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Computer randomly crashes

M

Mehta23

Android Expert
Sometimes, just during normal use, my computer will crash and show a black screen. The sound goes and i can just hear a low pitched sound from the speakers.

It's happened in Chrome when I switched tabs and during a mission on GTA.

Any idea what could be the source of the problem?
 
Starting point: What OS? Windows 7? 8? XP? Linux?

If windows, why are you using windows?! :P

Joking.

Regardless, OS please, and any changes that have been made to the computer recently. Hardware, software, etc. :)
 
Windows 7 64bit (I may make the move to dual boot Linux and win 7 if i get an ssd)

No major changes to anything, but a 'new' replacement graphics card.
 
Okay, so windows 7 64bit. Have you updated anything recently? New hardware? Has this all worked before previously without any issues?
 
Ah you ninja'd that edit as I was posting ;)

Okay, is it the same model gfx card? Do you have the appropriate drivers for your OS?
 
Okay, why did you replace the card in the first place? What happened to it? Were you getting these problems before? (Sorry. Probing questions. Can you tell I've done tech support for a living?)
 
Yeah, you seem to have all the questions.

RMA'd my last card cos it kept whining/squealing, especially during folding. (interestingly, when Scan tested it, they found it to be overheating)

Got the new card and it still whines when Folding, but scan support just said it's becuase its under high stress.

That's about all.
 
Mehta23 said:
Windows 7 64bit (I may make the move to dual boot Linux and win 7 if i get an ssd)
Click to expand...
Why are you waiting until if/when you get an SSD? :confused: (Kindly note that I don't do windows. I have zero idea if your issue, or your perceived issue, has to do with windows or Linux or the combination of the two on the same drive or...what?)

No major changes to anything, but a 'new' replacement graphics card.
Click to expand...
Funny, but graphics card was my first guess as the culprit, so it's interesting you have a new one.
 
Mehta23 said:
Yeah, you seem to have all the questions.

RMA'd my last card cos it kept whining/squealing, especially during folding. (interestingly, when Scan tested it, they found it to be overheating)

Got the new card and it still whines when Folding, but scan support just said it's becuase its under high stress.

That's about all.
Click to expand...

So two cards whining. Hm. That's...not normal. If it was, they woulsnt have replaced the first. So it is possible to have gotten two lemons, sadly. On the off chance, got a spare card that's another brand? My guess is the cards at fault again, but this would also rule out operating system issues..
 
It is not the cards fault, it is maybe caused byvHis power Supply Which is not able to take the load aand so the PC crashes due to lack of Power Being Supplied to it!
 
moodyblues said:
Why are you waiting until if/when you get an SSD? :
Click to expand...

I dunno, I could dual boot now but I was told it'd be easier when windows was on a separate drive.....

They replaced the original card becuase it was overheating - they didn't mention the noise when tested.

No, I don't have another card or another computer to test out my card.

My power supply is a Corsair 750W.
 
Mehta23 said:
I dunno, I could dual boot now but I was told it'd be easier when windows was on a separate drive.....

They replaced the original card becuase it was overheating - they didn't mention the noise when tested.

No, I don't have another card or another computer to test out my card.

My power supply is a Corsair 750W.
Click to expand...

It could be faulty or not quite right. What's happening almost certainly sounds like a hardware problem rather than software. Think you've already gone through two graphic cards. Usual method of troubleshooting something like this, is a process of elimination. A bad power-supply can certainly cause the shutting down under heavy loads.
 
Oh crap, forgot to mention that this has only happened with my replacement graphics card. Also, even though they said it was new, it came in a different box, and has small scratches on it ...
 
Faulty/marginal PSU is a possibility, So is Overheating. what are your temps under normal use and under stress (folding etc). if you've not cleaned the dust & fluff from the cooler and fans for a while, that might help.

Regarding Dual booting Windows & Linux. they co-exsist quite happily on the same HDD. The Linux installer will detect windows and re-size its partition for you.

I'd recommend custom partitioning along these lines (500Gb disk as an example)

250 Gb to Win
50Gb for Linux root (/) partition
2 x Ram for linux swap if ram < 2Gb, else same size as installed RAM.

the remaining 196 or sd for linux home (/home) partition. - This is where all your documents, photos, music etc. goes.

Remember Linux partitions formatted Ext4, let the software decide format for Linux Swap.
 
I've been Steam chatting, and browsing on my PC for around 2 hours

CPU = 34C
Mobo = 24C
GPU = 27C

When I game for about an hour, CPu goes past 45, GPU hits 40 , maybe more.

