[periwinkle]

I have a PC with AMD 64 bit operating system using Windows Vista. I leave the computer on all the time, unless I will be out of town for a few days. Lately, my computer will just shut down without warning. Sometimes, it seems like it shuts down when Google has too many tabs open and then I'll get a blue screen that tells me it crashed. Other times, it will just shut down and turns off. Sometimes it seems to partially shut down. The power will be on, but the screen shuts off and I have to reboot it to get it to work. Also, lately I've had to unplug the computer for a few minutes before I can power it up again. The weather is cool in Arizona right now, so I don't think it's overheating.

Recently, I did a system restore because the computer prompted me to repair itself. The powering off continues though. It happens very randomly. Sometimes it will be on for several days and then I'll find it's off when I get home. Other times, it will power off a day after it has been on for no seeming reason at all.

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Hi periwinkle,

Desktop or laptop? I assume a desktop. Try the obvious first. Have a look inside the tower and give it a good cleaning to ensure no dust has built up that could cause overheating. Using a can of compressed air should do the trick.

Please let us know if that helps.

Donna

[DonnaB]

Hi periwinkle,

Desktop or laptop? I assume a desktop. Try the obvious first. Have a look inside the tower and give it a good cleaning to ensure no dust has built up that could cause overheating. Using a can of compressed air should do the trick.

Please let us know if that helps.

Donna

[rshaffer61]

Download BlueScreenView
No installation required.
Double click on BlueScreenView.exe file to run the program.
When scanning is done, go Edit>Select All.
Go File>Save Selected Items, and save the report as BSOD.txt.
Open BSOD.txt in Notepad, copy all content, and paste it into your next reply.

Thanks to Broni for the instructions and program





Download WhoCrashed from the link in my signature below
This program checks for any drivers which may have been causing your computer to crash....

Click on the file you just downloaded and run it.
Put a tick in Accept then click on Next
Put a tick in the Don't create a start menu folder then click Next
Put a tick in Create a Desktop Icon then click on Install and make sure there is a tick in Launch Whocrashed before clicking Finish
Click Analyze
It will want to download the Debugger and install it Say Yes
WhoCrashed will create report but you have to scroll down to see it
Copy and paste it into your next reply

http://www.resplendence.com/downloads




Please download and run Hardware Monitor
Installation (setup version only)
HWMonitor is a hardware monitoring program that reads PC systems main health sensors : voltages, temperatures, fans speed.
The program handles the most common sensor chips, like ITE® IT87 series, most Winbond® ICs, and others. In addition, it can read modern CPUs on-die core thermal sensors, as well has hard drives temperature via S.M.A.R.T, and video card GPU temperature. Please get a screenshot of the sensors window and post it in your next reply.




Download Speedfan (The download link is to the right), and install it. Once it's installed, run the program and post here the information it shows.
The information I want you to post is the stuff that is circled in the example picture I have attached.
To make sure we are getting all the correct information it would help us if you were to attach a screenshot like the one below of your Speedfan results.

To do a screenshot please have click on your Print Screen on your keyboard.

• It is normally the key above your number pad between the F12 key and the Scroll Lock key
• Now go to Start and then to All Programs
• Scroll to Accessories and then click on Paint
• In the Empty White Area click and hold the CTRL key and then click the V
• Go to the File option at the top and click on Save as
• Save as file type JPEG and save it to your Desktop
• Attach it to your next reply

[periwinkle]

Donna, I am still having the powering off problem.  The computer has been cleaned out and I now have the side panel off and a big box fan blowing on it continuously while it is on.  Just in the last few days, I keep finding my computer off when I get home from work and it shuts down after maybe 5 minutes after it boots.  Last night, I was able to get it to stay on for about 3 hours and then it just shut down again - without warning - while I was in the middle of a game.  There is no sound or slowing down or anything to indicate an imminent shutdown.

 

Mod, I downloaded the speedfan program, but at this point I can't seem to get the computer to stay on for more than a few minutes.  I don't think my computer is overheating as I have a thermometer program which tells me the temp and it is usually at 100 F during the hottest part of the day.  

 

If I can get the computer to stay on, I will upload the speedfan results.  I had not downloaded BlueScreenView or HardwareMonitor as I had several months in which the computer only shut down once a month or so.  However, it seems I will have to do a system restore so that I can hopefully keep the power on long enough to run these programs and post the results.

 

Thank you for your help.  I use my PC for everything.  It is always on.  So I really miss it when it's not working!

