Random problems/crashes

[GlacierFreeze]

Sorry for the long post...

Have recently started having weird issues the past 2 weeks. Mainly games crashing (World of Tanks and maybe League of Legends) to desktop. I have had the computer completely crash and restart maybe once or twice, but usually just a program. Also CCC (AMD HD 4800) sometimes acts weird, like not wanting to open up when clicking on it.

Well at first I thought maybe I had a bad stick of RAM and it was corrupting stuff, since I've had this issue in an older computer about 6 years ago. Decided to give Memtest86 a try, figuring that it'd find errors and that would be that. Well I let Memtest run for about an hour and a half, about 3 passes, and it found no errors to my surprise.

Then thought maybe GPU was overheating. I did install Furmark and let it run about 15 minutes or so and it didn't crash or anything. Probably should have let it run longer but thought I'd have seen some issue within that time span. Haven't tried stress testing CPU yet though. Will when I get home.

Full virus scan with Avast revealed nothing.

Only thing that I really noticed so far, is I decided to benchmark my HDD (300GB Velociraptor) recently. Downloaded AS SSD bench to see what speeds I get, since I'm planning on building a new computer later this year and will be getting an SSD with it. Wanted to see how slow this VR is compared to what people are posting for their SSDs. But the thing I noticed is that it lists IDE controller (forgot how it's labled in AS SSD) is marked as Bad. Now I was thinking either this thing isn't correctly reading/not compatible with my Foxconn 780GX mobo since it's about 5 years old and this program was created a while after that or that the IDE controller really is bad. My question is if the problems described above could be caused from a bad IDE controller? Corruption or instability I guess? I don't know. I've never had to deal with a bad IDE controller before.....

Thoughts, comments, questions?


AMD Phenom 9950 black edition
AMD HD 4800
Foxconn 780GX ?
4GB RAM

 

[ikachu]

I would think if an IDE controller was going bad it wouldn't detect the hard drive or be able to boot Windows, but I guess anything's possible. I guess running an HDD scan couldn't hurt. You can use the built in windows thing by right clicking on the HDD, going to properties > Tools > 'Check now'.

I guess another option is something in Windows is corrupt (especially if you are running an older version). it might be time to do a clean install of it...

 

[GlacierFreeze]

Gotcha on IDE controller. Was thinking it may cause corruption on any data going/leaving it, but not detecting sounds more likely.

Have tried scanning using chkdsk but it didn't seem to really find anything major.

And parts of Windows getting some corruption and needing a reinstall definitely crossed my mind. This machine was built 5 years ago with Vista, so Windows running for that long, it's usually a good idea to give it the ole clean install treatment every now and then. Was thinking of doing that, but was scared of it not coming back up due to corruption, but that was before I ran Memtest so probably okay there. Fresh reinstall is probably what the solution is though. Most likely do that after work.

 

[GlacierFreeze]

Well crud. Formatted and reinstalled Windows from scratch. Installed drivers. Did 120 updates. Then had a few more show up. Started doing those then it blue screened with IRQL not less or equal. Was hoping it was just a one off BSOD, but it blue screened a couple more times with Page Fault in Nonpaged Area.

 

[tweakboy]

Check 1 stick at a time. Feels like its your RAM. But also dont rule out PSU. gl

 

[WTSherman]

I would be checking back in to the RAM situation. This is the kind of strange behavior a system with bad RAM exhibits.

At the very least your system is still up and running, but even after a fresh install of Windows you get these problems. Indicates it must be a hardware or possible compatibility issue.

 

[Blain]

Checking for bulging or leaking capacitors is always a good practice.

 

[GlacierFreeze]

I would be checking back in to the RAM situation. This is the kind of strange behavior a system with bad RAM exhibits.

At the very least your system is still up and running, but even after a fresh install of Windows you get these problems. Indicates it must be a hardware or possible compatibility issue.

Yeah, it does seem like RAM issues based on behavior. Still surprised Memtest doesn't show errors even if I have them in there one at a time.

Thought I had the issues solved earlier. It seemed to only BSOD (Page Fault) with one certain stick of RAM in it. Seemed fine for a while with the other one in it by itself. Since I thought I had it figured out that it was one of them giving me problems, I went on Corsair's site and requested an RMA. Bad thing is, after hours of the system being up with the "good stick", it BSOD just a few minutes ago, Page Fault again. I suppose if it is a RAM issue, then it's both of them and one is more screwed up than the other.

Checking for bulging or leaking capacitors is always a good practice.

That crossed my mind the other day, simply because I've seen it mentioned once or twice before, but haven't checked that. Will look into that tomorrow.

 

[GlacierFreeze]

Also noticed the RAM seemed to be *almost* too hot to the touch. Always thought RAM didn't put off much heat. These are Corsair 2x 2GB DIMMs DDR2 (CM2X2048-640C5) 1.8V. In BIOS shows 1.77ish V.

 

[tweakboy]

Try cleaning the video card fan or fans... blow it out,, sure sounds like that is the issue.

Also clean CPU HSF ,,,, I bet its really dustry,, and then you should have reliable system. gl

 

[GlacierFreeze]

So I didn't see any bulging capacitors.

Would 1.8v RAM running at 1.76ish cause problem as described above? Dunno why but it seems to default to that. Can up it in BIOS to 1.82ish (+50mV) if I need.

0.03-0.04v drop would cause instability?

 

[Blain]

Higher voltage could help stabilize the system.
One reason makers slam DIMMs with extra voltage is to enable lower quality memory to run stable.

Going up to a full 1.8v should be no problem at all. The JEDEC DDR2 voltage standard is 1.8v with a max of 1.9v to achieve stability.

 

[pandemonium]

What RAM are you using? You may need to up the voltage on it. It sounds like your system may be nearing that age where voltages need to be increased to remain stable (as circuit pathways age their ability to conduct electricity diminishes naturally through use).

Disclaimer: I'm not saying to bump your RAM to unreasonable heights, but research your specific modules and raise it in small increments and retest. (Something like .02/.04V increments.)

The other way to test the problem is to see if the HDD is failing by installing another on your system. If it does the same thing, then at least you know it's [probably] not the HDD.

 

[tweakboy]

I think he needs 1.85v to 1.9v on the ram voltage. gl

 

[GlacierFreeze]

Higher voltage could help stabilize the system.
One reason makers slam DIMMs with extra voltage is to enable lower quality memory to run stable.

Going up to a full 1.8v should be no problem at all. The JEDEC DDR2 voltage standard is 1.8v with a max of 1.9v to achieve stability.

Thanks. And good to know 1.8v is safe to a max 1.9v.

I went ahead and left one stick in that didn't seem to give me any problems compared to the other one and reformatted last night and added +50mV to DRAM in BIOS. Running about 1.81v give or take now, compared to 1.77v. Have been doing updates today with no BSOD or crashes. Haven't wanted to take any chances with putting the other stick in there yet. Might just do the RMA anyway just incase.

 

[tynopik]

<nevermind>