# New P8P67 build randomly shutting down/rebooting



## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Specs:
P8P67 pro w/1502 Bios
4GB Gskill Ripjaws X
[email protected]
PNY GTX260 core 216 w/270.xx drivers
Thermaltake Toughpower 700w
Hyper 212 cooler on CPU
Windows 7 64-Bit SP1

I have a bit of a boggle with this new/first build and hope you fine gents can help.

The boggle I have is I am encountering random reboots in select games, but not others. Borderland and EQ2 crash while Rift and Left 4 Dead do not.

I have stress tested the machine using Prime95, Kombustor, Intel Burn Test, Memtest86 and Furmark...often both cpu and gpu stress tests at same time for several hours without a hitch.

Memtest turned up 0 errors in 5 passes on both sticks of RAM.

Temps are well within normal range with the CPU going no higher than 58-60c and the GPU hitting a momentary spike of 72c. All voltages remained steady.

Now I have the auto-reboot disabled, BUT it acts as if I hit the reset switch...so there is nothing in the event viewer and no dump file.

Sorry ahead of time if this is should have been posted in the games section, but seemed more a hardware issue from what info I tried to gather.
Any help you can offer will be GREATLY appreciated.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

From all the tests you've run yourself, I'd be leaning towards a software/incompatibility issue rather then hardware.

Have you checked those two games forums for ideas? Have the latest updates for them, designed for Win7? Have the latest driver(s) for your video card, compatible with Win7?


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

I have indeed checked their forums and google and found nothing similar to that offered any helpful info on this.

I have also tried both the current release drivers and beta without success.
I have also tried lowering my RAM frequency from 1600 to 1333 also with no success.

I was also leaning towards compatibility issue, but what I don't get and perhaps someone could explain, is why incompatibility would cause a reboot with no BSOD or entry in the event viewer.

Don't know if it matters, but I am able to play for varied amounts of time in both before the reboot randomly occurs.

Thanks again for any help you can offer.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Well, I don't know right off hand, but the renderings that games do are so CPU & GPU intensive that thousands of things can cause a crash. It's really amazing how well most gaming software works!

What I'd do at this point is consider the possibility that an anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-malware, or firewall program is shutting you down during gameplay. I know that EQ2 is an on-line game, is the Borderbund an on-line game as well?

What AV, AM, AS, or firewalls are you running?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

What case are you using?

Try disconnecting the reset and front power switch, jump the power on posts momentarily to start and see if still occurs.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Currently have Norton Internet Security that came with the Asus P8P67 Pro.
It is currently also managing the Windows Security setting as well.

All of those games are online, but the odd part is Borderland is only online to launch through Steam or if in multiplayer, which I wasnt, but so is Left 4 Dead, which runs without a hitch.

I guess my biggest boggle is why it would cause the reset button style reboot.

Thanks yet again for the time and help.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

@wrench: Using the Apevia X-Cruiser...have been using the case for a couple years without issue with a previous mobo and cpu(pre-built for me). Ill give the jump a shot, but have doubts that would be the problem because it only seems so far to happen in certain games. 

In which case I am guessing Jim might be right about a software incompatibility, but to be honest I don't understand how or why it reboots like it does without the BSOD or dump if it was software related.

Being my first build(was a blast hand picking the parts and assembling) I guess I am trying to learn and understand as much as possible about why this is happening and how to correct it.

Appreciate the ideas so far!


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

I think Wrench's idea might not take into account that your problem only occurs with two on-line games and not with others. Stuck power or reset switches do occur but you usually get a boot-reboot-repeat sequence. And many times just a black screen.



> I guess my biggest boggle is why it would cause the reset button style reboot.


This can happen when you have software access to the reset sequence of the mobo. Which has been available since the olden days of CTRL+ALT+DEL so it's not that unusual in my experience. A hardware issue can cause the PSU to do a reset as well, but that usually shows up randomly with any program, not just two in particular.

(I'm not forgetting that those two games could be stressing your CPU & GPU enough that the PSU resets to shed an overload but let's narrow the problem down first). 

Then you have the firewall...if an recognizable attack is made on one of your open ports, that can cause an immediate reset. But normally you're given a warning by the firewall program. And if the game itself is randomly using one of those open ports, but the firewall program is set to reject it or sees it as an intrusion, that could cause it.

