# ASUS Crosshair V Formula (Lots of Problems)



## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

Ok, so I have been having some problems the last few days with my PC I just built. I’ll list the specs below. 

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
Memory: (2) G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR 1600
HDD: (6) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 64MB Cache
Video Card: MSI nVidia GeForce GTX 580
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series HX1050

I have been having a lot of odd problems.

General Answers for all:  Yes, I used raid drivers. I tried the ones from disk and the latest from the asus web site. I have done full tests on Memory and the Disks. I am not overclocking anything... yet


*1. I originally wanted to setup a RAID 10 with the 6 drives; however, the raid configurations will only allow 4 drives for a RAID 10. *

Tests: I did flash the BIOS from the stock 0506 to 0705 but that did not solve allow for RAID 10 across all disks. I did some research and I could not find this ‘limitation’ anywhere. I thought you could RAID 10 as many disks as you wanted as long as they were a pair.


*2. I have run into a problem with installing Windows 7 on the RAID when the data is over 2TB (RAID 10, RAID 0, RAID 5 all having the same problem). *Windows will let me see the RAID, but when I create the Partition the raid looks really odd with the unallocated space as it seems to be splitting up the unallocated space into two groups. Once this happens I cannot create any partitions on the unallocated space. It will let me start the install on the partition, but it will error when it does the first boot out saying something about Windows cannot change the boot settings. I am not sure if I am just doing something wrong or what.

Tests: I need to configure GPT for the larger Disk sizes. I have done Shift+F10 and used Diskpart to configure the disks as GPT, but that did not help at all. I thought I would be smart and mirror 2, 3Disk RAID 0’s to = a RAID 10, but that didn’t help at all for my first problem.


*3. Random crashes and hang ups. I seem to be getting a lot of odd application crashes and random BSOD. Windows Explorer seems to hang up and error, but the error doesn’t really say anything that could lead me to a certain device. *


Tests: I have tried updating all drivers that I can think of (Network, RAID, Chipset, Audio). I have also done full tests on memory and disks with them all testing good.


I am really not sure where I should start. I am a little annoyed with the RAID 10 problem, but I could get by with the RAID 0 as long as I can figure out this problem with Windows installing on it. 

Here is some speeds that I am getting.
*RAID 10 (4 Disks)*
Read:  300
Write: 280

*RAID 0 (5 Disks)*
Read: 750
Write: 700

*RAID 5 (5 Disks)*
Read: 550
Write: 50 (Yes, you read that correctly 50! The write is really taking a big hit for all the data checks)


So, can anyone give me any guidance as to what I am doing wrong or what I can do to check? PLEASE!


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## repman244 (Sep 19, 2011)

1. AFAIK AMD has a limit of 4 drives in RAID so that's why you can't use all 6 of them.

2. Did you try to create a let's say 1TB big partition when installing windows leaving the rest as unallocated?
You can find some more information here about GPT/MBR: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/gg463525

Also If you don't care about data loss or if you have everything backed up I would just use RAID0.
RAID 5 really needs a hardware controller.


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

1. Well that sucks. I could use RAID 0 as that would give me some more speed.

2. Yes, I'll give an example. I'm just making these numbers up so you can get an idea. I'm not near the machine atm.

RAID 0 (6 Disks - 5.99TB)

I add the RAID drivers and click refresh during the install and I see...


```
Name                               Total Size   Free Space
Disk 0 Unallocated Space       5.99 TB      5.99 TB
```

I Create a partition and create a partition the size of say... 400 GB. I get the prompt for the small 100MB system drive and now it looks like this.


```
Name                              Total Size   Free Space
Disk 0 Partition 1                100 MB      100 MB
Disk 0 Partition 2                400 GB       400 GB
Disk 0 Unallocated Space       2.59 TB      2.59 TB
Disk 0 Unallocated Space       3.0 TB      3.0 TB
```

I can start the install to Disk 0 Partition 2, but I get an error at the first reboot. I have even tried the diskpart and convert that partition to GPT, but that didn't help either.


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## Mike0409 (Sep 19, 2011)

Wired03 said:


> I can start the install to Disk 0 Partition 2, but I get an error at the first reboot. I have even tried the diskpart and convert that partition to GPT, but that didn't help either.



Whats the error that you get?  (If you can recall off the top of your head)


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

I did a google search of what I could remember from the error and I believe it was something like this.

*"Windows could not update the computer's boot configuration. Installation cannot proceed."*

Like i said, it copies all the files and does all the unpacking and stuff and then bam this error.

Thanks for the help. I hope I am giving enough information!


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## repman244 (Sep 19, 2011)

Just curious, have you tried installing windows without making a partition (only selecting the 5.99TB of unallocated). 
Is the Windows 7 a 64-bit version? (just making sure it is)
Also did you try it without the RAID drivers?


