Hi everyone!
I was playing Minecraft for the first time on my 4 year-old rig and I think it might have killed my CPU (well, it was probably almost dead already..). Whatever the reason and how it happened, here are the symptoms.
1. Computer crashed while playing. Had to restard it with power button.
2. Didn't go through post. Restarted again.
3. Went through post, OS selection screen, to Windows welcome screen, then crashed (nothing responds, screen freezes). Restarted again.
4. I went in the BIOS to reset settings to default (no overclock anyways...), it crashed while I was scrolling in BIOS.
My computer has a history on the CPU level.. Only 6 months after I built it, it wouldn't boot up anymore. I narrowed down the problem to RAM slots 3 and 4. I RMA'd the Mobo, came back the same. The problem is probably the memory controller, which is located on the CPU (i7-2600k). I never RMA'd the CPU since I could run single channel using my 2x 8gb ripjaws in slots 1 and 2. That was a mistake...
The computer has been running fine for 3 years, no crash. Here is what I tried so far for this problem.
1. CLEAR CMOS button, no change.
2. Tried different sets of memory (Corsair Vengeance 4GB) in all different working slots, same error.
3. Reseated the CPU, same error.
(checked for bent pins, took pictures, but nothing there. All the pins are straight and good looking)
4. Disconnected all usb devices, same error.
5. Removed the graphics cards and used integrated graphics, same error.
6. Checked the CMOS battery, 3.24V output, it's fine. Same error again.
7. Tried different OS (running Linux Mint) - though I doubted it would work because of BIOS freeze - didn't work.
8. Cleaned every component (dust-off).
9. Checked temperatures in BIOS before the crash. CPU is sitting at 43Celsius, normal. Voltages also look good in there (something like 12.3V / 5.1V / 3.2V (rounded, can't remember the actual values)).
Soooo. I think my CPU is dead. Does anyone have another idea or opinion? I don't have a spare working PSU or Motherboard or CPU for testing... I would just like to identify what part I need to replace. I could test PSU with a multimeter, provided a good guide, but I doubt the problem comes from there...
Here is my config, if it can help. Note that this is a 4 year old setup. Nothing was overclocked (the CPU was at 3.8GHz for a while, but I lowered it because it was useless.
MoBo: ASRock Extreme4 Gen3
PSU: FSP AURUM SERIES AU-700
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 2x8Gb. 2133MHz, 9-11-11-31-2N. F3-2133C9D-16GXH
CPU: Intel i7-2600k
(unplugged atm) Graphics Card #1: SAPHIRRE Radeon 6950 2Gb with Arctic Accelero Xtreme PLUS (flashed as a 6970)
(unplugged atm) Graphics Card #2: MSI Radeon 6950 2Gb Twin Frozr III
SSD1: Kingston HyperX SH103S3/240G SSD Drive
HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 2Tb
HDD3 and HDD4 (raid 1 array): 2x Seagate 5Tb(external drives took out of enclosure, don't know the model)
No CD or DVD drive, i use bootable usb when needed.
Any help, comment, idea or opinion would be appreciated!!
Thanks
edit: edited the steps to add "checked bent pins"
I was playing Minecraft for the first time on my 4 year-old rig and I think it might have killed my CPU (well, it was probably almost dead already..). Whatever the reason and how it happened, here are the symptoms.
1. Computer crashed while playing. Had to restard it with power button.
2. Didn't go through post. Restarted again.
3. Went through post, OS selection screen, to Windows welcome screen, then crashed (nothing responds, screen freezes). Restarted again.
4. I went in the BIOS to reset settings to default (no overclock anyways...), it crashed while I was scrolling in BIOS.
My computer has a history on the CPU level.. Only 6 months after I built it, it wouldn't boot up anymore. I narrowed down the problem to RAM slots 3 and 4. I RMA'd the Mobo, came back the same. The problem is probably the memory controller, which is located on the CPU (i7-2600k). I never RMA'd the CPU since I could run single channel using my 2x 8gb ripjaws in slots 1 and 2. That was a mistake...
The computer has been running fine for 3 years, no crash. Here is what I tried so far for this problem.
1. CLEAR CMOS button, no change.
2. Tried different sets of memory (Corsair Vengeance 4GB) in all different working slots, same error.
3. Reseated the CPU, same error.
(checked for bent pins, took pictures, but nothing there. All the pins are straight and good looking)
4. Disconnected all usb devices, same error.
5. Removed the graphics cards and used integrated graphics, same error.
6. Checked the CMOS battery, 3.24V output, it's fine. Same error again.
7. Tried different OS (running Linux Mint) - though I doubted it would work because of BIOS freeze - didn't work.
8. Cleaned every component (dust-off).
9. Checked temperatures in BIOS before the crash. CPU is sitting at 43Celsius, normal. Voltages also look good in there (something like 12.3V / 5.1V / 3.2V (rounded, can't remember the actual values)).
Soooo. I think my CPU is dead. Does anyone have another idea or opinion? I don't have a spare working PSU or Motherboard or CPU for testing... I would just like to identify what part I need to replace. I could test PSU with a multimeter, provided a good guide, but I doubt the problem comes from there...
Here is my config, if it can help. Note that this is a 4 year old setup. Nothing was overclocked (the CPU was at 3.8GHz for a while, but I lowered it because it was useless.
MoBo: ASRock Extreme4 Gen3
PSU: FSP AURUM SERIES AU-700
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws X 2x8Gb. 2133MHz, 9-11-11-31-2N. F3-2133C9D-16GXH
CPU: Intel i7-2600k
(unplugged atm) Graphics Card #1: SAPHIRRE Radeon 6950 2Gb with Arctic Accelero Xtreme PLUS (flashed as a 6970)
(unplugged atm) Graphics Card #2: MSI Radeon 6950 2Gb Twin Frozr III
SSD1: Kingston HyperX SH103S3/240G SSD Drive
HDD2: Seagate Barracuda 2Tb
HDD3 and HDD4 (raid 1 array): 2x Seagate 5Tb(external drives took out of enclosure, don't know the model)
No CD or DVD drive, i use bootable usb when needed.
Any help, comment, idea or opinion would be appreciated!!
Thanks
edit: edited the steps to add "checked bent pins"
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