Random reboots while gaming (Win7)

[apple1ma]

Hey so recently my computer has developed this problem causing random reboots. It usually only happens while gaming, but it has occurred while watching DivX videos too. After a reboot, my computer will run solid for 12 hours to 3 days =\, until another random reboot of death occurs.

I'm pretty sure it's not a heat issue, but i could very well be wrong, these are the temps for my hardware. There have also been restarts when i know my computer was pretty cold.

(all temps are in Celsius)

All temps recorded with HWmonitor

CPU Idle: 30-33
CPU while gaming: 40-50 (it never goes past 50 in games)
GPU Idle: 50-54
GPU while gaming: 60-78 (it only gets to 70+ in very gfx intense games)
PSU: 30-37
Motherboard: 30-35
Hard Drive: 26-30

I've mem tested for 15 hours with 0 errors, and ran prime95 for 12 hours with no problems.

At first i thought it may be my PSU, so i just installed a new one and I still get the restarts.

Specs:
Q6600 2.4 @ 3.5
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 nForce 680i
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V
BFG 8800gtx 768MB 384-bit
Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 5-4-4-12
Seagate Barracuda 7200rpm 500g

any input will be greatly appreciated, I'm running out of ideas =[.

Thanks.

 

[Route44]

1. Concerning your temps, what does BFG say are the safe parameters? What are the parameters for your cpu?

2. Concerning the freeze problem: Have you updated your video card drivers?

 

[apple1ma]

I remember reading about BFG saying that it can handle 90+.

And the q6600 can operate safely up to 80c.

And yes, my video card/mobo drivers are all up to date, maybe i should try installing older drivers

 

[Route44]

Sometimes rolling back to older drivers works quite well. We've seen this work at TechSpot many times. Try the following:

1. Download Driver Cleaner Pro or Driver Sweeper (both have free versions; make sure the version will work with your OS) to your desktop screen and install.

2. Download the latest diver(s) for your video card (in your case an older driver) but don't install them.

3. Uninstall your video card drivers and reboot your PC into Safe Mode. Run Driver Cleaner Pro or Driver Sweeper. If it doesn't find any video card drivers that is quite okay.

4. Reboot and install new (or older) video card drivers.

 

[apple1ma]

I installed different drivers and still am getting the reboot of death. It just happened while playing SC2, my CPU temp was at 35, and video card was at 75, i keep HWmonitor up and check frequently to see if i catch any HIGH temps, but these both seem normal =\.

Maybe my video card or cpu is just giving out? This comp is 3 years old.

 

[apple1ma]

I just looked at my dump folder again and found this dump from 3/21/10. I thought I checked it before, but I must have been dreaming.

 

[Route44]

It is good you found that minidump because it gives us definitive information. This is the first time ever I have come across this error.

Your error is 0x000000C7: TIMER_OR_DPC_INVALID
A kernel timer or Delayed Procedure Call (DPC) was found somewhere in memory where it is not permitted. This is usually caused by a driver’s failure to cancel the timer or the DPC before freeing the memory in which the timer or DPC resides.

The driver that is cited as the issue is the Nvidia nvlddmkm.sys. This means that the driver is not functioning as it is supposed to thus causing your issues.

My first best suggestion is to completely uninstall everthing Nvidia associated with your video card and do a complete clean reinstall inclusing physically resetting said card.

* Get back to us with your results.

 

[apple1ma]

I did everything you suggested, including reinstalling my mobo drivers(because it's an nforce board).

I wanted to test my video card's heat threshold so i opened up WoW and SC2 and kept SC2 in the background while playing WoW. My video card got up to 84c, and i played wow for about 3 hours with no problem. This is much hotter than it gets when i play SC2 alone, and most of my recent reboots have been in SC2.

I'll report back in a few hours, or when the next reboot happens.

 

[Route44]

Okay, look forward to it. Try this: open your side panel and have a fan blow on the system while playing games (just not hurricane force winds )

 

[apple1ma]

I've been able to play SC2 for about 2 hours without any problems so far, but i did lower my graphics settings. My video card is still reaching the same temperatures as when i have full graphics on, but we'll see, fingers crossed for no reboots!

 

[apple1ma]

Still no luck, comp just rebooted again during SC2, i checked my temps about 2 mins before the restart, and video card was at 71, CPU was at 37.

I also memtested last night, 0 errors, it did about 10 passes. Tonight i'm going run prime95 again and see what happens.

 

[Route44]

71-75 celcius is 160-167 fehrenheit. To me that sounds hot but I have never run a high end graphics card such as your's so if BFG says 90+ is okay then your current temps are okay.

Still, reboots/shut-downs like you experience are a solid indicator of heat issues.

 

[apple1ma]

Yeah, these temps are hot to me as well, but for this specific card 70~ degrees is considered cool, and a good temperature to operate at. I was reading random boards and people reported regular temperatures of 90c while gaming with their 8800gtx.

I'm going to run a video card stress test right now and see if i get any problems.

 

[apple1ma]

The test has been running for about 40 mins, and i have no errors or artifacts. My GPU is at 90c as well and still running strong.

I never seem to get problems when i test everything separately =\.

 

[Route44]

For clarification: This only happens when you are gaming (and an occasional watching of DivX videos) , correct? And it is only with certain games, correct?

It seems to me everything points to your video card. You turned down the settings once. For diagnostic cake try turning them down further and what happens?

 

[apple1ma]

I tried turning it down to the lowest graphics settings, but all it seemed to do was prolong the inevitable reboot. I am going to reset my bios to default because I don't really know what else i can try(ram and cpu are overclocked).

 

[Route44]

Oh, overclocked! OCing can definitely cause instability. Reset your card and ease back on your timings. What happens?

 

[apple1ma]

After playing around with my bios i think it might be my CPU's 3rd core which is causing the instability, thanks for the help, i guess i'll be saving for a new cpu.

 

[Route44]

Have you tried setting your quad core to default settings?

 

[apple1ma]

I was able to play a full night of sc2 on default settings, but i really hate the performance i get on default in other games, so i'm messing with tri core settings. I should be able to get a 3.5ish tri-core, since i was running 3.5 quad for 3 years.

thanks again for all the help, and sticking with me for the past few days.