Motherboard or PSU issue?

3

3ogdy

New Member
Hi there everyone, I'm new to these forums and I am desperately looking for a solution to my problem...I'm neither an expert in computers nor a newbie...
Here it goes:
Motherboard: Crosshair III Formula - latest BIOS.
PhenomII X4 965 stock clocks,
16GB RAM HyperX running at 1600MHz,
3HDDs 2xIDE , 1xSATA,
630W NOX SLI-Certified PSU,
Radeon HD6950 2GB(Sapphire dual fan).
Everything was working just fine until some week ago..when I started Pinnacle and my system froze(Windows 7 Ultimate X64). I thought it would be the software but I even formatted and it still doesn't work. I have both XP X64 and 7 X64 and both freeze randomly now. Sometimes, when I open files or documents and stuff...they don't open immediately and the HDDs sometimes make that "start-up sound - no strange sounds but the typical start-up sound of an HDD". RAM&GPU are new.
I checked out every single connection and even replaceD the HDD cables(2 IDE drives and 1 SATA), but to no avail.
I reset the BIOS settings - there was no OC applied on the system.
Everything was working fine until it started freezing up on me. I had the system overclocked for a while and it started giving BSODs so I just kept everything stock and it worked like a charm. I have a passively cooled 8600GT(does not require PCIEx cables) and used it to see if there was a problem with the video driver or the Radeon GPU - no luck.
I disconnected most things and left only the basics connected - no luck either - the system still freezes. There are no overheating issues - I checked that. I ran memtest for various hours, ran HDD Regenerator on every single drive I have(took about 3,5 hours to complete but I did let it perform and finish to see if there's any problem with my HDDs), I ran processor stress tests for some hours - no error.
Everything was done with a non-overclocked system.
At first it was happening only when I fired up Pinnacle Studio 14/15...I formatted and installed the original driver the GPU came with - no success. I formatted again and installed the latest GPU driver downloaded from AMD & Sapphire(formatted before each driver installation)...the problem is still there.
I've tried lowering my CPU clock from 3.4GHz(stock) to 3.0GHz - no luck.
I have two computers (the second one is a Pentium Dual Core, 2GB DDR2,8600GT,1HDD...very basic) with two identical 630W NOX PSUs so I took the PSU from my Pentium PC and connected it to my AMD...the problem persists( I thought it could've been a PSU wear problem).
Again, the temperatures are by no means high - I keep my PC case open(side panels removed), the fans are all clean, and heatsinks are all copper-based.(Scythe Katana III for the CPU, HyperX RAM features heatsinks, GPU is the Dual Fan version with copper based heatsink from Sapphire so cooling isn't a problem here - temperatures were normal - got 60º once after gaming GTA IV with the PC overclocked to 3.6GHz and RAM running at the recommended speed of 1600MHz - had no issues)
I tried removing all but one DIMM(4GB DDR3 1600MHz / 1333MHz - tested with both freqs) - same problem.
I disconnected some HDDs - that didn't solve the issue either.
What is the next step that I can do to identify the component that isn't working in my PC?
RAM & GPU are really new - a few months old and have never been overclocked.
I disconnected USB devices from my PC. I received BSODs related to the following (I use BluescreenView)
22th of April: NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM /
25th: SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION(C1) /
26th: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION(3B) /
27th: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL /
30th: UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP(7F) /
3rd of May: APC_INDEX_MISMATCH /
4th : DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL(D1)...
Strangely enough - after seeing Pinnacle freezing my whole PC...I used Sony Vegas 11 and everything was fine in terms of video editing.
I have various video editing software on my PC and Pinnacle is the only one that causes this - I suspected the Pinnacle driver to be the culprit - but it used to work just fine some time ago with the exact same configuration.Now my PC freezes randomly - start Mozilla and it may freeze(or not, like now), fire up Chrome and the same thing can happen....play a song and it may freeze while making an awful sound.
After the computer freezes - if I reset it(by pressing the reset button on the case) it may not send an image to my display. I would have to reset it again and again and again...and it still wouldn't show anything on my display. Then, if I take out the power cord from my power supply ..wait for the energy to leak(about 5 sec) and reconnect it back...everything works fine in terms of image output.
NOW: I fired up Event Viewer in Win7 and:
The following list is there(for the 5th of May - that's today):
Error - Service Control Manager - The AODDriver4.01 service failed to start due to the following error:
The system cannot find the path specified. The following boot-start or system-start driver(s) failed to load:
cdrom
I should say I have NO optical drives connected to my PC - I use an external DVD-RW (usb-based) (my optical drives are all IDE and since I am already using two IDE drives - there is only one IDE connector on the motherboard)
Critical - Kernel Power The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
Critical - Kernel EventTracing - Session "Microsoft-Windows-Setup" stopped due to the following
Error - Audit events have been dropped by the transport. 0 error: 0xC000000D