If I HAD to play either of those games, (and I'm not much of a game player), I'd do a system backup, set a new restore point, shut off Norton's firewall, and try it again. Another thing you could do is just not play those games for a week or two. See if it shows up somewhere else.

Or, you could reboot into Safemode with networking and see if one of the games runs without rebooting. Probably wouldn't run though.

After eliminating a software or firewall issue as the cause, then I'd strongly look at the GPU as a 72°C temp is pretty high, and high temps are seldom 'momentary'. In fact, open the case and make sure the GPU's fan and heatsink are nice and clean. And the fan spins freely.

And you could try this quickly. Open the case and place a floor fan blowing right inside (it's nice & clean & free of dust already, right?). Then run a game.

Aren't computers fun? :grin::wave:


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

HA! I'm not losing patience yet troubleshooting this...likely due to its my first self built...so its still kind of fun, like a difficult puzzle.



> I'd strongly look at the GPU as a 72°C temp is pretty high


That 72c was indeed a peak from the log of the stress test at 100% load over a 2hr stretch. Got the same results using Kombustor for 2hrs and FurMark as well..all told nearly 8hrs of 100% load and it never exceeded 72c, which according to PNY is well within tolerable range for the card(supposedly). 99% of the time it hovered around 68-70c.
I also monitored it over the duration with the Asus AI Suite monitor and Speedfan.

The PSU voltage draws remained stable and were never close to the capacity of the unit from what I saw during the stress tests.

I should also mention that most of that time I also had the cpu burn tests running adding to the interior ambient temp which remained within acceptable limits as I had my speakers cranked up an alert if the temps got near the thermal limits from any of the components.

I combed through the firewall log and saw nothing indicating an attack of any kind or unauthorized access in or out.

The Mobo, GPU and RAM are new and the interior of the case was 100% cleaned out when I put in the new parts. I opened the PSU and cleaned it as well. The cables are routed mostly behind the MOBO and I have 3 extra case fans set as best I could to push/pull front to back.

Will try your suggestion with safe mode and no firewall tomorrow as well as with some other random game for the sake of testing. Although according to the cpu/gpu usage monitor the game the doesn't crash uses more of both resources than the others.

I tried to troubleshoot as much as I could possibly could doing my own research before coming and asking for help.

Thanks again for the time and patience.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

My experiences with anything Symantec have been nothing but negative. I've seen their products cause issues that one would never consider. I would suggest uninstalling anything Symantec and see how it goes. MS Security Essentials is free and it works quite well.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

*I totally agree with Tyree* about Symantec products. I usually advise removing it as it's a resource hog and often has intractable issues playing nice with other software causing strange symptoms.

If you need to keep it, and have the original disks, try removing the program, as Tyree suggests.

Good luck.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Usually if there not a wercon report it's hardware related, my thoughts were more along the line of a shot or bare spot on the wiring to the front panel switches and when it heats up connects to ground shutting the PC down like pressing the reset switch.

If removing the Symantec programs doesn't do it I would set it up on the bench and run the programs that cause it to shut down.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Top of the day!

Ok gents, I tried both of your suggestions.

Removed Norton...did not help, BUT noticed a MUCH quicker boot time and crisper response time in windows so that disaster will stay off! One for the plus side there.

Removed the front panel connectors and jumped the computer to start it...initially I thought it had worked due to the length of time Borderlands ran, but eventually it resulted in the same instant reboot.

For the sake of troubleshooting I closely monitored the temps of CPU(42c) and GPU(62c) by alt-tabbing, which then made me wonder if that would have somehow postponed the crash?

Don't know if it's worth mention, but the memory usage of Borderlands was well over 1,000,000k.

Once again thanks for all the help so far and anything additional you can provide.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Is the P8P67 Pro the newer B3 revision or the older chipset board?
OLD> Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
New> Newegg.com - ASUS P8P67 PRO (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

New revision.


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## srhowlett (Jan 19, 2011)

Does this board have the sandy bridge chip set as I brought the deluxe version in jan and it had a recall and I ASIs had to exchange for me last week. It did start to play up a couple of weeks prior to exchange 

Also have you updated to the latest firmware as I have this issue when first installing my board and this solved my issue.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

@srhowlett
It is indeed the SB chipset, but bought after the recall with the B3 revision.



