Computer freeze and restart

[throwback24]

Hi all,

I created a new thread because my old one died (I incorrectly thought the problem was resolved). You can see my computer info and the steps I took at this link: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/364558-33-screen-artifacts-computer-restart

In short, my computer has been freezing, after which the monitor will go blank and the computer will restart. This occurs in a variety of situations, whether I'm playing a game (which seems to exacerbate the problem, although I may occasionally get 30 min of playing in) or just browsing the web.

After my computer most recently froze, it displayed a BSOD for the first time. I then ran the application WhoCrashed, which reads my computer's crash dump files. The most recent entry log is located in the spoiler (the timestamp listed is incorrect).

On Wed 8/15/2012 2:54:33 AM GMT your computer crashed
crash dump file: C:\Windows\Minidump\081412-33203-01.dmp
This was probably caused by the following module: dxgkrnl.sys (dxgkrnl+0x8D07B)
Bugcheck code: 0x116 (0xFFFFFFFF872DB008, 0xFFFFFFFF9033586E, 0x0, 0x2)
Error: VIDEO_TDR_ERROR
file path: C:\Windows\system32\drivers\dxgkrnl.sys
product: Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
company: Microsoft Corporation
description: DirectX Graphics Kernel
Bug check description: This indicates that an attempt to reset the display driver and recover from a timeout failed.
The crash took place in a standard Microsoft module. Your system configuration may be incorrect. Possibly this problem is caused by another driver on your system which cannot be identified at this time.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!

 

[undercovernerd6]

uninstall dx 9/10/ re install. That's direct x video software its distributed on most new games

 

[throwback24]

uninstall dx 9/10/ re install. That's direct x video software its distributed on most new games

I Googled "how to uninstall DirectX" and the majority of answers (including Microsoft) say that you can't since it's integrated with the OS.

Right now, I'm performing a full system scan with the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool. Once that finishes, I'm going to follow the steps outlined here: http://www.wikihow.com/Uninstall-Directx

Is there a better way to "uninstall" DirectX? And how do I go about reinstalling it, by using this program http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35 ?

Edit: Thank you for such a quick response!

 

[bryonhowley]

My best guess would be a bad graphics card. Do you have another card you could test your system with? From reading the first post up to now that is the best guess I can come up with.

 

[throwback24]

My best guess would be a bad graphics card. Do you have another card you could test your system with? From reading the first post up to now that is the best guess I can come up with.

Unfortunately, my funds are very limited at this time. Thanks for the suggestion, though; I'll try this out if I ever get the opportunity.

 

[Deemo13]

What are your full computer specifications?

 

[throwback24]

What are your full computer specifications?

I posted my specs in this thread: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/364558-33-screen-artifacts-computer-restart

Thanks for reading!

 

[suat]

Do you have a sufficient power supply in your system ? Can you check/read voltages, especially +12 V, out of your PSU ?

 

[Deemo13]

That 3870x2 is pretty old, yet it should work. What power supply are you using?

 

[throwback24]

Sorry, I'm headed out to work right now and I can't crack open my PC to look at the PSU at the moment. However, this problem also occurs when I'm just browsing the Internet or typing a document, not only when I'm playing a game - could an insufficient power supply still cause this issue?

 

[suat]

You do not need to open the case to measure output of PSU. There are standalone programs (freeware) that just do that. Besides you cannot measure voltages under load when you open the case if you do not have sophisticated instrumentation.

I will suggest you to increase idle-state core and memory clocks by about 40 percent that will reduce, if not totally eliminate, your gfx card issues.

Let me know the idle-state and power-state core and memory clocks of your gfx card and I will advise you your new idle-state clocks.

 

[throwback24]

You do not need to open the case to measure output of PSU. There are standalone programs (freeware) that just do that. Besides you cannot measure voltages under load when you open the case if you do not have sophisticated instrumentation.

I will suggest you to increase idle-state core and memory clocks by about 40 percent that will reduce, if not totally eliminate, your gfx card issues.

Let me know the idle-state and power-state core and memory clocks of your gfx card and I will advise you your new idle-state clocks.

IDLE-STATE:
Card 1
Core clock: 297.000MHz (original: 777 MHz)
Memory clock: 1125.000MHz (2250.000MHz effective)

Card 2
Core clock: 796.500MHz (original: 800 MHz)
Memory clock: 1170.000MHz (2340.000MHz effective)


POWER-STATE (running Diablo 3):
Card 1
Core clock: 776.250MHz (original: 777 MHz)
Memory clock: 1125.000MHz (2250.000MHz effective)

Card 2
Core clock: 796.500MHz (original: 800 MHz)
Memory clock: 1170.000MHz (2340.000MHz effective)


I tried Google searching for software that measure PSU output, but the general consensus that I've read is that you need a special device to do so. Can you recommend any programs?

 

[suat]

You can use OCCT to measure such parameters as voltage, temperature, etc. under load. http://www.ocbase.com/

You can also use Hardware Monitor. This program measures voltages along with other parameters, but you have to put your system under load if you wish to measure under-load voltages. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Please advise the results.

 

[throwback24]

You can use OCCT to measure such parameters as voltage, temperature, etc. under load. http://www.ocbase.com/

You can also use Hardware Monitor. This program measures voltages along with other parameters, but you have to put your system under load if you wish to measure under-load voltages. http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Please advise the results.

Using OCCT, voltage under load reads 1.33V; the max value for CPU temp is 57 Celsius. Did you have any comments regarding my last post with the core and memory clock info?

 

[suat]

I asked you to measure +12 V, not 1.33 V. So please re-run the OCCT and read the +12V under load.

You have two gfx cards and they run at different frequencies. I am a single-card user and I am not able to make a comment about your different clock speeds and about how to make them run at the same speeds.

 

[throwback24]

So it seems that the issue came from Crossfire. I removed one of the ATI Radeon 3870 cards from the motherboard, and the problem has not occurred since, even after multiple hour-long sessions of gaming (Saints Row 3 and Guild Wars 2).

One friend suggested that it could be a graphics driver issue, even though I was already updated to the most current one. He theorized that it could be some incompatibility with the OS and recommended that I try using an older driver released back before this problem came up.

Thank you to everyone for your help!