Random reboots, once a day or two.

nopk · 18 Sep 2013

Hello..

Helping my mom out with her system. It has begun randomly rebooting itself while she's working on it. No warning boxes or anything pop up, just -flash- and you're at the BIOS splash screen and restarting.

Ive gone through and ensured her video drivers are up-to-date, that she's malware free and the like.. but the problem persists.

Any suggestions are very much appreciated..

SF tool results attached.

Thank you,

nopk

Arc · 19 Sep 2013

Hi nopk. You are having all stop 0x124 BSODs, which is supposed to be hardware error.

It appears that the computer is somehow old. Is the computer hot? Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy.

Check if the Power Supply Unit (PSU) supplying adequate power to the computer or not.
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator
Also let us know the wattage of the PSU.

You have one BIOS Update to apply. Get Version 2302 dated 2011.03.18 from http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/M4A...rt_Download_30.

Test your RAM modules for possible errors.
How to Test and Diagnose RAM Issues with Memtest86+
Run memtest for at least 8 passes, preferably overnight.

Stress test the Graphics Card using Furmark.
Video Card - Stress Test with Furmark

Stress test the CPU.
Hardware - Stress Test With Prime95

Let us know the results.

nopk · 19 Sep 2013

Thanks for your reply.. The computer isnt old.. only about 2 years. I will go through all you've asked when I visit her again tomorrow. I did actually update her bios when troubleshooting the other day.. Im surprised its still out of date.

More info when I return, thanks again.

nopk

nopk · 21 Sep 2013

So some more information.. and some more confusion..

The power supply calculator suggests I require a 200W supply (this is a seriously simple machine, no PCI cards at all, 4 gb mem, 1 7200 spin drive and integrated video) .. and Ive a 500W.

The BIOS update you suggest was already installed on the machine..

Ive been unable to run the stress tests as of yet due to the evolving problem..

The unit now BSODs with a x124 within 10-15 seconds of loading the desktop when booted in regular mode.

In safe mode, it will run for a couple hours, no problems (at which point I shut the machine down, so it might run forever in safe mode).

While in safe mode, I used MSCONFIG to disable all non-microsoft services and all startup items, as well as deleting the ATI display drivers I put on the other day..

Now when booting in normal mode I can get ~2-3 minutes of use out of it before the BSOD occurs again...

Im going to run memtest now, as at least it doesnt require a boot into windows..

Any other suggestions?

thanks,

nopk

nopk · 21 Sep 2013

Oh, and after a couple hours in safe mode, I quickly rebooted and checked temperatures in the bios and the CPU was at 34c and the mobo around 44c ..

Arc · 21 Sep 2013

A stop 0x124 should be a hardware related BSOD, and a hardware related BSOD should behave in the same way irrespective of the mode of usage. So, let us search one more thing. Is it any device driver that is causing the issue there?

Enable Driver Verifier to monitor the drivers.
Driver Verifier - Enable and Disable
Run Driver Verifier for 24 hours or the occurrence of the next crash, whichever is earlier.

Information

Why Driver Verifier:
It puts a stress on the drivers, ans so it makes the unstable drivers crash. Hopefully the driver that crashes is recorded in the memory dump.

How Can we know that DV is enabled:
It will make the system bit of slow, laggy.

Warning

Before enabling DV, make it sure that you have earlier System restore points made in your computer. You can check it easily by using CCleaner looking at Tools > System Restore.

If there is no points, make a System Restore Point manually before enabling DV.

Tip

If you fail to get on the Desktop because of DV, Boot into Advanced Boot Options > Safe mode. Disable DV there. Now boot normally again, and try following the instruction of enabling DV again.
If you cannot boot in Safe mode too, do a System Restore to a point you made earlier.

Let us know the results, with the subsequent crash dumps, if any. Post it following the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions.

nopk · 21 Sep 2013

As I only have 2 minutes of runtime in normal mode before the BSOD, and some of that time is spent with the machine still getting itself settled so I can run things.. I suspect Im not going to be able to create a System Restore Point .. is this step simply for data protection or does Driver Verifier require it? Ive imaged the drive earlier today, so Im not concerned about the data.

Currently on Pass 3 of memtest, so it'll be a while before I can proceed.

thank you for your help..

nopk · 21 Sep 2013

So I wasnt able to create a restore point, the system would BSOD before it would complete. As Id already imaged the drive, I went for it anyways and started Driver Verifier.

As normal now, the system BSOD'd within a minute or two.

Ive attached the one DMP file that would have verifier running.

The system continues to be stable in Safe mode. MEMTEST completed 9 passes with no errors.

thanks,

nopk

Arc · 22 Sep 2013

No Driver is causing the BSODs.

Now follow post #2 and let us know the test results. And is the computer hot? Report us the heat of the computer after a couple of hours of your normal usage. Upload a screenshot of the summery tab of Speccy.

One more thing ..... from the next time, dont upload a stray dump. Post it following the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions only.

nopk · 22 Sep 2013

Arc,

Sorry to post the stray dump, but it is not possible to do anything else. I mentioned in a post above that I only get 2 minutes before each BSOD. This does not allow me enough time to run the SF tool to collect the data.. or Furmark or Prime95 or Speccy..

I tried to run Speccy and Furmark in Safe Mode and they dont work.. I will try the SF tool in safe mode next time.

Currently trying to run Prime95 in Safe mode.. but temperature monitors will not work in Safe Mode (Speedfan, CoreTemp) so we'll see how this goes..

Nopk