> Also have you updated to the latest firmware


I have all drivers and the BIOS up to the latest versions as well, if that is what you mean by firmware.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Even if it were a ram issue it should be throwing a BSOD or at least a wercon report, I can't ever recall seeing one just shut down that wasn't heat, power or on older boards capacitor related. 

If you have a house fan or window fan, try removing the side cover and blowing the fan inside while playing, see if that make any significant difference.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

@wrench97

I will give it a shot with the external fan, but as I mentioned before and what baffles me here, is that I ran both the CPU and GPU stress tests simultaneously for nearly 4hrs steady(8+ individual total for both) before doing anything with these new parts and never encountered so much as a single error.

Yet when playing it takes a crap anywhere from 5 to 30min. I checked to see if they shared the same engine and do not which makes me scratch my head on the software end.

Ill turn a fan at it and verbally abuse it and report back.


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## srhowlett (Jan 19, 2011)

Could be a processor issue maybe the CPU cooler is not fitted correctly I did see your temps were ok but it worth checking everything is fitted correct including CPU and ram you might have already done this of course.


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

srhowlett said:


> Could be a processor issue maybe the CPU cooler is not fitted correctly I did see your temps were ok but it worth checking everything is fitted correct including CPU and ram you might have already done this of course.


If the CPU HSF was not attached properly the CPU temps would be high.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Well I gave it a shot with a large fan puffing into the inside of the case and ended up with the same results.

I also got an OSD to monitor my temps and never exceeded 64c on GPU and stayed in the 35c on the CPU.

Afterward I decided to let the stress test have a go at trying to force a crash...sadly even with all 4 [email protected]% and the [email protected]% for 2hrs it didn't.

I've used my google talents best I could trying to research as much as possible, but came up empty. Even checked to see if the 2 games ran on the same engine, which they don't.:sigh:

So....any other thoughts on this would be, as always, appreciated.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Just a minor update: I ran OCCT PSU test I found for an hour and while it generated a bit more heat(still within reasonable temps from what I read) than anything else it did not crash during that time.

Reason I tested this is I thought the 5yr old 700w PSU(7yr warranty) might be the cause or perhaps it didn't like feeding the newer Core chips enough power, but it doesn't seem I was even remotely correct.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

OK, you've pretty much eliminated a hardware 'failure' as the probable cause, perhaps we should look at some other causes of crashes, and since that mobo uses an unusual architecture let's ignore the 'immediate reset' and think of it as a simple crash. 

You've removed Norton's firewall, but do you have the Windows built in firewall operating? If so shut that off and test.

Go into BIOS and shut off the sound hardware (or remove the sound card if you are using one). Test. That brings up a question, if you're using a PCI sound card, did you turn off the built in card in BIOS?

Remove the GPU and substitute a different one, different brand hopefully.

Perhaps those two games are interfering with a running process. Can you take a screen shot of the running processes in Windows task manager, order them most Mem usage to least and post it here?

I'm drawing a blank on how you'd turn off installed programs for testing in Win7. In XP you just click on 'run' and type 'msconfig' and do a 'diagnostic startup' You might check in 'Help' for that. Then deselect unnecessary programs one at a time. Test after each.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Vista and Win7 works the same way, Start type msconfig in the search box, select the startup tap and uncheck the programs you do not want to start.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

First off thanks for all the time, patience and effort you put into helping me out.

I contacted Asus directly providing a complete in depth summary of everything we have tried and got the following detailed and well thought out response:



> Test power supply, and/or warranty the board to the reseller.


So indeed I'm going to see if I can return the board for one from a different company as that sort of customer service is an unacceptable joke.

Which brings me to my final question!

Based on your knowledge which would be the most comparable and reliable replacement?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

About all I've been using is Gigabyte or Asus.

Your P8P67 Pro is in between the GA P67x UD3 B3 and P67a UD4 B3.
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

I glanced at the Gigabyte, but am still swooning over the new UEFI, which to my understanding they don't have. As far as price 225~ was the range I was shooting for.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

I believe the only other manufacturers using it are Intel on some of their 1155 boards but not all, and MSI, Compared to a MSI, Asus's customer service is a walk in the park


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Good lord, this is the first real computer issue I have encountered and am astounded at how you fine folks are far more adept at offering help and/or ideas than either the company email support OR phone tech line(also a waste of time) were.

