Where to start :( Multiple problems

redtuiop · 08 Apr 2011

Thanks John - I'd not be surprised if my cooling isn't the best as I had to get CCL to do the work for me in putting the chip onto the board when I bought it and they didn't ask if I wanted to buy a dearer cooler so suspect it's most likely a "bog standard" one but we'll see how it goes tomorrow.

On BD - had uninstalled it yesterday using that info already, but for some reason it didn't show up anywhere in any of the programs (Glary Utils/Windows Add/Remove etc) I use for uninstalling so I initially did the uninstal using that program and then went through and deleted what was left in the folder. Then ran Glary's Registry cleaner both before and after a reboot before going through the Registry but still it lingers somewhere. Will try again tonight tho and rerun the program in case it manages to find something it missed in the first pass. I've not yet bothered to reinstall Acronis and am running another spyware scan tonight to let you see what's what first before I do anything with MSE. Catch you tomorrow at some stage with an update on how all the other tests have run :)

redtuiop · 09 Apr 2011

I've pretty much worked my way through all those tests now bar the Prime one - ran it for an hour but temps were peaking up to 80 and over at points just on the small FFTs, and to be honest, it scares me too much to consider running it for hours on end, or to rack up the pressure another notch on the large ones. My difficulty with the processor too is that I've no ability personally to cope with changing the heatsink & don't have anyone that could do it for me either, & my only other would be the more expensive one of having to invest in a new MB with processor/heatsink already in place as I did before but I've no funds to go down that route either at the moment. I'm hoping we've not fully exhausted all the other possible causes though before I maybe do have to consider that option ultimately?

On the MSSE - unsure what way to go forward with it - all the spyware/virus tests etc have picked up spyware in abundance but no trojans or viruses as such, so should I still go ahead with reinstalling it etc as you've outlined, or do you want me to run more reports on the current status first to see what's changed?

And again, the only drivers I've not updated are those that were listed as being Windows Update because I wasn't sure whether I needed to do those ones or not? (Oh so easily confused LOL!)

Truly hoping we're getting close to a fix on this that isn't going to involve me having to spend more money or rack back to my prior RAM setup.

=================
One more point of interest - it may be most likely to be only a Win 7 issue this, as I can use XP for hours without any problems now - 6 hours today without one hint of a freeze, whereas I managed a paltry 25 minutes in Win 7 earlier today, prior to the point where I ran the Prime test where I did get over an hour or so. Currently working with the Driver Verifier so will update you on that one tomorrow.

usasma · 09 Apr 2011

If the system is overheating on Prime95 - then the cooling has to be fixed (in order to run Prime95).

Uninstall/reinstall MSSE.

Update the drivers - in particular the one from 2002 for your audio. A 2002 driver on a Win7 system is just asking for trouble.

redtuiop · 09 Apr 2011

I've dealt with most of the drivers I think - long uninstalled the 2002 one which related to my old soundcard now happily updated to a nice new one, but as I said, sorting out the cooling is going to be a much longer term process as I've no idea if/when I could ever afford to go down the route of investing in another mobo - for me, it's the only way of getting it done. As I mentioned, I've no physical capability of undertaking the fiddly route of working with a processor - or at least I'm assuming it would be beyond my hand arthritis to do so, and I'd be hugely nervous of killing the darned thing anyway, so simpler to get it done at the point of purchase, but that will be a long time ahead I doubt

.

But as I don't want my PC to go up in smoke some night when I leave it on all night torrenting or whatever, I can see it's another thing I'm just going to have to invest in at some point.

So, - aside from that - if I've deleted/updated all the drivers, removed all the trojans/spyware etc, & done everything else on your list, and yet STILL having issues, is the cooling the only thing left in your opinion I need to fix before we can reassess the situation?

usasma · 10 Apr 2011

Check the "Created" dates of the drivers in the C:\Windows\System32\drivers folder. That'll give you an idea if you've gotten the older ones.

As for the processor cooling, try opening the side of the case and pointing a house fan in there. Then run Prime95 and see if it helps the temps.

redtuiop · 10 Apr 2011

Thanks John - happily my brother has allayed my fears on updating my processor fan - I thought it would mean fiddling around with the heatsink/thermal paste & all that malarky - so as he's educated me on it being a simple fan replacement - that I can and probably will do as no doubt it would be a wise move regardless. However, if I can organise my home fan (large cumbersome beastie - floor standing so not easy for me to manoeuvre) I'll try that in the meantime :). And will do on the driver check too. Tks again.

mgorman87 · 10 Apr 2011

TikkiRo said:

Thanks John - happily my brother has allayed my fears on updating my processor fan - I thought it would mean fiddling around with the heatsink/thermal paste & all that malarky - so as he's educated me on it being a simple fan replacement - that I can and probably will do as no doubt it would be a wise move regardless. However, if I can organise my home fan (large cumbersome beastie - floor standing so not easy for me to manoeuvre) I'll try that in the meantime :). And will do on the driver check too. Tks again.

Sometimes if the heatsink fan doesn't help keep the CPU cool then you might need to reapply some artic silver thermal paste on the cpu.

redtuiop · 10 Apr 2011

Can I change the fan alone initially though just to see or is that likely to be a bit pointless if the heatsink is the issue? Sorry - you can tell I've minimal experience in this area - despite having built a few PCs before I've always had to leave anything related to the processor to others for various reasons so haven't really gotten to grips with what's what in them. Vaguely remember on my old PC seeing the levers for the heatsink and trying to remove it one day in order to clean the fan!!! Thankfully I'd no hand strength to let me do it anyway, but once I realised what I'd done I worried for days afterwards whether I'd caused any probs - thankfully it appeared not but I was quite glad nonetheless when I finally upgraded to this.

mgorman87 · 10 Apr 2011

TikkiRo said:

Thanks John - happily my brother has allayed my fears on updating my processor fan - I thought it would mean fiddling around with the heatsink/thermal paste & all that malarky - so as he's educated me on it being a simple fan replacement - that I can and probably will do as no doubt it would be a wise move regardless. However, if I can organise my home fan (large cumbersome beastie - floor standing so not easy for me to manoeuvre) I'll try that in the meantime :). And will do on the driver check too. Tks again.

TikkiRo said:

Can I change the fan alone initially though just to see or is that likely to be a bit pointless if the heatsink is the issue? Sorry - you can tell I've minimal experience in this area - despite having built a few PCs before I've always had to leave anything related to the processor to others for various reasons so haven't really gotten to grips with what's what in them. Vaguely remember on my old PC seeing the levers for the heatsink and trying to remove it one day in order to clean the fan!!! Thankfully I'd no hand strength to let me do it anyway, but once I realised what I'd done I worried for days afterwards whether I'd caused any probs - thankfully it appeared not but I was quite glad nonetheless when I finally upgraded to this.

Yes. You can change the fan. If after replacing the fan and making sure the heatsink is free of dustballs and your CPU continues to get hot then you might need to apply some thermal compound

redtuiop · 23 Apr 2011

Just a quick update on this problem - have had to accept the memory itself is the problem. COmpany I bought it from ran tests on it themselves & stated 1 stick failed, so they kindly replaced both FOC, but once again, the minute I put them in, I had the same problems in Win 7 of total freezes. So I'm now going to wait and save up to buy Crucial sticks which might at least be closer to what's already onboard & working well. Buys me a little more time on getting other things sorted too. Course, I might well just upgrade the mobo with 4Gb onboard and be done with it - probably work out cheaper in the long run perhaps. Now, any buyers for a couple of cheap Kingston 2 Gb sticks LOL!