- Mar 9, 2013
- 2
- 0
- 10,510
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Windows 7 64bit
ANTEC 300
ASUS M5A88-V EVO
AMD 1090t x6 Black Edition
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB)
1x MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr II
COOLER MASTER 850w PSU (unsure of model, will update when I'm home)
1x 64GB Intel SSD (unsure of model, will update when I'm home)
1x 1TB Western Digital HDD (unsure of model, will update when I'm home)
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Hello All,
First post. Sorry for the length, just wanted to include details. Thanks in advance for any help.
Before I start, please note that I have updated my BIOS to the latest and reverted to defaults.
I built my computer late 2011, and it was working fantastic up until about October of 2012. It started acting strangely around that time.
It will either freeze or power-off completely. This happens on the desktop, when I'm browsing the internet, gaming. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, it will freeze or crash. I will leave my computer on overnight and it will be frozen on the desktop the next morning. Always, I get a Critical Kernel-Power error in my Windows Event Log.
At first I was in complete denial that it could be my hardware because, well I just didn't want to believe it. I really truly thought that it was just my OS that got corrupted or something. So I backed up, reformatted, and the same thing was happening. Either a freeze or a power-off crash. Always with Critical Kernel-Power error in the Windows Event Log.
So OS is not the problem. I then really truly thought that it must be the hard drive if anything. At the time, I was only using the 1TB Western Digital HDD. So I got a small SSD (64GB Intel SSD). I unplugged both SATA connections to the HDD, installed the OS again. Eventually, the system froze again while I was installing a game.
So the hard drives are not the problem. I then was certain that memory had to be the issue. I took out all memory except (1) DIMM, tested with memtest86+ for about 30 hours. No problems with that piece of memory. I booted my system to the OS and watched a little Youtube, and the system crashed. Not while watching a video, but while browsing for a video to watch.
Additional memory testing I have done since includes booting to a Linux OS and running 'memtester' and utilizing my full memory. I then looked for memory errors in the /var/log/messages and /var/log/mcelog files. None there. I also used a tool which I found online called OCCT and did some LINPACK testing, which also did not report any errors. Both LINPACK and memtester ran flawlessly with no crashes. So I feel that I can put memory aside now.
With the LINPACK testing, I also got a good idea that the CPU is not the issue. The LINPACK test utilized all 6 cores to 100%, and the system was very stable. Let me also note that through all of this testing, I was monitoring my temperature and my CPU did not pushed a max of 47 degrees C. I have an aftermarket Cooler Master heatsink & fan which keeps my CPU nice and frosty cool.
I thought it could be my power supply. I work at a place that builds and distributes super computers, so I took my system in to do some testing there. They had a power supply tester, and my power supply was showing all of the proper numbers in the proper places. I ran a GPU stress tester called Fur Mark and that OCCT program pretty much all throughout the day, and my system did not crash once in the 8 hours. I then thought, "Huh, maybe its the power at my house."
So I got a little voltage meter thing from work, took it home. I plugged my computer into it, and plugged it into the wall. It read 120V just as expected. My refrigerator in the garage turned on, and it read 117V. I then thought, if it is a power issue, I should be able to force it to crash by lowering the amount of power on the circuit. So I turned on a space heater which brought it down to 114V, and my vaccuum cleaner which brought it down to 110V, and the system would not crash. So my power at home I think is okay. Just in case though, I went out and bought a small UPS.
The system still crashes when plugged into the UPS Battery portion, so I know that power is not the issue. At least not the power from my house.
The last thing I wanted to believe it was was my GPU, because it is my most expensive component. But I tested it anyway. I removed my GPU, and used on-board video. The system crashed.
So I have tested the PSU, CPU, GPU, RAM, Storage Drives, and my home power.
Can I safely say that it is the motherboard? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can 100% be certain of which component is failing?
Also I found this article which has possible causes for the Critical Kernel-Power error:
http://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help-support/104790-possible-causes-kernel-power-critical-errors.html
I tried all, but no success.
I'm really struggling here guys. These or freezes crashes do not have a pattern. They don't happen when I'm playing a particular game or running a particular application. It happens whenever it wants.
Be my hero!
