Windows 7 crashes/screen freezes

[XxCarnagexX]

At completely random times, my computer will just crash. the screen will freeze and i cant do anything but reboot it. sometimes there will be small blue lines throughout the screen, and i will be able to move the mouse for a few secs, then everything freezes up. Other times, the screen will randomly lock up, then turn black or gray and then come back to Windows with an error message saying the display driver has failed and has been recovered.I have checked all my drivers and all of them are up to date. I reformatted just 4 days ago and the problems continue. PLEASE someone help me.

Specs:
Intel Core I7 860
6 Gig OCZ Platinum triple channel ram 1333Mhz
XFX Radeon HD 5770 1 gig Video Card
EVGA P55 LE MoBo
Windows 7 64 Bit

If you need any other information, Please ask for it

 

[raybay]

Could it be an infestation or a failure or intermittent failure of just about any component?
I would start by removing a lot of that memory, and then testing on 2 GB at a time... as memory is the usual issue... But the difficulty is that it could be any failure of any component... Sometimes you have to strip everything out then install one component at a time, while performing extensive testing... Usually, going back to the most simple install is best because it reduces the number of possibilities.
Keep written notes, as it is easy to become confused, as you run through all the possibilities.

 

[XxCarnagexX]

Okay. Everytime i try and test 1 dimm at a time, it will not post. I can only get it to post when i have all 3 dimms in. do you know why this might be?

 

[raybay]

Just guessing, but I would think either your memory is the wrong size, type, or speed (usually too high of a speed rating) or you have damaged the memory sockets... or there is some adjustment needed in the BIOS.
Very carefully check you memory against what you know... if it was new and received recently, report this problem to the seller... if it was somebody like Crucial, Infineon, Directron, TigerDirect, or Frys, they will exchange the memory without a quarrel.

Look at the rated memory requirement at your manufacturers web site, and at www.crucial.com to be sure.

There are a number of system boards that are incredibly picky about which memory they will accept... ASUS boards, and IBM Thinkpad boards, oftentimes need the exact memory they request... and if you install mixed memory, or memory that does not have exactly the right timings and voltages, or memory is not listed in the QVL, you will never get over the troubles you will have.

Others: ECC vs Non-ECC, SDRAM Timings, Chip configuration where the individual chips are counted.

Cheap memory is a very common cause... Third tier memory will work on a cheap, common lower speed board, but will not work on a gamer.

In some cases on quality System Boards, all memory modules has to be identical in performance... and in chip size, such as listed 128 X 64 for instance.

You will get the needed memory description from the motherboard manufacturer or computer manufacturer's web site, but if you are not using NAME BRAND and Timings specified memory, you will not know for sure.