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

repman244 said:


> Just curious, have you tried installing windows without making a partition (only selecting the 5.99TB of unallocated).
> Is the Windows 7 a 64-bit version? (just making sure it is)
> Also did you try it without the RAID drivers?



Um, I have not tried to build it with out creating a partition.

I was hoping to build the machine with a C: (400 GB) and a D: (What ever is left). I generally like to sperate my data and windows. Does it really matter? not really, but just what I do with servers at work and what I am used to. I can try it this afternoon though.

It is Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

If I do not add RAID drivers, windows install does not see the disks.

You know, you just got me thinking about the not creating a partition. If I am not mistaken you can Shrink the OS partition after you get into windows just like you can expand it... Hmmmm


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## Horrux (Sep 19, 2011)

I would suggest purchasing a RAID controller card that will allow you to do your RAID 10 across your 6 drives. It would not necessarily solve your windows problem though.


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## repman244 (Sep 19, 2011)

Wired03 said:


> Um, I have not tried to build it with out creating a partition.
> 
> I was hoping to build the machine with a C: (400 GB) and a D: (What ever is left). I generally like to sperate my data and windows. Does it really matter? not really, but just what I do with servers at work and what I am used to. I can try it this afternoon though.
> 
> ...



There is an option to shrink the volume in windows 7, but I do not know how much you will be able to shrink it. It's worth a try though.

Another option is what Horrux is suggesting (and I think there would solve your windows problem since it probably does have something to do with the onboard RAID), but this includes some more spending for an 8 port controller.


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

Horrux said:


> I would suggest purchasing a RAID controller card that will allow you to do your RAID 10 across your 6 drives. It would not necessarily solve your windows problem though.



Yeah, I was looking at a couple of controllers this morning. I can live with RAID 0 for how much the RAID controllers cost to get something that supports 6 disks.

My biggiest problems right now are the windows installation and the random crashes.


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## Horrux (Sep 19, 2011)

Wired03 said:


> Yeah, I was looking at a couple of controllers this morning. I can live with RAID 0 for how much the RAID controllers cost to get something that supports 6 disks.
> 
> My biggiest problems right now are the windows installation and the random crashes.



I advise against RAID 0 with 6 drives, unless you are OK with losing everything, and often. You are multiplying the error factor hugely by having 6 HDDs in raid zero.

How about RAID 10 with 4 HDDs, 2 x 1TB jbod, and if you want to boot quick, an SSD?


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

I have tried that setup as the RAID 10 gives 2 TB's of space and allows windows to be installed; however, I was having problems with crashes.


```
RAID 10 (4 Disk - 2 TB)
C: System   400GB
D: Data       1.6TB

RAID 1 (2Disk - 1 TB)
E: Backups   1TB
```


Using simple math, not counting the sector conversions. With the RAID 10, I was able to reach speeds of 300~. These HDD's are getting around 150 each. The system is for Games. I wanted a system that had both space and speed without spending a ton of money on SSDs. Now that I think about it, RAID 0 would do just fine as I also have a USB HDD. I can also do this if I can get windows installed.


```
RAID 0 (4 Disks - 4 TB)
C: System    400GB
D: Data        3.6TB

RAID 1 (2 Disks - 1 TB)
E: Backup     1TB
```

and then reach speeds of around 600~ and use the backup disk as a windows backup drive. That way if something happens to the RAID 0, I can just rebuild from the RAID 1.


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## repman244 (Sep 19, 2011)

I would go for the 4 drives in RAID 0 since you have everything backed-up.


Maybe add a hardware RAID controller if you are willing to spend money on it. I've had mine for over a year now, tested many drives in a RAD0 /RAID10 never had any issues. But the choice is all yours.


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## Horrux (Sep 19, 2011)

Wired03 said:


> I have tried that setup as the RAID 10 gives 2 TB's of space and allows windows to be installed; however, I was having problems with crashes.
> 
> 
> ```
> ...



That looks good. I suppose you will be needing another, albeit inexpensive, RAID controller for the RAID 1? With a setup like that, you can set a backup utility (I use Acronis True Image) to auto-backup the important parts (documents and boot partition) on a regular basis and not have too much trouble.


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

I can do the RAID 10 + RAID 1 with what I currently have as the RAID 10 = 2TB and the RAID 1 = 1TB.

I just need to figure out why my windows is so unstable.

Any ideas?


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## repman244 (Sep 19, 2011)

One option is to use 4 drives in RAID 0 and the 2 others in mirroring (you can use windows 7 for mirroring, that is software mirroring).


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## Wired03 (Sep 19, 2011)

Yeah there is a lot of different ways to set it up on paper. I'll try not making a partition and seeing what I can get with that.

