Random Freezes, BSOD, error 0x116

writhziden said:

Have you tried the 2-way SLI connector on all configurations. There are three possible setups with it. If we label cards 1-3, you can do 1 and 2, 1 and 3, or 2 and 3. See if all yield the same results of freezing. We need to determine if maybe one of the cards has a bad SLI contact.

Okay, another update. I tried exactly as you suggested and I think we are getting somewhere (although I am not holding my breath).

I first tried GPU # 1 and GPU # 3 in SLI with the 2-Way connector. NO ISSUES AT ALL! I ran Heaven 3.0 through about 5 loops and benchmarked it as well; no hiccups at all. Then, I played Trine 2 MAXED out with the GPUs (#1 & # 3) being used 99% while the other two were @ 0%. Again, NO ISSUES AT ALL! Then I tried CoD: Black Ops maxed out, again, no issues!

Then, I tried connecting GPU # 1 and GPU # 2 with the 2-Way connector. About 30 seconds into Heaven 3.0, the system crashed! I then shutdown the computer and tried the other set of connectors (each GPU has 2 SLI connectors - I tried the ones closest to the bracket first and then the ones towards the center of the card) to no avail; Heaven 3.0 crashed within a few seconds as well!

I then tried connecting GPU # 2 and GPU # 3, but had my DVI-D cable connected to GPU # 1. This would not let me turn on SLI (since #2 & #3 were the GPUs with the SLI connector). I then shut down the computer and plugged in the DVI-D cable to GPU #2. No video signal at all! I heard the computer boot into windows but the monitor was in sleep mode (flashing orange). I guess the video signal was being put out only through GPU # 1. I tried both DVI-D ports on GPU # 2 to no avail; no video signal at all.

So, that's what I've done so far. It seems like I HAVE to use the DVI-D cable on GPU # 1 to get the video signal so I am not sure how I can test, for instance, GPU # 2 and GPU # 3 or GPU # 2 and GPU # 4 (or even # 3 and # 4).

What should I do next to narrow it down further?

Oh, btw, I re-tried 4-Way SLI for fun to see if luck was on my side but as all things in life, nothing is that easy!

I've attached the dump files so please let me know what it says (I would wager the NVIDIA driver and/or GPU since the BCC was 0x116).

Yep, sounds like card #2 may be an issue. Are you not able to remove card #1 and have only #2 and #3 in the system?

writhziden said:

Yep, sounds like card #2 may be an issue. Are you not able to remove card #1 and have only #2 and #3 in the system?

I can remove the cards from the system. Although, now I've run into some really weird issue.

This morning, NVIDIA released their 304.48 Beta drivers. I uninstalled the previous drivers (301.42 WHQL) and installed these. I was in 4-Way SLI and after setting it up, I ran Heaven 3.0 and as usual, it crashed about half-way into the test.

Then, when the computer rebooted into Windows, I disabled SLI and wanted to shut it down to remove the cards and try what you suggested. The computer DOES NOT SHUT DOWN!

It keeps restarting instead of shutting down! This is so weird I've NEVER had this happen before! I clicked "SHUT DOWN" and even created a 1-second shutdown shortcut on the desktop to no avail; it keeps rebooting every single time!

HELP!

James7679 said:

If I may jump in here? Have you marked the "#2 GPU" that you suspect as bad? I see you are trying to run, up to, 4 way SLI? Remove the #2 from the loop, and move the other two over, and retry.

Yes, I have marked the #2 GPU. As mentioned above, I was going to remove it and try what was suggested but I can't get the computer to shut down! Of course, I could do a hard-reset but this is ridiculous! Now, I can't even shut down the computer!

James7679 said:

Baasha said:

James7679 said:

If I may jump in here? Have you marked the "#2 GPU" that you suspect as bad? I see you are trying to run, up to, 4 way SLI? Remove the #2 from the loop, and move the other two over, and retry.

Yes, I have marked the #2 GPU. As mentioned above, I was going to remove it and try what was suggested but I can't get the computer to shut down! Of course, I could do a hard-reset but this is ridiculous! Now, I can't even shut down the computer!

How are you attempting to shut it down?

I clicked on the Start button and then clicked on the "Shut Down" button. Anyway, I restarted the computer using Safe Mode and then it was able to shut down properly.

I then removed 2 of the GPUs in order to test GPU # 2 and now the computer doesn't even POST!

I moved GPU # 2 to Slot # 5 (PCI-E) and the computer still doesn't POST. So I removed GPU # 1 but kept GPU # 2, plugged in the DVI-D cable into that card and the computer started fine. I ran Heaven 3.0 for 10 loops and it passed without any issue even OC'd. The moment I plug in another card, either Slot # 1 or # 3, the computer doesn't POST. Seriously, what the flying *%$& is going on? By the way, did you have a chance to look at those BSOD dumps? What do they say?

What should I do now that the computer won't even POST with two GPUs installed?