HTPC locking up, no crash dump, how to find out reason?

[yallu]

Hi,

I tried searching first but I seem to have trouble finding the proper terms to narrow the search enough... So I just post this...

I put together a HTPC for 24/7 usage (windows media center and iMON remote control, spotify, PowerDVD for Blu-Ray movies). Minimal amount of additional software installed. The problem is it locks up often. The whole Windows 7 goes fully unresponsive (all you can do is power off -> on). It rarely stays responsive for 48 hours. No crash dump is generated. The event log shows nothing special, mainly two error items, one related with errors on Microsoft Security Essentials and the other is Circular Kernel Context Logger session failing to start.

The main question is: what is there to do, is there a program that could monitor which other program seems to halt the system? I'd hate to go through eliminating each and every software/hardware component... The second question is: just in case, does anything below ring any bells what might cause the problem?

Thanks in advance.

- yallu


HARDWARE:

Asus Maximus IV GENE-Z Intel Z68 LGA1155 (temp stays around 39C)
Hauppauge WinTV-Nova-TD 500 PCI Dual Tuner
DeLOCK PCI Express x1
500W MicroATX PSU
Intel Core i3 2100T 2.5 GHz LGA1155 (temp stays around 40C)
Logitech Speaker System Z906 - THX
Samsung CLX-3185N Laser Printer
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit UK
OCZ Vertex 2 - 120 GB 3.5" SSD SATA II (for OS)
Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000 3 TB SATA-III (for data)
Antec Fusion Remote Case
Asus BW-12B1LT Blu-ray 12X
Corsair Vengeance Low Profile 8 GB Kit
Prodige NanoX Bluetooth Mini Keyboard

INSTALLED PROGRAMS (in addition to W7, as shown in control panel):

7-Zip 9.20 (x64)
Asus AI Suite II (FAN XPert and Sensor only)
Asmedia ASM104x USB 3.0 Host Controller Driver
CCleaner
CyberLink Media Suite
CyberLink PowerDVD 10
Foxit Reader 5.1
Google Chrome
iMON
Intel(R) Network Connections 16.1.53.0
Intel(R) HD Graphics Driver (using CPU's integrated GPU)
Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile
Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Silverlight
Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 - 2010 x86 & x64 Redistributables (all updated latest versions)
Notepad++
PC Tools Firewall Plus 7.0
PlayReady PC Runtime amd64
PuTTY version 0.62
Realtek High Definition Audio Driver
Spotify
Windows Software Development Kit

+ latest Windows 7 updates

AUTOSTARTING PROGRAMS (as reported by msconfig.exe):

Microsoft Security Client
Realtek HD (RAVCpl64.exe -s)
Intel(R) Common User Interface (igfxtray.exe)
Intel(R) Common User Interface (hkcmd.exe)
Intel(R) Common User Interface (igfxpers.exe)
Google Update
Spotify
PC Tools Firewall Plus
iMON

SERVICES (as reported by msconfig.exe, other than MS):

ASUS Com Service
ASUS HM Com Service
ASUS System Control Service
Intel(R) PROSet Monitoring Service
PC Tools Firewall Plus

 

[zigzag3143]

Please provide us with your Event Viewer administrative logs by following these steps:


Click Start Menu
Type eventvwr into Search programs and files (do not hit enter)
Right click eventvwr.exe and click Run as administrator
Expand Custom Views
Click Administrative Events
Right click Administrative Events
Save all Events in Custom View As...
Save them in a folder where you will remember which folder and save as Errors.evtx
Go to where you saved Errors.evtx
Right click Errors.evtx -> send to -> compressed (zipped) folder
Upload the .zip file here.

 

[yallu]

Thanks, here it is, hope I got it right...

 

[zigzag3143]

Thanks, here it is, hope I got it right...

Memory corruption, possibly by your BT. I would run driver verifier

I'd suggest that you first backup your stuff and then make sure you've got access to another computer so you can contact us if problems arise. Then make a System Restore point (so you can restore the system using the Vista/Win7 Startup Repair feature).

In Windows 7 you can make a Startup Repair disk by going to Start....All Programs...Maintenance...Create a System Repair Disc - with Windows Vista you'll have to use your installation disk or the "Repair your computer" option at the top of the Safe Mode menu .

Then, here's the procedure:
- Go to Start and type in "verifier" (without the quotes) and press Enter
- Select "Create custom settings (for code developers)" and click "Next"
- Select "Select individual settings from a full list" and click "Next"
- Select everything EXCEPT FOR "Low Resource Simulation" and click "Next"
- Select "Select driver names from a list" and click "Next"
Then select all drivers NOT provided by Microsoft and click "Next"
- Select "Finish" on the next page.

Reboot the system and wait for it to crash to the Blue Screen. Continue to use your system normally, and if you know what causes the crash, do that repeatedly. The objective here is to get the system to crash because Driver Verifier is stressing the drivers out. If it doesn't crash for you, then let it run for at least 36 hours of continuous operation (an estimate on my part).

If you can't get into Windows because it crashes too soon, try it in Safe Mode.
If you can't get into Safe Mode, try using System Restore from your installation DVD to set the system back to the previous restore point that you created.