Any idea's on why windows is so unstable?


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## repman244 (Sep 19, 2011)

Well if you aren't having any issues with RAID 0 but you have with RAID 10 there is some issue with the RAID 10.
Are you sure you are using the latest RAID drivers (note: drivers from the ASUS site could be outdated), try downloading them from AMD's site.

Do cables that you use have the same lenght?

Other than that, I'm running out of ideas.


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## TheMailMan78 (Sep 19, 2011)

I dunno about RAID to be honest. Have you been stable without the RAID? FYI I have a VERY similar setup.


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## fullinfusion (Sep 23, 2011)

the raid thing is over my head but I'll chime in on a few issues ppl are having with this mobo. 

I think everything is ok then the next time i BOOT THE MACHINE UP i GET THE DIMM LED LITE up and nothing I do fixes it. Id have to remove the memory and install one stick into the 1st black slot to get it to boot. Anyways I think the problem is fixed as my stability seems fine now.

-you need to set the cpu/nb from auto to 1.2000v
-ECC turn it off (it will be on)
-and in the memory timings area set the Dram read to read timing to 5 (it will be 3)

This CHV is been nothing but a royal pain in the arse... I just need to take a few weeks off just to mess with this thing :shadedshu


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## TheMailMan78 (Sep 23, 2011)

fullinfusion said:


> the raid thing is over my head but I'll chime in on a few issues ppl are having with this mobo.
> 
> I think everything is ok then the next time i BOOT THE MACHINE UP i GET THE DIMM LED LITE up and nothing I do fixes it. Id have to remove the memory and install one stick into the 1st black slot to get it to boot. Anyways I think the problem is fixed as my stability seems fine now.
> 
> ...



Is your bios updated? The CHV is very picky when it comes to RAM.


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## fullinfusion (Sep 23, 2011)

TheMailMan78 said:


> Is your bios updated? The CHV is very picky when it comes to RAM.


yup the latest version and the memory is in the QVL... what slots you have the memory in... the red ones?


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## Super XP (Oct 3, 2011)

Wired03 said:


> Yeah there is a lot of different ways to set it up on paper. I'll try not making a partition and seeing what I can get with that.
> 
> Any idea's on why windows is so unstable?


Just wondering if you tried setting up 3 seperate RAID 0 setups? 
Such as, 
2 Drives = RAID 0 (Windows 7 x 64 Install)
2 Drives = RAID 0 (Game Drive)
2 Drives = RAID 0
Though RAID 10 is much better you get the speed of RAID 0 plus the RAID 1 backup. Onboard RAID is O.K., but a PCIe Raid Controller card may be what you need to get all 6+ drives running in RAID 10 with maximum performance...


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## fullinfusion (Oct 8, 2011)

CrossHair V latest 0813 bios off the ftp site


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## TheMailMan78 (Oct 9, 2011)

fullinfusion said:


> CrossHair V latest 0813 bios off the ftp site



Its not on the main site. What does it do?


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## erocker (Oct 9, 2011)

Be careful with newer bios' that don't say what they're for. It could be for BD and make your current chip not work.


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## cdawall (Oct 9, 2011)

erocker said:


> Be careful with newer bios' that don't say what they're for. It could be for BD and make your current chip not work.



the new BIOS should include both tables...unless i missed something


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## erocker (Oct 9, 2011)

cdawall said:


> the new BIOS should include both tables...unless i missed something



Nope. The CHIV actually lists a bios on the Asus site that is only for Bulldozer.


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## cdawall (Oct 9, 2011)

erocker said:


> Nope. The CHIV actually lists a bios on the Asus site that is only for Bulldozer.



ouch sucks for anyone buying that board off the egg with a brand new dozer.


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## Super XP (Oct 9, 2011)

That don't make sense, this motherboard is suppose to be 100% compatible with AM3+ bulldozers even with the original bios. This is what the mobo was designed for.


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## fullinfusion (Oct 9, 2011)

erocker said:


> Be careful with newer bios' that don't say what they're for. It could be for BD and make your current chip not work.


No its just the general bios update. From my understanding a BD bios will start with 0051 and a 0052 but Im really not sure. Its for the BD and have tested it on my system without any issues. There is also a 9905 bios that Shammy posted HERE

I found out what was causing my system to act up Erocker.... 
Any guesses what the problem was? Give ya a tiny guess... 200N a bit too much 

and @mailman, I guess your going to have to wait and see what it brings whenever they decide to post it on the regular Asus site.

there is stability issues that have been fixed from what I've seen and tested. SB has an extra feature now, HPET
So far things are looking up and mabey I should have waited be for geting Asus to rush me out a replacement board...


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