All sorts of BSODS popping up!!!

[salmansqadeer]

*deap breath*
okay, heres the problem...
For the last two weeks or so, iv been getting various BSOD errors at random times... the BSOD's that i have encountered so far are:

Machine check exception
Accessing page file in non page area
irql not less or equal
no more irp stack locations (got this during loading)

and a few others that only have machine codes but which i cant remember at the moment, basically probably around 5-6 different types. These BSOD's happen at random times, the pc has run fine without any sort of a problem for 3-4 days with no problem, and then bang. Othertimes it wont get through half an hour without giving me a BSOD, and on reboot it will BSOD before windows can load 3-4 times and then it will get through and run fine.

System Specs:

Gigabyte Motherboard,
AMD 2000 +
GForce FX5200 Chaintech build (that means no fan)
2 * 256 Kingston Ram (i.e. 512 total)
WD 80 GB hardrive


Now originally i had my old seagate HD installed in this system and whenever the system would crash it would currupt my windows beyond repair, i put in this fresh harddrive hoping perhaps that was the problem (that the old HD was currupting data), the pc ran fine for over 4 days before giving me a crash and now crashes whenever it feels like... mostly during graphics intesive games but it has crashed 4-5 times in the last hour with only internet explorer windows open.

Iv swapped the two ram chips running only off one then the other in different slots and the problem still arises, as i mentioned before iv tried swapping the HD, which solved the problem of data curruption but the problem still remains.

The two thnigs that are throwing me off are the incredibly INCONSISTEncy with which this is happening - iv simultaneiously run three videos off my system drive for 4 hrs without a hitch, yesterday i played an hour of cricket 2005 followed by an hour of quake and nothing, 15 minutes later with three internet explorer windows open and media player and bang - BSOD.

Iv pretty much completely removed the software being faulty... because on the old harddrive i did close to 15 fresh installs and still got the problem.. i wouldnt imagine it being a driver simply because iv been running this system off these specs for over a year now, and i havent had any problem yet.

I NEED this system up and running without any problems, please anyoine with any ideas please help. Thanks!

 

[garebo]

The first suspect, i think, in these cases, is the ram.
It needs to be ruled out anyway, so google and download memtest and use that to test your ram, one stick at a time.

The other item i would suspect would be the power supply.
How old is it, what make and model? Is it a standard unit or a good quality unit. You need a digital or analog multimeter to test your power supply. there is a good tutorial on testing your power supply at techrepublic.com. You have to join to get at the tutorial but its free and its a good quality site anyway.

These two suspects are based on the 3 os setup being ok and proper. I can't even speculate on that as i dont do that sort of setup as i use ide removable trays.



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[garebo]

One other thing. If you can borrow another power supply and install that into your system, you get away from testing the original power supply. Still, would like to know what make and model ps you have.



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[felixc]

I think Garebo is on the right track. Can you also try going into the BIOS and enter more relaxed timings for your DRAMs?

Strangely such a problem may go undetected with memory test utilities, as the false readings may happen because of noise while the bits themselves are still good inside of the Dram. The crashes may happen when programes are loaded in certain memory regions and when other background operations occur.

Unfortunately, even if the base of the problem is solved through the Dram path, chances are that your system files have become corrupted and that you will need to reinstall your OS.

I'm saying this because the same thing happened to me after adding a Dram module to a mobo.

There are ECC memory modules and mobos, whose purpose is to avoid such situations. Single-bit errors are corrected while larger bit errors can't, but a system warning occurs so the OS can manage it. This ECC feature is usually seen only in server-class mobos, as it slows down a bit the memory bandwidth.

 

[salmansqadeer]

hey guys wow im its been a few hours since i posted this thing and allr eady three replies... thanks!

Okay iv downloaded the windows version of memtest so ill run that over tonight... even though iv run each of the ram chips independently in both slots independantly... at first they start fine but then the crashes start to increase in frequency...i thought that would be enough to test the ram? i played Age of Empires 2 today for 2 hours without a crash, 15 min after i quit came the first one its been crashing since. :S

The power supply is nothing special.. its not the one that came with the case i had to replace that but its not branded or anything.. just a standard 300 W power supply.

as for reducing the clock, my board only supports RAM at 130 Hz i think, while the ram itself is 400 hz, i know your gonna say this is a problem it WAS a prblem when i was running two different chip speeds but now that there both 400 the systems been stable for a good 6-7 months EASY (which is the last time i added ANY new hardware to this computer)... so im DEAD sure it aint that.

But ill definately run memtest on each chip individually and tell you what i see... theres no problem running it through windows is there? (i got the windows version)

Thanks again

 

[garebo]

Should be no problem running the windows version. Im not going to comment on the ram regarding the 400 hz as i dont feel qualified to do so. But i do think it could be an issue, could even be hard to say for sure.



