Why would my system be locking up?

[garethrogue]

first of all, I have an Intel core i7 920, MSI X58 Platinum MB, 6GB of Patriot DDR3 RAM, a 750mw power supply, an nvidia Geforce GTX 260, and a 500gb HDD.

a couple days ago I cleaned out the inside of my case with an air hose, got all the dust out of there. I removed the CPU fan, and the RAM in the process. hooked everything back up, and am now having problems with the system freezing and or just restarting on it's own. Usually happens when I make it earn it's paycheck, like logging into World of Warcraft, but it's happened while booting u, surfing the internet, and running a system restore, so it seems to happen whenever it wants to.

I took the system to Best buy, they ran a hardware diagnostic and everything checked out. Brought the system home earlier tonight and am still having the same problems. The cool thing is the Geek Squad accidenall left their diagnostic disc in my disc drive, so I'm running my own checks In fact it froze up while it was testing the RAM.

my system is 2 years old, this same problem happened then too when it was brand new, but I can't for the life of me remember what the solution was.


my question is, if everything is supposedly working fine, why would my system be freezing up? CPU temp is not an issue here, this only started after I cleaned out my case, and all my fans are running perfectly, and everything is connectly correctly.

 

[garethrogue]

new question; I'm going to check the status of my drivers, is there any reason I would have lost my drivers if my system was crashing and rebooting several times in the space of aout 5 minutes?
Also, to add some additional information, I think I may have reinstalled the CPU fan incorrectly, the intel logo was facing to the right instead of being rightside up, but I don't know if that makes a difference.

The first time it crashed, when it rebooted it gave me a message that was something like "overclocking failed", and then it sent me to the BIOS menu.

I'm wondering now if my BIOS needs to be updated, maybe those updates were lost. would an outdated BIOS cause the system to randomly crash?

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Why don't you try a memtest to see if it is or isn't your ram?

 

[garethrogue]

Why don't you try a memtest to see if it is or isn't your ram?

actually, using the geek squad disc, I ran it, and it passed. It actually froze up the first time, and then passed the second time.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Why don't you try a memtest to see if it is or isn't your ram?

http://www.memtest.org/

 

[garethrogue]

it's the ****ing MB BIOS, and I can't update it because this piece of dog **** computer keeps freezing up before I can accomplish anything. I'm never buying anything from MSI ever again.

 

[Leeky]

The issue is actually you, having touched the computer as it ran perfectly fine before you touched it, by your own admission. No point blaming MSI for something you have done.

I strongly recommend you remove the CPU and cooler, and remove everything from the motherboard, ensure its all clean and then systematically re-fit everything.

Your issue is most likely due to a part that is has been disturbed by the force of the compressed air when released inside the case. Be sure to also clean, and then replace the thermal paste on the CPU before refitting the cooler. Take your time, and be patient.

Ensure the CPU cooler is fully locked down on the pins, and is tight fitting. Watch a few video's of how its done correctly on youtube.com first. You need patience dude, it is likely the simplest of things your purely overlooking due to getting wound up.

P.S. (with my moderator hat on) having a swear filter does not mean you can still swear just because its filtered.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

MSI is fine. You don't need a bios update, since it worked just fine before. In fact, bios updates can be pretty risky. Though, you can go ahead and try that if you don't have other options, as in, maybe you should go run that memory test.
I'm convinced that the silly bestbuy CD is not very useful.

 

[garethrogue]

The issue is actually you, having touched the computer as it ran perfectly fine before you touched it, by your own admission. No point blaming MSI for something you have done.

This is the same problem I had when it was brand new 2 years ago. This is only happening because I lost all my BIOS and driver updates since then.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I lost all my BIOS and driver updates since then.

How is that possible? From cleaning out your case especially?
I wouldn't be so quick to say that's the problem though.

 

[garethrogue]

How is that possible? From cleaning out your case especially?
I wouldn't be so quick to say that's the problem though.

updating the MB BIOS was how I fixed the exact same problem two years ago when the system was new. Everything has been fine since then until this happened. According to MSI's own update progra my BIOS is out of date and my graphics drivers which were up to date three days ago were lost as well.

 

[Leeky]

So if they were "lost" for no apparent reason you also either have a faulty hard disk, and/or you have viruses, malware and/or spyware infecting your system.

Dude, a computer doesn't just "lose" your drivers in the OS for the GPU. They're either installed, or they're not. It takes an action from the OS via you to change that state. The motherboard doesn't ever store the drivers, they're only on the hard disk once installed to the OS. The only code on the motherboard is the BIOS, which is stored on-board. You do understand that don't you?

