Windows re-install... still rebooting

[jmillerdls]

Was having reboots about every 3 hours. They seemed to be at random. They would happen when doing a lot of things on the computer and they would happen when I was sleeping and basically the computer was doing nothing. After posting on a half dozen forums and not finding any help, I decided to re-install windows and start from scratch.

This is after buying new RAM and removing a sound card and nic card and switching to on board for both of those.

Windows was a full reinstall.
The new RAM is good, I ran it through memtest86 and it didn't have any errors (unlike my previous RAM)
I replaced the NIC before the reinstall, so no old drivers with that, and I uninstalled the sound card drivers, then booted up in safe mode and driver cleaner'd the files left before installing new drivers for the on board audio.
I've done chckdsk.
I uninstalled, cleaned and then installed new video card drivers...just to try something new.

So, here I am...and I'm still crashing regularly. Does it pretty much have to be the motherboard at this point? I mean, what else could possibly explain this? I'll post the minidumps, hopefully someone can find something I can do. I'm desperate for any help.

 

[cyclonicblade]

mm mine does that but i know y a 8800GTX SC and a 600watt power supply see the issue? well it cause's a thread to get stuck in the card, so u may have a cooling or power issue ohh and look for a message on the blue screen and look in adman tools for a report mine says its nvidia driver causing it but i know better just saving for another psu

 

[jmillerdls]

I don't think its heat. I have speedfan running which tells me all the temps and they are all below normal.

I have a 430watt power supply for a 6800GT...which I assume is enough. Haven't had any issues for 2 years until the last 2 weeks.

 

[almcneil]

Two most likely causes, after reading everything, are the hard drive or the motherboard. Try running the manufacturers diagnostics on the hard drive and/or swapping the hard drive and see what happens.

Best,
-- Andy

 

[jmillerdls]

I'm not really sure what the manufacturers diagnostics is. I have speedfan, which has a S.M.A.R.T. tab that performs an in-depth analysis of the hard drive. Whether that is at all useful or not I don't know, but it says the fitness and performance of my HDD is working great.

 

[almcneil]

You can go to the manufacturer's web site and check for one. They should have one.

- Andy

 

[gbhall]

There are many possibilities

Download and run (say) Belarc advisor, or Everest which will tell you the exact make and model of your hard drive, and give you a link to the site, where you can download the correct testing regime. This will take a long time to run, and you should find the time to let it - after all you are saying the fault takes 3 hours to manifest itself !

Other possibilities concern massive quantities of rubbish like temporary files, causing big fragmentation. use all options to free up disk space (help and support), to clean up temporary internet cache (your browser), and if you know enough, run CCleaner. Watch out you dont lose essential Internet cookies if you do the last.

Also could be caused by fragmentation, so run Windows defragmenter or other (again this could take hours, so do it after removing all the rubbish)

Finally take as close a look at the capacitors on the motherboard, and I mean a close look (fat round can-like things if you don't know what they are). Feel the surfaces as much as you can. If you feel or see any tiny bubbles, your motherboard is suffering from 'capacitor rot' - internal pressure bursting them - and is on it's way out. Also look for any strange discolouration on the motherboard, sign of overheating. Not likely if your measured temps are ok.

 

[jmillerdls]

Well, sometimes its 3 hours, sometimes its 10 hours, sometimes its 10 minutes...seems completely random.

I don't think its massive amounts of rubbish or fragmentation because I just did a clean install and there is really very little on the computer. Windows defragmenter is made up of 80% white space, so I think that should be good.

I think I found what I need to check my Samsung hard drive, and its going to take quite a bit of effort to get that all set up (creating a disc to boot up with, etc.), so I'll get around to that later. Funny enough, someone else suggested the capacitor thing in another thread (different forum), at about the exact same time as you suggested it, so I guess I'll look into that...never heard of it before.

 

[nobardin]

Miidump 110208-01
BUGCHECK_STR: 0x7f_8
Probably caused by : tcpip.sys

Cause:
Bug check 0x7F typically occurs after you install a faulty or mismatched hardware (especially memory) or if installed hardware fails.

