I have been trying to build a Windows 7 64-bit system based on the GA-P55A-UD7 motherboard and some GSKILL memory and have been unsuccessful. I wanted to tell you my story and see if you have any suggestions, because I am on the verge of giving up and starting over with a different MB or different RAM.
Here is the list of components I am using, purchased from NewEgg:
The system went together easily enough. But during the installation process for Windows 7 64-bit I got a series of random Blue Screens. There were various STOP codes, the most common of which was BAD_POOL_HEADER and BAD_POOL_CALLER. But every time I tried, the installation process was aborted by one BSOD or another. They all generally seemed to be various kinds of memory access failures in different drivers, mostly doing file IO, but also some for the video card and others in ntoskrnl.
I tried pulling out all but one memory stick (so there was only 2 gig instead of 8) and that seemed to at least delay the BSODs long enough to let the Win 7 install complete. But after Win 7 was running it was still plagued with a series of random blue screens. Here's what I tried at this point:
None of these things fixed the problem or shed any light.
On a hunch I tried installing Windows XP 32-bit instead; it worked perfectly!
I also tried installing the 32-bit version of Windows 7, and that worked perfectly.
The only common denominator left was Windows 7 64-bit, the CPU, the GA-P55A-UD7 and the F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ sticks. (Oh, well and the PS, I guess.)
I thought the problem had to be a flaky motherboard, so I exchanged mine through NewEgg for another GA-P55A-UD7 and then put the system back together. Still having the same basic problem: random BSODs in 64-bit mode.
I have explained this situation to the folks at Gigabyte Tech Support and I am (slowly) interacting with them. So far nothing useful has come from that.
I have started to wonder if the memory I am using is actually compatible with the motherboard in 64-bit mode. On the G.SKILL website you don't list this memory as compatible with my motherboard, although it is supposed to be compatible with all the previous versions (such as GA-P55A UD5, GA-P55A-UD6, etc.). The UD7 model is relatively new, and I have been assuming you just haven't updated the compatibility list yet. Is that a stupid assumption?
Should the F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ memory be compatible with the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD7 motherboard, and running Windows 7 64-bit?
I have not tweaked any of the BIOS settings, so I am running with all the defaults (1.5V 9-9-9-24-2N, as far as I know).
I have never had such trouble getting a stable system built, but then this is the first time I have tried to build a 64-bit configuration.
At this point I do have a "running" Windows 7 64-bit system with all drivers and updates installed (just by patiently retrying installs until I got them all to work), but it is still unstable and unusable. If I use if for very long it will lock-up or blue-screen.
Any suggestions?
Here is the list of components I am using, purchased from NewEgg:
- GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD7 LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
- Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750
- G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ
- Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
- Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
- CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply
- Antec P183 Black Aluminum / Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
- ASUS Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E818A4/BLK/B/GEN
- SAPPHIRE TOXIC 100282TXSR Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
The system went together easily enough. But during the installation process for Windows 7 64-bit I got a series of random Blue Screens. There were various STOP codes, the most common of which was BAD_POOL_HEADER and BAD_POOL_CALLER. But every time I tried, the installation process was aborted by one BSOD or another. They all generally seemed to be various kinds of memory access failures in different drivers, mostly doing file IO, but also some for the video card and others in ntoskrnl.
I tried pulling out all but one memory stick (so there was only 2 gig instead of 8) and that seemed to at least delay the BSODs long enough to let the Win 7 install complete. But after Win 7 was running it was still plagued with a series of random blue screens. Here's what I tried at this point:
- Installed all the drivers from the CD included with the MB.
- Switched to different memory cards from my set of 4.
- Switched to a completely different video card.
- Switched to a completely different disk drive.
- Ran memory diagnostics all night (no problems were ever found)
None of these things fixed the problem or shed any light.
On a hunch I tried installing Windows XP 32-bit instead; it worked perfectly!
I also tried installing the 32-bit version of Windows 7, and that worked perfectly.
The only common denominator left was Windows 7 64-bit, the CPU, the GA-P55A-UD7 and the F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ sticks. (Oh, well and the PS, I guess.)
I thought the problem had to be a flaky motherboard, so I exchanged mine through NewEgg for another GA-P55A-UD7 and then put the system back together. Still having the same basic problem: random BSODs in 64-bit mode.
I have explained this situation to the folks at Gigabyte Tech Support and I am (slowly) interacting with them. So far nothing useful has come from that.
I have started to wonder if the memory I am using is actually compatible with the motherboard in 64-bit mode. On the G.SKILL website you don't list this memory as compatible with my motherboard, although it is supposed to be compatible with all the previous versions (such as GA-P55A UD5, GA-P55A-UD6, etc.). The UD7 model is relatively new, and I have been assuming you just haven't updated the compatibility list yet. Is that a stupid assumption?
Should the F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ memory be compatible with the Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD7 motherboard, and running Windows 7 64-bit?
I have not tweaked any of the BIOS settings, so I am running with all the defaults (1.5V 9-9-9-24-2N, as far as I know).
I have never had such trouble getting a stable system built, but then this is the first time I have tried to build a 64-bit configuration.
At this point I do have a "running" Windows 7 64-bit system with all drivers and updates installed (just by patiently retrying installs until I got them all to work), but it is still unstable and unusable. If I use if for very long it will lock-up or blue-screen.
Any suggestions?
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