Just built my new PC, having a few problems

ParmMann

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Not as bad as it sounds mind you, all the hardware came together perfectly, everything installed just fine and it's probably been the easiest build I've ever done! It's not without a few little niggles though...

1. I went for a 500GB Samsung Spinpoint hard drive as I'd read everywhere that they are deliciously quiet. Not so much with mine! I find it makes a racket when it's being accessed. Have I installed it right? I've built an HTPC using an Antec NSK2400 case, it has rubber grommets on the hard drive screws...could I have tightened those too tight or something? The rest of the PC is brilliantly silent, can hardly tell it's on. Can most definately hear the hard drive grinding away though.

2. Device Manager shows one outstanding item that needs a driver: "SM Bus Controller". What is it and where might I find the drivers for it? I've checked windows update but it finds nothing for tha.

3. Not getting any HDMI sound. I'm not sure if I should be mind you? I've got a Gigabyte Radeon HD 2600Pro connected via a DVI --> HDMI cable to a Samsung 32" HD LCD. I get the image, but I don't seem to get any sound. The Sound option in Control Panel shows "Digital Output Device (HDMI), 2- High Definition Audio Device, Working". It's certainly not working though. I do have 5.1 speakers connected too and they work fine (although a little crackly?), but it'd be nice to use the TV speakers when need be.

4. Windows Media Centre. This is my first media-based build so I'm new to this aspect but I've got a BlackGold Dual Tuner installed, that installed fine. When I load Media Centre, I go to the TV setup wizard thing and it starts off fine, asks for my post code, downloads program guide and such but then when it gets to the Scanning for Services stage, it finds nothing and I can't continue. To test, I took the aerial out of the PC and connected it to the TV and that does find all the digital channels. What am I doing wrong here?

5. Though the PC is very quiet (apart from hard drive), I want to make sure the fans are doing a good enough job of cooling. Is there a way I can monitor temperatures from within Windows as opposed to via Bios? If there was a Vista Sidebar Gadget that shows temperatures, that'd be even better!

I'm running Vista Home Premium 64bit and my complete spec can be found here.

Any help on the above niggles would be greatly appreciated! :)
 
1) I have the same HD, totally silent during seek and idle, I've suspended the drive in elastic though. Samsung does vibrate a bit though, so the suspension is a must

2) Have you install motherboard chipset/sata/ide controller drivers?

5) The Antec has seletable speed fans, and you can monitor temps in windows with core temp and speedfan.
 
Hi

Congrats with your build, I cannot help you with all points mentioned but hopefully can with the BlackGold Dual Tuner. I had the same problem exactly and realised that the tuner is only shipped with the 32bit BDA drivers, was not sure this would make a difference but after downloading the 64bit drivers, all was good.

Hope this sorts out your problem.

Lee
 
Thanks for the info badbob. My drive seems to have gone a little quieter now, maybe it was just Vista doing some indexing. Mind you, I just loaded up Photoshop and you can definately hear the grinding sound now as it works away. Maybe I've just got a bad drive or maybe it's just the vibration. I'm gonna try loosing the screws on my rubber grommets to see if that helps. You say you've suspended your drive in elastic, what does that entail?

Issue #2 I've now fixed, the auto install feature on the Gigabyte website found the drivers for the SM Bus Controller.

Speedfan has done the trick! Thanks for the suggestion, my CPU temp is 42C and I think that's pretty good.

DogZillaNL, thanks for your tip! I downloaded the 64bit drivers from the BlackGold website but I'm afraid I'm having the same problem. I am new to the whole media centre thing though so perhaps you can help show me the way.

I have a digital aerial on top of the house so I can plug the aerial cable straight into the TV and it picks up all the freeview channels. Now, the TV has freeview built in so I'm guessing that's what does it. Does the BlackGold Dual Tuner have the freeview stuff built in so I can connect the aerial directly to it or do I need to connect the aerial to a freeview box first and then to the Tuner card?
 
