PC stops responding, no BSOD

[syalam]

Hi,

My PC has recently stopped responding completely at times. Even Ctrl Alt Del doesn't bring up the usual menu, and I have to use the power button to reboot. There is no BSOD, but windows prompts me to choose between normal boot and safe mode when I reboot. The issue arises regardless of what I'm doing; it has occured when I'm gaming, or just surfing the internet. Running system restore to a restore point before the most recent updates from windows doesn't seem to fix the issue.

The PC is about 1 year old. It's running Windows 7 64 bit Home Premium, installed with an OEM disc on a custom system. Using a P67A-UD3-B3 motherboard and i5-2400 processor.

Any help with my problem? I've attached the dump report and performance monitor report.

 

[James7679]

Uninstall Avast and SPybot. Install Microsoft Security Essentials and run a FULL System scan. Also, download and install Malwarebytes, the free version and do not start the trial. Run a FULL SCAN ON ALL USER ACCOUNTS.

After doing so, please run a Disk Check http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/433-disk-check.html

After doing that, please run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html Run it three times, rebooting between each run. Take note of behavior after each task and post back with the results.

Thanks,

James

 

[syalam]

Thanks,

I've followed your suggested steps, running MSE full scan and Malwarebytes full scan on an administrator account. I currently have a 1TB HDD partitioned into C (windows installation) and another partition for storing media (movies, music, etc.), and a HDD from an old PC for extra storage (no data on it at the moment). I performed the Malwarebytes scan on all the drives. MSE and Malwarebytes did not report any infections.

I ran CHKDSK only for C, followed by system file checker. I'm not sure if CHKDSK rectified any errors or bad sectors, but system file checker did not find any problems. I've attached logs from Event Viewer.

However, this problem arose last weekend, but when I was using my PC to run all the scans it didn't occur again. I'm not sure if it's somehow resolved itself? I hope it's not a hardware/heating issue or anything

 

[syalam]

Also, is it recommended to continue using MSE and Malwarebytes as antivirus and anti-spyware respectively?

 

[James7679]

It may have just been Avast. Use your PC as you normally would and see how things progress.

Yes, continue to use MSE as your AV. You may scan with MBAM whenever you like.

 

[syalam]

Okay, I thought the problem was solved, but now it has occurred again.

The PC seemed okay for a few weeks after uninstalling MSE and spybot, and it was working fine. However, today it started to hang and become unresponsive again, while I was running DOTA2. It was completely unresponsive, so I had to reboot with the power button. The intervals between reboot and crash seemed to be growing shorter, down to a few minutes. After the third crash, I opened firefox, shortly after the screen flashed black (about 1 sec) and windows displayed the following error message:

"Display Driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver version 301.42 stopped responding and successfully recovered".

However, the PC remained similarly unresponsive. I rebooted again into safe mode to write this, and so far there are no problems. I'm still using MSE, however spybot S&D resident appears to still be in my system tray, although it says it has 0 known signatures, despite I having uninstalled it.

Please advise? Thanks

EDIT: I'm using a Palit GTX560 card, still under warranty, and the WHQL certified 301.42 drivers. The driver has crashed before, and i've received that error message, both using this driver and older drivers. But this is the first time it's stopped responding after recovering. I've RMA-ed this card before, so this is actually the second card (see this thread for details). The first one was a GTX560, i think this one is a factory overclocked gtx560.

EDIT: I tried redownloading the 301.42 drivers from NVIDIA and performed a clean reinstall of the drivers. It seemed okay for a while, and I was able to play portal2 for more than an hour with no problem. However, when I launched Saints Row:The Third, the PC froze again within a few seconds. I'm launching all the games through Steam.

EDIT: It's crashed a few more times again, including when running Saint's Row and DOTA2 again

 

[writhziden]

Your display card recovered crash is akin to a 0x116 BugCheck blue screen.

BugCheck 0x116

These crash are DirectX/graphics card related. DirectX comes installed with Windows, so this may indicate Windows corruption. It may also be that you have corrupted drivers or a graphics card hardware problem.

