Rebooting driving me nuts

[domyue]

Hi, I've been having this problem for a while now, but really can't stand it anymore. My PC randomly reboots and giving me major headaches when I'm doing something important.

1) I've done the pagefile set to zero then defrag thing. 2) Memtest86 done 7 passes (all ok) 3) checked with everest - temps are fine (although one HDD is 58 degrees celsius) 4) done a disk check on my boot drive 5) No virus/malware

I really have no idea what's going on...could someone please look at my minidumps? Perhaps its a software issue?

Thanks a lot guys!

 

[Route44]

Al;l your minidumps state 0x8E errors which nearly always hardware issues though sometimes they be caused by drivers or a need to update your BIOS.

Nothing definitive was listed as what would lead to a hardware culprit but perhaps someone who has deeper knowledge than me could help more in their reads.

One driver that was cited is aswMon2.sys which belongs to Avast. My first suggestion is to go to their website forums and see if anyone else has had issues.

What is the make and model of your power supply? How many watts? A faulty psu can definitly cause your suymptoms. List your system specs in your profile because that would be helpful

 

[domyue]

I have already reviewed my power supply (changed it for a new one - had a Hiper before...still have probs with both PSUs). My sensor for my voltages are funny - I have 3V for my 12V rail!! HOWEVER, its been like that since I got this PC so its a faulty sensor I'm told (otherwise my PC wouldnt run).

That aside, my specs are:
IBM deskstar 120gb
Maxtor 160gb
2X512mb RAM
3.4 P4
ATI radeon 9600 pro
LG DVD-RW
WinXP SP2

1) Thinking of getting AVG antivirus instead of avast BUT: i can't seem to get it to auto-update...it's scheduled to update at night, but often I have my PC off, so it doesnt update...is there a way to get it to auto-update whenever it senses a internet connection??

2) I cant get my 2nd HDD temperature down below 80-90oC (no dust/enough airing space) - i even have a fan blowing really slowly below it... its 80oC idle...........is my HDD dying or is it another faulty sensor?

Thanks again - I'd be v grateful if someone can pinpoint something in my minidumps!

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Minidump 041208-01:

BugCheck 1000008E, {c0000005, 804e7fc2, b735f63c, 0}
Probably caused by : hardware ( win32k!PALLOCMEM+2c )
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Minidump 041208-02:

BugCheck 1000008E, {c0000005, c038d964, b8039594, 0}
Probably caused by : win32k.sys ( win32k!PALLOCMEM+2c )
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Minidump 041208-03:

BugCheck 1000008E, {c0000005, c038e3f4, b74976f8, 0}
Probably caused by : aswMon2.SYS ( aswMon2+61dc )
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Minidump 041208-01:

BugCheck 1000008E, {c0000005, c0384338, b79ab6f8, 0}
Probably caused by : aswMon2.SYS ( aswMon2+630a )
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Uninstall Avast and go ahead with the installation of AVG. If your blue screens continue, test your RAM with Memtest86 for a minimum of 7 passes.

Here is a tutorial of sorts on how to use AVG: http://www.download.com/How-to-use-AVG/1200-2023-5158759.html.

I'd guess that it's the software you're using to read the sensor. Try another program.

 

[domyue]

As I mentioned before, I did try AVG before on another PC and the problem was that the scheduled updates were at a certain time in the day and if my PC was not on at that specified time of the day, it would not update even if I switched it on later on in the day.

It didnt seem to want to update when AVG was past the scheduled date.... Can I make it update whenever it senses an internet connection?? (avast does this, conveniently...)

NB: I have tested my RAM with memtest86 with 7 passes (all ok). and also, I'll check my temps with another program (any recommendations other than Everest?)

Thanks again

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

As I mentioned before, I did try AVG before on another PC and the problem was that the scheduled updates were at a certain time in the day and if my PC was not on at that specified time of the day, it would not update even if I switched it on later on in the day.

It didnt seem to want to update when AVG was past the scheduled date.... Can I make it update whenever it senses an internet connection?? (avast does this, conveniently...)

Okay, as I mentioned before, here is a tutorial for you. If you had taken literally two minutes to look at that link you would of seen the following:

After you've installed AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition, you'll see the red, yellow, black, and green icon appear in your system tray. Double-clicking that icon will open the Control Center, which lists top-level options and AVG's currently available components. Like any security program, antivirus programs are only as good as their latest updates. Without frequent updates you'll still be able to guard against older viruses, but if a new one is released you'll be completely unprotected.

To get started, click the Check for Updates button on the left side of the interface. When the next dialog box appears, click the Internet button to designate how you plan to update AVG. After a quick download and installation, your AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition will be completely up-to-date. Remember, updates come out fairly regularly for antivirus programs to protect against the latest threats, so the best method to stay on top of updates is to set a schedule. To do so, click Scheduler from the components on the right; then click Scheduled Tasks in the lower right of the interface. Select the line that says Update Plan in Basic Mode and click the Edit Schedule button. This will let you specify a time for AVG to download new updates on a daily basis. Choose a time from the drop-down menu that suits your schedule and click OK.

 

[kimsland]

Just a quick comment.

I've done the pagefile set to zero then defrag thing

You have set Pagefile back to normal again I hope?

Pagefile needs a minimum of 50Meg for the most extreme cases, of users who wish to get rid of it. But ideally the Pagefile is usually set to around 1Gig for high memory systems (2Gig and over physical Ram) This amount can vary from system to system.
Or generally 1.5 x physical Ram on all systems.

Zero Pagefile has been known to cause errors in games; and graphics programs (plus many specific others) and therefore is generally not ideal.

 

[domyue]

zenosincks, I did read the guide and did read the part that you formatted in bold and underline. I did set a schedule on my AVG, but my PC is never on/off by schedule. So very often I'll not have my PC on when I have scheduled the update. And when I switch it on (lets say an hour PAST the scheduled time), then it wouldnt update for the rest of the day.