If MSI is worse I shudder at the thought of a dealing with a lower end company.

Maybe I am being a bit temperamental and should RMA for replacement then.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

The more I think about UEFI setup it makes me wonder if it's not part of the problem, since the OS through the Asus drivers and utility programs does have direct access to it unlike a standard bios setup.

Your using the 1502 bios now did you ever have the 1305 or 1204 versions on it?


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Darn, I was interested in helping come up with a cause or at least a work around for this interesting problem.

My experience with ASUS has been all positive, as far as operation and reliability. A couple Gigabyte boards I've worked on lately (tho the boards were 2 years old) seem to have problems just getting past POST. Once they get beyond POST (might require a reset or two) they work fine. MSI has also been very reliable. Biostar seems to be moving up in the rankings and I've installed several for clients (but sometimes when there are problems you don't hear back). Most Intel boards work well as long as you're not overclocking or using low quality memory sticks, and they are low in consumer rankings. These are just my personal observations and shouldn't be taken without a grain of salt. Here's a link to a mobo comparison article, updated Apr. 2011. Mobo Comparison

Note that most of the recommended boards are ASUS.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

It actually came with the 1502 on it so I never used the older ones.

BUT....I did get the reboot in a 3rd game, one that has been reliable, today.
Once it crashed I set the RAM to 1333Mhz and it hasn't happened since.

I have another week under the 30day warranty so I'm willing to play until then, but my time to test and such will be sporadic from here on out as I have to play contractor more regularly.

Wrench got me thinking, Ill use speedfan to control my fan speed and dump the AI Suite and related programs and test again first chance I get.

Also I will probably just get a replacement now I read that info as opposed to going another direction, which was kneejerk on my part earlier, I was annoyed with the customer service.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Calling and getting your RMA now will give you some wiggle room as they don't expect the boards back overnight. I usually ask how long the RMA is open. (Usually 30 days). Make sure you mention that the warranty is expiring in a week. Get the name of whomever you get the RMA from.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

I'm back like a vertabrae Jim, Tyree and Wrench.

I have some new and exciting(not at all) information for you to ponder.

I decided to pull the system apart and re-seat everything, reset CMOS and go from there....but I managed to knock my GPU off the table and SOB if it didn't wrack the fan.

So off to the store, with impatience eating at me, I go and walk away with a shiny new MSI 560GTX Ti and a lighter wallet.

Removed old drivers, ran driver cleaner, installed new card, new drivers and off to the stress test races I went, but first I decided to bench mark it...and filled my pants at what I expected to be a modest performance increase. So with clean drawers I set OCCT up to the PSU test(100% load for cpu and gpu) and let it beat my system for an hour. 

Delighted with these results I loaded up a game that's been stable....60s later....REBOOT!
Tried 2 others with the same maddening results....so gentlemen hit me with your next best guess.

Could software conflicts actually cause this type of reboot problem? and why does it seem stable under various stress tests, but the instant I load a game it passes out?


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

It's been my experience that software can cause this issue. However, I'd recommend that you get your RMA for the mobo soon.  

Ya know what's also common to this reboot? The NIC. (Your stress tests kind of eliminated the memory, PSU, GPU, etc.). It only reboots on playing any of four on-line games. (Anytime I've tested this by replacing the NIC, it hasn't been the case tho).

Far more often, it's been an incompatibility in the sound circuit. I've never gone in depth about what the actual mechanism might be, but several times when I've had a computer reset while playing a game and sometimes when just playing a radio station or on-line tune, a sudden reset turned out to be the sound hardware/drivers. Real Audio (not Realtek) use to be famous for this (I was still getting reboots from software 2 years ago while listening to NFL games where they required you to use Real Audio).


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Funny you mention the sound...I was just about to post an update that I managed a crash through Kombustor using the Benchmark(never bothered running it before) just after running the GPU stress...the difference....background audio in the benchmark. I have a X-Fi card here Ill toss in tmrw and report back.

I also installed some single player games and they also crashed...one older and one newer.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Diabled the onboard audio...no change.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Gold star for you Jim.

