G3 Causing Clicking Noises on Drive

[Robert Willis]

I have installed G3 onto a 3.2GHz 1GB RAM ASUS V9980 Vide, Microsoft XP-SP2 Professional and have been haveing a problem while running the simulator. The silulator will run but will occassionally lag. When this lag occures I get a clicking noise from my computer which is typically followed by a entry in the Event Viewer that the harddrive has time out. At first I thought it was a hardware problem and replaced the Western Digital Drive. Both Western Digital and Intel (D875PBZ) had me run an extensive diagnostic program to stress both the drive and the motherboard to generate the problem. The issue DID NOT appear during the test, I then started G3 and the issue re-apperard. They then suggested that I uninstall G3 from the Secondary SATA drive and re-install in on the Primary Drive. The problem still occurs.

During the course of the testing they noticed that the clicking sounded louder than what should come from the drive and asked whether the G3 program could be attempting to reset the resolution of the video adapter since .


I have been runnig a diagnostic test on my computer for the last eight hours and NO problems have been reported. If I run G3 the problems re-appear.

This machine was built from scratch and the operating systems is NOT a upgrade.

I have the latest BIOS in the Motherboard, Video Drivers from NVIDIA and the latest update to RealFlight G3 (Heli Update) installed.

Frustrated User of G3

[vitek]

Robert,

Didn't you have that same problem before?

http://12.156.2.54/forums/showthread.php?t=9151
http://12.156.2.54/forums/showthread.php?t=9226

Travis

[Robert Willis]

Yes the problem occurs ONLY when I run either RealFlight G2 or G3. At first I suspected the harddrive but I have replaced both drives since then and the issue continues.

I have removed and re-installed G3 onto another partition (Primary SATA Drive D Partition) and the problem is still there.

At the suggestion of another user I have un-installed ALL traces of the NVIDIA drivers and then did a clean install.

Both INTEL and WESTERN DIGITAL have had me run some diagnositcs and I unable to reproduce the problem with their utilities.

Runnning G3 or G3 will always produce the problem.

INTEL suggested that I try another power supply and video board. I am in the process of checking both of these out (I do not have spares.....)

Thanks for your continued assistance in tracking down this problem.

[Robert Willis]

I have been chasing the ckicking noises that are coming from my computer when I run either RealFlight G2 or G3. At first it appeared that these noises were related to the harddrive but now it appears to be related to the ASUS 9980 Video Adapter / Power Supply. It appears to be power related according to both INTEL and ASUS.

I have a replacement ANTEC TruePower 550 Watt power supply on the way. The current one that I have is operating at 4.77V under normal load (2D Only). When I run RealFlight G2 and G3 the power supply drops to 4.61V. The ANTEC is suppose output the +5V rail with a +/- 3% regulation. ANTEC agrees that the power supply is defective and will be cross-shipping me another one next week.


FYI: I am using the following benchmark programs to stress test the Video Adapter (3DMARK05 and AquaMark3). The AquaMark 3 program will start the clicking noise immediately upon launching and contiues at a faster pace. In RealFlight G2/G3 it was a random occurance.

THANKS TO ALL that have offered suggestions on finding a resolution to this issue.

[Robert Willis]

I replaced the power supply with a new ANTEC 550 Watt True Power and I am now getting stable and in specification reading on both the 12VDC and 5VDC rails.

12VDC Rail --- 12.06 VDC Under Load
5VDC Rail ---- 5.02 VDC Under Load

I can now run RealFlight G3 without the clicking noise or pausing that was previously occuring.

Again, Thanks to all that offered assistance