RC1 64bit Not Responding

[djroberts]

I installed fine but the system keeps pausing for about 10 seconds everytime I try to do anything. I get lots of not responding messages.

I'm running a Core i7 920 stock, 3GB ram on a DFI LP JR x58 motherboard and an ATI 4850. I'm also running an OCZ 30GB Vertex as my windows drive.

I've only installed Win7, update, and ATI Win7 drivers but it happened before I did that.

Any ideas?

 

[iPhillip]

Try a clean install? You haven't got much to lose anyway.

 

[djroberts]

This is the clean install It's happened since the first boot.

 

[iPhillip]

Get cleaner.

No seriously I mean try another clean install. See what happens. Might aswell because I have no clue otherwise.

 

[djroberts]

I reinstalled again, same exact issue. Scrolling, opening menus, etc... all pause windows. The system gradually becomes faster over time but once I reboot I get to start over. I tried installing the Intel x58 drivers, no effect. I'm in safe mode and that didn't help. I disabled all the animations, etc... and that didn't help.

 

[bum]

Check Device Manager for flags. Run the WEI performance tool to see if your hardware performs as it should. I wouldn't expect Windows 7 64bit to run very well with just 3GB memory and 30GB HD anyway. That configuration is better suited to the 32bit version.

 

[djroberts]

It had about 17 GB free HD space plus I moved pagefile and other stuff to my D drive. Free memory was at 1.5 GB.

It's not a performance issue really. The OS runs extremely fast until this happens. It's more like a deadlock, wait bug or something. Something is causing windows explorer to hang.

 

[bum]

I read somewhere that installed memory gets divided between running the OS and applications. You're probably using up all that's dedicated to windows and what's left over is reserved for the programs. 64 bit OSs like a lot of memory and require more drive space. Also, you're probably not going to see any useful performance gain unless you run 64 bit apps which may quickly eat up its share of memory, anyway.

If you want to try something else and don't mind reinstalling, some claim that aligning the partition eliminates the problems you describe.

 

[djroberts]

Well the performance of the OS improves the longer I stay logged in so I highly doubt it has to do with memory or hard drive space. When using the scroll bar completely hangs the computer for 10 seconds a bug is at play. It's more likely and incompatibility with a piece of hardware, driver and/or my SSD drive which I know some people have had success and some have had issues.

 

[Night Hawk]

You have enough memory installed. You are already over the recommended minimum of 2gb by MS there. For hard drive the recommended basic install is about 16gb.

The thing you may want to look at however is the condition of the drive itself if no other hardware problems are present as well as seeing chipset and memory controller drivers located and installed for the board. As far as drive space the 64bit Windows places more information into the active ram seeing less swap out back and forth to the hard drive.

 

[bum]

Is your drive MLC? Unlike SLC, they are known to exhibit the symptoms you describe. If you suspect the SSD, replace it with a HDD and see if there's any difference. Before you do, though, use Diskpart to see if your current SSD's partition is properly aligned. You can get all the info for that on OCZ forums.

I don't want to discourage you from using the 64 bit OS because your system seems decent enough (except for the relatively small amount of RAM) and should be pretty fast. But, with only 3GB memory, you would get much better performance with the 32 bit OS when running 32 bit apps. Also, your HD is large enough but at only 30GB, the smaller 32 bit OS would be better for longevity.

 

[djroberts]

The hardware seems to be working fine. I'm back on XP now with no issues. I pass all memory tests, benchmarkes, etc... I tried both the drivers that came with W7 and the updated Intel x58 W7 beta drivers. No difference there. I also tried the ATI W7 beta drivers without any luck.

 

[Night Hawk]

I still find that one odd since you are not running any old celeron model limited to the 32bit kernel there. For ATI drivers the recent Vista versions of the Catalyst CC should also work for video.

With anything from 2gb of memory up you certainly have enough to see the 64bit RC go right on without problems. The 64bit Vista on the other hand often needed to see all but 2gb removed during the installation to avoid errors until Windows was on and running where the additional memory could be added back in afterwards.

When going to install fresh was that on a reformatted or totally new primary? Sometimes a new installation won't seem to go on right with a preused primary as odd as that sounds.

 

[bum]

Sorry to hear that. Most of us would dread going back to XP or Vista especially if installing on a SSD. Windows 7 is the only OS that'll automatically detect it and then optimize the system by turning off services not required by SSDs.

 

[Night Hawk]

I haven't even gotten into any SSDs yet. I would hate to think that 7 won't go on when planning the next system here. Once the ISP saw a change here and the RCs came out the 64bit 7 RC was set as the default OS here.

 

[djroberts]

I tried both using my SSD with a Diskpar set partition and letting W7 partition the drive. Both had the same issue. I'm sure its something super minor like a default driver issue. I've heard of a couple other people with the issue. One person swapped hard drives and the problem went away. Another doesn't know how they fixed it but it eventually went away as well. I may get an older drive to install it on just to play around and see if it's the SSD.

As far as XP goes, it runs lightening fast and stable so I have no problem using it. Unfortunatly I upgraded to 6GB of memory and I'm using XP 32 bit pro. I have a nice little checklist to configure the SSD, doesn't take too long. I just really wanted to go 64 bit and figured W7 was the best choice.

 

[Captain Zero]

The SSD could be flakey, especially a MLC drive. This is likely a hardware issue, regardless. Something is being 'poled' and it's not responding in a timely manner. Perhaps you're on a network? Or a peripheral with bad drivers? Check the Device Manager and look for flags (as noted above). Otherwise, I'd look at reinstalling.

 

[Night Hawk]

I've heard a few complaints already on a few of those. Something has to be actively in the way however to stall 7 from going on just like any other version. The two HP editions of the 7000 build were installed for a look on an ide drive here without a second look. The rest have been right on the satas while those are still the new item with some problems that still need to be worked out apparently.

 

[bum]

I recently purchased a 64GB Samsung SLC SSD. I noticed a lot of people are bidding higher than what I paid for drives listed as just "64GB Samsung SSD". A close look at the label in the picture shows the part # of the cheaper MLC model. It's no wonder there's so many SSDs there with quirks. The reliable ones are SLC and have a controller that works in the real world, not just on paper.

 

[djroberts]

I'll probably install on a regular SATA drive with all the same hardware just to see if it was the SSD. It make take a couple weeks to get my hands on a cheap drive but I'll report back once I've done it.