[rshaffer61]

I am more interested in what the programs show for your voltages then the heat. I don't believe it is a heat issue either as it is happening randomly. Try booting into Safe Mode and see if you can run the programs and if the issue still happens.

[periwinkle]

I did try to boot into Safe Mode last night, but it just hung and did nothing and I had to unplug it and restart it.  One thing I've noticed is that I have better luck getting it to stay on if I unplug it for a while and then try to power it on.  If I don't unplug it, it keeps starting and immediately shutting down or hanging.

 

The computer has been unplugged all day as I'm at work.  I'll try to boot into Safe Mode.  It hasn't even prompted me to repair. It just says it didn't shut down correctly.

 

Also another problem I've noticed in the past several months is that the computer does not recognize my other 2 hard drives.  They don't even show up at all and I have two extra hard drives I used in a previous computer.  I don't think both of them could have crashed at the same time as that's too coincidental.  They used to show up sometimes over the last several months, but have consistently not appeared in the last 3-4 months.  

[rshaffer61]

This is starting to look more like a bad motherboard now.

[periwinkle]

From WhoCrashedIt:

System Information (local)

computer name: VERONICA-PC
windows version: Windows Vista Service Pack 2, 6.0, build: 6002
windows dir: C:\Windows
Hardware: GT5694, Gateway, RS780
CPU: AuthenticAMD AMD Phenom™ 9100e Quad-Core Processor AMD586, level: 16
4 logical processors, active mask: 15
RAM: 4024713216 total
VM: 2147352576, free: 1940340736


 

Crash Dump Analysis

Crash dump directory: C:\Windows\Minidump

Crash dumps are enabled on your computer.

On Fri 4/25/2014 2:15:26 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\Mini042514-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: win32k.sys (0xFFFFF960000DFD14)
Bugcheck code: 0x50 (0xFFFFF900C2D5F910, 0x0, 0xFFFFF960000DFD14, 0x0)
Error: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
file path: C:\Windows\system32\win32k.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Multi-User Win32 Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that invalid system memory has been referenced.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Fri 4/25/2014 2:15:26 PM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\memory.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: win32k.sys (win32k+0x4FD14)
Bugcheck code: 0x50 (0xFFFFF900C2D5F910, 0x0, 0xFFFFF960000DFD14, 0x0)
Error: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
file path: C:\Windows\system32\win32k.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Multi-User Win32 Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that invalid system memory has been referenced.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Thu 4/24/2014 6:02:21 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\Mini042314-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: win32k.sys (win32k+0x4FDE0)
Bugcheck code: 0x3B (0xC0000005, 0xFFFFF960000BFDE0, 0xFFFFFA60073F41D0, 0x0)
Error: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\win32k.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Multi-User Win32 Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.



On Sat 3/1/2014 12:59:40 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\Mini022814-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: win32k.sys (win32k+0x4FDE0)
Bugcheck code: 0x3B (0xC0000005, 0xFFFFF9600012FDE0, 0xFFFFFA60099AAE10, 0x0)
Error: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
file path: C:\Windows\system32\win32k.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: Multi-User Win32 Driver
Bug check description: This indicates that an exception happened while executing a routine that transitions from non-privileged code to privileged code.
This appears to be a typical software driver bug and is not likely to be caused by a hardware problem.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system that cannot be identified at this time.

 

Conclusion

4 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. No offending third party drivers have been found. Connsider using WhoCrashed Professional which offers more detailed analysis using symbol resolution. Also configuring your system to produce a full memory dump may help you.


Read the topic general suggestions for troubleshooting system crashes for more information.

Note that it's not always possible to state with certainty whether a reported driver is actually responsible for crashing your system or that the root cause is in another module. Nonetheless it's suggested you look for updates for the products that these drivers belong to and regularly visit Windows update or enable automatic updates for Windows. In case a piece of malfunctioning hardware is causing trouble, a search with Google on the bug check errors together with the model name and brand of your computer may help you investigate this further.


This app did not ask to download Debugger.
 

I have posted all requested application findings.  When I first turned on my computer after having it off for at least 10 hours, it shut off immediately when I tried to run a scan with Adaware.  It has stayed on now for about an hour.

 

I did not try to start in Safe Mode yet.  If/when it crashes, I'll try that next.

Edited by periwinkle, 25 June 2014 - 10:26 PM.

