Primo Neo machine problems

Burningmace · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:02

I bought the Primo Neo machine from OcUK a couple days ago and it arrived today. There's obviously something very wrong with it, but I can't figure out what. It bluescreens on attempting to install Windows (0x000000F4) and randomly crashes/freezes when doing other things.

I've tried:
- Installing Vista/7 both 32-bit and 64-bit (all fail with a BSOD or freeze)
- Installing to several different hard disks
- Resetting the CMOS, which cleared the preset OC.
- Running memtest86 (returned no problems)
- Running CPU BurnIn (worked fine)
- Using onboard graphics and a GTX260
- Swapped out the PSU for a higher wattage.

The BIOS reports normal temperatures on CPU and RAM - between 22 and 26 depending on ambient. Clocks and voltages are all set to auto and I checked in the current status tab and everything looks about right. Everything seems to work fine for a while when I go to install, but when it goes to start system services or finalise the install of Windows, it dies.

Do you think this really is a hardware issue, or is there something inside Windows that just isn't liking this build config? I really can't afford to ship the machine back to OcUK for testing/repairs since buying it has left me without cash for the month.

Biz.Kid09 · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:29

Ring OCUK and they will help...all systems come with warranty and you shouldnt mess with it really just let them deal with it...

Burningmace · 5 Aug 2010 at 20:40

I know that, but it means shipping it back and I have no cash.

olivier renault · 5 Aug 2010 at 23:47

Working in the dark, but it looks like windows is messing up.

acoording to this, it's a windows process not firing. put it back to spec, and try a repair install. Try safe mode as well. You will need to consult the logs to see what's broken.

If your mobo has RAID, you may need to pre-install raid drivers before the windows install (At Win 7 install, F6 to install third party drivers). You'll need to either use the mobo CD, or download drivers and copy them on a USB pen drive / floppy disk.

In the BIOS, you can also try IDE mode for your drives.

Also try fail-safe settings in the BIOS.

Burningmace · 6 Aug 2010 at 19:39

Well now I can't even get it to boot into the Windows DVD. I've not changed anything either, which makes it even more odd. It's still the same BSOD in the same place. I've also tried a new DVD drive, which is IDE. I've tried safe mode, but the same thing occurs.

I can't imagine RAID is killing it, since the error code means a critical system process is dying and not a driver. If it were a specific driver it'd more likely be an IRQL or a FAULT_IN_PAGED/NONPAGED crash. It's a shame I can't pull out a crash dump since it's at install time. If I had my development machine up and working I'd attach it via serial and stick Windows in debug mode to see if I can spot the problem with WinDbg. It all just seems so nonsensical.

I'm about to burn a Ubuntu live DVD to try that. If it crashes too then it's likely hardware failure, if not then there's something more sinister going on that's only affecting Windows boxes.