BSOD in Vista 64 bit Ultimate

Dr Bolouswki

I recently bought some new components and built a system

I've had two BSOD's - one when running a CPU test in 3dMark 2003 - the other while playing FM2008 (relatively cpu intensive I suppose)

I've also had a couple of random lockups - ie performance is not what i wouldve expected

Running a 6600 cpu, 4gb ram and a gx260 sitting on an asus striker extreme

My question is this - how can i test for what is causing the BSOD?

Are there tools available that will stress test different components individually allowing me to narrow things down?

Also - coul it potentially be vista itself? would it be better to install Windows XP?

Or... could it be that it's 32bit applciations running in a 64bit environement?

Gah!! the rage!!!

Any help appreciated

Spear

Dr Bolouswki wrote: »

I recently bought some new components and built a system

I've had two BSOD's - one when running a CPU test in 3dMark 2003 - the other while playing FM2008 (relatively cpu intensive I suppose)

I've also had a couple of random lockups - ie performance is not what i wouldve expected

Running a 6600 cpu, 4gb ram and a gx260 sitting on an asus striker extreme

My question is this - how can i test for what is causing the BSOD?

Are there tools available that will stress test different components individually allowing me to narrow things down?

Also - coul it potentially be vista itself? would it be better to install Windows XP?

Or... could it be that it's 32bit applciations running in a 64bit environement?

Gah!! the rage!!!

Any help appreciated

Look for something like prime95 to stress the CPU, and something like Speedfan to check temps.

PogMoThoin

Also Memtest to test the memory.

FM2008 isn't intensive at all, You could play it on any pc without a sweat, its little more intensive than a spreadsheet, something else is wrong. You sure You installed all drivers, chipset drivers etc? Check the ram's getting the right voltage in the bios, move it off auto and set it manually. Run hdtune on your hard drive to scan for errors.

I've been running 64bit Vista here for about a year without problems, there were driver incompatibilities at first but none now as manufacturers have caught up.

Dr Bolouswki

thanks for the replies - will use all those suggestions - i'm confident that all drivers, chipset included are all very up to date - mostly downlaoded from manufactueres websites - no beta drivers, whql certified when i could

gah! the frustration!

Dr Bolouswki

I ran Prime95 for 14 hours on CPU only test - no errors

I ran Prime95 as a blended test (where it tests alot of RAM) it locks up after less than 5 minutes (no BSOD - just a lock up)

I ran Vista's built in mem test - no errors

I ran Memtest (although it seems to struggle with large memory loads) - no errors

I'm thinking so... does this sound like maybe the FSB is overheating or soemthing ie comms between CPU and memory is where the error lies?

Dr Bolouswki

I upped the memory voltage to 2v (mobo default was 1.87 which was below the recommended 1.9v on teh memory)

This stabilised things enough that the blended test on Prime ran for about 2 or 3 hours, but it evidently BSODed sometime during the night, as when I retruned this morning the system had rebooted

Any suggestions? My next step is temperature monitoring I guess....

Dr Bolouswki

Hee hee - talking to myself here, but it may help someone else

So I manually set the RAM timings to what the manufacturer suggests (4-4-4-15)

Been running a blended test now for 90 minutes and no problems so far...

I installed ASUS PROBE, a hardware temp monitoring system, numbers are

Idle
CPU 40C
MBD 45C

FULL LOAD
CPU 59/60C
MBD 52C

Motherboard seems a bit high to me... is that normal does anyone know?

PogMoThoin

Don't heed Asus Probe its very innacutate, get Core-Temp and just monitor the cpu temperature, Core-Temp measures from a sensor on the chip.

Dr Bolouswki

Reversed an fan to be intake instead of outflow -motherboard now running at 33C

been stable for a couple of days now

So, to recap for anyone buying a striker motherboard

1) ensure you use rubber rings around your motherboard supports

2) set the RAM voltage to mid range of the manufactueres recommendation

3) set the RAM timings to the manufactuerers recommendation

4) ensure adequate cooling with possible additonal fans

thanks for all the suggestions and help folks!