AMD System Set-up Issues

[Speaker Rob]

I recently built an AMD system for my girlfriend, the spec of which are in my profile, and have ran into this same error.

Machine history:

Very little, all the parts were shipped here about four days ago and I spent a couple of hours putting them together. I ran into a hiccup when Windows 7 Home Premium would not get past the extracting phase of the installation, kicking up the error in this thread. I began the first install on a 20GB partition, when that failed I tried just installing it on a single partition. When that failed I tried removing all the partitions and just installing on the unformatted drive, in it's entirety (seemed weird but others said they had luck with this).

Testing Methodology:

At the end of each attempted solution I tried to install Windows again.My keyboard is a USB keyboard. All of my boot testing is done with a bootable USB that I have running MS-DOS 6.22.


What I Have Tried:

Solution 1: First I went into the bios and changed the SATA controller from AHCI to Raid SATA
Result = FAILED

Solution 2: I tried burning OEM Windows disk from Microsoft to an iso at the lowest speed possible for my DVD burner (4x).
Result = FAILED

Solution 3: At this point I had created and deleted so many partitions I was concerned it may be having an effect on the install. So I went to Samsung's website and grabbed their HDD utility tool. I figured let's kill two birds with one stone and test the drive while also restoring it to it's original state. So I did a low level format and then ran the HDD diagnostic. All came back with no errors.
Result = FAILED

On to memory...

Solution 4: I downloaded Microsoft's Memory Diagnostic Tool and let it run overnight. It returned no errors. So I decided to use MemTest86 4.1 and let it run for 10 passes, I did find errors then. As of now I am running each module of memory one by one to determine if it is a problem with them or the sockets on the motherboard. So far I have been unable to reproduce the errors I got when both modules were running together. As a precaution I double checked the motherboards specifications on the socket order for memory, all is to specs.
Result = [PENDING]


What's Next:

After my current memory test ends, I plan on checking my BIOS to see if the correct memory speeds were detected in the auto detection. If at that point I'm still unable to reproduce the memory errors, I'll put both memory modules back into the system and run the testing again to see if I can reproduce the errors I got the first time.

If no errors
Then I'll try installation again
Else Run my memory tests longer on each memory module in different sockets on the motherboard


I'm welcome to any other suggestions.
Thank you,
Rob

 

[alphanumeric]

Instead of changing the SATA controller from AHCI to Raid SATA, look for an "IDE" option.

 

[madtownidiot]

Remove one DIMM from memory and set the HDD controller back to AHCI... SATA RAID is just what it sounds like.. for setting up a raid array with 2 or more HDDs. Running windows 7 with your HDD in IDE mode will make your computer much slower than it needs to be.
Boot from your install disk
Before you run setup again, hit shift + f10 and select command prompt
Type diskpart at the prompt,
then list disk, sel disk 0, clean all, exit, setup at each following prompt
IMO the best way to configure your partitions would be 100 gb (102400 MB) for the system and leave the rest unformatted for now. You can create a partition out of the rest of your free space later... and it will save a lot of time during the install. When it gets stuck at 0% for a long time, it's your disk being formatted..

 

[Wishmaster]

If both sticks can pass memtest individually, and in each slot individually

I would look at settings:

Voltage, timings, speed

If all of that is set correctly, yet still issues with it failing when both are together

Try lowering the Ram speed down one notch. Meaning if specs say 1066, try it at 800 or 1333 down to 1066.

See if that stabilizes the system.

 

[Speaker Rob]

Sorry my updated post was double posted (first day visiting this forum) and omitted, I'll quote it below if you have the heart to read it, ha ha. Otherwise, you can just read the quick summary afterwards.

I have recently started building a computer for my girlfriend, the spec of which are in my profile, and have ran into this same error code (0x80070570).


Machine History:

There is very little, I ordered all the parts which came in a few days ago. Last Sunday I spent about two hours putting the machine together then tried to install Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit), which is when I encountered my problem.


