random crashes with a twist

[lutyman]

Hello there,

So my computer will randomly just turn off within the first minute or two of the first boot up of the day. If I try to push the power button right away, nothing happens. If I wait a few seconds and hit the power button, the computer begins boot up, "burps" (and by that i mean that i can hear the fans slow in RPMs just for a half second and then continue as normal) and then all is well. Like I said, this normally only happens once when I turn it on for the first time during the day (although now it seems to be happening more frequently, thus the post).

I'm running x64 on a SSD (I had to install XP first), full retail version. Mobo/CPU/RAM are only about a year old. SSD about 6 months. PSU about 5 yrs. Tower about 8 yrs. I don't OC.

I was thinking this had to be PSU or overheating. I bought a PSU tester but everything was normal. Core temps run consistently in the 40s. Thinking more about it, I'm not sure its hardware given how everything seems to work fine after the first crap out. WhoCrashed doesn't reveal any errors. Attached are the requested files.

At this point I'm wondering about getting a new case/PSU or reformatting and starting over. HELP PLEASE!

 

[fimble]

Hi lutyman and Welcome.
Norton is known to be a cause of BSOD's on Windows 7 systems. On that basis I would suggest that you uninstall Norton using the Norton Removal Tool ftp://ftp.symantec.com/public/english_us_canada/removal_tools/Norton_Removal_Tool.exe in Safe Mode. Download Blue Screen friendly Microsoft Security Essentials as its replacement. Make sure Windows firewall is enabled!
See how it goes tomorrow when you start up.

 

[Maguscreed]

It also wouldn't hurt to check if your SSD has firmware updates (many of them do)

 

[lutyman]

thanks for the tips so far. I removed norton and have installed MS security essentials. i'll give it a few days and see if she crashes again. looks like i'm due for some SSD firmware updates as well, but I'll take it one step at a time...

 

[lutyman]

no crash this AM....cautiously optimistic....

 

[lutyman]

well, my cautiousness was well-founded. crashed this evening on 1st boot up. i'll update the firmware. any other ideas?

 

[Maguscreed]

The out of date ssd firmware could lead to more problems than I can even name.
Let's just stick with that for the moment.

 

[lutyman]

wow, what a pain in the butt to update the firmware (thanks to OCZ not letting you update on the fly if it's the primary/OS drive), but finally got it done. again, will keep my fingers crossed...

 

[Maguscreed]

I'm hopeful this will resolve your issue actually.
I've seen something similar before.

 

[lutyman]

This AM she's crashed three times during boot up within seconds of hitting the power button. Haven't seen the Windows logo yet. Ideas?

 

[lutyman]

well it's definitely the SSD. after it wouldn't even boot this AM, i swapped in my old Raptor and she booted up just fine. Do you think reformatting the SSD is worth a shot or should I just go ahead and get the RMA going?

 

[Maguscreed]

As expensive as ssd's are I'd just go ahead and start the rma process.

 

[lutyman]

for those of you keeping score at home, it turned out to be the power supply. i popped in my old raptor drive and my system continued to crash. PSU tester always read the right voltages without anomaly. eventually, nothing was working whatsoever. i was about to send in my MoBo and CPU which were still under warranty, but i wanted to test the PSU first since I wasn't convinced. well, the cheapo 400W from Best Buy fired her right up and no crashes since. it baffles the mind. I considered this problem 9 months ago when the crashes were very infrequent but since the PSU tester said everything was fine I wrote it off. now 70 crashes later (apparently the SSD keeps track), i finally have it figured out. hopefully those didn't take a big toll on my CPU and harddrives.

 

[Maguscreed]

I do keep track and thanks for updating us.