Solved Random PC freezes

[writhziden]

Try bumping your northbridge voltage to 1.55 V and manually set your first four RAM timings in the BIOS to 5-5-5-16 instead of 5-5-5-18. Do not change any other settings. See if the system is more stable.

 

[Tolis21]

hey there. i have done the changes you told me 2 days ago, and no freeze happened since then. by the way i will be away from town on the easter holidays. so i will use the computer again in 2 weeks. in case a freeze happenes i will infrom you then. enjoy your holidays

 

[writhziden]

That's fine. We'll be here when you get back and you can let us know how things are going. At least it appears we are on the right track. Safe travels, and enjoy the holiday.

 

[Hiapoe]

Try bumping your northbridge voltage to 1.55 V and manually set your first four RAM timings in the BIOS to 5-5-5-16 instead of 5-5-5-18. Do not change any other settings. See if the system is more stable.

Hi, I have exactly the same issue as the topic starter here...
But can someone tell me what voltage and RAM timings I should use to get the rid of the freezes?!

I have an ASUS PK5 motherboard with 4x 1GB Corsair DDR2 (PC2-6400) memory.

Thx for the help...

Hiapoe

 

[writhziden]

This thread is already quite long and it will get confusing to help a new person within it. Can you please start your own thread and link to this one when you ask for help. Your problem may not be exactly related. Voltage and timing changes are tricky and if not done correctly can damage one's system, so we usually move to those as a last step. You should try to narrow down other possible causes first within your own thread. Best of luck!

 

[Tolis21]

Hey there again. I have been using my pc for about a month now and was fine. Not even one freeze occured and i wanted to post it here and mark the case as solved but always forgot it =P. But now i am experiencing another problem.

So about 1 week ago, i bought diablo 3 and i have been playing for some time. This last week no problem occured. I was away from home this weekend and when i got back, when i opened diablo 3 i got a crach and black screen after i logged in. I tried 2-3 times and the same thing happened. Today i also got 2 crashes and black screens when i was just using google chrome.

I tried some things, like updating my graphics card, searching for viruses and stuff but the problem still occures. What should i do?

What exactly happens is that the screen turns black, the music ''stucks'' or it continues to play normaly, but i don't have any access to anything and my tv monitor pop ups a message of ''No signal''.

 

[Tolis21]

the problem occures very often. the maximum time i used the pc until it crashed and the screen turned black was 20 minutes. it has occured more than 6 times today. it hasn't occured when i was idle , but always when i am active. most of the crashes occured when i was switching or opening a new tab in google chrome or firefox, and 1 crash happened when i was chatting on msn messenger while windows media player was playing.

 

[writhziden]

It may be 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. For AMD:
   • Uninstall AMD Catalyst Install Manager if it is listed (this should remove all AMD graphics software and drivers)
   • If AMD Catalyst Install Manager is not listed, use the following method to uninstall the graphics drivers (this applies to onboard graphics, as well):
     1. Click Start Menu
     2. Right Click My Computer/Computer
     3. Click Manage
     4. Click Device Manager from the list on the left
     5. Expand Display adapters
     6. Do the following for each adapter (in case you have multiple display cards)
        • Right click the adapter
        • Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
        • Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
        
        Alternatively:
        1. Login as an adminstrative user
        2. Click Start Menu
        3. Click Control Panel
        4. Click Hardware and Sound
        5. Click Device Manager (the last link under Devices and Printers)
        6. Expand Display adapters
        7. Do the following for each adapter (in case you have multiple display cards)
           • Right click the adapter
           • Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
           • Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
   • Restart your computer after uninstalling drivers for all display cards
   • Install the driver you selected for the display cards once Windows starts

I gave the above steps to make sure you are re-installing the graphics drivers properly and also to recommend trying different drivers rather than re-installing the same ones each time. If that above does not work: run some diagnostics with Unigine: real-time 3D engine (game, simulation, visualization and VR) and see if crashes happen faster during diagnostics or if temperatures are a concern.

 

[Tolis21]

i also attached a system health report. in the meantime i had 3 black screens. all of them while going form one tab to another in google chrome. it seems the crashes are not related with the time the pc is working, but if i am idle or not

 

[Tolis21]

here is the report

 

[Tolis21]

I run the SFC /SCANNOW Command - System File Checker and the message i got was Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. I am going to test the directx now

 

[Tolis21]

I checked the Diagnosing basic problems with DirectX and it gave me no error. a also reinstalled the nvidia drivers following your instructions but i am still getting black screen when running diablo 3. Can you give me more information on how to run some diagnostics with Unigine: real-time 3D engine (game, simulation, visualization and VR) ?