I am exhaustingly looking for a solution to this issue as I spent a lot of money on my computer and I really need it to work. If there are ANY suggestions you can think of, PLEASE feel free to give me a hand.
I went to computer shops - a guy told me they DON'T deal with problems like that(yeah, I was shocked to hear that while I was inside a COMPUTER shop). Another guy told me to replace my IDE cables - I did it and the problem persists.
I discard any RAM or GPU issue as they are really new and have never been overclocked - the GPU is the newest hardware in my computer - the last one I needed in order to be able to use the computer.
Processors should first fail stress tests in order for someone to suspect there's an issue with them.
I don't know how to check my motherboard to see if there are issues with it.
Every single control LED on it is green which means everything is fine - I get no beeps either.
 
How long did you let memtest run? Have you tried performing a system restore back to a day when everything was working fine? Do you remember if any windows updates were installed prior to things going bad on you?
 
johnb35 said:
How long did you let memtest run? Have you tried performing a system restore back to a day when everything was working fine? Do you remember if any windows updates were installed prior to things going bad on you?
Click to expand...

I let memtest run for a few hours.
I don't usually use System Restore - if there is a problem with my PC that I really cannot solve without formatting...I just format the Windows partition(not with the Quick Format option) and reinstall Windows - I don't do this too often , though...since I don't have to.
I should also mention that I was using Kaspersky Internet Security 2012 and it was up to date. I also use Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware - up to date too.
No infections were detected.
I don't use Windows Updates - I tried updating Windows completely with every single update available and see if the problem was solved - it seems it didn't help.
So, no Windows updates were installed before things started going bad.
We're talking about XP SP2 X64 and 7 build 7600.
Strange enough...I usually spend my time in 7...and when I found out I have a problem with my computer, I tried booting into XP...and the computer still froze...without having modified anything in XP...as I hadn't been using it too much.
 
I need you to use bluesceenview in a different way so that it provides a report to me. Follow instructions carefully so you get the right output.

Download BlueScreenView
No installation required.
Unzip downloaded file and double click on BlueScreenView.exe file to run the program.
When scanning is done, go Edit>Select All.
Go File>Save Selected Items, and save the report as BSOD.txt.
Open BSOD.txt in Notepad, copy all content, and paste it into your next reply.
 
johnb35 said:
I need you to use bluesceenview in a different way so that it provides a report to me. Follow instructions carefully so you get the right output.

Download BlueScreenView
No installation required.
Unzip downloaded file and double click on BlueScreenView.exe file to run the program.
When scanning is done, go Edit>Select All.
Go File>Save Selected Items, and save the report as BSOD.txt.
Open BSOD.txt in Notepad, copy all content, and paste it into your next reply.
Click to expand...

Thank you a lot for replying to my post...I think this is what you asked for:
==================================================
Dump File : 050412-57236-01.dmp
Crash Time : 5/4/2012 1:00:35 PM
Bug Check String : DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
Bug Check Code : 0x000000d1
Parameter 1 : fffff880`02ff77bd
Parameter 2 : 00000000`00000002
Parameter 3 : 00000000`00000001
Parameter 4 : fffff880`011961e6
Caused By Driver : rdyboost.sys
Caused By Address : rdyboost.sys+a1e6
File Description :
Product Name :
Company :
File Version :
Processor : x64
Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\050412-57236-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 275,912
==================================================

