Recently Converted Console Gamer with SERIOUS Computer Problems..PPLLZZZ Help

[KronicRageQuitr]

The Story:
So a couple nights ago I was just playing CSGO on my mid to high range gaming pc. When all of the sudden the game freezes and the screen goes blank(I believe the graphics/display driver crashed). Nothing would happen for a minute or two so I had no option other than to turn off the PC.This had happened the night before as well but after a second or two after the driver crashed everything went back to normal.

So then when I tried booting up the pc again, I was treated to this blue screen.

What I've Already Tried
I've booted into safe mode and uninstalled the drivers. Followed by installing the newest drivers and even older ones to assure the problem was not with the drivers. As long as the system is not relying on the GPU drivers, it boots up fine ( i.e when the gpu drivers are disabled/not installed and it relies on the integrated graphics)

I've taken out the graphics card and reinserted, making sure it was in properly (I was told this would reset the drivers)

I also tried doing a clean install of windows to format the drive, but when I try to boot off my USB I get another blue screen.

I then tried a custom installation within windows. It wasn't an "upgrade" since my settings and what not were deleted, and all my files were moved to an "windows.old" folder.

My computer
CPU:AMD FX-8350
GPU:Asus GTX 660 TI D2CO 2GD5
RAM:G.SKILL Sniper Series 8GB PC3-14900 Dual Channel Kit (2 x 4GB) Part#: F3-14900CL9D-8GBSR
MOTHERBOARD : Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 Rev 1.00
PSU: Corsair TX950W Power Supply

So what's The Problem?
Is it my graphics card?
Is it my motherboard or harddrive?

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

I would like to mention that I was not overclocking any part of the computer during my time with the computer.

 

[aigomorla]

can u list out your parts

CPU
MOTHERBOARD
RAM
PSU
VIDEOCARD

Can u also download HWmonitor + Gpu Shark
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html
http://www.ozone3d.net/gpushark/

And give us values it reports.

Off the top of my head... it could be a ton of things... like ram/Motherboard/Psu/gpu/HDD.
However we would need those values before we can do any debugging with certainty.

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

I've posted the specific parts of my computer in the very first post

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

So I downloaded and installed CPUID/HWmonitor and these are the numbers it reports

Also As I said in my earlier post, if the system relies on the graphics card to produce images (i.e the graphics drivers are installed and it boots from PEG/PCI) the computer will not boot and you get an error screen.

So GPU shark will not be of any help

When I boot into safe mode, I get the following error information:

and

and when you check for a solution, the troubleshooter just crashes aftera couple of seconds.

 

[mfenn]

Given the history, I'd suspect a GPU issue. Do you have a spare or can you borrow a friends?

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

unfortunately no ..Although I did contact Asus tech Support and hopefully the card is still within warranty

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Humph.

This is where onboard graphics would be helpful to diagnose.

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

Humph.

This is where onboard graphics would be helpful to diagnose.

I don't quite follow. How would I diagnose on board graphics? Or were you just saying if it were possible it would be helpful

 

[piasabird]

Usually stop errors are specific to bad computer hardware Like bad RAM, or bad Video RAM or some other hardware like an SSD or a hard drive. I guess it could also be possible to be caused by bad drivers or sometimes by a faulty power supply.

This is one of those things that you have to test one part at a time. Sometimes you can do this by taking the computer apart and adding one part at a time. It looked like you had AMD and I don't know about all of the specifics for that setup.

I think I would verify the power supply is good and then I would check the RAM one stick at a time i.e. one could be bad. If you had a cpu or motherboard with onboard graphics you could test it by removing the video card. If you have an old video card you try replacing the video card.

One other thing that often goes wrong is some video cards also require another power plug. If you did not plug that in it might cause problems.

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

Usually stop errors are specific to bad computer hardware Like bad RAM, or bad Video RAM or some other hardware like an SSD or a hard drive. I guess it could also be possible to be caused by bad drivers or sometimes by a faulty power supply.

