Random reboots

[Ace_437]

I installed a a couple games a few days ago, and at random times it has popped up the BSOD and rebooted on it's own. This never happened before the installation. Has anyone encountered anything like this? I'm not sure what to start looking in to. Checked by my HD's, and neither needs defragmenting. Other than that I'm stumped. As of now I'm thinking it has nothing to do with the games I installed, but they definately do push the system harder than just idling in XP or browsing the net with FF.

Specs:

C2D E6750
Gigabyte P35-DS3L
NVidia 8800 GT OC
2 gig Ram
Thermaltake 500 watt p/s

Nothing is overclocked except for the video card, which came like that from the factory. Right now I'm thinking perhaps videocard drivers or the power supply.

 

[MDM5280]

Test your memory, memory is usually the reason behind a BSOD.

 

[Ace_437]

I can do that. What's the name of the test to use? Wasn't it memtest or something like that?

 

[MDM5280]

Yup.

 

[Ace_437]

Cool. I'll do that when I get home. So, I've never used it of coure. What will it tell me and how long is it need to run for?

 

[MDM5280]

I never used it either, but it will tell you basically if there is any major problems with your memory. And I have no clue how long it takes to run.

 

[yomamafor1]

Maybe because of excess heat being built up in the case. 8800GT dissipates a lot of heat inside the case.

 

[Ace_437]

Hmm, looks like I need to download an ISO and make a bootable cd? Any version run through Windows? Or maybe I'm looking in the wrong place.

 

[MDM5280]

This could be it:
http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html

 

[Ace_437]

So I ran memtest. I get errors back less than 5 minutes into the test. When I stopped the test I already had 4 errors or so. I'm guessing the RAM is bad. Anyone know Frys return policy? I bought it November 2nd, have the receipt, and the memory has a lifetime warranty.

 

[thefumigator]

there's a chance that for some reason your ram is not properly configured.
Maybe its frequency is set too high or the latencys are too low.

 

[altazi]

If you have more than one stick of RAM, pull all but one and run memtest again. Cycle all of the memory sticks through the testing process.

FYI, when I do a build, I assemble the hardware, run memtest, update BIOS (as necessary), install OS & drivers, and finish with a 24hr+ run of Prime95 in various modes to verify that the system is stable. The torture tests create thermal stress on the components, and this also helps you evaluate your cooling implementation. Even though your system is already built, after you resolve your RAM problem, you might want to run some torture tests (Prime95, etc.)