GPU/RAM/or MoBo?

bsrausch · 08-03-2008, 07:56 PM

Good evening I'm having some difficulties with my machine. Computer basics:

AMD Athlon 64x2 5200+
GeForce 7900 GS
2 GB Corsair XMS2 RAM
ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe MoBo

The computer went into sleep while running Eve online, and when I came back the screen was pixellated (sp?) and it immediately kicked me into a BSOD, the error looked like a memory error (0x0000 etc. sorry I didn't write the full number down). Upon restart I got another BSOD with a Nv4disp error. Google shows the Nv4 as being a video card error, so I went through some basic steps to try and troubleshoot it:

In safe mode I uninstalled the driver, deleted the Nvidia folder.
In safe mode I ran a registry cleaner.
Reinstalled the latest Nvidia drivers (in safe mode)
Reseated the video card on my MoBo to the other PCI-E slot

For a moment Vista was not recognizing the video card in the original slot, showing my 3d processing with a rating of 1.0, which made me leery. After reseating, it seems to at least be utilizing the memory. It also seems to have delayed the BSOD. I'm now getting about 15 minutes of higher impact processing before locking up. My next step is to unplug the RAM individually and see if either stick is the culprit.

I was just hoping that someone might be able to narrow down the potential faulty part before I start dropping $$ on replacements. Here's a dxdiag if that's any help, and thank you in advance:

------------------
System Information
------------------
Time of this report: 8/3/2008, 20:52:32
Machine name: UPGRAYEDD-PC
Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080425-1930)
Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
System Manufacturer: System manufacturer
System Model: System Product Name
BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG
Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+ (2 CPUs), ~2.6GHz
Memory: 2046MB RAM
Page File: 1433MB used, 2901MB available
Windows Dir: C:\Windows
DirectX Version: DirectX 10
DX Setup Parameters: Not found
DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 64bit Unicode

------------
DxDiag Notes
------------
Display Tab 1: No problems found.
Sound Tab 1: The file ADIHdAud.sys is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.
Sound Tab 2: The file ADIHdAud.sys is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer.
Input Tab: No problems found.

--------------------
DirectX Debug Levels
--------------------
Direct3D: 0/4 (retail)
DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail)
DirectInput: 0/5 (retail)
DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail)
DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail)
DirectSound: 0/5 (retail)
DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

bsrausch · 08-03-2008, 10:53 PM

I just checked each individual stick of RAM, and get the same fuzz on the screen, then a crash/reboot. I ran a chkdsk and everything seemed okay, a few unparsed files, but nothing heinous. If it makes any dif I use the following PSU/Case:

ThermalTake toughpower W0117RU - 750 watt
Antec performance one P180

With the bottom mounted PSU separate from the rest of the box heat has not been an issue. I also use a Zalman CNPS9700 on the CPU which seems to disperse a lot of the radiant heat. The video card is warm to the touch, but not searing >shrug< I'm running out of ideas on how to narrow it down.

Houndog777 · 08-03-2008, 11:06 PM

Hi,
First of all, move your video card back to the Primary PCI-e Slot on the motherboard, if you have'nt already done so.

Now, start your pc and press F8 repeatedly until you receive the alternative startup options. Choose to start in VGA Mode, (Low Resolution I believe it's called in Vista).
If or when windows tries to search for drivers click on Cancel.

Go online, and download older drivers from this link.........
http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us
Try the 169.25 driver release.

Go to Control Panel and Uninstall any current nVidia drivers from Programs & Features.
Disable any non-Vista programs and services that start along with windows, like anti-virus or nero etc and restart.

Use F8 once again and as before choose to start in low resolution mode.
If windows tries to search for drivers, Cancel once again.
Install the downloaded drivers, enable your anti-virus etc again, restart and configure your display settings.

bsrausch · 08-05-2008, 06:58 PM

Too bad, I thought I had it with the 169.35 drivers. It ran stable for a couple of hours and just plunked out. Looks like I'm back to square one.

Houndog777 · 08-05-2008, 07:08 PM

Hi,
if you go to Control Panel> System> Advanced> startup & recovery Settings> and uncheck the box that says "automatically restart" under System Failure........the next time you have a BSOD, it will stay on the screen and you can take a note of the exact error that's causing this.

It will have an Error Code and an explanation, like nv4dsp.dll is causing a problem.
Post the error here and we'll have a better idea of what's happening.

