Hardware problems + BSOD

[TheBlank]

Alright, this Windows 7 build of mine is starting to get on my nerves. I only seem to get about a week's worth of it running perfectly and then something happens.

First it was the motherboard going bad, causing HDD read issues. It finally went completely and refused to recognize any hard drives. I got that RMA'd and reinstalled everything and it ran better than it ever had before.

Then my computer started chunking really hard while playing Crysis and I quick left to check my temps. While the temps were well within acceptable limits (except maybe the North Bridge which was loading at 67C and idling at about 50C), my system was telling me that although I had 6 gigs of RAM installed, only 2 were usable. After swapping my dimms around, I found one that wouldn't read at all when in a 2 slot arrangment instead of a 3, and I'm now running with 4 usable GB's. Oddly enough, as soon as I did this the idle temp of my North Bridge dropped down to 32C.

And now, a few days later I get a random BSOD while surfing the net. BSOD code 124 which after googling a bit I find is related to voltage and the CPU. However, I'm running my system at stock. I did bump the RAM from 1066 to 1333 (1600 refused to work) but that's it. The voltage listed in BIOS is the same voltage the RAM specs listed, and they're rated for 1600.

What is going on here? I was about to order new RAM, but if there is more going on here than just a bad DIMM or two, I think I'd better wait in case I have to get even MORE parts for this machine. This is starting to drive me nuts... one thing after another.

Oddly enough, that's been the case with every system I've built for the past 6 years. One piece at a time would randomly fail.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. System specs are in the signature.

EDIT: Forgot to mention the first odd thing this build did. With both the original motherboard and the replacement motherboard, the first boot after system changes always "stutters". By that I mean it starts to power up for a second, and then shuts itself down. Then about 3 - 5 seconds later it powers itself back up again and continues on to POST. It boots normally from that point on, unless I change hardware, or I change something in the BIOS, at which point it "stutter" boots again.

 

[Astroman]

I feel your pain, bro. My first build was a p4 2.4c system that I watercooled and overclocked. Started with an Abit IS-7, which died. Then I bought the IC-7 MAX 3, which was supposed to be the king daddy of overclocker motherboards at the time. Well, that ran for a while then a capacitor did a dancing fireworks explosion one day while I was sitting right there watching.

Eventually I replaced that with an evga mobo/amd athlon 64 combo I got for cheap at fry's. that lasted a fairly long time and then started having issues. I thought it was a memory problem but eventually none of my multitude of sticks would work. My bet is the mobo is trash, but I built a Q6600 system anyway because I felt it was time for an upgrade. this was a few years ago now. I put all the best stuff in there, from an 8800 ultra and 4 gigs of ram and 2 500gb seagates. Corsair hx620 modular PSU. well, that damn PSU just died on me. Sure, it has a 5 year warranty but what good does that do me when my wife NEEDS the computer? she's in a very intense accelerated degree program and can't go for days without a computer.

So I go to frys and pick up a new PSU and ITS DOA. lol... went back for another and it works now, finally. I'm just wondering when the next problem will hit.

I donno, building your own stuff is rewarding, but when something breaks it's a pain. All of my friends will Dells and Compaqs, etc, never have any hardware issues. Only software problems (which I inevitably am called over to fix).

 

[TheBlank]

Yeah, sounds like we have very shared experiences there. I always get called over to fix my friend's HP's and Dells (and even Apples)... even to the point of having to solve hardware issues too. The oddest part about all of this is I've managed to convert my family and a number of my friends over to custom built machines. And I've built every single one of them for them.

The result with their machines? Not a single problem. They all run perfectly aside from the occasional software hiccup (usually caused by the owner...). The only machines that I build that have any problems afterward are my own personal ones. I even built a clone of this machine for my dad because he likes to game, and it hasn't had one single issue yet. Not one.

Just cursed I guess.

Could this be PSU related, or bad electrical wiring?

 

[Astroman]

It could be the overclock of your ram. I was really heavy into overclocking and watercooling etc with that p4 2.4c. Even my 9500 pro was overclocked and watercooled. And then a capacitor burned out on my beefy super mobo.

It was then that I realized I had spent so much money on WC equipment and high-end stuff that was supposed to work better for OCing, all in the name of saving money on buying a slower processor and making it run like the more expensive model.

When I built this new q6600 I did OC it at first, up to 3.0 ghz. It was fairly stable but I didn't think I really was in NEED of all that extra speed (what little it really was), at the risk of burning out another component.

It's funny, because I have built family computers as well, and they never had any issues that weren't operator-errors. In fact, mom still has the computer I built her about 5 years ago, still running strong.