--
JocAseE
Windows 7 64bit
ANTEC 300
ASUS M5A88-V EVO
AMD 1090t x6 Black Edition
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB)
1x MSI GTX 560 TI Twin Frozr II
COOLER MASTER 850w PSU (unsure of model, will update when I'm home)
1x 64GB Intel SSD (unsure of model, will update when I'm home)
1x 1TB Western Digital HDD (unsure of model, will update when I'm home)
---
Hello All,
First post. Sorry for the length, just wanted to include details. Thanks in advance for any help.
Before I start, please note that I have updated my BIOS to the latest and reverted to defaults.
I built my computer late 2011, and it was working fantastic up until about October of 2012. It started acting strangely around that time.
It will either freeze or power-off completely. This happens on the desktop, when I'm browsing the internet, gaming. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, it will freeze or crash. I will leave my computer on overnight and it will be frozen on the desktop the next morning. Always, I get a Critical Kernel-Power error in my Windows Event Log.
At first I was in complete denial that it could be my hardware because, well I just didn't want to believe it. I really truly thought that it was just my OS that got corrupted or something. So I backed up, reformatted, and the same thing was happening. Either a freeze or a power-off crash. Always with Critical Kernel-Power error in the Windows Event Log.
So OS is not the problem. I then really truly thought that it must be the hard drive if anything. At the time, I was only using the 1TB Western Digital HDD. So I got a small SSD (64GB Intel SSD). I unplugged both SATA connections to the HDD, installed the OS again. Eventually, the system froze again while I was installing a game.
So the hard drives are not the problem. I then was certain that memory had to be the issue. I took out all memory except (1) DIMM, tested with memtest86+ for about 30 hours. No problems with that piece of memory. I booted my system to the OS and watched a little Youtube, and the system crashed. Not while watching a video, but while browsing for a video to watch.
Additional memory testing I have done since includes booting to a Linux OS and running 'memtester' and utilizing my full memory. I then looked for memory errors in the /var/log/messages and /var/log/mcelog files. None there. I also used a tool which I found online called OCCT and did some LINPACK testing, which also did not report any errors. Both LINPACK and memtester ran flawlessly with no crashes. So I feel that I can put memory aside now.
With the LINPACK testing, I also got a good idea that the CPU is not the issue. The LINPACK test utilized all 6 cores to 100%, and the system was very stable. Let me also note that through all of this testing, I was monitoring my temperature and my CPU did not pushed a max of 47 degrees C. I have an aftermarket Cooler Master heatsink & fan which keeps my CPU nice and frosty cool.
I thought it could be my power supply. I work at a place that builds and distributes super computers, so I took my system in to do some testing there. They had a power supply tester, and my power supply was showing all of the proper numbers in the proper places. I ran a GPU stress tester called Fur Mark and that OCCT program pretty much all throughout the day, and my system did not crash once in the 8 hours. I then thought, "Huh, maybe its the power at my house."
So I got a little voltage meter thing from work, took it home. I plugged my computer into it, and plugged it into the wall. It read 120V just as expected. My refrigerator in the garage turned on, and it read 117V. I then thought, if it is a power issue, I should be able to force it to crash by lowering the amount of power on the circuit. So I turned on a space heater which brought it down to 114V, and my vaccuum cleaner which brought it down to 110V, and the system would not crash. So my power at home I think is okay. Just in case though, I went out and bought a small UPS.
The system still crashes when plugged into the UPS Battery portion, so I know that power is not the issue. At least not the power from my house.
The last thing I wanted to believe it was was my GPU, because it is my most expensive component. But I tested it anyway. I removed my GPU, and used on-board video. The system crashed.
So I have tested the PSU, CPU, GPU, RAM, Storage Drives, and my home power.
Can I safely say that it is the motherboard? Or does anyone have any suggestions as to how I can 100% be certain of which component is failing?
Also I found this article which has possible causes for the Critical Kernel-Power error:
http://www.sevenforums.com/bsod-help-support/104790-possible-causes-kernel-power-critical-errors.html
I tried all, but no success.
I'm really struggling here guys. These or freezes crashes do not have a pattern. They don't happen when I'm playing a particular game or running a particular application. It happens whenever it wants.
Be my hero!
--
JocAseE
I will say this about the power supply... just because it reads the correct voltage when being tested with a voltmeter, does not necessarily mean it is not the problem. In fact, that (or memory) would have been one of my first thoughts from your description of the issue.
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