( In TF2, this card hits 40C after an hour, old card went past 60C)
 
mikedt said:
A bad power-supply can certainly cause the shutting down under heavy loads.
Click to expand...

Is Chrome open with 5 tabs, one being a radio, and my download folder open in Windows considered to be heavy?

Good news everyone!

I've just noticed, I can hear a weird noise from my PSU, like something is stuck in the fans, or something is wrong with the fans. I will open up my PC and have a look soon.
 
Davdi said:
I'd recommend custom partitioning along these lines (500Gb disk as an example)

250 Gb to Win
50Gb for Linux root (/) partition
2 x Ram for linux swap if ram < 2Gb, else same size as installed RAM.

the remaining 196 or sd for linux home (/home) partition. - This is where all your documents, photos, music etc. goes.
Click to expand...
The 50GB / partition suggestion is a bit excessive, especially given the total amount of space available in this person's scenario. I'd give it no more than 25GB. Even that is probably way more than will ever be needed. Keep in mind that unlike windows, *nix applications are elegant, not bloated. I doubt the user could ever install enough apps that 25GB would be insufficient.

To put this in perspective, when I partitioned the 600GB disk in the laptop I'm typing this on, I allocated 45GB for root, and the rest for /home, /data, and swap. Of the 45GB for /, I've only used 13GB--and I've installed THOUSANDS of applications in the year I've had this laptop.
 
Hi again, tested my PSU using the paper clip method - A-OK. Also dusted out everything and I can no longer hear that rattling sound.

RE Dual boot, I was told in another thread that Linux would be ok on my HDD.
.
 
Right.

When playing TF2 the other day, I saw the floor flickering, and shaking. This went on for about 30 seconds, and then stopped. When it stopped the EVGA precision x overlay also closed. Don't know if this means anything...

Today, I had a BSOD, and then after the reset, the log in screen where I enter my PW went white, and the pC was unresponsive. 2nd reboot, everything seems ok now.

I sent off the form to see if I can get another RMA.
 
Mehta23 said:
Oh crap, forgot to mention that this has only happened with my replacement graphics card. Also, even though they said it was new, it came in a different box, and has small scratches on it ...
Click to expand...
That's an important clue! In the past I've been bedeviled by dodgy graphics cards. (Anyone else remember VESA local bus video cards?) IME some video cards can cause all kinds of problems. I have a now old quad core Core2 "cube" computer that was once state of the art, but for some reason didn't accept a video card in the first of its two (and only) PCIe slots. This computer that I bought "bare bones" has an Intel chipset (950X IIRC) that has given me problems in other motherboards. So what should be interchangeable parts aren't always that way.

Unfortunately this only complicates things for you.
 
Slug said:
Take a look at the Windows Event Viewer (Windows Logs, Application and/or System) for info on what caused the BSOD. There will be an .exe or .dll listed somewhere that's the culprit.
Click to expand...


I'll be checking this in a bit. How do I know where the BOSD comes? Or should I have noted the time....

Edit: I opened up the Event View. Looking down the applications bit, I see quite a few errors and warnings. I think the BSOD happened before 2pm sometime, and there are 11 errors and warnings.

I don't really know how to format the info for you guys, but this is one error i recieved.

Source is WMI

- System

- Provider

[ Name] Microsoft-Windows-WMI
[ Guid] {1edeee53-0afe-4609-b846-d8c0b2075b1f}
[ EventSourceName] WinMgmt

- EventID 10

[ Qualifiers] 49152

Version 0

Level 2

Task 0

Opcode 0

Keywords 0x80000000000000

- TimeCreated

[ SystemTime] 2013-01-04T13:35:00.000000000Z

EventRecordID 11514

Correlation

- Execution

[ ProcessID] 0
[ ThreadID] 0

Channel Application

Computer My-Precious

Security


- EventData

//./root/CIMV2
SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99
0x80041003
Click to expand...


The other is

BstHd AndroidSvc

System

- Provider

[ Name] BstHdAndroidSvc

- EventID 0

[ Qualifiers] 0

Level 2

Task 0

Keywords 0x80000000000000

- TimeCreated

[ SystemTime] 2013-01-04T13:34:55.000000000Z

EventRecordID 11513

Channel Application

Computer My-Precious

Security


- EventData

Service cannot be started. System.ApplicationException: Cannot start service. Service did not stop gracefully the last time it was run. at BlueStacks.hyperDroid.Service.Service.OnStart(String[] args) at System.ServiceProcess.ServiceBase.ServiceQueuedMainCallback(Object state)
Click to expand...
 
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