BSOD and freezes

[skeets]

I bought an Acer desktop from Frye's in Dec '08 and I've been having periodic freezing problems. Every now and then the computer will freeze: mouse cursor doesn't move, keyboard doesn't respod, screen does not change in any way. The only thing I can do is reboot it. I've left it for hours after freezing to see if anything changes and it doesn't.

The second issue I've had is occasional BSOD. I'm not sure if this is the same issue or a different one. It will BSOD with IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL. I have been able to get this to repro reliably by running the memory scanner tool at www.crucial.com. As soon as the tool runs it BSOD's every time. My hunch was I have bad RAM but I have taken the two RAM sticks and tried various combinations to see if I can narrow it down. No matter which RAM stick is I have in I am able to repro the BSOD w/ the Crucial memory scanner. I ran the Memory Diagnostic Tool built into Windows and it didn't find any problems.

My other guess was an overheating problem. I've ran the SpeedFan utility to monitor my CPU's temperature and the highest temperature reading it ever gets is around 118 degrees or so. Since that's much less than the warning level options I have in the BIOS I was assuming that this is not too hot.

Does anyone have any ideas for me? Do you think these two problems have the same root cause or are different issues?

Acer Aspire M5641
2.4Ghz QuadCore
4GB RAM
Vista Premium 64-bit

-Skeets

 

[GhislainG]

It will BSOD with IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

That's often caused by memory errors or a PSU that doesn't provide the correct voltages. Run memtest to test your memory for several hours and verify your PSU voltages in the BIOS or a voltmeter.

My other guess was an overheating problem.

At 118°F, you definitely don't have an overheating issue. At 118°C, the system would simply shutdown to save itself, but it wouldn't freeze.

Since your system still is under warranty, get them to fix it. It shouldn't be too difficult since you can reproduce the problem at will.

 

[skeets]

I ran memtest (www.memtest86.com) and once it gets to 50% through Test 1 then the machine instantly reboots -- no error message or anything. It takes almost no time at all for memtest to get to this point. The documentation on the website says this about Test #1:

"Test 1 [Address test, own address]
Each address is written with its own address and then is checked for consistency. In theory previous tests should have caught any memory addressing problems. This test should catch any addressing errors that somehow were not previously detected."

I'm not sure what to make of that. This auto reboot reproes every time at Test#1/50%. Since the machine has two RAM slots does that 50% mean it's failing when it reaches the RAM in the second slot?

I checked the voltages in the BIOS setup but I'm not sure what the expected values are suposed to be. How would I find that out.

I'd love to have Acer fix this but they want me to ship them the machine at my expense, they'll have it for 10 days, then send it back fixed but with all my data wiped. No thanks. Man, I'm never buying Acer again.

 

[Fruity]

Could also be the motherboard and the way its handling the RAM in the other DIMM.
If you can test your RAM in a different PC, or different RAM in your PC that would help


As for Acer wiping your data - send it back to them without the hard drive installed (its not broken). They have no right to wipe the data on your hdd, unles for some obscure reason they state in their warranty that they *will* reformat hard drives in the event of *all* waranty claims. They don't own the data on your hard drive and they don't own the hard drive itself.

 

[Fruity]

Also: if you can establish that it is definitely the RAM at fault (not the mobo) then open up your case, find out who manufactured it and RMA the RAM straight back to the manufacturer. A lot of manufacturers will accept this....

 

[gamerk316]

Could be three things:

1: PSU not supplying enough power (Not likely)
2: Mobo issue (possible)
3: Bad RAM (My guess)

Test one stick at a time. Odds are, one of them went on you, and you can run off the good stick in the meantime.
What I find add, is the PC should not crash during a memtest run...

 

[radraff]

help help!!! how do you fix this problem im very desperate....

 

[GhislainG]

help help!!! how do you fix this problem im very desperate....

What motherboard and RAM?

 

[gamerk316]

Look, remove one stick of RAM, and run memtest. If you pass, you know that stick is good. Either way, test the other stick.

If both PASS, the issue is not RAM
If one PASSES, you have a bad stick
Iff both FAIL, it could be RAM, or it could be another issue altogether.

 

[skeets]

Thanks everybody for the help. I messed around with the RAM trying various combinations of the current RAM and still had problems. Then I bought some brand new RAM and still had problems so it looks like most likely it is a motherboard issue. In the end I bit the bullet and mailed the machine to Acer for repair. Now I'm w/out a machine at home for a week or two but at least it should get fixed.