I need a computer whiz doctor to help me diagnose.

[mynameisjacob]

Hello.

I recently (Nov. '09) built my computer with the following components:

MOBO - eVGA X58 SLI LE
CPU - Intel Core i7 920 (Stock)
Cooler - Cooler Master V8
RAM - 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1600MHz
GPU - 2x eVGA GTX 260 SLI
HDD - WD Caviar Black 750GB
PSU - Corsair TX750
OS - Windows 7 64-bit

I have been having peculiar startup problems that I've been trying to diagnose: I usually shut down my machine when I am at work. When I come back and boot it up, the machine posts and goes to the Windows 7 startup splash screen. Then immediately I get a blue screen. When I do a cold restart and reboot the machine, it boots to windows properly. It's almost as if the computer needs to 'warm up', which led me to believe my Power Supply wasn't providing enough electricity.

I had one instance a couple of weeks ago where the machine didn't boot up to windows no matter how many times I rebooted. I had to boot from the Win7 CD and do a system restore to turn back the clock.

I really think this is a hardware issue and I have suspicions with all the components. I was hoping the geniuses here at Tom's Hardware can help me narrow down my leads:

- PSU: Can the power supply be defective and supplying inadequate voltage/current? (unlikely)

- HDD: Something defective with the hard drive? (likely)

- RAM: My RAM used to register as 4GB useable (out of 6GB installed) on Windows. I had to re-seat all chips to fix it so that the OS reads all 6GB, which led me to think one of the sticks was bad. But would this cause the system to go BSOD on startup?

- GPU: The fans on my twin GTX 260s go full blast (100%) when I press the power button to boot up. Once Windows takes over, the fans go back to normal (40%). Is this normal? (unlikely)

- CPU: Can one of the pins have been bent during installation? So far my i7 has been working like a champ. (unlikely)

- Software: Can it be a software issue? Maybe something wrong with my BIOS? Arghhh I don't know.

Thanks in advance to anyone reading this. If you have any wisdom you can share with me, please help.
Jacob

 

[saaiello]

Download and run memtest it sounds like its a memory issue its not uncommon to get a bad stick of memory. 99% of blue screens on startup are eithier memory or GPU related im thinking more that its the memory. So run memtest overnight and see if it errors.

 

[Guest]

Un-install one GTX 260 and boot with only one stick memory at a time, until you get blue-screen problem!

I think its memory related most BSOD are! what settings have you got in the bios for mem speed and Timings?

 

[RetiredChief]

Concur with both above post. However I prefer Prime95 over Memtest under windows - It finds memory problems quicker. I do use a bootable memtest disk for new builds, or when I change out memory first.

Also, for checking your PSU:
(1) download software to monitor your temps/voltages, or use the utility that came with your MB (I have Gigabyte which comes with easy tune 6). If you down load say CPUID HWMonitor, verify that it is recording your voltages correctly as it may not report some voltages correctly (ie +5/+12 and ignore -12V) both should be close to nominal values - +5 between +4.75 and +5.25 - for +12 between +11.4 and +12.6. While monitoring the voltage min value run Prime95, or Furmark and verify that your supply does not drop below min values (+4.75 and +11.4)

 

[mynameisjacob]

Thanks guys.

 

[mynameisjacob]

Best answer selected by mynameisjacob.