I am not sure whether this
will eventually be a bad drive.
I must admit I am not that impressed with sata drives in my experience and
have my faithful IBM IDE 7200 running my OS.
Could there be a problem with all sata drives, is it a problem with the
P4C800E and satas, or am I going mad?

 

[Dave]

Paul,
Thanks for the tip, it worked! I can't believe it was this simple heh Now
all i need is to "rearrange" the wiring in my case
it's a mess now

Anyway here's my voltage railing
+3.3v: 3.25
+5v : 4.97
+12v: 11.84
I can't really tell if this is good or bad.. +12v seems kinda low though

Thanks again!
Dave

 

[Paul]

Paul,
Thanks for the tip, it worked! I can't believe it was this simple heh Now
all i need is to "rearrange" the wiring in my case
it's a mess now

Anyway here's my voltage railing
+3.3v: 3.25
+5v : 4.97
+12v: 11.84
I can't really tell if this is good or bad.. +12v seems kinda low though

Thanks again!
Dave

Those numbers are fine. You are allowed somewhere around 5% or
whatever the manufacturer printed on the label on the side
of the PS. The +12V can drop to +11.4 before you even have to
think about it. Chances are the hardware can tolerate more of
a drop than that.

Paul