[rshaffer61]

All your crashes seem to be caused by the same cause which is the Multi-User Win32 Driver. I suspect we may be able to find out more info with the following program.

Download BlueScreenView
No installation required.
Double click on BlueScreenView.exe file to run the program.
When scanning is done, go Edit>Select All.
Go File>Save Selected Items, and save the report as BSOD.txt.
Open BSOD.txt in Notepad, copy all content, and paste it into your next reply.

Thanks to Broni for the instructions and program

[periwinkle]

This is very weird.  I attached all the other requested app results from BlueScreenView, SpeedFan and HardwareMonitor, but none of the attachments made it into my previous post.  I wonder why?

 

Just a note:  I found it tricky that the "more reply options" is at the bottom of the page instead of in the ruler menu like all the rest of the options.

 

I'm at work, so I'm not on my home computer and hopefully it will still be powered on when I get home late tonight.  

 

Last night, I turned the computer on after it was off for more than 10 hours.  It shut off after 5 minutes.  I did not unplug it, but just pushed the power button again and it booted and stayed on overnight.  I was running an AdAware scan before I left for work.  AdAware almost always finds something on my computer.  I only run it about every 2 months though.

[rshaffer61]

OK no problem and btw what AV do you use?

[periwinkle]

Well...I have Avira installed on my computer but the last update wanted me to get rid of AdAware and Spybot and I was not willing to do away with these excellent little apps. So, although I have it, I don't really scan much with it.  I occasionally (once every 3 months) update it.  Every time I power up the computer, it says my Avira is out of date.  I'd like to get another AV that works as well as Avira did before it insisted that I delete AdAware and Spybot. Now, every day I get this annoying nag screen that asks if I want to install a new version of Avira.  

 

If I could use a version of Avira that doesn't require me to get rid of AdAware and Spybot, I'd use that.

[rshaffer61]

Have you tried Avast?
It updates at least once a day most of the times twice a day and it should not have a issue with your other programs.

[periwinkle]

Okay, now I see what I did wrong in attaching the files.  The programs I've used ask to attach the file and then you choose it and there is no second button to choose it.  When you click on it, you are choosing it.  

 

I think I tried online scanning with Avast.  I could try it again.  I think I remember not liking it if I didn't keep it. Maybe I'll try it again.

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Attached Files

•  HWMonitor - Monitoring Data.txt   26.61KB   317 downloads
•  hwm_smbus.txt   3.1KB   191 downloads
•  BSOD.txt   5.46KB   302 downloads

[rshaffer61]

One of your BSOD's was caused by the bug check code 050 which is the following.

0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
Requested data was not in memory. An invalid system memory address was referenced. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop message, as may other hardware problems (e.g., incorrect SCSI termination or a flawed PCI card).

The other two were caused by the 3b bug check which is the following.

STOP 0x0000003B: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
Usual causes: System service, Device driver, graphics driver, ?memory.

Since both include the possibility of a memory issue we will start there. We will then move on to a possible software issue possibly your AV.



A If you have more than one RAM module installed, try starting computer with one RAM stick at a time.

NOTE Keep in mind, the manual check listed above is always superior to the software check, listed below. DO NOT proceed with memtest, if you can go with option A

B. If you have only one RAM stick installed...
...run memtest...


1. Download - Pre-Compiled Bootable ISO (.zip). If you prefer to use the USB version then use this link USB KEY
2. Unzip downloaded /memtest86+-4.20.iso.zip file.
3. Inside, you'll find /memtest86+-4.20.iso file.
4. Download, and install ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
5. Insert blank CD into your CD drive.
6. Open ImgBurn, and click on Write image file to disc
7. Click on Browse for a file... icon:



8. Locate memtest86+-4.20.iso file, and click Open button.
9. Click on ImgBurn green arrow to start burning bootable memtest86 CD:



10. Once the CD is created, boot from it, and memtest will automatically start to run. You may have to change the boot sequence in your BIOS to make it work right.

To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS

• 
  
• Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the DEL button
  This will enter you into the Bios\Cmos area.
  Find the Advanced area and click Enter
  Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
  Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CDrom.
  Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
  Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
  You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.
• 
  

The running program will look something like this depending on the size and number of ram modules installed:




It's recommended to run 5-6 passes. Each pass contains very same 8 tests.

This will show the progress of the test. It can take a while. Be patient, or leave it running overnight.



The following image is the test results area:



The most important item here is the “errors” line. If you see ANY errors, even one, most likely, you have bad RAM.