A series of possibly related errors...

IbexWarrior

Honorable
May 22, 2012
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10,510
Okay, I recently got my system from CyberpowerPC in the mail (second one from them, so yes, I like them lol) and I'm having sporadic BSODs and a few other issues. I can't tell if these are related, and I seem to be having trouble fixing, well... any of them. First, the build. Note that I have Intel Smart Response Caching.

CPU: Intel(R) Core™ i7-3770K 3.50 GHz 8MB Intel Smart Cache LGA1155
HDD: 1TB SATA-III 6.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD
SSD (caching purposes) 64GB OCZ Agility SATA 3
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P8Z77-V LX Intel Z77
GPUs: Two Powercolor 6950s , 2gb, in CFX.
OS: Windows Vista with a win 7 upgrade from Dell (it was free...)
RAM: 2x4GB sticks of cheap ass RAM that I have honestly never even heard of. NOT a brand sold on newegg.
PSU: Thermaltake 850 Smart Series

I should at this point mention that I am unable to use the event viewer, and the two fixes I've come across both have further issues to be dealt with that apparently stem from the Vista base under my windows 7... so no logs for these, sadly. But, here we go.

Issue #1 - page fault in nonpaged area BSOD. I have gotten this now three times in about a week. Research comes up with a decent list of potential culprits, one being RAM another being hard drive.

Issue #2 - At one particular boot I got either one repeated error or flat out total lack of action of any kind when I tried to open many of the windows tools. Memory Diagnostic would show an error involving system 32. many more things, such as Windows User Experience Index, would do absolutely nothing when I attempted to open them. I then checked the entirety of my "System and Security" list in the control panel, and only the windows update would open at all. Most refused flat out with no error, while some (maybe 6 or 8 of the list) threw the error. A restart fixed this and I haven't seen it again.

Issues #3 - After the reboot to regain access to the windows utilities, I opened the windows UEI and it said new hardware detected, so I ran a re-assessment... well, the new results from my video card went to 6.0 in both categories from the 7.9 they were before. I went into CCC and disabled crossfire and reran the test, getting a 7.8... I then reenabled crossfire in CC and ran the test, again getting a 7.8 Where did my 7.9 go? Does this perhaps hint at a problem with one of the video cards? Yes, I have checked with benchmarks and both cards appear to be functioning. The FPS rates are scaling as expected with crossfire on/off.

Issue #4 - PFN LIST CORRUPT BSOD. This has happened for the first time this evening while I was in the middle of a boss fight in The Witcher 2... and looking into this error has also indicated that both the RAM and hard drive may be at fault.

Issue #5 - Just after submitting this message we have another BSOD and another code. SYSTEM SERVICE EXCEPTION this time... This happened while launching The Witcher 2 to finish that boss fight. Getting ridiculous? Again, research directs my gaze at my Cheap Ass RAM.

Issue #6 - At logon after a fresh power up I entered my password and hit enter. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. I tried to power off/restart using the on screen button at the bottom left, and all that happened was that my normal icon changed over to a sunflower. Inability to access my user settings? I had to power off my holding the power button on the tower itself. Nothing would respond.

Now, obvious thing to do is run the Memory Diagnostic, yeah? Done. I let it go through perhaps 10 passes on one occasion and 8 passes on another and turned up nothing.

Also of note is that my device manager shows that all my drivers are in good working order.

So my question is, is this a Cheap Ass RAM issue even though no problems were detected, a VRAM issue from my 6950s, a problem with my HDD, a problem with the SSD used for caching, or a software problem?!

The caching seems to be working flawlessly, I should add. Not something I would expect with a failing SSD if all the information I have found on the manner in which they often fail is correct. No "locking" of any kind noticed.

I've been trying to track this down for a few days now and simply having no luck. Anything I can find out here would be very much appreciated.

Jesse
 

IbexWarrior

Honorable
May 22, 2012
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10,510
Just did another check of the compatibility list for my mobo - Super Talent IS listed (previously known as Cheap Ass RAM... confirmed that it's not on newegg by searching for "Super Talent" and getting only Justin Beiber DVDs in the results... wow...) but not in the 8 GB kit. It is listed in 6 GB kit, and the model number is NOT the same... so... may have found the issue!

Contacting CyberPowerPC right... about.......... now.
 

IbexWarrior

Honorable
May 22, 2012
4
0
10,510
I loaded the OS myself with a copy my GF had sitting around. I think the sys32 issue is something to do with Vista, but the other items all point to RAM issues.

And yeah, boxing it up is an option, but that would mean paying to ship it back across country... and any time you ship a computer it's going to be a little nerve wracking.

And no matter that the case, this memory isn't compatible on the ASUS site. Super Talent's site (which was flagged as a threat by Mcafee for some reason) doesn't have a database for mobo compatibility of its own.

 
Incompatible ram not being on the QVL list is a longshot, it's rare, but possible, and cyberpower wouldn't use ram that isn't going to work because they probably build hundreds of pc's a day using the same components.

So you bought a pre-assembled cyberpower pc and it didn't come with an OS? Sorry Im just not understanding that part.

You should try running memtest86, then if you get errors run it on one stick at at time till you find the bad one.

You could also run diagnostics on your hdd from the manufacturers site.

Most of the things you mentioned say to me "memory".

Could even be a failing power supply, you do have a lot of heavy hardware, what is the make and model?

 

IbexWarrior

Honorable
May 22, 2012
4
0
10,510
Thermaltake Smart series 850 watt.

And yeah, for saving of about 120 bucks you can get a system with no OS loaded. It's standard practice for desktops from CyberPowerPC to allow them with or without an OS.

The fact that it's a longshot has occured to me as well... I just don't know what else it could be.

BUT we have a new symptom. Something that resembles what I would call a "lock up" during boot.

Issue #6 - At logon after a fresh power up I entered my password and hit enter. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing. I tried to power off/restart using the on screen button at the bottom left, and all that happened was that my normal icon changed over to a sunflower. Inability to access my user settings? I had to power off my holding the power button on the tower itself. Nothing would respond.