Puzzled by BSOD, crashes

allworldpc said:
Still crashing, and I'm still puzzled. I removed the fax modem and TV tuner cards with no improvement. Trying one memory stick at a time and switching slots was no help. Then I started removing USB devices. There are 6 USB ports on the motherboard and all were used: printer, speaker power, serial adapter, wireless keyboard/mouse combo, and Media Center remote control. I kept removing items with no improvement at all until I only had the speakers and keyboard/mouse. I unplugged the speakers and there was a huge improvement. I played Oblivion for about an hour and a half with no problems. I reattached the speakers and played for another 45 minute to an hour before it crashed. Now I'm really confused. Is it the USB ports on the mobo? Is it something with the audio? The audio drivers are up to date. ?????????????
Click to expand...

That is an incredibly strange problem. I'm assuming they are the USB powered speakers that so comonly come with OEM PCs these days. Try the speakers on another PC entirely, then try with the USB plugged into one and sound on the other, and vice versa. And try a different set of speakers entirely or just headphones. Eventually you should come to some conclusion about something. :D
 
Hazard, I understand what you're saying. Sometimes when you buy a cheap, mass-produced PC you run into problems. However, I did my research before I bought this and found no evidence of any widespread problems with this model. If thousands of other people are running the exact same setup without problems, you can't blame that for one computer screwing up. Also, installing a different video card didn't improve the problem.
I also experienced a crash with the speakers completely disconnected and the system volume muted, so can't blame it entirely on the sound. I'm now trying to find another crash trigger so that I can try disconnecting the DVD drive. After that, all that I will not have disconnected or switched out is the HDD, mobo, and CPU. Then I'll be asking for a new computer.
 
Last edited:
So, I've run the computer with only:

1. HDD which has been error scanned but not replaced
2. Video card which has been switched out with no luck
3. RAM which has been tested one stick at a time
4. CPU
5. DVD drive: the only thing that reliably causes crash is game which requires disc
6. Power supply has been replaced
7. Wireless keyboard/mouse
8. Motherboard

With just this setup the computer still BSOD's. The system has been wiped and OS upgraded from XP to Vista (i.e. all new drivers, no additional software installed). Is it time to demand a new machine (it's under warranty)?
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top