SLI problems.

Hi, i have a sli compatible motherboard. Gigabyte K8n Nivdia 4 chipset. I have switched the mode to SLI on the motherboard itself. And then added two 7300GS SLI compatible graphics card into it with a SLI bridge. Then I turn on my computer and at the beginning of the boot it says detecting IDE drivers and stays there forever.

I removed the second video card and turned on my computer and it works fine even when i didnt switch the chip back to normal mode.

Can somebody please tell me how to fix this? Thankyou.

I have windows XP sp2 AMD 3800+ X2 cpu.

Power Supply 450W

 

Are the two video cards the same brand?

 

Yes they are both 7300Gt both sli compatable. sorry for the long wait. but i still need help on this problem.

 

Two possibles.

Your SLI motherboard should have come with a jumper that clips to the top/outside edges of both cards to bridge them for SLI mode. Look for that if you haven't installed it. You didn't mention it. SLI is supposed to work, at least on newer boards, without the jumper, but it won't work as well

Second, check your BIOS for SLI configuration settings, and change to as necessary to enable SLI. Yeah, you may have to do that with a single card in, then shut down, then add the second card, although my ASUS board booted with both cards installed directly. If you have auto-detect options for SLI, use those, then the board should boot to single or SLI.

If your motherboard has a power connector just for the SLI video cards, make sure you've got a power connector plugged into it.

And just for grins, make sure your IDE cables are seated firmly. You may have accidently nudged one loose while putting the new cards in.

 

yes i added the clip but i dont think you need to install it. there is only one option for sli in the bios but its just to ask which video card your actualy putting it into. i even have a chip on my motherboard where it asks to flip to use sli mode which i did. and the video cards does not need extra power because it has no power receptors

 

Make sure you have the latest bios. Evidently some of the SLI boards were not set to operate SLI (even though the SLI option is in the bios) with the original bios. If that doesn't work try here. It may take several days to get a reply, but they do seem to be effective in problem resolution. http://ggts.gigabyte.com.tw/

Addtionally, What power supply are you using?

 

hmm ic. but my motherboard specificaly says SLI ready on the box. dont you think it is already good?

 

I would try the latest bios anyway. I do have one of the Gigabyte boards (GA-K8NXP- 2nd edition) in my FX53 SYSTEM and it took three bios updates before everything worked right (temp monitoring and OC'g were not good until later bios updates). I picked up the SLI problem relative to earlier edition boards when searching forums awhile ago. It may or may not be your problem, but it is an easy fix if it is. Also ran accross some power supply problems in SLI if the 12V rail was not high enough (in some forums). I am using a PCP&C 850W PS in my Asus
fx57 SLI 7800GTX's sytem with everything OC'd to the max and everything works fine, but I know others that had problems with some 500W PS's????

 

Additonally, The Gigabyte bios updates for your board do not show SLI issues, but the bios updates on my board did not show all the issues it fixed either??? There is always the link to contact Gigabyte in my previous post. Gigabyte was very helpfull (even if a little slow) to assist in getting my FX53 system up and running the way it was supposed to run.

 

If it doesn't go any further than boot up screen it's a good bet you need a stronger power supply. I suggest a reliable brand 550W to 650W

 

oh well that an alternative that havn't been suggested to me yet. ic. i have a 450w powersupply that came with the case. i think this is the solution then. but also do you need a powersupply that says sli ready? or can it just be a high 500w or 600w one? becuase the sli ready ones are very expensive.

 

I have never tried using an SLI configuration on any of my computers so hopefully someone would know more on that. But basicly the more expensive ones say SLI Ready for insentive to buy it. (the higher the price the more insentive you need) But it would be good to buy a trusted brand. Sometimes the power supply you get when you buy a case is just crap.