==================================================
Dump File : 050312-64787-01.dmp
Crash Time : 5/3/2012 9:41:50 PM
Bug Check String : APC_INDEX_MISMATCH
Bug Check Code : 0x00000001
Parameter 1 : 000007fe`fe0a184a
Parameter 2 : 00000000`00000000
Parameter 3 : 00000000`ffff0000
Parameter 4 : fffff880`03ca4ca0
Caused By Driver : ntoskrnl.exe
Caused By Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
File Description : NT Kernel & System
Product Name : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company : Microsoft Corporation
File Version : 6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Processor : x64
Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\050312-64787-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 275,856
==================================================

==================================================
Dump File : 043012-63008-01.dmp
Crash Time : 4/30/2012 10:02:29 AM
Bug Check String : UNEXPECTED_KERNEL_MODE_TRAP
Bug Check Code : 0x0000007f
Parameter 1 : 00000000`00000008
Parameter 2 : 00000000`80050031
Parameter 3 : 00000000`000006f8
Parameter 4 : fffff800`02ceec34
Caused By Driver : ntoskrnl.exe
Caused By Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
File Description : NT Kernel & System
Product Name : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company : Microsoft Corporation
File Version : 6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Processor : x64
Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\043012-63008-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 271,784
==================================================

==================================================
Dump File : 042712-74412-01.dmp
Crash Time : 4/27/2012 9:02:27 AM
Bug Check String : IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
Bug Check Code : 0x0000000a
Parameter 1 : 00000000`00000028
Parameter 2 : 00000000`00000002
Parameter 3 : 00000000`00000000
Parameter 4 : fffff800`02d09090
Caused By Driver : ntoskrnl.exe
Caused By Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
File Description : NT Kernel & System
Product Name : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company : Microsoft Corporation
File Version : 6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Processor : x64
Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\042712-74412-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 271,840
==================================================

==================================================
Dump File : 042612-24757-01.dmp
Crash Time : 4/26/2012 9:59:13 PM
Bug Check String : SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION
Bug Check Code : 0x0000003b
Parameter 1 : 00000000`c0000005
Parameter 2 : fffff800`02cdbbb0
Parameter 3 : fffff880`08298f90
Parameter 4 : 00000000`00000000
Caused By Driver :
Caused By Address :
File Description :
Product Name :
Company :
File Version :
Processor : x64
Crash Address :
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\042612-24757-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 262,144
==================================================

==================================================
Dump File : 042512-25771-01.dmp
Crash Time : 4/25/2012 2:02:06 AM
Bug Check String : SPECIAL_POOL_DETECTED_MEMORY_CORRUPTION
Bug Check Code : 0x000000c1
Parameter 1 : fffff980`1d37ac10
Parameter 2 : fffff980`1d37a696
Parameter 3 : 00000000`00e103e8
Parameter 4 : 00000000`00000032
Caused By Driver : ntoskrnl.exe
Caused By Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
File Description : NT Kernel & System
Product Name : Microsoft® Windows® Operating System
Company : Microsoft Corporation
File Version : 6.1.7600.16385 (win7_rtm.090713-1255)
Processor : x64
Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\042512-25771-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 275,968
==================================================

==================================================
Dump File : 042212-35334-01.dmp
Crash Time : 4/22/2012 1:22:45 PM
Bug Check String : NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
Bug Check Code : 0x00000024
Parameter 1 : 00000000`001904fb
Parameter 2 : fffff880`0a4a96b8
Parameter 3 : fffff880`0a4a8f10
Parameter 4 : fffff800`02a471de
Caused By Driver : Ntfs.sys
Caused By Address : Ntfs.sys+213d8
File Description :
Product Name :
Company :
File Version :
Processor : x64
Crash Address : ntoskrnl.exe+71f00
Stack Address 1 :
Stack Address 2 :
Stack Address 3 :
Computer Name :
Full Path : C:\Windows\Minidump\042212-35334-01.dmp
Processors Count : 4
Major Version : 15
Minor Version : 7600
Dump File Size : 275,968
==================================================
 
Are all the drivers up to date? The last one was caused by readyboost. Are you using readyboost? What I would really like for you to do would be to zip up your minidump files and attach them to your next post.
 
johnb35 said:
Are all the drivers up to date? The last one was caused by readyboost. Are you using readyboost? What I would really like for you to do would be to zip up your minidump files and attach them to your next post.
Click to expand...