I ran Kombustor's benchmark twice WITH the onboard audio disabled and my computer narcolepsy kicked in both times.

Then I ran it twice more with the audio disabled from within the program settings and guess what....it made 2 passes without error.

So I do declare this mystery may be solved.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Guess you should try and contact the game designers and see if they've heard of this or have a work around...who wants to play without sound?

Maybe borrow a PCI sound card and test that too.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Got an X-Fi on hand I am installing now.

The quirky part of the whole thing was even when I disabled the Onboard audio as long as I did something with audio output it would cause the crash, but eliminate the audio and eliminate the crash.

Edit: Same result with sound card installed.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

If I understand you correctly, you went into BIOS and deactivated the built-in sound then tested with a PCI sound card and had the same problem of reboots playing on-line games. But if you shut off the sound from within the game software, no reboots?

Is that correct? (I'm asking because I have an idea for a workaround).


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Yes sir that is correct.

Something to add to the soup...ran Kombustor and Prime95 FFT and loaded up Foobar with a couple flac and mp3 songs...4 played during the time I ran Kombustor and P95 without an error...I officially give it a ***?

Also it is not limited to online only games, tried Crysis and it did the same thing.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

OK, assuming you're happy with keeping the mobo, what I'd do is remove the PCI sound card, leave the sound shut off in BIOS, grab my Win7 retail version and do a repair install (in WinXP it's the 2nd occurrence of 'repair' during install). Then reboot and turn on the on-board sound hardware in BIOS and let Win7 reinstall it. This should save all your currently installed software and settings. (Do a back up first).

What this accomplishes is to reorder the installation of the hardware. I'd like to see the sound hardware installed last. I think the CD and the current OS must be the same service pack level for this to work. 

I'm not that familiar with Win7 so we need Tyree to jump in here and lead you on. If he agrees this might work...


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

I have an RMA in for this mobo, but I am not sending it till at least Wednesday next week. I don't have the Win7 retail sadly, it was an upgrade disc from Vista, BUT when I did the fresh install I did use only the Win7 disc, formatted the drive...etc.
Perhaps there is a way to use that disc or current installation to make an iso on a USB?

Only you mention


> I think the CD and the current OS must be the same service pack level for this to work.


 and the disc does not contain SP1, which I have installed at this point.

I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling the latest Realtek drivers as well if I hadn't mentioned that already.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Well, in that case, do the RMA route. But unless ASUS is aware of this problem the revision level will probably be the same as your current board and a replacement board may not make any difference.

I've found that numerous un-re-installs of the _drivers_ makes no difference. Occasionally, doing so will lengthen the time between reboots.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Interesting. Would I be wrong in assuming that it is probably just an issue with a small amount of boards? I do not see anything similar googling around the web which would lead me to believe it might be an isolated problem. I only ask because I use this for work and it will be a big PITA is to lose it for multiple returns.

I did turn up a how-to on the Win7 repair install....might give it a shot in a bit.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

I would think so based on the small number of issues report of this type. Like I said, I was never able to get a handle on the actual mechanism causing it but I've seen it often enough over the years to wonder if it's one manufacturers chip that's occasionally installed in a mobo when the mobo manufacturer can't get their preferred chip. Wouldn't even cause a revision change if it's on their preferred suppliers list. So it's quite possible a new mobo would fix it.

Doing a repair install of Win7 as suggested would be a great test.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Well I did a complete fresh Win7 install and it is still happening.
I tried it prior to installing anything on top of the fresh installation for troubleshooting sakes.

The odd part is that it's happening almost instantly now whereas before it would take at least a few minutes.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

OK, well, that certainly points to the mobo as the source of the problem.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

I installed in the order you suggested as well. Went so far as to install chipset, reboot, lan drivers, reboot...etc and finally installed realtek, restart and enabled the option in BIOS.

Just for my own curiosity do you have a rough explanation as to why audio input from software would cause the reset button style reboots? even when disabled? or with a dedicated audio card installed?

Thanks again for all the time and help. While I'm not thrilled with getting a bad mobo I must admit I learned quite a bit in the process. Whittling away at the problem was entertaining...in fact I was a bit pumped when it was narrowed down to the audio finally.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

> Just for my own curiosity do you have a rough explanation as to why audio input from software would cause the reset button style reboots? even when disabled? or with a dedicated audio card installed?


