BSOD
Hello. I'm not sure what this problem is, or what causes it, so I just posted it in the Hardware forum, as that is what I suspect. Lately, my machine seems to be having all sorts of problems. I'm getting all kinds of BSOD's, and my machine sometimes just freeze, and I must reboot. Of the BSOD's I can mention:
Machine_check_exeption
No more irp stack locations
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER
A process crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated
There are more, but I haven't written them down. I have updated all my drivers, and all updates from Microsoft. I have scanned my computer with AVG Antivius, Stinger from McAfee, Panda Online, Ad-aware and Spybot. All came out clean. I have run an Error-check on my HD, no problems there.
As for the freezing ofd my computer, it seems to appear at random. It could freeze when I have just booted after I come home from school, or it can freeze as I'm about to turn it off.
Please help me, as I have no idea what the problem is.
Machine_check_exeption
No more irp stack locations
IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
THREAD STUCK IN DEVICE DRIVER
A process crucial to system operation has unexpectedly exited or been terminated
There are more, but I haven't written them down. I have updated all my drivers, and all updates from Microsoft. I have scanned my computer with AVG Antivius, Stinger from McAfee, Panda Online, Ad-aware and Spybot. All came out clean. I have run an Error-check on my HD, no problems there.
As for the freezing ofd my computer, it seems to appear at random. It could freeze when I have just booted after I come home from school, or it can freeze as I'm about to turn it off.
Please help me, as I have no idea what the problem is.
0
Comments
One of the things you always suspect with BSOD's is bad memory. When the BSOD's are that random I'd ramp that concern up even higher. Make a memtest boot disk (probably from another machine since we just can't trust yours) and boot up and run the tests. If you get one error, that's too many.
I'd start there, esp with those symptoms.
Also, make sure your case has been blown out with some canned air. I pulled apart my home rig last weekend to make some upgrades and I knew it would be dusty because I hadn't cleaned it in probably two years or more, but the amount of dust that was on everything literally amazed me and I was surprised the system would run. my heatsink was almost completely blocked with a layer of thick dust so I don't think the fan was doing much good at all. I'd say it was only minimally better than a passively cooled CPU. Also, make sure you don't just blow off the RAM/CPU, blow off EVERYTHING. Hard drives, north/south bridge, power supply. Run Check Disk (chkdsk.exe).
Also, try updating your system BIOS.
Windows:
Go to the motherboard manufacturer's website and download the newest BIOS and the BIOS update utility for windows and follow the instructions.
Boot floppy:
Go to the motherboard manufacturer's website and download the newest BIOS and the BIOS update utility for DOS.
Create a boot floppy. In Windows Explorer go to A: and right-click. Select Format and check the option to create a bootable diskette. Once that is done, copy the update utility (exe form, not .zip) and the newest BIOS to the floppy and reboot. Once you're presented with a DOS command prompt, type in the name of the BIOS update utility and follow the instructions.
If you do not have a floppy drive, you can make a bootable CD and copy the files needed to the CD. I've done that before.
If you didn't run memtest for 24 hours with no errors then you need to do so. If your CPU or RAM is NOT overclocked, then perhaps you need better cooling or perhaps you have the voltage set too low. Try bumping the RAM voltage up by 0.1v and see if that does the trick. If not, try bumping the CPU voltage up by 0.025v or even 0.05v.
I don't know if this could cause your problem, but if you have a spare battery, try replacing the battery on your motherboard.
As for turning up the speed of the fans, the answer is probably no. Make sure your case is where it can have adequate ventilation. If it's pressed up against a wall, that might restrict the airflow. Also, you might only need to change the direction of some fans rather than adding new ones. If all your fans are blowing OUT of the case, that's not good. Some need to bring fresh air in and some take the hot air out.