• If you are overclocking any hardware, please stop.
  
  
• Check Windows for corruption. Run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html up to three times to fix all errors with a restart in between each. Post back if it continues to show errors after a fourth run or if the first run comes back with no integrity violations. Use OPTION THREE of http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html to provide us with the sfcdetails.txt file if errors occur.

Follow the steps for Diagnosing basic problems with DirectX. To re-install your display card drivers as outlined in the DirectX link, use the following steps.

1. Download the drivers you want for your display card(s)
2. Click Start Menu
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click Uninstall a program
5. For NVIDIA:
   • Uninstall the NVIDIA Graphics Driver (this should uninstall all NVIDIA software and drivers)
   • Restart your computer
   • Make sure NVIDIA 3D Vision Driver, NVIDIA 3D Vision Video Player, NVIDIA HD Audio Driver, and NVIDIA PhysX System Software are not still listed under Uninstall a program through Control Panel
   • If any remain of the above, uninstall one at a time
   • If asked to restart after uninstalling any of the above, do so, and continue uninstalling any remaining NVIDIA items until all are removed
6. Restart your computer after uninstalling drivers for all display cards
7. Install the driver you selected for the display cards once Windows starts

Remember to try multiple versions of the graphics drivers, download them fresh, and install the freshly downloaded drivers.

   Warning

Before you proceed with the following, answer these two questions: Are you still under warranty? Does your warranty allow you to open up the machine to check hardware? If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, contact your system manufacturer. :warn:WARNING: The steps that follow can void your warranty!!!

For 0x116 Video TDR Error crashes:

• 
  

  These are all stop 0x116 VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE conditions.
  
  It's not a true crash, in the sense that the bluescreen was initiated only because the combination of video driver and video hardware was being unresponsive, and not because of any synchronous processing exception.
  
  Since Vista, the "Timeout Detection and Recovery" (TDR) components of the OS video subsystem have been capable of doing some truly impressive things to try to recover from issues which would have caused earlier OSs like XP to crash. As a last resort, the TDR subsystem sends the video driver a "please restart yourself now!" command and waits a few seconds. If there's no response, the OS concludes that the video driver/hardware combo has truly collapsed in a heap, and it fires off that stop 0x116 BSOD.
  
  If playing with video driver versions hasn't helped, make sure the box is not overheating. Try removing a side panel and aiming a big mains fan straight at the motherboard and GPU. Run it like that for a few hours or days - long enough to ascertain whether cooler temperatures make a difference. If so, it might be as simple as dust buildup and subsequently inadequate cooling.

  
  The above quote was taken from http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/25912-bsod.html#post280172, which is linked to in usasma's thread about this error. Closely follow the first three posts of usasma's thread outlining http://www.sevenforums.com/crash-lo...op-0x116-video_tdr_error-troubleshooting.html and proceed through each step. Let us know if you need further help.

 

[syalam]

Hi,

Okay, thanks for the advice, I just got back so I'm going to try the steps now. But I'm running a factory overclocked Palit GTX560, should I try to downclock it? And if so, could you give me instructions? Thanks

 

[syalam]

I've run system file checker thrice, each time it came up with no problems. I've also followed the advice in the DirectX diagnostic, as well as performing clean installs of the WHQL certified 301.42 driver for NVIDIA cards.

I downloaded and ran the FurMark stress test. The first time I ran the BurnIn Test, at which point the system crashed after about 15 seconds, at a temperature of 76°C. I opened a side panel and rebooted, running the Benchmark test. This time it crashed after about 20 seconds, at a temperature of 70°C. I'm going to run the GIMPS stress test. I'm using a 600W power supply, which should be enough? I haven't got anything else in the PCI slots, only have two HDDs and running a USB soundcard, so it shouldn't be a lack of power problem?