I assume you removed the 32bit drivers properly and not just over wrote them?

Sounds to me like the card is duff if not, see if you can test it in another system to confirm this, if not... back to the shop :(
 
I didn't install the 32bit drivers at all, put the card in and downloaded the latest 64bit cards from their site. Is there anyway to test if the card works other than via media centre? I'd really hate to have to go through all the hassle of taking it out and sending it back. :rolleyes:
 
HDMI Driver? The motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R.

As for the noisey hard drive, I've tried loosening the grommets a bit but it's still noisey. I think the vibration from the hard drive is going right through the case and transmitting onto my wooden desk too. Makes the noise sound much deeper. It sounds a little better when I lift the front of the PC off the desk.

As for the BlackGold Tuner, I'm having no luck there. I uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers, that didn't help. When Media Center asks if I want to setup one or both tuners, I thought I'd try one for a change and that gave me a blue screen. Tried both again and that finds 0 services. :suicide:
 
Hate to say it mate, I really think that card is faulty. Not sure if there is another program you can use which will let you set the card up but, I don't like the sound of it.
 
Hate to say it mate, I really think that card is faulty. Not sure if there is another program you can use which will let you set the card up but, I don't like the sound of it.
Doh! I've sent BlackGold an e-mail to see if they can help at all. I just tried doing the scan again and this time got a blue screen. Had to reboot the system. :rolleyes:
Badbob, that's genius! Do you happen to know where I might get some of that elasticated material stuff? I'm very interesting in using that technique, I think my PC would be near silent with that.
Thanks for the link enablerbro, I'll give that a go! :)
 
I don't have any of this hardware, but off the top of my head, any chance you forgot to connect the motherboard audio headers to the video card headers (to facilitate audio via HDMI)?
 
badbob, that's brilliant! I'm gonna have to find some material to use when suspending the drive but I'm definately gonna try that. Thanks! :)

amjedm, thanks for the info on that CD! I booted using that and set my hard disk to Quiet AAM mode, it's slightly better but I think the vibration is still causing the noise. I'm gonna have to get some elastic-y materials and look into suspending it! That link has lots of info, thanks. :)

enablerbro1, I just checked the Gigabyte website and it saysfor my graphics card "HDMI and 5.1 surround audio (by optional adapter)". I'm guessing I don't have that optional adapter, whatever it is, doh. I've tried installing the drivers you mentioned, they've installed but I still get no sound.


In the meantime, I'm now having another major problem. My audio stutters, every once in a while it'll just start stuttering for a few seconds. I didn't notice it at first but once I put some music on, it was clearly apparant. Furthermore, it's not just the audio. Once I'd noticed that was stuttering I also noticed that at the same time the mouse starts to stutter too and the PC slows, it only happens for a second or two. I've no idea what's causing that one, I've installed the latest RealTek drivers for my audio but it hasn't helped. Any ideas?
 
enablerbro1, I just checked the Gigabyte website and it saysfor my graphics card "HDMI and 5.1 surround audio (by optional adapter)". I'm guessing I don't have that optional adapter, whatever it is, doh. I've tried installing the drivers you mentioned, they've installed but I still get no sound.
Daft question but have you restarted after installing the drivers? You're using your graphics card for HDMI so won't/shouldn't need adaptor for mobo.
 
I have mate. The graphics card itself has two DVI ports, I'm using a DVI to HDMI cable. I'm assuming it's not possible to get sound this way.
 
I have mate. The graphics card itself has two DVI ports, I'm using a DVI to HDMI cable. I'm assuming it's not possible to get sound this way.
I use the Sapphire 2400XT and get sound over HDMI with that no problems but I use the DVI to HDMI adaptor that comes with the 2400XT. I do think people have had bother with other cards.adaptors. You probably just need to buy the Ati DVI to HDMI adaptor.
 
