Computer problems, what to do?

zAndy1

zAndy1

zAndy1

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Joined
1 Jan 2004
Posts
412
Hi,
I built a PC last year, the main components are a Biostar TP45 motherboard, Intel E7400 CPU, 4GB RAM (can't remember the exact make). In the last few weeks it's started crashing and getting BSODs quite a lot, they are mainly SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION or it fails to recognise the HDD and won't boot up saying 'Disk Read Error'. What tends to happen if I do mange to get it started is I'll go into internet explorer and a few minutes later the PC will freeze, IE will go to 'not responding' and then it will BSOD with the SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION error.
The PC has always seemed to suffer from intermittent startup problems whereby sometimes it simply wouldn't boot up but eventually it would start and be ok after that. Recently though it's getting unusable as it's always crashing or failing to start with the 'Disk Read Error' problem. Tonight I haven't managed to get it started and the HDD isn't appearing in the BIOS. So my question is, what would you do to try and resolve it? Should I just get a new HDD and see if that works and reinstall Windows 7 from scratch (not ideal really). Tempted to get a new motherboard / CPU and HDD to be honest as like I said it's always been tempremental , what's the best bang for buck motherboard / CPU combination at the moment (something comparable or better than an E7400)?
Any advice much appreciated

Cheers
Andy
 
And this morning (as usually happens to be fair) it started ok first time! It's when it crashes that it tends not to start again for ages and usually needs leaving overnight until it will start again.
 
It sounds like it may be worth trying it with a new HDD, but before you get to that I would suggest doing a couple of things.

First, remove 1 of the RAM sticks (assuming you are running 2x2GB) and see how the system fares (does it boot up OK and do you get any BSODs during use), then swap the sticks and check for the same things. If one works fine and the other gives you the old problems or does not work at all - then you are looking at a RAM problem. To resolve this you will need to RMA the RAM and you will get a replacement kit.

Out of interest, what are the specs of the RAM (this should be printed on the modules themselves or on the packaging they came in) and what is the model name/number of the kit? You should check that you are running the RAM at the specified speed, as the motherboard defaults are often not sufficient.

After you have tested the RAM, it may be worth running a stress test on your system. OCCT is easy to use and gives you a good idea if your system is stable or not.
 
I wouldn't just go out buying new components when you don't know the underlaying problem is.. You need to test the HDDs before anything. Visit the HDDs manufacturers website for a disk diagnostics tool. All of them have one. These are normally .ISOs for bootable disk or you could try HD TUNE if windows is stable enough. If it isn't possible to test the drive, then see if you can plop the drive into another machine and run the test from there. Also, try running a CHKDSK.

Once you have verified the hard drives are ok, then the process of elimination can move on.


EDIT - then as cmndr_andi suggests above :)
 
Have you set the RAM voltage, timings and speed manually in the BIOS?

It is also worth try each RAM stick on its own, in different RAM slots - to eliminate the possibility of a duff slot.
 
Right, ran the Samsung HUTIL HDD check and it came up with no errors, ran Memtest 86+ and it came up with no errors. Yes I have made changes in the BIOS so going to put them back to normal and see how it goes. I suspect I'll get another crash within the next 24 hrs :(
Bloody frustrating when it gets to this point trying to work out what's to blame isn't it!

One thing that might be worth mentioning, I've always had problems with this PC when it comes to shutting it down and restarting it again. If I shut it down invariably it won't start unless it's left for quite a while (usually overnight). When it starts ok the fan spins at high speed for probably 2 or 3 seconds then slows down and the system posts but when I get this problem the fan spins at an audibly lower speed for about a second and then slows down and nothing happens i.e. it doesn't post (nothing on the monitor). Also I've just flashed the latest bios and after it did that it was supposed to restart but it's now sat in limbo not starting (I'm writing this from my laptop). If I leave it overnight I'm confident it will start ok. I'm getting more and more convinced I've got (and probably always have had) a dodgy motherboard.
 
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As expected it started first time this morning. I've applied a bit of an overclock, FSB 315 so with the 10.5 multiplier about 3.3 Ghz, RAM voltage is at 2.1V but it does seem to be running a bit slow at a DRAM frequency of 473.5Mhz when should ideally be 533Mhz but not sure how to improve that really (ratio is 2:3). Let's see how it behaves now....
 
I'll put the BIOS settings back to default and leave it like that for a while. The PSU is this one:-

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-031-OC

Would have thought it was powerful enough but possible it could be faulty I suppose (although proving that might be difficult!). If HUTIL didn't find any errors with the HDD can I categorically rule that out as the problem? Same with Memtest and the RAM can I rule that out as well? If it comes down to it I don't mind replacing something if it sorts the problem out, just working out what to replace first that's the problem...
Anyway I'll see how things go or if I can get any other clues somehow, thanks for the advice so far folks
 
Powerful enough yes but it might be faulty. As you correctly say, the more items you eliminate, then the easier it is to narrow the problem down to a specific item.
 
Yeah, I'm just not sure how I'm going to determine whether it's the PSU or the motherboard (if indeed it is one of those). I've got a hardware monitor installed and the voltages look ok on there. I guess both items should still be under warranty but I'd need to prove they're faulty to RMA them :(
 
HardwareMonitor.jpg


Can't see anything particularly worrying there...
 
UnderStress.jpg


After 5 mins of Prime95 (ok not long). Doesn't seem to be any chance really, apart from the CPU temp obviously (not very clear but it's 52C).
 
Spoke too soon, started ok this morning but within 2 minutes it froze, everything showed not responding and then it went to a black screen, rebooted and got 'Secondary Master Hard Disk Error' on posting. Rebooted again and started ok. Bloody frustrating!!
 
Disconnect non essential devices such as extra hard drives, opticals etc.. and try the system without them.. Then add them back in one at a time until the problem re-occurs.

I notice from the screen shots you are still running an overclocked system? Is this right?
 
No, not overclocked now. I've disconnected my external USB HDD and gonna see how it goes , been ok tonight so far (but then I said that last night!)...
 
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