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Unstable operating system


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#31
Guest_rushin1nd_*

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is your computer showing signs of improvements

its not easy finding the exact drivers when your rebuilding a computer

or building one did you start from scratch

but keep track of where your drivers can be located manufactures site and if you ever have any problems with them you know where to go
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#32
you_silly_mortals

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The system was built from scratch last summer, and I recently had to replace a few parts.

I just finished installing the new chipset drivers and vid drivers. The new bios will have to wait because I have a Final Exam tomorrow and I need to do a little studying.
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#33
you_silly_mortals

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I just got:
a freeze
a random restart
and
2 BSODs
in that order, all in the same 5 minutes.
BSOD #1
BSOD #2

At least safe mode w/networking still works (knock on wood)

When the freeze happened I was editing a .txt document and had some folders open and a few firefox tabs.
The random restart happened about 45 seconds of logging in.
The first BSOD happened before I logged in. (while typing my password)
And the second BSOD happened just like the random restart.

I've been sending error reports to Microsoft. Some of them blame faulty hardware. Is there a diagnostic tool I can use? I remember you mentioning it.
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#34
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Click this for a guide to using Memtest

Click this to download Memtest

Run it overnight if possible
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#35
you_silly_mortals

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Okay, I ran Memtest86+ overnight. I took a picture of the screen before I stopped the test.
Posted Image
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#36
The Skeptic

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What are those parts that you replaced lately and why did you replace them. Knowing this can help solving the problem.

Download Sandra Lite and look in Harware > Motherboard for cpu, HD and board temperatures. Also check the different voltages that you get from your power supply (very important). The software, which is free, enables several benchmarking tests of crucial hardware items. Run them

At the present it is impossible to tell if the problem has a hardware or software origin. BSOD interpratation is mostly dubious because they can be attributed to a number of causes. Also, many times you find out that the BSOD get different values when the computer restart or freeze. So far you tested the HD and memory and these seem to be OK. keep testing the hardware methodically. It is easy, fast and will eventually help pinpointing the problem. Obviously you may have a sotware problem but then, again, you may not.
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#37
you_silly_mortals

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What are those parts that you replaced lately and why did you replace them. Knowing this can help solving the problem.


I replaced the RAM because I found out that it was incompatible, and I RMAed the motherboard because I thought it was the reason I couldn't install windows. Turns out that wasn't the problem. It was a corrupted MBR on the system drive.

Edited by you_silly_mortals, 12 December 2006 - 01:29 PM.

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#38
The Skeptic

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Sorry to ask but what is RMA?

I hope your present ram is a matching set (matched by the manufacturer, that's it) and are compatible with your present motherboard. Is your computer overclocked? Run BIOS and set to default values.

Download and run Sandra Lite XI like I suggested. Please report the results.
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#39
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Return Material Authorisation
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#40
you_silly_mortals

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I'm DLing Sandra Lite XI as we speak.

The ram is a matched set of 512 sticks from Geil. And in retrospect they aren't on the manuals supported RAM list, (which is pretty small to begin with),

And I'm not over-clocked. I have enough stability problems as it is.
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#41
you_silly_mortals

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Temperature Sensor(s)

Board Temperature : 33.0°C / 91.4°F
CPU Temperature : 30.0°C / 86.0°F
Power / Aux Temperature : 31.0°C / 87.8°F

Voltage Sensor(s)
CPU Voltage : 1.34V
+3.3V Voltage : 3.34V
+5V Voltage : 5.03V
+12V Voltage : 11.67V
Standby Voltage : 4.89V
Battery Voltage : 3.12V
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#42
The Skeptic

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Temperatures and voltages OK. Run the benchmarking tests. These are tests that under load compare the performance of your computer's hardware to a known value. in hardare > motherboard you find the type of hardware you have, say HD. Then in benchmarking the HD you click one of the colored lines and in the menu that opens find and mark your HD. Run the test and compare the graphic and numerical results of the actual item to the one in the list. If you do not understande the values google for explanations. Usually you don't need to know, the graph that shows up is explanatory enough.
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#43
you_silly_mortals

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My CPU performed normally in all tests except for the Power Management Efficiency test. I really don't know what to think when I look at that graph.
Posted Image

The file systems test will have to wait for a defrag...
The physical disks test showed that my system drive was completely normal and working fine.

The memory bandwidth test showed my results being lower than the default examples, the lowest being ATI Xpress 1600 (IntVideo) 2xPC3200 CL3 DDR (AMD Athlon 64 2GHz 512L2) (Win32 x86).

The memory latency test showed both cores of my CPU to be normal compared to the default given examples.
The cache and memory test showed my cache and memory to be normal compared to the defaults given as well.

Well that seems to be just about everything. I'll get the file system test results once the defrag is done. Let me know if you need any other specific tests or results.
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#44
The Skeptic

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Hardware tests seem OK. Don't bother about power managment efficiancy.

1: What is psu output (i Watts)? It should be written on it. Eventhough voltages look good it is still possible that they flactuate at times due to a too weak or defective psu and cause restarts and freezes. A marginally faultyor weak power supply can cause problems like you wouldn't believe.

2: Is there any time correlation betweet the parts replacement and the freeze/restarts. Has this computer ever been stable? If it was stable then try to remember if there was anh hardware/software installation after which the problem started.

3: Do you have a video connection integrated on the motherboard? If yes, remove the video card and connect to the one onboard. Try to run it for a while to see if there is any improvment.
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#45
Ozzyb

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HI Just reading all of the posts.
This is quite an interesting topic as Im a Traning I.T Tec
I just wanted to add my 2p
Is it possible that it is is simply a faulty memory module on either the graphics card or the systems Ram.
Would I also be correct to say that the system would boot into win xp and run fine until the user was opening an application that used that particular Ram module. As there not used in any particular order.

Ozzy
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