It worked before you opened the case. You then blasted it with compressed air. It then didn't work - Your issue is from you cleaning inside the case. Like I said, fully strip it down, and rebuild it and the issue will likely go away. Failing that, you have damaged something during the cleaning process.

 

[garethrogue]

It worked before you opened the case. You then blasted it with compressed air. It then didn't work - Your issue is from you cleaning inside the case. Like I said, fully strip it down, and rebuild it and the issue will likely go away. Failing that, you have damaged something during the cleaning process.

was it "blasted with compressed air" two years ago right out of the box when it did this same exact thing? no


I'll agree that the HDD might have something to do with this.

 

[Leeky]

was it "blasted with compressed air" two years ago right out of the box when it did this same exact thing? no

I'll agree that the HDD might have something to do with this.

It doesn't mean that the same thing has caused it again on this occasion.

You have two choices:

1. You carry on essentially ignoring whatever advice you see fit because you know better
2. You listen to the advice being given, swallow your pride and perhaps follow the advice given which might resolve your issue.

If you knew what was happening you wouldn't be here asking for help now would you?

If you want to argue every piece of advice given thats fine, but your computer still doesn't work, and you'll not be resolving that unless you try what others are suggesting. The people offering help on this forum do it day in, day out, as a hobby and know what they're talking about. Nobody here wants to waste yours, or anyone else's time, but if your asking for help, you need to actually try what's being suggested, not keep referring to the past non-stop.

On another note, regarding running Memtest, please read the quoted text below:

First, download the program from here:

http://www.memtest.org

There are two types of downloads you can get, a bootable CD (.iso) and a bootable floppy disk. Pick one and download it. If you're experiencing troubles using the CD or Floppy versions, you may try the USB version, but i haven't tried it yet.


If you use Dual channel or multiple sticks of RAM, take all of them out so you have just the one plugged into the primary slot. Run the test and swap with the other sticks until all is tested individually. Don't forget to turn off and unplug your PC before removing/replacing any components

It is suggested that you run the test for at least 7 Passes. You can run it longer or shorter if you wish but note any errors it states on the information it gives you onscreen. If you do get errors, that means that the stick you have currently is incompatible or faulty or if you're lucky, its only a dirty slot or contact on the module/motherboard. If you don't get any errors, put all your RAM sticks back into its slots and run the test a final time and observe any errors.

There is also menus, infos and things you can change inside the program. Fiddle if you want to, but don't ask me what they do.

The full thread is here.

As per the above, a minimum of 7 passes should be achieved on each stick individually before assuming the RAM is OK. Also bear in mind RAM can pass Memtest and still be faulty, but given your issues its unlikely this will apply to you.

 

[garethrogue]

So if they were "lost" for no apparent reason you also either have a faulty hard disk, and/or you have viruses, malware and/or spyware infecting your system.

Dude, a computer doesn't just "lose" your drivers in the OS for the GPU. They're either installed, or they're not. It takes an action from the OS via you to change that state. The motherboard doesn't ever store the drivers, they're only on the hard disk once installed to the OS. The only code on the motherboard is the BIOS, which is stored on-board. You do understand that don't you?

then where did my VGA drivers go? they didn't just fly out of the window. They were updated, and now they're not. How come my BIOS went from version 3.90 to 3.20?

 

[Leeky]

They flew off into the sunset, probably frustrated that you wouldn't listen to perfectly good advice from people in this thread.

Heading back to reality for second, there could be many reasons why that would happen. We can't really know what you've been doing so can only base our responses on what you tell us, with careful application of common sense for good measure along the way.

It goes without saying that maybe your current GPU version number and BIOS update version are the least of your worries. Your so fixated on that your missing the complete picture. Get the computer working then worry about the updates. You really shouldn't be flashing a BIOS unless you have to do it for support reasons, like issues with incompatibility between your CPU and motherboard etc - even today it is risky, and a failed update can brick a motherboard making nothing better than a paperweight.

Try the suggestions given in this thread, then report back with your findings and we can all go from there. Arguing about your GPU and BIOS update numbers is getting you nowhere.

 

[garethrogue]

seems to me like my CMOS was reset. I'll take it from here guys, thanks.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

Clearing the CMOS probably wouldn't do anything, and won't cause your previous bios updates to disappear.

I don't really understand your explanation of how you lost all your BIOS updates and software updates from cleaning your case.
Don't stress, it's probably fine.

 

[klepto12]

WOW so yeah first thing i would do is try and reset the cmos remove the battery on the motherboard and set the cmos jumper the reset wait about 5 min and then put the jumper back then install the battery and reboot also you may need to set the time back on your computer. Another thing is that you might have blew dust into the ram sockets with that compressed air so i would do like Leeky said and strip the system and put it back together. Also dumb question did you plug the cpu fan back in?