 

[Tolis21]

i am also posting a rar with the temperatures while the crash and black screen occured

 

[writhziden]

The health report by itself is not too helpful. First, please post back whether you uninstalled and re-installed the graphics drivers using the steps in my previous post. Second, please follow the http://www.sevenforums.com/crashes-debugging/96879-blue-screen-death-bsod-posting-instructions.html to provide us with your system event viewer logs. Those logs will help with the black screen crashes.

 

[Tolis21]

i have uninstalled and reinstalled the graphics drivers as you told me to. i am also posting the bsod log

 

[writhziden]

You have a hard disk controller driver error. Uninstall the driver and then let Windows re-install it. You should find it under IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers.

1. Click Start Menu
2. Right Click My Computer/Computer
3. Click Manage
4. Click Device Manager from the list on the left
5. Find the device you are trying to uninstall by expanding the appropriate set of devices
6. Right click the device
7. Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
8. Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
9. Restart your computer.

Alternatively:

1. Login as an adminstrative user.
2. Click Start Menu
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click Hardware and Sound
5. Click Device Manager (the last link under Devices and Printers)
6. Find the device you are trying to uninstall by expanding the appropriate set of devices
7. Right click the device
8. Click Uninstall (do not click OK in the dialog box that pops up after hitting Uninstall)
9. Put a tick in Delete driver software for this device (if this option is available, otherwise just hit OK) and hit OK
10. Restart your computer.

 

[Tolis21]

good morning. i followed your instructions and i uninstalled the hard disk controller driver, then restarted and let windows reinstall it. Under the IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers there listed 3 ATA Channel 0, 3 ATA channel 1 and 3 Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller, i uninstalled all of them.

So after i did this it seemed that the problem was fixed, i passed the login page in diablo 3 which always caused a black screen. But after some time i got a black screen while i was switching tabs in google chrome. I uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers but i still get black screens.

The black screens have occured so far while i was doing these things : After logging in in diablo 3, while switching or opening new tabs in google chrome or firefox, while opening a msn tab to see a message, while using skype and when i tried to play League of Legends.

What should i do next?

 

[writhziden]

Can you describe what happens when it black screens? Does the system still seem to be running, there is just no video? How often does sound stop? How often does sound continue playing?

Would it be possible for you to borrow a friend's graphics card or use a spare card you might have to test the system? Could you do the same with a PSU? Try to get components that are similarly rated to yours.


Do you have any problems with the DX11 benchmark from Unigine? What about the Tropics and Sanctuary demos?

 

[Tolis21]

The system sometimes stops working when the blackscreen occures, and sometimes it works for a maximum of 30 seconds after the black screen. For example when the black screen occured when i had windows media player running, i listened to the song playing for about 10-15 seconds until it stopped. Another time when i was using skype, i got a black screen and the person i was talking to was able to see me for about 20-30 seconds after it happened and then it crashed.

Usually the sound continues to play for some second after the black screen. On ther other hand, when i got a black screen on a game, i could hear the music of the intro for some seconds, but when i pushed alt-tab, alt f4 and ctrl-alt-del the system wasnt responding and the music of the intro continued to play.

Unfortunately none of my friends or i have some spare graphic's card or PSU.

Also i never got a black out when my pc was idle. I left my pc running through the night with some programms that i usually use open and it was alright. But in the morning when i used my pc i got a black screen.

Can you give me some more details for the Unigine? What should i download and how can i test it?

Thanks in advance.

 

[writhziden]

Strip down your system to run only the bare essentials: one RAM module, the CPU, motherboard, one hard disk, one graphics card (or use onboard graphics if you have it), keyboard, mouse, and one monitor. See how the system behaves by running Windows for twice as long as it typically takes for you to get a crash. If it is stable, add one piece of hardware back at a time until you get crashes again. Take notes of what hardware you add and how the system responds to the hardware changes.

As you add and remove hardware, follow these steps for ESD safety:

1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
4. Make sure you are grounded by using proper grounding techniques, i.e. work on an anti-static workbench, anti-static desk, or an anti-static pad. Hold something metallic while touching it to the anti-static surface, or use an anti-static wristband to attach to the anti-static material while working. If you do not have an anti-static workbench, desk, or pad, you can use your computer tower/case by finding a metal hold in it, such as a drive bay.

Once these steps have been followed, it is safe to remove and replace components within your computer.