Meanwhile, you can download some utilities to check the problems are not caused by overheating or crazy voltages...........
http://www.filehippo.com/download_speedfan/

http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...-Release.shtml

You could also try this gamers utility, End It All, which stops all non-essential processes that run in the background when you're gaming........
http://enditall.en.softonic.com/download

bsrausch · 08-06-2008, 04:58 PM

First, thank you for the replies Hound. Speedfan is showing my ambient temp ~33c, everything else looks normal. The GPU is flagged hot at 51c. Is that really outside operating temp for a GPU though?

The softpedia link in your post looks dead. Also, I have BSOD's set to show, but the display kills to a black screen. Sometimes for as long as 15 minutes before kicking to a restart. A couple of other times the BSOD has been so distorted its absolutely illegible. I have gotten the following though:

DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL - again driver tinkering hasn't done much up to now.
nv4dsp.dll - Looks like an Nvidia issue, but I cleared everything* that I could get my hands on Nvidia related and cleared it out :/
0x00********* I didn't take down the full number, but i had thought the 0x00 errors were memory related.

Let me know if there's anything I can add here. I'll try and get a full blue screen error report as well.

Edit:

Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed

^^ That's the one I've been getting now. My google fu seems to have failed me for the moment.

ebackhus · 08-06-2008, 05:53 PM

That motherboard is junk. Garbage. Rubbish. Trash.

Houndog777 · 08-07-2008, 05:51 AM

Hi, 51C for a video card is not hot! Speedfan can be stupid at times.
Try PC Wizard from here....
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3846.html

It's the end part of the error we need...0x0.....8 or 0x0....1D for example, along with the explanation.

Try uninstalling completely, i.e. uninstall the drivers from Add/Remove Programs and then right-click on the name of the card in Device Manager and select Uninstall.

Restart in safe mode, cancel windows searching for drivers if it tries, do a disk cleanup and restart in VGA Mode. (press F8 during boot for this option)

Cancel windows searching for drivers again, disable/stop all third-party applications (like anti-virus etc) and processes via Task Manager.
Install the drivers and restart.

08-03-2008, 07:56 PM	#1 (permalink)
bsrausch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	GPU/RAM/or MoBo? Good evening I'm having some difficulties with my machine. Computer basics: AMD Athlon 64x2 5200+ GeForce 7900 GS 2 GB Corsair XMS2 RAM ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe MoBo The computer went into sleep while running Eve online, and when I came back the screen was pixellated (sp?) and it immediately kicked me into a BSOD, the error looked like a memory error (0x0000 etc. sorry I didn't write the full number down). Upon restart I got another BSOD with a Nv4disp error. Google shows the Nv4 as being a video card error, so I went through some basic steps to try and troubleshoot it: In safe mode I uninstalled the driver, deleted the Nvidia folder. In safe mode I ran a registry cleaner. Reinstalled the latest Nvidia drivers (in safe mode) Reseated the video card on my MoBo to the other PCI-E slot For a moment Vista was not recognizing the video card in the original slot, showing my 3d processing with a rating of 1.0, which made me leery. After reseating, it seems to at least be utilizing the memory. It also seems to have delayed the BSOD. I'm now getting about 15 minutes of higher impact processing before locking up. My next step is to unplug the RAM individually and see if either stick is the culprit. I was just hoping that someone might be able to narrow down the potential faulty part before I start dropping $$ on replacements. Here's a dxdiag if that's any help, and thank you in advance: ------------------ System Information ------------------ Time of this report: 8/3/2008, 20:52:32 Machine name: UPGRAYEDD-PC Operating System: Windows Vista™ Home Premium (6.0, Build 6001) Service Pack 1 (6001.vistasp1_gdr.080425-1930) Language: English (Regional Setting: English) System Manufacturer: System manufacturer System Model: System Product Name BIOS: Phoenix - AwardBIOS v6.00PG Processor: AMD Athlon(tm) 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 5200+ (2 CPUs), ~2.6GHz Memory: 2046MB RAM Page File: 1433MB used, 2901MB available Windows Dir: C:\Windows DirectX Version: DirectX 10 DX Setup Parameters: Not found DxDiag Version: 6.00.6001.18000 64bit Unicode ------------ DxDiag Notes ------------ Display Tab 1: No problems found. Sound Tab 1: The file ADIHdAud.sys is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer. Sound Tab 2: The file ADIHdAud.sys is not digitally signed, which means that it has not been tested by Microsoft's Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL). You may be able to get a WHQL logo'd driver from the hardware manufacturer. Input Tab: No problems found. -------------------- DirectX Debug Levels -------------------- Direct3D: 0/4 (retail) DirectDraw: 0/4 (retail) DirectInput: 0/5 (retail) DirectMusic: 0/5 (retail) DirectPlay: 0/9 (retail) DirectSound: 0/5 (retail) DirectShow: 0/6 (retail)

