[SOLVED] Computer locking up/restarting with no error messages

[gcemystik2k]

Hi, I am not sure if this is the correct forum to be posting my problem in but most of my issue occurs during gaming.

I built this computer a little over a year ago, and my system spec are:
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 600GXS SLI, 600watts ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341001)
Motherboard: ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus; nForce650i SLI ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131153)
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz (OC'd to 3.2GHz, 1450 FSB) ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115003)
RAM: Corsair DDR2 1066 TWIN2X2048-8500C5, 2 sets, 4GB (OC'd to 870MHz) ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145033)
Video Card: BFG 8800GTX, 768MB ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143080)
HDD (XP): 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 3.0GB/s ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148288)
HDD (Vista): 500GB Western Digital Caviar SE16 7200RPM SATA 3.0GB/s ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073)
OS: Windows XP Pro SP3, Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP1


I have been having issues with the computer locking up or randomly restarting when I am playing games. The problem started after I updated to Nvidia's 180.48 drivers, causing it to instantly lock my computer up with a black screen upon booting into Windows. It was impossible to perform anything at all because I could not physically get to my desktop. I went to Safe Mode to removed the drivers and also used Driver Sweeper as well as CCleaner to remove any possible left-over files. I reverted back to several older driver (178.24, 178.13) and also tried other beta drivers (180.60), but since then whenever I am playing games, the computer would randomly lock up or reboot itself without warning. I checked Event Viewer hoping to find some clues and there were no error or warning to indicate any problems. I thought that there were still some bad files from the 180.48 driver left over so I uninstalled my Nvidia chipset and display drivers completely and used Driver Sweeper and CCleaner again. I tried all sorts of combination of drivers, testing each of the older drivers for both chipset and graphics card and none showed any solution. Currently I am running nForce drivers (15.23) and 180.60 GeForce drivers.

However, that did not solve my problem and the computer was still locking up in games. There are sufficient cooling in my computer and I had temperature monitor open, there was no indication of overheating either, CPU stayed at around 32-36º while in game, and GPU was about 55-60º. I also tried reverting my system to stock clocking and it did not really change anything either. The locking-up and restarting does not necessarily happen when there are heavy graphical actions going on. I have 2 separate HDD, one for XP and one for Vista, and the strange thing was that I was able to run Crysis and FarCry 2 without any problems for 2+ hours in Windows Vista but 20 minutes of Half-Life 2 in XP caused the system to lock up. I have also tried L4D, WoW, and WC3 on XP as well and they all seem to lock-up or reboot at random intervals.

At this point I have done the following:
-I have scanned computer for virus and spyware (run scan once a week), system is completely clean.
-Defragged and ScanDisc but also run them on a weekly basis
-I ran Memtest86 through 8 passes and no errors or fails.
-I used Seagate's SeaTools to check my HDD and all the tests passed as well (Short/Long Drive Self Tests, Short/Long Generic Tests).
-Computer is pretty free of dust and clogs, I clean it generally once every month of two.
-I physically re-set all of my cards and ram and the problem still was not resolved.

I have performed every possible diagnostic and scans that I can think of. I have no clue as to what could possibly be causing the problem. I am trying to avoid having to format the system but at this point it looks like it may be my only solution. If anyone has any other ideas or approach please let me know. Thanks!

[koala]

Hi, welcome to TSF

Have you tried undoing the RAM overclock? I'm not sure how 870MHz is an overclock when your RAM is 1066MHz.

Is your XP 32 or 64 bit?

[RockmasteR]

Hello, this problem seems to be from your RAM, the motherboard of yours accepts RAM with a frequency of 1066 MHZ so I don't recommend AT ALL!! to use any RAM below a frequency of 1066 MHZ, that will create a great problem issues and only with games, I've been there and I know how it feels, lagging and freezing, graphic issues and nv4 problems
all those problems were from the RAM

[gcemystik2k]

Wow, thanks for the swift response!

My XP is 32bit and as for the RAM, I should have made it more clear. The ram is actually a DDR2 800 by default, although it is listed as a 1066, and it will be 1066 only if you run with Corsair's pre-set EPP (Enhanced Performance Profile). I am unable to adjust the ram to 1066 manually without clocking down the CPU by a large margin. The strange thing is that I did not have any problems with the RAM settings I have now for all this time and Prime95 ran without crashing the system either. I started troubleshooting the problem because it surfaced after I tried 180.48 Nvidia drivers. But I will try adjusting the RAM and see if it resolves my issue.

Thanks again!

[gcemystik2k]

Heya, just wanted to drop an update.

I toned down the clocking on both my CPU and RAM to 1350 and 840 respectively. Thus far it has been stable for the past day and hopefully it stays that way.

Thanks a lot for the tips and pointers, I really appreciate it!