let's wait and see what happens with the changes you made. It is quite possible that drive could be much of the problems you had. I had a drive once that kept my computer from even posting. I took the computer apart and rebuilt it 3 times in 1 night before I finally found out it was a hard drive. So, yes the drive could cause a lot of problems.
Sounds good, thanks.
Unfortunately, looks like I had a BSOD or crash. Computer restarted with error box when I returned home from work. Attached is dump file. Thanks for looking.
The dump file is blaming your video driver
Code:******************************************************************************* * * * Bugcheck Analysis * * * ******************************************************************************* Use !analyze -v to get detailed debugging information. BugCheck 1000007E, {ffffffffc0000005, fffff8800f18b160, fffff8800279fdd8, fffff8800279f630} Probably caused by : atikmdag.sys ( atikmdag+cd160 ) Followup: MachineOwnerCode:fffff880`0279f388 fffff880`040cb783Unable to load image atikmpag.sys, Win32 error 0n2 *** WARNING: Unable to verify timestamp for atikmpag.sys *** ERROR: Module load completed but symbols could not be loaded for atikmpag.sys atikmpag+0x3a783
That code most often relates to a storage device or a lack of disk space but can also be memory or hardware compatability. Is there any reason to suspect your graphics card is malfunctioning? Please make sure you have GPU Temp monitoring program and run Furmark This will tell you how, although I really do not like speedfan. If you need suggestions of a temp monitoring program, I can give it to you. Monitor your temps during this test. Your temps will rise very high and very quickly and continue to climb until they level out. Once they level out you can stop the test, but during the test watch closely for any artifacts or anything unusual happening on the screen. If the temps get too high, stop the test. Video Card - Stress Test with FurmarkCode:atikmpag start end module name fffff880`04091000 fffff880`04127000 atikmpag T (no symbols) Loaded symbol image file: atikmpag.sys Image path: atikmpag.sys Image name: atikmpag.sys Timestamp: Thu Nov 20 20:08:54 2014 (546E9EB6) CheckSum: 00093077 ImageSize: 00096000 Translations: 0000.04b0 0000.04e4 0409.04b0 0409.04e4
Remember the external drive I mentioned I had concerns with? Well, I reformatted it and ran Seatools for Windows again and it passed short and long tests. It also passed check disk with no problems. I have it plugged in, but it is blank (nothing added to the drive). I still think it was acting strange. Should I unplug it and see what happens? Since the error could be storage I wonder if this is the problem? I will certainly run Furmark as well and monitor temps and report those values.
Yes, I would definitely unplug it. When you reformat it or Seatools or Check disk says it 'fixed' it, what it actually does is notify the controller not to write data to that sector, it does not and cannot fix it. Typically, the damaged sector will continue to grow and more data will be compromised. Causing more errors.
But, that coupled with the error code makes me believe that is much of the problem. However, most of what has been blamed for the crashes has been fairly consistently the graphics drivers. I just hope you are not having more than one problem.
The error code is usually a storage error or other hardware problem sometimes.
Unplugged sketchy external HD. Ran Furmark with settings as described. Temp tops out at 95 degrees. I let it run for 25 minutes to see if there were any artifacts--none seen. I smell what I would describe as hot plastic, but not smoke. I've never seen any artifacts with this video card. The only thing I've ever noticed was the horizontal lines when windows first booted after enabling driver verifier (saw that twice--the whole system was frozen though). I contacted XFX a week ago to see if they felt that was a problem and they said if no artifacts during Furmark, the card was OK. Of course, who knows.
Shall I enable Driver Verifier again?
Yes, but first try running memtest86+ and yes, I know what a Pain it is.
Please Run Memtest86+
InformationPlease download from this site only http://www.memtest.org/ in the middle of the page are the Download links, you can download the ISO.zip or the Auto USB Flash Drive installer.zip
Extract the Zip file. If you chose the ISO image, burn it to a CD using Windows Disk Image Burner or any Image burner you may have. If you downloaded the Auto USB installer, extract it, insert your USB 2.0 Flash Drive and take note of the drive letter. Run the installer, select the Flash Drive Letter, check the format box and press next. It will install memtest86+ to a flash drive. You can use either V4.20 or V5.01. Boot from your selected media. If you use V5.01 it will tell you to press certain buttons at the start, please press no buttons. The test will begin on it's own and continue to run until you stop it. It needs to run for 8 complete passes or until you receive an error. If you receive an error, stop the test. Even 1 error is a fail. Each pass tests a different part of the ram and each of the 10 tests in each pass tests something different. It takes a minimum of 8 passes to completely test the ram, more passes are better. It is quite a long test and will take several hours depending on how much ram you have. Due to the time length it is best to run overnight. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask
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