Request for Windows Support Forum Recommendation

[Ian J]

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Random lock ups.


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The hardest thing to diagnose


What OS / Hardware specs do you have?


If you're running windows and suspect a software problem then I'd recommend trying a linux live CD and running some software that will stress the system (such as benchmarking / CPU stress test). This will hopefully show if the problem is hardware or software based.


EDIT : Guess it is Windows as you mention .NET, is there anything of interest in the Windows events log?

Which live CD would you recommend?


Sent from my GT-I9300

 

[Mr_Loon]

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Which live CD would you recommend?


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Never tried it but this one may be worth a go.

If underclocking changes the nature of the error then in my eyes it points to a CPU problem (could be a damaged CPU or a thermal / heat dissipation issue).

Can you underclock it even further than you have done so already to see if this has any impact?

How often do the lock ups occur?

Is there a set of circumstances that will always eventually lead to a lockup?

 

[Ian J]

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Which live CD would you recommend?


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Never tried it but this one may be worth a go.

If underclocking changes the nature of the error then in my eyes it points to a CPU problem (could be a damaged CPU or a thermal / heat dissipation issue).

Can you underclock it even further than you have done so already to see if this has any impact?

How often do the lock ups occur?

Is there a set of circumstances that will always eventually lead to a lockup?

I'll try underclocking more but it may not be today as I'm running full disc scans and after 2 hours it's only 10% through the 1st drive.  Looks like it may take until tomorrow to finish.

Before underclocking the lock ups only initially happened when running Handbrake since the update.  Then in the last few days they were maybe every other day (no pattern though), this morning though they happened a few times while I was trying to write a letter which prompted me to post.  Now they are every minute or so when underclocked.

 

[WizardStan]

Transcoding video is VERY CPU intensive, it doesn't surprise me at all that that's when you would receive lockups. Get some temperature monitor (I don't use Windows, but Realtemp seems to be highly recommended) and just watch it while you do stuff. Even underclocked you could be producing large amounts of heat. Everything you've described is suggesting an overheat, including the occasional lock ups and resumes (some (most? all?) CPUs have automatic stop switches that'll slow or even pause execution when it gets too hot)

 

[Ian J]

Transcoding video is VERY CPU intensive, it doesn't surprise me at all that that's when you would receive lockups. Get some temperature monitor (I don't use Windows, but Realtemp seems to be highly recommended) and just watch it while you do stuff. Even underclocked you could be producing large amounts of heat. Everything you've described is suggesting an overheat, including the occasional lock ups and resumes (some (most? all?) CPUs have automatic stop switches that'll slow or even pause execution when it gets too hot)

But lately the lock ups have been when I just had word & winamp running, maybe some permanent damage has been done to the cpu on a previous encode. When the hard drive scans are complete I will run some checks on the cpu.


Sent from my GT-I9300

 

[WizardStan]

Could just be the ambient temperature is higher. It used to be cool enough that the CPU could rev itself up before overheating, but now the air is 10 degrees warmer making it just slightly more difficult to keep cool? I dunno. Hopefully it is just a heating problem. Or as others have suggested, a new PSU solves a lot of problems.

There is very little doubt in my mind now that it is a heating problem of some sort. Either the cooling system isn't doing its job as well as it used to, the CPU simply can't handle the same temperatures that it used to, or the PSU can't handle the temperature and is failing to regulate voltage properly.

 

[mcobit]

If you have a multimeter, you can check the voltage output of the psu under load or check if there are visibly damaged caps on the motherboard or powersupply. Of course disconnect power when opening up the powersupply!


Did you replace the thermal paste of the cpu?


Can you remove your graphics card and replace it by another model to see if the error persists?

 

[Ian J]

Quick Update

The disc scans finished very late last night / early morning and showed no errors.

I installed HD Tune and it said there was a hardware error on my boot drive (possible cable error) so I installed a new cable I had, still the same error, tried it on a different SATA connector but still the same, I ended up trying 4 cables.

After reading up on this error it could have happened any time since the drive was installed and as it has only happened once and is only an issue if the number rises.

I had run out of thermal paste so have ordered some today.

I have now taken 2 of the memory sticks out and started the machine encoding a list of video's we'll see how it goes.

Many thanks for everyone's help on this thread, I don't feel so alone with the issue now and feel that it will be cracked soon.

 

[Mr_Loon]

I have now taken 2 of the memory sticks out and started the machine encoding a list of video's we'll see how it goes.

Many thanks for everyone's help on this thread, I don't feel so alone with the issue now and feel that it will be cracked soon.

Good luck, hope it does turn out to be something quick easy and relatively inexpensive like a ram stick failing.

 

[Ian J]

Well my thermal paste (Arctic MX-4) finally arrived and I have cleaned off the old and applied it.

My temperatures are worse than before, under load my CPU is now hovering around 78ºC, which is 8 degress worse.

I've read up on the MX-4 and it states that it doesn't require curing, I'm hoping this is wrong and a few days of use will bed it in, other than that I will have to look for some different compound.

 

[ZXDunny]

Just to toss this out there, I have a couple of Win7 machines and brief lockups are common. It's a bug in Win7's memory paging which causes the whole system to freeze while intensive pagefile activity happens - mouse stops responding and there's nothing you can do.

MS did push a fix but it's not an official patch as it only fixed it in a small amount of cases and could have adverse effects in others.

D.

 

[klapse]

Try a linux livecd and do something cpu intensive. If it is a hardware problem then the symptoms will persist. If it is a windows problem they will not.