It would seem to me, since the reset circuit, BIOS chip, PCI bus, on-board audio chip, LAN, etc. all go through the southbridge chip, that the problem is in there. And it's probably interrupt related.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Thanks for the explanation! Now I'll sound pro when I conclude my tale of first computer build woe to all who will listen.

....but just one more! If I am to understand correctly what interrupt is its the onboard parts making a request for something(correct me if I am wrong), so would I also be close in guessing your saying that 2 things onboard are asking for the same IRQ(see that, I'm learning some lingo too)?

Another thanks is in order, it's been a real pleasure working with you gentlemen throughout this trial and error session.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Well, no, not really saying 2 IRQ's are clashing. That would give you a BSOD from my experience.

Let's say that the Southbridge chip (or the sound chip) has a bad transistor out of the millions that are in there. And it's hanging (when it's accessed by software) not at a zero or one like it's suppose to, but some intermediary voltage. That could cause the Southbridge to issue a 'problem' interrupt. Repeatedly, like a flood of IRQs. This could be sensed by the reset circuit as a critical fault, causing a system reset. Or let's say the same thing happens only an output goes low when called for by the software, but sticks there, not returning to a high impedance state like it should. That can cause an overcurrent condition which would cause the PSU to issue a shutdown when other devices try to toggle the buss.

One thing I learned years ago (which means it might not apply to newer mobos) was that the sound chips were still addressed and still output whether or not they were turned on in BIOS. The outputs going to the speaker amplifiers were the only thing that were turned off.

The audio chip and the PCI devices all connect into the Southbridge buss structure. As does the BIOS, reset chip, and PSU (indirectly). So it appears that a series of software instructions sent to the CPU, routed to Southbridge, then to the audio chip causes a hardware fault that causes your reset.

Or so it seems, I'll feel a little silly if your new mobo doesn't fix the problem.


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## boeing (Apr 24, 2011)

Thank God I found this post.....I have an ASUS P8P67 Deluxe board and this is my problem exactly! All other hardware appears ok, so now I'm going to RMA my board and hope a new one solves the random reboot problem I'm having. I have not tried the sound card/onboard sound issue like above. I have been monitoring temps and I think the highest I have ever seen at full load was 1 core reaching 62c...idle is 31 and usually mid to high 50s at full load so the H70 is doing the trick. I hope a new board solves our problem.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

You and me both Boeing. A sure fire test(at least for me) was the MSI Kombustor benchmark. Run it a couple times with the sound disabled via the settings and then re-enable it and run again. The best I did was 2 runs before it crashed on the third.

The odd part about it was the broad variance in games. Sometimes I would run a couple hours and others not more than 30s. Although the problem is very regular now with a max in game time of 5min.

I will update once I get the new mobo and test it as well.


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## waywrd (May 4, 2011)

I'm having random restarts also with an Asus P8P67 Deluxe B3 stepping and an Intel 2600k. I had no problems with my previous B2 stepping board and BIOS 1204.

I'm on my second B3 board. I exchanged my first B3 stepping board and just had a random restart with its replacement.

The restarts seem to happen when I have multiple YouTube videos loaded in multiple Firefox tabs. I'm not a gamer and have not been able to reproduce the restarts with stress tests, i.e., Prime 95, OCCT, Memtest.

System specs:
Asus P8P67 Deluxe B3 stepping (BIOS 1503)
Intel 2600k (not overclocked)
8 GB (4 gb x 2) DDR3-1600 (on Asus QVL)
Radeon 4670
Corsair TX650W PSU
Xfi sound card
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1

I'm hoping that a BIOS update will fix this.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Waywrd, Please start a new thread with the info you show in your post. It'll get more activity.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Well gentlemen, I finally got the new mobo today as well as a new case, got everything re-installed and ran the benchmark twice that would crash with success, but 2min into Rift(game) it crashed again. Any thoughts? Could the HDD be bad even though chkdsk comes up with nothing? PSU even though it will run the stress tests?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Did you check the hard drive with the manufacturers diagnostic software?
Check Disk just checks file structure.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

No, but I did use chkdsk /r on a reboot, but Ill try WD tool now.