Yep, I think you're right. This card didn't come bundled with the adapter unfortunately. Don't think I'll bother getting one either, will just use my speakers.

My big problem right now is that my audio is stuttering. That and the Tuner Card not working. :rolleyes:
 
Have you made sure you've got the right drivers installed for the tuner card? I have a Nebula Digittv card and I'm sure I had to load drivers specific for MCE for it to integrate it with MCE. The normal Nebula drivers only worked with their own software.

Unsure about the stuttering audio unless you're running something like Diskeeper with auto defrag set on.
 
PROGRESS!!!

I spoke to BlackGold on the phone today, the guy there suggested that I try the Tuner with only 2GB of RAM installed in my PC. So, I took 2 of my 4GBs out, booted up and hey presto, with 2GB of RAM the Tuner works fine. I don't want to lose a whole 2GB of RAM for the sake of the Tuner working though! He said he'd look into it and e-mail me.

As for the sound stuttering slow downs, I've found out what that is too! It's my Netgear WN121T Wireless Adapter that's causing it. When I unplug that, my audio sounds fine and the PC has no slow downs. With it plugged in, it starts again. So that's another dilemma! I don't have a telephone socket in here so the router is downstairs and I connect wirelessly via the adapter. Now I just need to find a way to get that USB adapter to work without causing the slowdowns.

Phew, it's been a long day of trials and testing but I'm starting to feel like I'm making a bit of progress!
 
Another update.

I've spoken to BlackGold again and they've confirmed that they've managed to replicate the problem with the Tuner Card. It simply doesn't work if you have 4GBs of Ram installed. He said that they'd try to fix the problem a.s.a.p. and issue new drivers. Said he'll try and update me on a timeframe in the next day or two, if it's going to take too long, I'll be able to return it. Bit of a bummer but I'm very impressed that a) they acknowledge the problem and b) they're trying to fix it.
 
Another update.

I've spoken to BlackGold again and they've confirmed that they've managed to replicate the problem with the Tuner Card. It simply doesn't work if you have 4GBs of Ram installed. He said that they'd try to fix the problem a.s.a.p. and issue new drivers. Said he'll try and update me on a timeframe in the next day or two, if it's going to take too long, I'll be able to return it. Bit of a bummer but I'm very impressed that a) they acknowledge the problem and b) they're trying to fix it.
Yep, impressed by that, very efficient. Weird problem with your Netgear, any chance you could exchange for a PCi card?
 
I have experienced stuttering on my Dell laptop before when it has the wireless switched on. I found that the only way to stop it was to turn off the wireless when I was watching a movie or listening to music... You might find that installing the latest firmware and drivers for your wireless card could help, otherwise you will have to try a dirrerent type or buy some homeplugs.
 
I contacted BlackGold support again the other day to ask if there'd been any updates on the issues with the Tuner on systems with Vista x64 and 4GBs of Ram. I had a reply today and to my pleasant surprise, it reads:
Dear Sir

Please accept our apology for the delayed response to your support enquiry.

The following URL provides access to our latest drivers which should address your report issue:
http://blackgold.fileburst.com/downloads/gdi 6.0.0.26_Signed.zip

Please be advised that you will have to restart your PC either after the driver install.

Regards,

Product Support
I have to hold my hands up and say, that's superb service. I only reported the problem with the 4GBs of Ram about a month ago and for them to have new drivers ready in relatively quick time is great. I've tried the new drivers and can confirm they work like a charm. I'm using all 4GBs of Ram and my Tuner doesn't lock up at all. :clap:

Thank you BlackGold. :thumbsup:

*edit* I've just checked the BlackGold site and these newest drivers aren't on their site. Other users having problems may want to try them but please be aware that they didn't come with any release notes or anything. They fix the Ram issue on Vista x64 but I'm not sure what else.

As for the wireless issue; my Netgear WN121T is going on eBay! I've put a telephone extension cable from another room into this one.
 

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