Initially, we were unable to reproduce the error reliably. Everything pointed to a second component being involved. So we repeated our initial component-swapping marathon and finally determined a second source of error - Nvidia's 7000 and 8000 line of graphics cards. Once again, as soon as we copied the system, OS and all, from the WD1500 to another hard drive, the issues disappeared. Also, when Vista was installed on a system using an ATI graphics card (X1900 line), no errors appeared, even when the WD1500 was used. This points directly to Nvidia and Western Digital as the only possible causes for this phenomenon.
It took us another week to isolate the error. We were able to gain further insight into the matter:
It doesn't matter whether the drive is set to Standard or AHCI mode.
Attaching the hard drive to a different SATA port can sometimes eliminate the problem for a short while.
If the graphics driver is reinstalled, the problem is also resolved, but only until the computer starts up for the next time.
Switching the Vsync Option in the graphics driver on or off had no impact on the phenomenon.
Deleting the nvapps.xml file, which contains the graphics settings for games, also has no effect.
Removing all of the autostart entries from the Windows registry doesn't help either.
The following hardware components had no impact on the problem in our experience:
Power supply, processor, memory, motherboard, DVD-ROM, sound car, keyboard, mouse, network card, floppy drive, or type of monitor connection (DVI or VGA).
Switching the UAC (User Account Control) Feature on or off seems to have some influence on the problem, but this could not be reproduced reliably.
The problem occurs with all of the drivers currently available (including Beta releases).
None of the currently available Windows updates or unofficial updates and hotfixes from Microsoft's Knowledge Base helped either.
In our experience, operating the drive on an (expensive) add-in controller does not avoid the issue.
We encountered the problem on both the ATI and the AMD platforms.
The BIOS version of the Nvidia cards in question plays no role.
To recreate the problem one more time, we installed Windows Vista Ultimate (32 Bit) on a system with an Nvidia 8800GTX and a Western Digital WD3200AJS (Caviar) once more. This time, we did not encounter any problems. As soon as we reverted back to a Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD, the problem reared its head again. In this case, the only change we made to the freshly installed system was that we used Nvidia's official 158.18 WHQL graphics driver (2 May 2007).
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Hi Bert
I really appreciate the trouble you went to over this problem.
I have 4 x Raptor 150GB and 2 x EVGA 8800GTS working fine under XP. But under Vista 32 I get the sysmptoms you describe. I wondered if you discovered any of the following
1. Is the problem only when Vista is installed on a Raptor 150GB drive, or will it occur when any Raptor 150GB drive is present in the system even if only used for data storage?
2. Does the problem still occur with NCQ disabled?
3. Does the problem still occur on Vista 64 bit?
4. Does the fix work in all cases? It doesn't seem to install on my system. I get no response message after I type the command to start the service.
Thanks, Mike
Hi Bert
I believe I have the debug system service installed, but it won't start automatically or manually.
When I try to start THGDEBEGSVC it get the error message "Unable to start - access denied"
Any idea how I can get round this?
Thanks,
Mike
We encountered the problem on both the ATI and the AMD platforms.
Don't you mean Intel and AMD platforms?
I have 3 Raptor 150's in my Rig with the nVidia 680i M/B, 2 8800 Ultra's, Vista 64bit and it's been interesting to say the least.
After exaustive troubleshooting and Headaches I found 2 issues to be the culprit and niether have to do with bad hardware nor issues with Vista.
The first has to do with BIOS settings. In nVidia's BIOS there's a selection under H/D's called memory Blocking. It's supposed to help up transfer rates but really causes problems with the Raptor H/D's.
I had to disable this feture to get the Raptors to work at all.
The second was so simple it was my last effort before RMA and it worked.
The SATA Cables that come with the M/B don't support the faster Data transfer rates and cause a Bottleneck within the Cable itself.
Replacing the Cable with the one that came with the Raptor solved the issues completely.
I know it sounds odd but after doing this my system has run flawlessly for the last 3 Months.
P.S. I noticed in your article Pics you're using the stock Cables as well. I know it sounds stupid but try swapping them out for higher quality Cables or the ugly Blue ones that come with the Raptor H/D's.
Like I said before it was the last thing I did before RMA and I've been through all the stuff you did as well as a few more tricks I tried and nothing would work.
I even did the SATA Plug swap and as you stated, it works for a little while but then the problem comes back within a few Days to Weeks.
It's not the manufacturers fault, they supply SATA Cables that if used with a regular 7200rpm H/D work great. The problem is that the Raptor H/D's run data rates way faster and the Cables that come with M/B's can't handle it.
P.P.S. The only reason I can think this would make a diference would be a phenomenon called cross talk.
Hi. Kentuckyranger i got XFX nforce 680iSLI XFX geforce8800 512mb , 15gb raptor X ,western digital 500gb harddisks and windows vista 64bit. andi got some problems here, when i play or whatever my computer freezes and a purple screens get up and i have too restart with the power button i really need help! plz answer me or anyone else that see this post.
Best Regards Eirik.