Testing Methodology:

After each attempted solution, I try to reinstall Windows and then determine the effectiveness of that solution. All my diagnostic tools are on a USB bootable drive which is running MS-DOS 6.22.


What I Have Done:

Solution 1: I originally tried to install Windows 7 on it's own 20GB partition; after that failed I decided to attempt the install on a single partition. However, I was unable to delete the first 20GB partition in the install setup after rebooting. I figured it had to do with Windows seeing that it had tried to install there already and locked the partition from any editing (i.e. deleting, formating, etc.). So I booted to my USB and ran XFDISK to remove the partitions (the 20GB, 100MB system, and the partition used for the rest of my 1TB). After this was done I ran the install on a single partition for the entire space of the drive and again no luck; I also had to go back into XFDISK again and wipe the partition out. My last attempt was to install it with no partitions or formatting done, basically the HDD straight from the box (as some people said this allowed them to get around the error).
Result = FAILED

From this point on I try to install Windows on just a single partition for the size of the hard drive.

Solution 2: Next I went into the BIOS and changed my SATA controller settings from AHCI/SATA to RAID/SATA and tried the install again.
Result = FAILED

Solution 3: Third, I tried taking my OEM Windows disk from Microsoft and burning an ISO at the lowest possible speed for my DVD burner (4x)
Result = FAILED

Solution 4: At this point I had partitioned and re-partitioned my drive so many times I figured it might be causing some problems that could be interfering with my testing. So I went to Samsung's website (the manufacturer of my HDD if you hadn't read my sys spec in profile yet) and grabbed their HDD diagnostic tool ES-Tool. I figured let's kill two birds with with one stone, so to speak, and ran a low level format followed by a full surface scan diagnostic. All came back fine.
Result = FAILED

On to memory...

Solution 5:
Round One
First I ran Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool, from Microsoft's website. After running the tool all night it reported no errors, but I wasn't ready to accept that just yet. I rebooted and ran Memtest86 v.4.1 this time, on the 6th pass it found some errors. As I ran the test with both of my modules plugged in, I decided I would try to run them one at a time and see if I could single out one or the other as bad. Upon running two passes on each module I was unable to reproduce the errors. So I decided to check my motherboard manual just to double-check if I had placed the modules according to specs, all was in order. Then I checked my BIOS settings for the memory speeds. The auto-detection was working properly and had selected the correct latency timings and clock speed/voltages.

Round Two
Since I had done all my individual testing upon just one memory slot on the motherboard , I then tried everything again on the second memory slot. Right away on the 7th test of pass 0 I kicked out about ten errors. I almost immediately decided it was a defective motherboard but decided to try running the other module too just in case. Currently it is on pass 2 and has kicked out no errors. I'm going to let it run for eight hours while I'm at work today and see if it ever produces any errors.

If no errors on current module
Then I'm going to assume it's the other memory module that is bad and run longer mem tests on it in both memory slots to confirm.
Else I'm going to assume that actual memory socket on the motherboard is defective and begin the RMA process (fml when you live in Hawai'i).

Result = [PENDING]


Any other ideas are greatly appreciated, or comments on my testing steps.
Thank you,
Rob

Basically, these are the testing batches I have ran on my memory:

Batch1 (1 hour, 7 passes)
Socket 1: Module 1
Socket 2: Module 2
Result = 2 Errors

Batch2 (30 min/module, 3 passes/module)
Socket 1: Modules 1&2
Socket 2: Blank
Result = No Errors

Batch3 (8 hours, 20 passes)
Socket 1: Blank
Socket 2: Module 1
Result = No Errors

Batch4 (10 min, 1 pass)
Socket 1: Blank
Socket 2: Module 2
Result = 9 Errors

Instead of changing the SATA controller from AHCI to Raid SATA, look for an "IDE" option.

I did try that as just a temporary test to see if it worked, I had no success. I wouldn't want to run my SATA 3.0 drive as IDE permanently anyways. Thank you for the idea though.

