ready to give up (lockups are fun)

[Gw2]

I'd like to say thank you to everyone in advance for the great help I've received here in the past and I'm sure I'll get the same in the future.

The problem I'm having is an odd one. it started as my computer locking up while my girlfriend was playing World of Warcraft. It was a total lockup and the only way to recover was a hard reset. It wouldn't freeze in stress tests or memtests or even crysis worked flawlessly on max settings. Then i installed fallout 3 which consistantly froze seconds into the opening sequence (your birth woohoo!). So i resorted to a fresh install this time deciding to dual boot xp and 7. From this i learned the problem seems to only exist in windows 7. In xp I can burn dvds no problem with nero 9. in 7 (tried nero 7 and 9) it freezes while transcoding. however my games dont seem to freeze in 7 anymore (they still could i havent really done much extensive testing since the new install.

Any advice is welcome.

 

[osholt]

A few pointers:
Check all your drivers are up to date.
Makesure DirectX is up to date.
Try running the problem games in compatability mode (http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/316-compatibility-mode.html)
Make sure the games themselves are up to date and are certified to work with Windows 7

Oli

 

[karlsnooks]

GW2,
Suggest you consult the MS compatibiility list.
Download details: Windows 7 Application Compatibility List for IT Professionals

That's a strong suggestion!

 

[Gw2]

nevermind me it just froze in xp too. I think its got something to do with memory. ill do that karlsnooks

 

[karlsnooks]

GW2,
CPU-Z http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz/cpuz_153_setup.exe
Gathers info on your CPU, Motherboard, Memory, System
CPU: Name, number, Core stepping and process, Package, Core voltage
Internal and external clocks, clock multiplier, cache info
Mainboard: Vendor, model, revision, Bios model and date,
Chipset (northbridge and southbridge) and sensor
Graphic interface.
Memory: Frequency and timings, modules specification, vendor,
serial number, timings
System: Windows and DirectX version.

Memtest86+ 4.00 http://www.memtest.org/download/4.00/memtest86+-4.00.iso.zip
Comprehensive memory test program

 

[Gw2]

ok so it says fallout 3 is not compatible. which makes no sense to me seeing as it runs fine on several of my friends windows 7 computers. nero still freezes and it still froze before i installed fallout.already did the memtest 86+ no errors found. ill do it again though just to be sure.

 

[karlsnooks]

be sure to run cpu-z.

This will let you know if all your memory is created equal. This info is under a tab called SPD if I recall correctly.

 

[Gw2]

heres the cpu-z report and a screen of the spd page. slots 3 and 4 say the exact same thing. off to run memtest now! brb

 

[Gw2]

Okay. It ran 1 full cycle and passed then locked up at 33% through the next cycle so i rebooted and it froze again at 14%. i'm stumped. does that mean its memory?

 

[karlsnooks]

GW2,
Extremely possible that ram is source of the problem since the ram failed the test.

Ram is reallly cheap nowadays. Just be sure to get the correct type and speed for your computer. Safest is to replace all ram with new ram that meets the manufacturer's requirements. Also at the same time, be sure to get the max amount of memory possible.

 

[Gw2]

Problem is its DDR3 on a gaming rig. i dont have the money to buy any ddr3 that i want. well actually i dont have the money to buy a big mac. and i dont have any friends with ddr3 in their comps. so i cant even test anyone elses ram.

 

[karlsnooks]

GW2,
Reminds me of the chap complaining about the repair prices for work on a Mercedes.

 

[Gw2]

Thats just rude. I'm out of work. if i didnt nearly cut my arm off I'd still be making enough to buy the ram i need.

 

[Gw2]

Just had an unexpected reboot. nothing in event viewer. No crashdump. I has a confuse.

 

[chev65]

About the only way to fix these sorts of problems without replacing the Ram, is to make some adjustments to the either the voltage settings or the memory settings in bios.

The 790i is very picky about memory settings, one of worst boards in this regard but getting the memory settings correct usually will fix this type of problem.

The OCZ memory is the worst choice you could have made for your 790i, no offence but true none the less. If you can post your bios settings I can help you.

 

[Gw2]

I've heard several times that the 790i is very picky about ram, and ya bad move on my part to cheap out on ram. ill post my bios settings in a minute. just gotta do a quick reboot.

EDIT: anyone know of an easy way to print bios settings? or something along those lines?

 

[MadMaxData]

Your going to think I'm crazy, but try this real quick. Go into Power Options and set it to high performance, rather than power saver. It worked for me, and a host of others.

 

[Gw2]

i do that on every fresh install.

 

[MadMaxData]

i do that on every fresh install.

It was just a suggestion. I can see your frustration level rising, so I figured I would throw that out there, just in case you didn't have it set to high performance.

 

[Gw2]

its fine i appreciate the suggestion. my sanity is a little out the window right now so i'm sorry if i've come off as a bit of a jerk. I've been stuck at home for around 2 months now, i dont live near town and i cant drive with my arm the way it is so i'm a bit miserable. I'll be posting those bios settings momentarily.