Troubleshooting:
If you recently added hardware to the computer, remove it to see if the error recurs. If existing hardware has failed, remove or replace the faulty component. Run hardware diagnostics that the system manufacturer supplies to determine which hardware component failed.
------------------------

Minidump 110108-05
BUGCHECK_STR: 0xA
Probably caused by : ntkrnlmp.exe

Cause
This bug check is issued if paged memory (or invalid memory) is accessed when the IRQL is too high. The error that generates this bug check usually occurs after the installation of a faulty device driver, system service, or BIOS.

That bug check and the citing of ntkrnlmp.exe which is a core Windows driver could be an indication of a hardware problem.
-------------------------

Minidump 110108-03
BUGCHECK_STR: 0x7f_8
Probably caused by : i8042prt.sys which belongs to the software i8042 Keyboard and PS/2 Mouse Port Driver or Microsoft® Windows® Operating System.
-------------------------

Miidump 110108-02
BUGCHECK_STR: 0x7f_8
Probably caused by : ipsec.sys
-------------------------

Continue doing what was previously posted for checking your hardware/Motherboard.

Something I would like to ask though. You stated you bought new RAM and have ran it through memtest which is great. If you have more than 1 stick of RAM in your computer..Did you buy them as a matched pair? I have bought RAM in the past as a set (same manufacturer (Kingston) and even bought them as a set), but upon installing it my computer would reboot/blue screen. It turned out that the RAM was conflicting with each other, because they were not a matched pair. I then got a matched set of ram from Corsair and the problems stopped.. It is just a thought..Like I said please continue doing what was previously stated for checking your hardware/motherboard

Hope we get this issue resolved for you soon.

 

[jmillerdls]

Yeah, the RAM was a matched pair. I did quite a bit of studying before purchasing on NewEgg to make sure I got something that would work in my reasonably old computer.

 

[jmillerdls]

You guys have given me a lot of great advice and I appreciate your efforts. However, it has probably gotten to the point that I'm no longer willing to spend any more time on this. I work from home, and this computer crashing has been a severe problem for me.

At this point, I'd like to just cut my losses and replace everything that could be the problem and stuff it into my old case.

What I was hoping you guys could help me with is determining if all this stuff is compatible. I want to keep the RAM I just bought so this limited my choices on Motherboards significantly. Add to that, I want to keep this as cheap as possible. I planned on getting a new computer sometime next year, but am not financially able to upgrade to the top tier stuff right now (which I will still do later). I just need something to hold me over until then.

So, in saying all that...can you guys tell me if all of these items are compatible? They all got good reviews and are very cheap. Thanks for any insight. I hope to place the order ASAP if I get some confirmation.



LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30 - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136075

SAPPHIRE 100175L Radeon X1650PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102073

Broadway Com Corp P4-OKIA600-BLACK 600W ATX Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817162017

ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 LGA 775 VIA PT880 Pro/PT880 Ultra ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157115

Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Wolfdale 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7300 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115132

and the ram i already have:

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231047

 

[nobardin]

The motherboard supports AGP, SATA, DDR400 and dual channel mode and the LGA 775 socket CPU, so I would say this would be a good system to hold you over.

As far as I can tell it should all be compatible. However, you may want to wait for a second opinion just to make sure.

Hope this helps you come to a decision.

 

[jmillerdls]

The motherboard supports AGP, SATA, DDR400 and dual channel mode and the LGA 775 socket CPU, so I would say this would be a good system to hold you over.

As far as I can tell it should all be compatible. However, you may want to wait for a second opinion just to make sure.

Hope this helps you come to a decision.

Much appreciated, definitely helps. I'll hold on for awhile just in case someone has any suggestions/warnings.

 

[gbhall]

I think I found what I need to check my Samsung hard drive, and its going to take quite a bit of effort to get that all set up (creating a disc to boot up with, etc.), so I'll get around to that later.

As a rule, extensive drive checks can be run perfectly well from Dos mode (i.e. F8 at start up and chose 'command prompt only')