Before you run setup again, hit shift + f10 and select command prompt
Type diskpart at the prompt,
then list disk, sel disk 0, clean all, exit, setup at each following prompt

I tried this first before using XFDISK but it wouldn't let me clean the partitions off and kicked back an error message.

IMO the best way to configure your partitions would be 100 gb (102400 MB) for the system and leave the rest unformatted for now. You can create a partition out of the rest of your free space later... and it will save a lot of time during the install. When it gets stuck at 0% for a long time, it's your disk being formatted..

I like this idea and will try it, 100GB is a little much for my tastes, how's 50 sound instead?

I would look at settings:

Voltage, timings, speed

I know this was omitted in my original post, but I tried these solutions already, aside from lower the timings that is. I'll test with slower timings as a last resort, but first I want to narrow down these memory errors. Thanks though.

 

[madtownidiot]

Definitely set any customizable OC settings to factory default.. Get it working first before you start trying to make it faster.. I know it's tempting when you 1st get a new rig assembled to start tweaking right away because I've made the same mistake myself. The crazy thing is this is one of those problems that I would probably be able to figure out in 10 minutes if the computer was sitting in front of me. It's a lot more difficult just going by what you're describing.. As to the partitioning.. 50 GB for the OS and programs is fine if you don't plan to install multiple high end games and major applications like the CS4 or CS5 suite or autocad. Its not a good idea to fill a windows partition more than about 80% full... and the benefits of keeping media and personal files on a partition separate from your programs and the operating system will make themselves more and more obvious the longer you think about it. I suggested the diskpart option simply because all of your previous attempts to install might cause problems in and of themselves. Don't know what else to do about your memory problem. AMD motherboards don't seem to like certain brands of memory. You may have to bite the bullet and search for RAM specifically designed to work with AMD systems, as I had to with my rig

 

[Speaker Rob]

Definitely set any customizable OC settings to factory default.. Get it working first before you start trying to make it faster..

I haven't tried to OC at all with this system, I've just been trying to get around this error when installing Windows:

"Windows cannot install required files. The file may be corrupt or missing. Make sure all files required for installation are available, and restart the installation. Error code: 0x80070570."

Sorry for the confusion, this post was originally made in response to another thread and for some reason it was placed here by the moderator. All of the steps I tried to lay out in detail were intended for others to see that were having the same issue. At the time I created my post I had already figured out that I was dealing with a memory issue.

As of three hours ago, I did finally find out what the issue is precisely.

Bad memory module; one of my DIMMS was defective. I pulled it from the system, reset my SATA interface in the BIOS to SATA/AHCI, and installed Windows 7 with no hiccups on a 50GB partition successfully. Starting the RMA process now for my bad memory module.


My thanks go out to everyone that followed this thread, much appreciated.

 

[madtownidiot]

Good to hear it...

 

[mlevy]

Rob, I had a similar situation a couple weeks ago with nearly identical results on memory diagnostics, I found that my memory was not compatible with my CPU. Yeah, sounds odd that this was the case but the memory manufacturer (OCZ) advised me to try different memory, something that is assured compatible with my CPU. I had OCZ Gold memory that WAS on the QVL for my MB (must have been there for non-BE chips), they advised I use the Black Edition memory, I have a Phenom II X4 955 BE CPU. I broke down, bought a new set of memory modules and with all settings stock they've worked PERFECTLY for the last 10 days. Yes, the 'bad' memory worked fine with one module at a time but when pairing them up they failed.

Post your system specs, we might be able to guide you in the right direction.

Nevermind, I see you HAVE posted your specs. You may or may not have the same issue I did. The one at a time memory tests passing with the both at the same time failing tells me it may be a similar issue though.

 

[Speaker Rob]

Rob, I had a similar situation a couple weeks ago with nearly identical results on memory diagnostics, I found that my memory was not compatible with my CPU.

Thanks for the insight, Ill try a different brand of memory when I RMA. Since both modules came together I have to sends them both back anyways. At least I have an OS on my HDD now, though.