1: My drivers are the original ones that came on the motherboard CD - the ones that worked flawlessly until now.
2: I do not use readyboost - there were no memory sticks or memory cards connected tomy computer when everything happened either.
Files from my C:\Windows\Minidump are:

I will make a 2nd post with the rest of the files because it seems I cannot post them all - they take up more than I'm allowed to post in one file.
 

Attachments

johnb35 said:
Are all the drivers up to date? The last one was caused by readyboost. Are you using readyboost? What I would really like for you to do would be to zip up your minidump files and attach them to your next post.
Click to expand...

I cannot post the last 3 minidump files because I'm not allowed to post more than 96kb or something like that...and they take up more than that(148kb, to be exact)
 
A couple of the dumps are coming up with memory corruption. You may want to try some totally different memory to see what happens. It could also be the memory slots are bad somehow. Have you had any power surges or outages since the issue started happening? You said you used the drivers from the motherboard cd. The problem with that they are most likely out of date, I would start by updating all the main drivers such as

Chipset
sound
video
lan
wireless if you have it.

Also what bios revision is installed? There are a couple bios updates that help with system stability.

If updating drivers and bios don't solve it then I assume you have a faulty motherboard.
 
johnb35 said:
A couple of the dumps are coming up with memory corruption. You may want to try some totally different memory to see what happens. It could also be the memory slots are bad somehow. Have you had any power surges or outages since the issue started happening? You said you used the drivers from the motherboard cd. The problem with that they are most likely out of date, I would start by updating all the main drivers such as

Chipset
sound
video
lan
wireless if you have it.

Also what bios revision is installed? There are a couple bios updates that help with system stability.

If updating drivers and bios don't solve it then I assume you have a faulty motherboard.
Click to expand...

My BIOS version is 2003 - the latest one. I don't remember facing any power related problems since this issue started happening.
I will try to format my windows partition and install the latest drivers available (I'll get the GPU drivers from the Sapphire official webpage).
I will download the latest drivers for 7 X64 from ASUS' official webpage too... and see if that solves the issue. I am currently downloading the drivers - I'll try to see what installing the latest GPU drivers does - I remember getting BSODs related to an ATI driver (ati.... .sys) but it seems that BSOD isn't is not recorded because I was told to completely clean the list in even viewer in order to easily spot new issues.
If after installing the ATi drivers there are any issues with them or any BSODs I will try to post some data here.
I think I will take care of what you said ...the BIOS is up to date, now drivers will get updated too. If the issue persists, I'll format and see if the problem's gone after installing the latest drivers on a freshly formatted computer.
Do you think I should try installing everything with only 1 memory stick inserted into the motherboard? It will run at 1333MHz and not 1600Mhz because ASUS specifies 1600Mhz as being supported through overclocking - that's the last thing you need when you're looking to solve an issue.
Thanks again for everything and I will make sure I come back with the results ..even if they're good results or bad results...let's hope for the best.
By the way...if I had to buy a new motherboard, what mobo would you recommend me to go with?
I may spend about $180 on a new motherboard if that would be my only issue...I really need to be sure that's the only problem because nobody wants to spend a load of money on something they don't need and even more - not solve the issue.I will send an image with some data realted to the RAM to you email ..because once again ...the file size is too big to upload here.
 
If you reformat windows, make sure you do the full format, not quick format as that will check the hard drive for bad sectors as well. As far as the other questions you asked, i'll have to get back to you on that. Getting ready to leave.
 
They're the kind of BSODs I was getting when my RAM timings weren't right. You might have to look around to try find out what timings you should be running as I'm no memory expert.
 
Perkomate said:
They're the kind of BSODs I was getting when my RAM timings weren't right. You might have to look around to try find out what timings you should be running as I'm no memory expert.
Click to expand...

It can be either the RAM or the motherboard. I tried installing Windows 7 and every single software I was using with only 1x4GB DDR3 module and even Pinnacle worked like a charm (quite surprising).
I shut down the computer and insert the rest of my memory modules(3 more) in order to reach the total of 16GB of RAM. I boot into 7 X64, launch some programs and my display image is gone ..or better said completely distorted and the awful sound that used to come out of my speakers back when I last had the problem is now back....considering the only change that I made to my system was adding the rest of the RAM ..there's either a problem with my HyperX memory or a problem with a motherboard DIMM slot.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top