INFO: Building/Buying a Desktop (PC or Mac)

[Kuriin]

I am having issues with my operating system (joy of Vista...). Anyways, it won't let Restart or Shutdown. I have to force it to do it. Whenever I do that, it won't boot to disc because of an error.

What gives. =|

Is the RC for 7 still out?

[Jysin-DW]

Are you sure you dont have anything hanging during shutdown? Does it do anything at all, like close browser windows, etc and then just sit at desktop? Or does it quite literally have no response whatsoever?

As for Win7, MS closed the download for the RC, but you can find it all over the place in Torrents. All you need is the download and MS are still handing out the Beta keys.

See here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win.../download.aspx

[Kuriin]

I dunno if anything is actually hanging, stopping the restart/shutdown. All I've been doing is updating my WoW.

Should I just try the Win7 thing?

[Twobit Whore]

Originally Posted by Kuriin

I am having issues with my operating system (joy of Vista...). Anyways, it won't let Restart or Shutdown. I have to force it to do it. Whenever I do that, it won't boot to disc because of an error.

What gives. =|

Is the RC for 7 still out?

This is not a Vista problem.

[Kuriin]

What is it, then?

[Jysin-DW]

I think he should mean, its not Vista specifically because there are a ton of people (myself included) that run it perfectly fine without issues. Something is screwed up in your software preventing it from shutting down. Bad and/or corrupted drivers, OS, etc can all do weird shit.

[Kuriin]

Should I just reformat the drive and reinstall? :|

[Twobit Whore]

Jysin is correct. A properly running machine will restart and shutdown. I see you've been having a number of problems with your build, from discs to whatnot and on top of it you are overclocking too?

Try getting a stock stable system that works as you expect before going about tweaking things you don't understand.

[Kuriin]

I haven't overclocked anything yet. The only issue that seems to be coming up over and over is that sometimes the SSD disappears during boot and Windows won't start up due to it being on that drive.

[Twobit Whore]

Sounds like your SSD is the issue. Do you have the right drivers for it?

Try unplugging all the other drives except that one. Process of elimination is very useful in troubleshooting.

You could also try installing the OS to a regular drive to see if the SSD is faulty or not installed properly.

[Jysin-DW]

Always worth a shot, especially if you've only recently built and loaded everything. Do yourself a favor and go to your Device Manager and be sure there are no yellow ! on anything on the list.

Dont use any of the install CDs that came with any of your hardware (MB, Vid Card, etc). Go directly to the websites for each piece of hardware and download the latest drivers direct from them... which is especially important for the motherboard. I usually just make a folder, name it Vista Build and start dropping all of the freshly downloaded drivers / apps / Service Packs (if applicable) into it. Stick that onto a thumb drive when done.

Restart, format your HD, load your OS, use thumb drive to accesss folders with your Build, install MB drivers, install Service Packs, then the rest of your hardware drivers, then finally run windows updates. Dont let windows update any drivers, as they are usually a few releases behind the manufacturer at a minimum.

[Jysin-DW]

Originally Posted by Kuriin

I haven't overclocked anything yet. The only issue that seems to be coming up over and over is that sometimes the SSD disappears during boot and Windows won't start up due to it being on that drive.

What exact SSD are you using?

Have you tried using various SATA ports for it on the motherboard? More imprtantly, are the drivers for that SATA port properly loaded?? As an example, my old 775 Gigabyte board had the normal Intel drivers for IC9R loaded (Intel SATA ports on the Southbridge), but there were a few additional SATA ports that were controlled by a Gigabyte controller. Those ports required specific drivers for that controller.

This is partly why I asked if there were any ! in the Device Manager list.

[Kuriin]

To Twobit: Yeah, I updated the drivers for it. I'll give that a shot.

Jysin: No exclamation marks in the device manager. I actually did update the motherboard from the disc then I went to the mobo's site and updated the drivers from there. I'll see if there's anything else I can update, though.

To your new question:

I'm using OCZ Vertex Turbo 128GB

I've put it in SATA 0, 1, 4, 5. It seems to work best in the 0 or 1 slot. What do you mean drivers for that SATA port properly loaded?

[Jysin-DW]

Its part of the MB chipset drivers installation. You can download them direct from the website or from the install CD.

It wouldnt hurt to try a reinstallation how I suggested. Only use the drivers from the website and avoid the CD. Sometimes writing drivers back to back can have issue (nVidia drivers especially). Keep the drive on the 0 or 1 slot on the install and dont move it around if possible.

[Kuriin]

Oh. Well, fuck shit. I only updated the Network drivers and nothing else. I'm going to update those when I get home later today from my study group. Thanks for letting me know.


BTW, I did what you suggested and downloaded every driver update (including Service Pack 2) and put them on USB drives and will use them if my driver updates don't fix the issue.


Thanks for the help, Jysin.