I run my components at the speed for which they are rated now. I can use a lesser mobo and no WC components, and buy the faster processor if I want. I will still lap the cpu cooler and stuff like that but that's about it. I prefer reliability and longevity over outright performance. We like to say that stuff will be replaced before it burns out from OC stress, but that has not been my experience. I'm not rich enough to be upgrading processors and mobos, ram and video cards every 6 months or even every 2 years. Maybe every 3 or 4 years.

Try running stock speeds. I'm curious why you said you had to bump up the speed of the ram from 1066 if they are rated for 1600... Shouldn't they automatically run at 1600 if that's what they are rated for? I noticed the mention of the evga motherboard. That is the same maker of the last mobo that bit the dust for me. I've heard nothing good about them. Could be your overstressed it by running bad ram or ram overclocked past it's ability, or maybe past the ability of your north bridge. maybe something was damaged there?

Run some memory tests, see what happens?


edit : did you get the evga as part of a cpu/mobo combo?

 

[MJZ]

Alright, this Windows 7 build of mine is starting to get on my nerves. I only seem to get about a week's worth of it running perfectly and then something happens.

First it was the motherboard going bad, causing HDD read issues. It finally went completely and refused to recognize any hard drives. I got that RMA'd and reinstalled everything and it ran better than it ever had before.

Then my computer started chunking really hard while playing Crysis and I quick left to check my temps. While the temps were well within acceptable limits (except maybe the North Bridge which was loading at 67C and idling at about 50C), my system was telling me that although I had 6 gigs of RAM installed, only 2 were usable. After swapping my dimms around, I found one that wouldn't read at all when in a 2 slot arrangment instead of a 3, and I'm now running with 4 usable GB's. Oddly enough, as soon as I did this the idle temp of my North Bridge dropped down to 32C.

And now, a few days later I get a random BSOD while surfing the net. BSOD code 124 which after googling a bit I find is related to voltage and the CPU. However, I'm running my system at stock. I did bump the RAM from 1066 to 1333 (1600 refused to work) but that's it. The voltage listed in BIOS is the same voltage the RAM specs listed, and they're rated for 1600.

What is going on here? I was about to order new RAM, but if there is more going on here than just a bad DIMM or two, I think I'd better wait in case I have to get even MORE parts for this machine. This is starting to drive me nuts... one thing after another.

Oddly enough, that's been the case with every system I've built for the past 6 years. One piece at a time would randomly fail.

Any help at all would be greatly appreciated. System specs are in the signature.

EDIT: Forgot to mention the first odd thing this build did. With both the original motherboard and the replacement motherboard, the first boot after system changes always "stutters". By that I mean it starts to power up for a second, and then shuts itself down. Then about 3 - 5 seconds later it powers itself back up again and continues on to POST. It boots normally from that point on, unless I change hardware, or I change something in the BIOS, at which point it "stutter" boots again.

The Northbridge dropping in temps makes sense - it is the memory controller afterall. If the amount of memory it has to deal with drops or a bug/issue is resolved (in a good or bad way), it will not be working so hard.

67C is something I wish my Northbridge would load at. 70+ C is normal while gaming on my laptop, and Intel Burntest will push it to 90C and above.

 

[TheBlank]

It could be the overclock of your ram...

It's not technically an overclock, because the RAM itself is rated for 1600. The board is rated for 1600 as well, but the bios always seems to default to 1066 whenever the CMOS is cleared. So I bumped it up to what it was supposed to be. I don't overclock anything, or at least I haven't yet. I like to make sure that everything is working at stock first, due to the fact that I usually end up finding some problem anyway.

I'm curious why you said you had to bump up the speed of the ram from 1066 if they are rated for 1600... Shouldn't they automatically run at 1600 if that's what they are rated for?

That's what I thought as well, but it seems to be a common occurrence with X58 motherboards from what I have been reading.

Run some memory tests, see what happens?

Already did, and I even ran some before that one stick went bad. They all passed with flying colors... so I dunno...

edit : did you get the evga as part of a cpu/mobo combo?

No, everything was bought separately. I bought an EVGA board because the last 6 boards I've used by them have been amazing, with only one that ended up needing replacing (which I suspect had more to do with a bad PSU than a bad board).

The Northbridge dropping in temps makes sense - it is the memory controller afterall. If the amount of memory it has to deal with drops or a bug/issue is resolved (in a good or bad way), it will not be working so hard.

67C is something I wish my Northbridge would load at. 70+ C is normal while gaming on my laptop, and Intel Burntest will push it to 90C and above.

Yeah, that was my first thought too, I just wanted to get some confirmation. My North bridge is loading at about 56C now, which I'm rather happy about.