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[temporello]

You should definitely try to jot down the BSOD error codes as well.Can be very useful sometimes.

 

[garebo]

I would also, if possible, borrow a power supply and try it, its possible one of the rails or power lines in your power supply just isnt supplying quite enough power on occasion. This can appear to be intermittent as well!
So trying another power supply would be a good idea.


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[salmansqadeer]

hey guys
okay iv run memtest, the first time i ran it it went above 1000% with no errors showing, (im assuming that means 10 passes)... the second time i ran it it almost immediately ran into a problem (something about word not correct and gace me two addresses before i could note it down the pc BSODed) and since then i havent been able to run memtest cause the pc keeps BSODing (it bsoded 4 times before i could access this site)...

i REALLY like the idea that its a problem with the power supply (cause for me thats the CHEAPEST peice of equipment to fix and im in college so price does matter)... so im just going to pull out my roomates power supply and attach it to see if that works... ill get back to you on that.. in the meanwhile ill keep trying to run memtest (though again... iv independently run both chips one at a time through both different slots and it still BSOD's on me and both of these ram chips are relatively new so im pretty sure its got nothing to do with ram even though some of the BSOD's are relating to memory access violations from what i glean from the codes (and i havent been writing down the error codes temporello because there different almost every single time )

Lets just pray its the power supply... ill let you guys know what happens.

 

[garebo]

Well, just a thought. I wonder if somewhere in your bios you have some setting causing this. I really doubt it and i honestly think you either have a ram problem or maybe even a motherboard problem. But i would rather, as you pointed out, have it be a power supply problem.

Have you reset your bios lately? If not, its worth a shot.
And while in the bios check the timing settings on the ram, just see what they are and post that info here.
As for the bios, its usually unplug all power sources, remove battery, move jumper over, and put all back the way it was, but check your manual or mobo mfgr to make sure of that.



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[micker377]

While you are looking at the power supply, look to see if any capacitors (on the mother board, or video card) are bulging or leaking.

 

[salmansqadeer]

hey
okay this is REALLY annoying me now.

My pc is.

All of a sudden.

Working completely fine :S

As in... its been running for the last 8 hrs, iv ran numberouse games, application software, and antivirus programs.. without a single BSOD.

All that i did was i slightly pressed on the power supply line that was heading into the mothorboard.. i havent touched it since...

So its running NOW... as for what will hapen in the next few hrs i have absolutely no idea... what this is making me think is that it was (is) a power supply problem in the sense that one of the cables powering the power supply might be faulty and providing intermittent power to the board... (like was previously mentioned)... lets pray that it was just a ghost in the machine and its gone now (though i HIGHLY HGHLY doubt it) somethines telling me ill get a problem as soon as i move the wires around inside... but lets see :S

 

[garebo]

The whole connector is white and there is a connector or "hook" that hooks it into the connector at the motherboard. You can often hear it or feel it when it snaps into place. So, in effect, it could have been loose.
Wouldnt be the first time, lol.


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[salmansqadeer]

well... the problems back again... i knew i had spoken too soon

it BSODed twice in a period of 20 min or so... and hasnt bsoded since then...

Im starting to get closer to the idea that some wire from the power supply is faultly... Once i get over from my two mids tomorrow (wish me luck )ill be checking this up and letting you guys know...

 

[flapeyre]

Also, if you can, make sure the power supply connector on the motherboard is soldered to the board properly - they should be, because all boards these days are wave soldered, and not manually soldered with a soldering iron. Another thing to try is to gently clean the connector pins with an ordinary pencil eraser (clean the rubber dust off them afterwards). This will often remove oxidation on the pins.

Dic mihi solum facta, domina.

 

[garebo]

If you think its one bad wire then you could wiggle each one separate to come up with the bad one.
Has the motherboard been subject to any possible stress lately, before your problems began, like installing a new pci or agp card?

Maybe you should take the mobo out of the case. You may have an intermmittent short inside the case.
Another thing, have you had a chance to try a different power supply?

Finally, it could be a matter of poor power coming into your house. To resolve this issue one gets a rather inexpensive USP - uninterruptible power supply. These days they can be had for as low as $30 i have heard.
I have 6 of them, i NEVER run any computer part off direct wall power, i only run computer parts off my UPS's, period!
I can give you a ton of reasons. And you cant see or feel poor power, its just there ruining our computers and parts.
Of course todays power system was designed a long time ago and so its easy to understand that it doesnt handle computers very well at all.



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[felixc]

If your vacuum cleaner can be turned into a blower, take your PC outside and blow the dust away. Who knows. If you do it, take care not letting the fans whirl with the blower, they will turn too quickly and fail.

 

[garebo]

Best to stick something into the fan and heatsink to prevent fans from turning, fans for cpu and case fans, and power supply fans, all of them. If you dont and you apply vaccuum or too much air pressure then you can turn the fans too much and cause a buildup of static electricity and really do damage.


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