Help with mysterious crashes...

Okay, something of an update really. Since installing the OCZ XTC Memory Cooler (which looks really good btw) on Friday morning, I have not had any crashes. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean I won't get any, as they were so random, but so far, so good.

So, perhaps it was something to do with the memory heatsinks after all. The only thing I can't understand is if it was heat from the memory, why did it not crash when at full load? Maybe I should RMA them? They were only bought from here in July.
 
yeah i'd look ar rma'ing them, if they need extra cooling to be stable good be the heatsinks arn't seated/attached right.
 
Hmmm, seems I spoke too soon. Just had another reset this morning. Strange thing is it reset just as the system finished booting into Windows.

Yet again the restart was just as if I had pressed the reset switch on the case. No lock-up, no error message, just a clean restart. Now this has really got my thinking....

What is used most during boot, memory or CPU and which of these would be more likely to cause a clean restart?

Maybe it's just my PSU starting to show it's age, could a failing PSU cause these restarts?

Obviously I want to get this issue sorted out, but I also don't want to start replacing components that don't need replaced, so I appreciate any and all suggestions.
 
start by putting everything at default and then maybe disconnect things from the system that arn't needed to run it.

default voltages etc less stuff connected, should have less draw on the psu to help see if its a psu issue, check the voltage rails in bios make sure they dont look too silly, 12v=10.5 etc.

remove/run with different memory sticks in different slots, while still on default.
 
Cheers again for the tips. Voltage rails are virtually rock solid. I have been watching them whilst Priming and the lowest the +12v rail got to was 11.90. All other voltages are rock solid too. I just don't get it.

Maybe, just maybe it's Speedstep lowering the voltage too much, although checking Intel's spec sheet indicates that the SLACR needs between 0.85-1.5v, and mine drops to 1.15 when idle, so it's nowhere near their lowest value.

Gonna go for the default speed/voltage option and see how that goes. If that fixes it though, it could still be anything from CPU to voltage to PSU to memory troubles :rolleyes:

Oh the joys of PC issues. :D
 
Yeah, god only knows what the issue could be. I might even take the heatsink off again just to check the contact on the North/South Bridge chips, although surely they would be causing the crashes at load rather than idle?

I just don't know what to think, but I guess it really can't be anything other than a voltage issue or a PSU issue, given that full load is fine.

Time to fiddle around with the voltages a little more I think. Might even buy a PSU tester just to see if it picks anything up.
 
mp260767 said:
take it that the silence as a good sign ?? :D
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:D You would think so wouldn't you? But I am taking nothing for granted! It hasn't crashed since the last one I mentioned. But then again it is so random that it's hard to tell if it will go again or not.

The funny thing is though, since that all I did was to have a play with the overclock. I took it to 3.2, then 3.3 and did some benching. I didn't like the temps so I dropped it back to 3.0ghz at the previous voltages I was using and it's been rock solid ever since.:confused:

Maybe the CPU just needed a damn good roasting:p

Time will tell, but I will be sure to keep you posted...
 
could be drivers(probably creative crap) try uninstalling drivers and reinstalling again if you have no luck.
i used to get random bsod a lot(mainly when browsing)...reinstalling windows did the trick. im fairly sure it was the audigy2 drivers gone bad but i reinstalled anyway after the 6757657 crashes...which surely corrupted half my windows files.
 
Well, after what - more than a week without any issues, whallop! Off goes the PC a minute ago. Same as always, just as if I pressed the reset button.

I have to be honest, the sheer randomness of this has me completely stumped. It just does not lend itself to any form of troubleshooting.

Think I might buy a new PSU and see if that helps, but I hate the thought of handing over £60-90 just to see if it works.

Oh, in reply to memory - I have installed the only reliable Audigy driver that I know of. It took ages to find a decent one with my old install, so I have stuck to that ever since and it always worked well.
 
Okay, another bit of an update. The crashes began recently becoming more and more frequent, and in fact started happening both in game and at the desktop.

So, I was playing Half Life 2 Episode Two today and it crashed 3 times within an hour. Off I go into the bios and I dialled the CPU back to stock 2.4ghz and it has been flawless since.

Again, can't say it's cured due to the randomness of the crashing previously, but it seems ok for now.

Which leads me to my next question....why is the overclock causing this issue?

Could it be a poor clocker? (possibility for sure but it will Prime all day at 3ghz)

Could it be too little voltage? (not tried any more than 1.35)

or

Could it maybe be my PSU is just at it's limit and the overclock is tipping the scales? (find this strange though as it crashes at the desktop sometimes)

I truly am stumped. My gut feeling is that the PSU is just about it's limit and that's the problem. But I hate the thought of paying £90 or so for something that might not fix the problem. Decisions, decisions....
 
if it wasnt for the fact the problem seems to be so random and irregular i would have said it sounds like it could be the psu on the way out.

when u say back to stock is it just the speed or voltages as well ?
 
mp260767 said:
if it wasnt for the fact the problem seems to be so random and irregular i would have said it sounds like it could be the psu on the way out.

when u say back to stock is it just the speed or voltages as well ?
Click to expand...

I know mate, likewise, it's a really weird one.

Yes, everything is back to stock, all voltages too, although I had never increased anything else by very much, + or - 1 point was about it.
 
I had similar symptoms recently, just been through a torrid time with my laptop, would randomly lock-up sometimes, or blue screen, or restart...
Sometimes it'd be fine for days, other times it'd do it a few times a night. Seemed to do it mostly when I listened to music or was watching videos and opening lots of internet tabs (Youtube being the main killer).

In the end it turned out that the CPU was faulty, despite being able to run prime on both cores for hours. Only managed to test it when I got another motherboard which takes mobile CPU's and another Yonah... I reckon it had one core that could be a bit rubbish at times. :confused:

Could it be a similar thing happening with you?
 
Diggsy said:
To be honest with you I haven't ran it long enough at default to know! :D
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You IMO *really* cannot troubleshoot instability while not having a known stable non-overclocked baseline... Run everything at stock and see if you have any crashes. If it doesn't crash at stock, then well, it's pretty obvious where the problem's coming from isn't it?
 
ByteJuggler said:
You IMO *really* cannot troubleshoot instability while not having a known stable non-overclocked baseline... Run everything at stock and see if you have any crashes. If it doesn't crash at stock, then well, it's pretty obvious where the problem's coming from isn't it?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I see your point, it was just the fact that it was crashing at idle most of the time, and given I use Speedstep, it was actually clocked less than default (2ghz), that's why I found it really weird.

I still think it might be the PSU at or near it's limit, but I am running stock and will do until it does (or even better doesn't:p) crash again!
 
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