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

Found this OC'ing info on another forum, perhaps it'll give you some leads or insight: ASUS P67

Too bad replacing the mobo didn't seem to fix the issue. Back to the drawing board, I guess.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

Got it solved gentlemen. For some reason the PSU was causing it. Worked perfect under 100% loads for GPU/CPU simultaneously using Intel Burn Test and Kombustor/OCCT, but would crash in any games. 

No idea why because I found a guide to test your PSU with a couple spare wires and a multi-meter and it checked out OK. 

I did upgrade to 750w from 700w, but again I should not have been pulling anywhere near capacity with these parts at stock. I should note the Thermaltake TP PSU was a 4 12v rail unit and about 5yrs old.

However...once the system was stable I did encounter a BSoD comming out of sleep mode everytime, but taught myself the utterly confusing(5hrs worth) WinDB and discovered it was a HDD error addressed here: You receive various Stop error messages in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2 when you try to resume a computer that has a large SATA hard disk

Nice find on the OC guide Jim, following it I got up to 4.2Ghz and stable as can be.

Thank you guys for all the help its been a pleasure!


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## Markgg88 (Jan 7, 2011)

I've been following this epic tail but didn't have anything to add to what my team mates have been saying here, but certainly glad you've sorted it now.

What PSU did you end up getting?


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

That's more along the line of clean power and dirty power, dirty power(too much ripple) will cause strange issues, without a oscilloscope to test the supply under the load that causes the problem you'll never find it.


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## Bigchuck (Apr 17, 2011)

I ended up going with the TX750 after reading the link I had bookmarked from wrench97's signature. Seemed a good solid choice for my purposes and Corsair has what appears to be a damn good reputation as far as Customer Service.

As a bonus the local computer shop had one for $120 and it made doing a decent clean cable routing job a cinch in the HAF 922 compared to the old one with shorter cables that had to go in front of the GPU and across the CPU cooler fins. It is also noticeably quieter than the old one.

While I get the basic idea of ripple and dirty/clean power, wrench, I still don't quite grasp why it didn't fail during stress testing. I was under the (wrong)impression that if nothing went haywire during that it was A-OK.

However I have walked away with a TON of knowledge I would have never gotten otherwise on the wonderful quandary that is the ornery self built computer.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

It usually has to do with cross loading the rails, a higher percentage draw on the 5v for example then on the 12v or 3.3v causes the regulation circuits in the supply to bounce or jitter at a extreme rate affecting the other outputs.


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## Koniu (May 9, 2011)

My problem exactly !!!!


I haven't done all troubleshooting you did just yet, but I'm about half way through. Same, fresh Windows installation, stress tests don't cause crash, only games, temperature is in normal range during crash, mem tests OK ... etc. Thanks for describing this to all ray:

My next step will be PSU replacement then.


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## maffers (Sep 27, 2011)

Thanks for this long and detailed post.

I have a PC exhibiting the very same problem with the very same components. When I recently upgraded my PC with SSD, 2500K, P8P67 Pro + some G-skill memory the only bit I didn't replace was my 700watt PSU.

It has just started rebooting during sessions of world-of-tanks (most annoying to re-join a game to find out during the reboot you were shot in the ars3).
And thanks to your detailed post have just ordered a TX 750W V2 so hopefully all will be well once installed.

Will drop a post to confirm fault cleared after it has been installed and tested.


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## abhinavsah (Sep 28, 2011)

having the same problem... no solution yet... hard shutdowns and restart, no error message or BSOD. Now from last 2 weeks it happens atleast 100 times a day and sometimes more even while bootup. Cant even change bios setting cause it reboots in between that also. Followed every thread for solutions and tried everything but no luck (Manual settings of ram and cpu including voltage). All hardware tests normal, sometimes the burin test also passes.

Machine config:
Processor: intel core i7 2600k 
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 Pro MoBo (REV B3) with the latest bios, liquid cooled with a corsair H70
RAM : Corsair 8GB (CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9, 2x4GB Dual Channel)
POWER Supply: Corsair AX750
GPU: MSI 560ti OC
Cabinet: Corsair 600T
TPU & EPU Switch On. (tried with both off and on but no luck)

I am unable to even use the system for 5 mins now and its a pain to isolate a problem. Runs fine for 3 days and then again keeps rebooting 20 times in 5 mins... I hope someone has a solution with this. No hardware issue as such, the parts were all tested by the System guys and they couldnt find a problem in that.