I was hoping it would update not as per schedule, but like avast, which senses an internet connection and updates accordingly.

NB: @ kimsland - I've got a 1.5 gig pagefile now

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

Mmm, I could very well be wrong, domyue, but I've run AVG on client's machines many times (it's usually what I'll install if they don't have an anti-virus), and I'm pretty sure I can recall it just updating spontaneously on it's own.

Try it again, and if it doesn't I will see if I can find something for you.

 

[domyue]

ok sure i'll try it, thanks for your help

btw, my HD (under a little load like downloading) is around 90oC...is it a sign that it's dying??

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

...Or a sign that your sensor isn't working/the software you're using to read it sucks .

 

[domyue]

Oh I have just tried SpeedFan - the motherboard aberrant reading of the 12V rail is now reading something normal!!

However, my HDD is really still stuck at 88-90oC... do dying HDDs do this kinda thing?

 

[domyue]

I pulled out the hot harddrive so I just have my main drive (that apparently works fine) in the machine. Also have removed avast and replaced it with AVG. I have defragmented too.

My reboots STILL occur... (so my RAM works, my HD is now cool, solved the obvious software problem......) What else is causing this??!!

Would someone like to see some more of the latest minidumps??

Thanks a lot

 

[Route44]

Yes, post more minidumps.

 

[domyue]

haha it auto-rebooted suddenly as I was posting the minidumps!!

These ones attached are from today's 5 crashes...


Thanks so much guys...

 

[Route44]

0x8E errors in all of them. Two just say plain hardware, two cite core Windows drivers, and the other a ATI graphics driver. Okay, lets try this: List everything you have done so far to try to rectify the issue. It will help us sort out what has been done and a possibility of what can be tried next.

 

[domyue]

1) bought PC from someone and it started crashing so I reinstalled everything - it ran fine for a while and started again.
2) Noticed that when I'm a little while into a game, my PC would INEVITABLY auto-reboot (no BSOD or any notice)
3) I started blowing an external fan (!) onto the back of the video card and it actually ran the games fine after that.
4) I guess it could be the video card that's doing the intermittent crashing when NOT playing a game - so I installed a different video card... STILL crashing
5) reset pagefile and defrag
6) updated all drivers of video card
7) Uninstalled Avast which was cited in some previous minidumps apparently
8) Ran memtest86 7 passes (all ok)
9) removed the harddrive which was running very hot
10) No virus/malware
11) Diskcheck was fine last time I did it

So could it still be the videocard overheating (somehow) during normal PC use and it causing the crashes like it did when it ran games (when it naturally gets hot anyway)?? I thought it was rather unlikely that both cards had the problem though...

Thanks!

 

[Route44]

Is the fan running on the video card at acceptable rates? When you installed new graphics drivers did you completely uninstall the old ones first? Have you run a full diagnostics on your harddrive?

 

[domyue]

Well the fan of the video card IS running...not sure if its at acceptable rates or not. I just placed a case fan right on top of the back of the card, so this way it'll keep cool for sure...hope its safe =|

I did uninstall previous drivers. But I think when I swapped cards, I didnt properly uninstall the Nvidia ones before installing the ATI ones. I have just removed the NVidia ones using 'Your Uninstaller' a few minutes ago so hope that will make a change too.

Whats a full diagnostics for HDD??

 

[kimsland]

HardDrive Diagnostic test: https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic7602.html

 

[domyue]

Just got a crash after doing the above so:

It is evidently NOT the video card getting hot and its NOT because of the NVideo drivers that were left behind. Do ya think I should uninstall whatever ATI driver I have and reinstall it or would that be pointless??

I'll do the seagate tools diagnostics on my HDD in a bit.

 

[sspeedy43]

I Had the same promblem but I KNOW HOW TO FIX!!!

when your computer starts go into setup and find sdram and then find sdram timing and set it to 2 instead of others or just 1 lower it makes your computer faster also but my ram is now 112 on #2 instead of 128 which is when it is on 3 sacrafice some but it works! (ya iknow i need to get a better computer im in the proccess i get all the handydowns)

 

[domyue]

...messing with RAM timings sound like a rather haphazard way of solving the issue...

I mean, what is the actual reason for the crash?? How does RAM timings resolute matters?? In the end, most people with winXP get crashes at some point, just cos its rather unstable - the origins of yours may be different although with the same symptoms.

If we can't find a solution in Techspot then I'll try your method. Thanks for your input!!

PS: I believe my ram is DDR. Plus, there's more than one timing (x.x.x.x i think is the configuration of how ram is clocked)

 

[atrevidoman]

Holaa todos

Entre aqui por que lei que esta es una de las maneras mas faciles de ayudar y ser ayudados, mi pc se revutea a cada rato sin razon el error que me da es Mini041808-04.dmp en verdad nunca antes lo habia visto alguien conoce pq paa esto.

Hi, he estado teniendo este problema durante algún tiempo ahora, pero realmente no puedo estarlo parado más. Mis de la PC reboots aleatoriamente y darme dolores de cabeza importantes cuando estoy haciendo algo importante.

1) He hecho el sistema pagefile a cero entonces cosa del defrag. 2) ¿Memtest86 hecho 7 pasos (todo aceptables) 3) comprobados con la más everest - los temps son muy bien (aunque un HDD es 58 grados de centígrado) 4) hechos un cheque del disco en mi impulsión de cargador 5) ningún virus/malware que

realmente no tengo ninguna idea en qué va? podría alguien satisfacer mirada en mis minidumps? ¿Quizás su una edición del software?

¡De las gracias individuos mucho!

 

[domyue]

ermmm...i don't understand ...