I'm going to try running it with a side panel open for the time being, and try and get my hands on a fan, but it's not a viable long term solution. How should I go about reducing the clock rate from the factory overclock? Also, it's a custom rig I got put together at a shop, should I go back and perhaps get another fan or something?

 

[writhziden]

This does not seem like an overheating issue. If the card is factory overclocked, the overclock is likely applied properly and nothing to worry about.

When you say it stops responding, can you move the mouse?

Have you gotten the message that the display card stopped responding and recovered recently?

 

[syalam]

No, I can't move the mouse. The entire screen freezes, and Ctrl Alt Del doesn't work either. I've only got the message about the display card stopping and recovering once recently

 

[syalam]

Is it possibly a video memory problem? I don't seem to have problems with all my games, TF2 seems okay, the last time I was playing Portal2 is was okay. DOTA2 and Saints Row 3 are problematic though. Should I run a stress test on video memory, and how do i do that? And will I need to RMA the card?

EDIT: just played a game of DOTA2 with a side panel open, no fan, without any problem. GPU temperature hit a high of 78ºC

 

[writhziden]

The information about video memory has already been given. Please re-read my post about the 0x116 crashes and read carefully through the information in the link given there.

 

[syalam]

Okay, I've taken the following steps so far, none of tests run reported any errors, except for the previously mentioned crashed when using the BurnIn stress test on Furmark:
1. Used the System File Checker scan
2. Used the DirectX diagnostic
3. Uninstalled and done clean installs of the latest NVIDIA WHQL certified graphics drivers
4. Run the FurMark and GIMPS stress tests
5. Run the VMT memory stress test
6. Reset the Pagefile
7. Updated DirectX through getting the latest updates from Windows Update
8. Downloaded and ran the DirectX End-User Runtime Web Installer (did not install, as newer version is installed)
9. Verified the local files for the games launching through steam

And I've still encountered the crash while playing Saint's Row 3

EDIT: I've verified the game files on steam again, was able to play Saint's Row for a few hours. Might have been a corruption of the installation, but that shouldn't cause the entire system to crash like that?

 

[syalam]

Hi, I'm back again, the problem has come up again. I've tried everything and nothing seems to work.

The problem: The PC is crashing. It completely freezes up, the mouse and keyboard are both unresponsive, ctrl +alt + del doesn't work. I have to restart the PC with the power button. This usually occurs when playing games, but sometimes after the crash occurs during a game, it will occur when just running a web browser. When logging in into a windows user account, the screen flickers for about 1 sec. On one occasion, the screen goes completely dark, and after a while comes back on with the error message "Display Driver NVIDIA Windows Kernel Mode Driver version 301.42 stopped responding and successfully recovered". But usually, it just freezes up.

Specs:
-Windows 7 home premium, 64-bit
-Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-2400 CPU @ 3.10GHz
-Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. P67A-UD3-B3
-Nvidia GX560 (Palit)

Steps taken so far:
-Reformat (I have two hard disks, and one of the disks is partitioned into two partitions. Windows is installed on one of those partitions, which I've formatted)
-Ran Disk Check on C drive
-Ran SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker thrice (no integrity violations found)
-DirectX Diagnostic Tool (no problems found)
-FurMark Benchmark (ran for about 4 minutes until temperature leveled out at 91 Celsius, no issues)
-GIMPS stress test (ran overnight, no problems)
-VMT stress test (no problems)
-Western Digital HD diagnostic (i have a 1TB WD hard disk partitioned into C and E, windows is installed on E. I also have a 250gb Samsung Hard disk. I ran the diagnostic on both with no problems)


I've taken all of these steps, and the crash is still occurring. I'm launching all my games through steam, if that's important. Should I just RMA the graphics card and see if that solves the issue

 

[syalam]

bump

 

[Anthony]

You need to post the files again if you have done a clean install

Thanks

 

[syalam]

Okay. Uh, exactly what files/logs do I need to post?

I've RMA-ed the graphics card, using a Palit GTX560 OC now, but I just encountered the problem again. The entire system becomes unresponsive, the screen freezes and the sound stops