CRC SATA problems w/AMD 64 and nforce4

[wedgea18]

I just built this computer and I have spent the last two days fixing all the problems on our oh-so-reliable Windows XP. Everything appears to be working properly now EXCEPT I can not seems to download anything over 3mb without getting a CRC type error (files consistently are "corrupted" and programs will not install). I also cannot install large programs (World of Warcraft for example) which also report such errors.

I have tested the memory which seems to be error free (Kingston ValueRam DDR 3200 1GB, 512mb x2)

I pulled over 4gb of data over our network, no problems at all so far with any of the data or programs from that batch.

After several tries I was able to download isntallers for Firefox and iTunes that work, but I have been unable to successfully download anything else (OpenOffice, game demos, World of Warcraft client). I also tried Download managers, to no avail.

My system includes:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
ABIT KN8 SLI MoBo
Uses nForce4 (I have been unable to get recent nForce4 drivers
due to the problem as well)
Onboard Realtek Audio
1GB ram (x2 512)
Hitachi 250gb SATA HD (3Gb/s)
GeForce PX6600TD 256mb
Turtlebeach Video advantage

Any ideas GREATLY appreciated. I've been wrestling with Google all day.

-Garrett

 

[HAVOC]

I had this same problem once with a client's PC. It turned out to be the onboard LAN module, which was bad. Driver updates didn't work.

When I slapped in a $25 NIC card. The problem disappeared.

 

[wedgea18]

I'm starting to suspect something along those lines... I''ve been hearing that nvidia NIC is crud. Any other suggestions (I will prolly try swapping the NIC)

 

[HAVOC]

A lot of time it's a memory issue.
What did you use to test your ram?

You have 2x512MB sticks

Take out one stick, leave in one stick. and boot to windows.
Try the things that were giving you problems before.
If you still have those problems, swap the sticks and try it all again.

Make sure you put the one stick in the slot closest to the CPU.

Cyclic Redundancy Check, CRC is a method of detecting errors in data transmission. A CRC is data that is sent with a block of data, that when received by where the information is being sent to, the CRC can be used to verify if data was all received correctly.

 

[wedgea18]

I used mtinst.exe

It's microsoft, I actually had a CRC error on my memtest86 dl!

Anywho, I ran the test it and it froze the first couple times... so I tested both sticks one at a time with no errors, then I seated them in slots 3&4 and they checked out fine, twice.

They seem to be ok, although I could also try running windows on one stick to see if it behaves differently.

 

[HAVOC]

So when you put your RAM in slots 3&4 do you get those same CRC errors?

 

[wedgea18]

ya I do.

Believe it or not, I do tech support and I have to go out right now for that very reason. When I get back I will try running windows on just one stick and see what happens. I would appreciate any other suggestions as well.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[HAVOC]

You said, "You can't install programs like WOW." I'm assuming that you're trying to install it from a CD or DVD? You also said, "You can't download anything over 3MB which i'm assuming you mean from the internet.

If i understand these statements correctly, they i could be a LAN issue.
ONLY if WOW installation needs access to the internet for whatever reason? Probably not though.

It's more likely a memory issue. If it's not the modules themselves then it could be a problem with DIMM slot 1 or 2. Or both. If Slot 3 and Slot 4 are working fine.

If you are getting the same error in all of those DIMM slots, like I said earlier, try running windows and doing those same things that were giving you problems with only (1) module and rotate slots, also rotate the modules.

 

[wedgea18]

Yup, you understand me fine.

I was actually able to install WoW without incident right now. But now I have 300mb worth of patching to do which is not looking good. I suspect more that the NIC is faulty or conflicting with another piece of hardware. I will try the single stick when I get home.

Thanks for the help. (shoulda got a mac )