BSOD, Boot Problems, Freezing Display...

[itsdanieloconnor]

Hey,

So my homebuilt PC was going strong for a month or two until the video card broke. I sent it in for repairs, and everything was working fine. Now I have another problem. About two weeks ago, I started getting BSOD's, the computer would randomly freeze, and sometimes the screen would just go blank (but the computer would stay on). I thought I had fixed it, until it happened again a few days later.

When I was having problems, sometimes I would try to turn on the computer and it would turn on for a second or two, turn off, then turn back on (sometimes nothing would appear on the screen and other times it would work fine).

Five minutes ago, for example, I tried to turn the computer on and nothing appeared on the screen. Now, I tried turning it on and everything worked fine.

One thing I've noticed is that it seems to BSOD most when I'm watching a flash video or using SyncBack SE to do network file transfers. That could just be a coincidence though.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

--

My Computer:

- Windows 7 64 bit

- SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM51822485 (N82E16827151188)

- CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X4096-6400C5C - Retail51822485 (N82E16820145241)

- Intel Pentium E6300 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E6300 - Retail51822485 (N82E16819116091)

- Rosewill RP600V2-S-SL 600W ATX12V v2.01 SLI Ready Power Supply - Retail51822485 (N82E16817182032)

- ASUS P5Q Pro Turbo LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail51822485 (N82E16813131377)

- Nippon Labs Premium High Performance HDMI Cable v1.3 15 ft. HDMI TO HDMI Cable A/V Gold Plated for 1080P cable HDTV Cable PS3 Cable and Xbox 360 Cable - Retail51822485 (N82E16812816004)

- Rosewill Wind Knight Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case with pre-installed 2x 120mm Fan, Support up to 1x 140mm top fan, 2x 140mm side fan, 1x 140mm front fan, 1x 120mm rear fan - Retail51822485 (N82E16811147135)

- Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive51822485 (N82E16822136218)

- EVGA 896-P3-1255-AR GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail51822485 (N82E16814130434)

 

[dpaul8]

Since your video card was recently repair, I would suspect this component first. Can you swap out the video card with another one to determine if this is the problem?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The Rosewill stuff has me concerned the most....another PSU available ?

 

[itsdanieloconnor]

Unfortunately, I don't. I also don't have another video card (though I should've said it was replaced, not repaired).

I'm also sorta thinking it is the PSU. Especially how it turns on, then off, then back on. Is there a way of checking without getting another PSU? The computer seems to be working now, but judging by the past, it's only a matter of days till it stops working again.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

Yes, your PSU is a POS and certainly won't contribute to a stable system. I'm not so sure it's causing all your problems, though. Have you run Memtest86+ overnight to test for RAM errors. Most BSOD's are caused by RAM problems.

 

[itsdanieloconnor]

Hi, thanks a lot for the replies.

I also thought it was a PSU problem. I was especially convinced when I unplugged the power to the video card and the computer took longer (when I tried to turn it on) to shut back off, then turn on.

So I emailed the manufacturer and this is what they said:

The issue you are experiencing does not line up with a power supply
issue,
it seems more likely to be an issue in the video card or on the hard
Disc Drive.

Power supply defect would not hinder the O/S from loading onto the
screen in anyway, and the fact that this issue happens to
A lesser degree with the video card rail detached still does not point
to the PSU.

We would suggest you have the PSU tested (or try a spare PSU if you have
one)
before going through a 'wild goose chase" and the down-time of returning
it for exchange and having the problem persist.

From my experience it sounds like there may even be a virus rumbling
around in your hard drive,
and that would be the first next area I checked after the PSU is tested.

The virus issue seemed kinda silly, but I unplugged the hard drive and tried booting to a Ubuntu Live CD. Still, I had the same problems (turn on, off, back on and nothing).

Any other ideas?
Thanks a lot for the help! I really appreciate it.

 

[itsdanieloconnor]

I'm pretty sure i just found the problem. I removed everything to test and just left the ram. Took out both sticks of ram and the computer stayed on.

then I put in one stick of ram and all the other parts. everything worked. tried with the other one, and I had problems.

i had no idea a bad stick of ram could cause so many problems though

 

[soundguruman]

Defective motherboard
You can try this, but I bet $1 defective motherboard.

Click Start, Click Control Panel,
Look at the top of the window, in the path bar you see “control panel >”
Click on “>” (in the path bar) now click on “all control panel options.”
(This will open up all the hidden controls available)
Click Power Options
click on the arrow to “show other plans”
Check the Box that says "high performance"
Click (in high performance) "change plan settings"
Turn off display: set to NEVER
Put the computer to sleep: set to NEVER
Click: Change advanced plan settings
Scroll down the list: Click on the + signs to expand the choices for each item on the list.
Require a password on wake up: set to NO
Hard disk: turn off the hard disk: set to NEVER
Wireless adapter settings:
Sleep: set to NEVER
Allow Hybrid sleep: set to NEVER
Hibernate after: set to NEVER
Allow wake timers: set to disable
USB settings:
USB selective suspend setting: set to NEVER
Power Buttons and lid:
Power button action: Setting: set to shut down
Sleep Button Action: set to: do nothing
PCI Express:
Link State Power Management, Setting: OFF
Processor Power Management: Minimum state (set to) 7%

System Cooling Policy: setting: Active
Maximum State (set to) 100%
Display
Turn off display after: setting: NEVER (turning off display automatically can cause freezing also)
Turn off the monitor power manually, when you want it off. Don’t use the auto monitor turn off.
Multimedia Settings:
When Sharing Media: Setting: Prevent idling to sleep
When Playing Video: Setting: Optimize Video
Click APPLY
Click OK

Open the bios set up and make sure "cool and quiet" is OFF. (AMD)
If there is a power saver or a "quiet mode" in the bios, shut it off...
There may be a performance setting in the bios setup you have...make sure it's cranked up to max.
in the bios, see that the allocation for video, if available, is maxed.

Now open the hardware manager profiles...
click start
click computer
click system properties
click device manager
double click on mice and other pointing devices
right click on HID compliant mouse
left click on properties
click on the power management tab
UN-check the box that says: "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." (there is now NO check mark in this box)
click OK

Now repeat this procedure for all mice, monitors, keyboards, and ALL USB ports on the device manager list.

You must open ALL the devices one at a time, as above, and turn off the power saver, for each device.

NOW turn all the security back ON. NOW open your security antivirus. Make sure the antivirus is set to "gaming mode." Or "multimedia mode."
This prevents the security updating from interrupting your game / multimedia priority.
IF the security does not have "gaming mode" or "multimedia mode" get different security.
IF you are using "free" security downloaded from the internet, get rid of it NOW.
Use ONLY professional all in one security. DO NOT load multiple mismatched security programs, which conflict with each other.
DO NOT load free tools into your system such as: "driver sweeper" or any of that "free" goofy stuff.