This is one of those things that you have to test one part at a time. Sometimes you can do this by taking the computer apart and adding one part at a time. It looked like you had AMD and I don't know about all of the specifics for that setup.

I think I would verify the power supply is good and then I would check the RAM one stick at a time i.e. one could be bad. If you had a cpu or motherboard with onboard graphics you could test it by removing the video card. If you have an old video card you try replacing the video card.

One other thing that often goes wrong is some video cards also require another power plug. If you did not plug that in it might cause problems.

Thanks for the help. Like I said in my initial post, the computer does not experience stop errors if the on board graphics are being utilized and the graphics card drivers are disabled/uninstalled (i.e so I think the problem might be the video card ram).

However
That doesn't explain why I'm having problems booting off my USB

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I don't quite follow. How would I diagnose on board graphics? Or were you just saying if it were possible it would be helpful

Not being able to boot from USB either means it's not just a hosed Windows install or corrupted drivers. That means hardware.

If you had onboard graphics, you could pull the GPU. If the computer all of a sudden started working fine, you'd know without a doubt it was the card.

Without being able to swap in a different video card, it's harder to isolate the specific component.

(I just googled your motherboard and found a picture. It didn't look like it had a video out port. Since you mentioned onboard graphics later, I'm assuming my google-fu failed me and it's probably the GPU. So never mind.)

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Thanks for the help. Like I said in my initial post, the computer does not experience stop errors if the on board graphics are being utilized and the graphics card drivers are disabled/uninstalled (i.e so I think the problem might be the video card ram).

However
That doesn't explain why I'm having problems booting off my USB

If the problem is your GPU, whatever OS you're booting into from the USB stick is probably trying to load a GPU driver.

Heck, even CLI-only Linux has video card drivers for the console. (And if your GPU isn't supported, kiss your command prompt goodbye.)

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

If you had onboard graphics, you could pull the GPU. If the computer all of a sudden started working fine, you'd know without a doubt it was the card.

Without being able to swap in a different video card, it's harder to isolate the specific component.

(I just googled your motherboard and found a picture. It didn't look like it had a video out port. Since you mentioned onboard graphics later, I'm assuming my google-fu failed me and it's probably the GPU. So never mind.)

Your right, my mobo does'nt have on board graphics, I miss understood that for graphics that can run without having your GPU drivers installed. So your google search didn't fail you. However I am convinced that it is my graphics card since the computer boots fine as long as the GPU drivers are disabled/uninstalled prior to starting up (and my multiple attempts at uninstalling/reinstalling different versions of drivers has shown it is nor the drivers fault).

 

[aigomorla]

well it could also be a bad pci-e slot...

do you have another machine u can possibly try loading the GPU on?

and just to make sure... you did plug in the rear 2x6pin power plugs to the GPU correct?

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

well it could also be a bad pci-e slot...

do you have another machine u can possibly try loading the GPU on?and just to make sure... you did plug in the rear 2x6pin power plugs to the GPU correct?

yes 12 power pins are in the gpu. I've been using the computer for almost 10 months now, if that was the problem it wouldn't wait till now to rear its ugly head. You could be write about it also being a bad pci-e slot. I'll try the graphics card on a friends computer.

 

[KronicRageQuitr]

If the problem is your GPU, whatever OS you're booting into from the USB stick is probably trying to load a GPU driver.

Heck, even CLI-only Linux has video card drivers for the console. (And if your GPU isn't supported, kiss your command prompt goodbye.)

Thanks! this information was really useful. For a second I thought that one of my harddrive/mobo/cpu was also screwed along with my GPU. Hopefully ASUS can replace my GPU or repair it so that I can see if I can successfully boot off my USB without it being impeded by the messed up graphics card.

I can successfully boot of the USB on my laptop so I know there's nothing wrong with the USB itself.