I am now getting "failed to overclock CPU" message at boot sometimes even though the CPU is at stock frequency.

Swapped RAM modules also but no luck either. (both in the A2,B2 sockets)


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## [email protected] (Nov 16, 2004)

@abhinavsah: this tread is from back in May. Suggest you start a new thread.


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## abhinavsah (Sep 28, 2011)

I have already started a new thread... saw this because the OP had very similar problem which got solved ...so hoping that someone here can help me better... Thanx anyways... i hope i get a solution real fast... its been more than a month now...


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## maffers (Sep 27, 2011)

TX 750W V2 installed today and all working sweet. Many thanks to OP for this post, saved me allot of time, money and grief.
Cheers


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## marcanthonywebs (Apr 19, 2012)

Chuck!!!!!!!!!!!! I have the same mb doing the same thing and I'm running win7 64bit i7 16 mem and this dam thing just restarts all the time and it also will play mw3 for a long time no problems then when the game ends and i go back to windows boom restarts I think its the sandy bridge chipset


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## maffers (Sep 27, 2011)

marcanthonywebs said:


> Chuck!!!!!!!!!!!! I have the same mb doing the same thing and I'm running win7 64bit i7 16 mem and this dam thing just restarts all the time and it also will play mw3 for a long time no problems then when the game ends and i go back to windows boom restarts I think its the sandy bridge chipset


I'm sorry mate but you might be looking at a new PSU here, it fixed it for me. Not all 700W PSU's are made the same.


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## marcanthonywebs (Apr 19, 2012)

Yes looks like it maybe the problem its a rocketfish 700W but maybe its not clean power...:facepalm: More money out of my pocket....


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## maffers (Sep 27, 2011)

I can highly recommend the Corsair TX 750W V2 and I feel your pain.

All the best


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## marcanthonywebs (Apr 19, 2012)

For those wondering how to solve the double boot issue for this board, there are 2 things that you can do 1) UEFI BIOS -> go to ‘Advanced’ tab -> go down to ‘APM’, press Enter -> enable the “Power on by PCIe.” function. Then press F10 to save﻿ & exit. After save & exit, let the system boot into Windows or other OS, then perform a proper shutdown: Start button -> Shut down 2) Internal PLL Overvoltage = DISABLED this worked for me before i got the 2 evga 560 ti super clocked


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## marcanthonywebs (Apr 19, 2012)

just ordered a
*Kingwin ABT-1000MA1S Mach 1 Modular Power Supply - 1000-Watt, ATX, SLI-Ready, Six 12V Rails, 80Plus*


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Do yourself a favor and cancel it, it's a SuperFlower OEM'd unit and the ripple mentioned here in this older review gets worse with age> Kingwin Mach 1 1000W Review


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## greenbrucelee (Apr 24, 2007)

a rocletfish power supply has no business being inside a pc especially a good one.

The psu is the most important component in your pc by crap and you will get crap/ You should choose a good make such as seasonic,xfx and corsair (AX,HX and TX units only).


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## marcanthonywebs (Apr 19, 2012)

I know lol! I was so busy getting. Everything else I over looked it! I have a 1000 watts coming overnight till put in Friday then beast on it to test it ...


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Brand & Model of the coming 1000W PSU?
Hopefully not the Kingwin previously mentioned.


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## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

marcanthonywebs said:


> just ordered a
> *Kingwin ABT-1000MA1S Mach 1 Modular Power Supply - 1000-Watt, ATX, SLI-Ready, Six 12V Rails, 80Plus*





wrench97 said:


> Do yourself a favor and cancel it, it's a SuperFlower OEM'd unit and the ripple mentioned here in this older review gets worse with age> Kingwin Mach 1 1000W Review


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## marcanthonywebs (Apr 19, 2012)

:facepalm: I wish i seen this review before i order it hopefully it's a better unit since that review from 2009! thanks for the link


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Kingwin are still made by SuperFlower and they aren't any better now than they were 3 yrs.ago.


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