08-03-2008, 10:53 PM	#2 (permalink)
bsrausch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? I just checked each individual stick of RAM, and get the same fuzz on the screen, then a crash/reboot. I ran a chkdsk and everything seemed okay, a few unparsed files, but nothing heinous. If it makes any dif I use the following PSU/Case: ThermalTake toughpower W0117RU - 750 watt Antec performance one P180 With the bottom mounted PSU separate from the rest of the box heat has not been an issue. I also use a Zalman CNPS9700 on the CPU which seems to disperse a lot of the radiant heat. The video card is warm to the touch, but not searing >shrug< I'm running out of ideas on how to narrow it down.

08-03-2008, 11:06 PM	#3 (permalink)
Houndog777 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 2,683 OS: XPpro sp3 My System	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? Hi, First of all, move your video card back to the Primary PCI-e Slot on the motherboard, if you have'nt already done so. Now, start your pc and press F8 repeatedly until you receive the alternative startup options. Choose to start in VGA Mode, (Low Resolution I believe it's called in Vista). If or when windows tries to search for drivers click on Cancel. Go online, and download older drivers from this link......... http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us Try the 169.25 driver release. Go to Control Panel and Uninstall any current nVidia drivers from Programs & Features. Disable any non-Vista programs and services that start along with windows, like anti-virus or nero etc and restart. Use F8 once again and as before choose to start in low resolution mode. If windows tries to search for drivers, Cancel once again. Install the downloaded drivers, enable your anti-virus etc again, restart and configure your display settings.

08-05-2008, 06:58 PM	#4 (permalink)
bsrausch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? Too bad, I thought I had it with the 169.35 drivers. It ran stable for a couple of hours and just plunked out. Looks like I'm back to square one.

08-05-2008, 07:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
Houndog777 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 2,683 OS: XPpro sp3 My System	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? Hi, if you go to Control Panel> System> Advanced> startup & recovery Settings> and uncheck the box that says "automatically restart" under System Failure........the next time you have a BSOD, it will stay on the screen and you can take a note of the exact error that's causing this. It will have an Error Code and an explanation, like nv4dsp.dll is causing a problem. Post the error here and we'll have a better idea of what's happening. Meanwhile, you can download some utilities to check the problems are not caused by overheating or crazy voltages........... http://www.filehippo.com/download_speedfan/ http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/...-Release.shtml You could also try this gamers utility, End It All, which stops all non-essential processes that run in the background when you're gaming........ http://enditall.en.softonic.com/download

08-06-2008, 04:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
bsrausch Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 4 OS: Vista Home Premium	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? First, thank you for the replies Hound. Speedfan is showing my ambient temp ~33c, everything else looks normal. The GPU is flagged hot at 51c. Is that really outside operating temp for a GPU though? The softpedia link in your post looks dead. Also, I have BSOD's set to show, but the display kills to a black screen. Sometimes for as long as 15 minutes before kicking to a restart. A couple of other times the BSOD has been so distorted its absolutely illegible. I have gotten the following though: DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL - again driver tinkering hasn't done much up to now. nv4dsp.dll - Looks like an Nvidia issue, but I cleared everything* that I could get my hands on Nvidia related and cleared it out :/ 0x00********* I didn't take down the full number, but i had thought the 0x00 errors were memory related. Let me know if there's anything I can add here. I'll try and get a full blue screen error report as well. Edit: Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed ^^ That's the one I've been getting now. My google fu seems to have failed me for the moment. Last edited by bsrausch; 08-06-2008 at 05:19 PM.

08-06-2008, 05:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,313 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? That motherboard is junk. Garbage. Rubbish. Trash. __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

08-07-2008, 05:51 AM	#8 (permalink)
Houndog777 Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Location: Scotland, UK Posts: 2,683 OS: XPpro sp3 My System	Re: GPU/RAM/or MoBo? Hi, 51C for a video card is not hot! Speedfan can be stupid at times. Try PC Wizard from here.... http://www.majorgeeks.com/download3846.html It's the end part of the error we need...0x0.....8 or 0x0....1D for example, along with the explanation. Try uninstalling completely, i.e. uninstall the drivers from Add/Remove Programs and then right-click on the name of the card in Device Manager and select Uninstall. Restart in safe mode, cancel windows searching for drivers if it tries, do a disk cleanup and restart in VGA Mode. (press F8 during boot for this option) Cancel windows searching for drivers again, disable/stop all third-party applications (like anti-virus etc) and processes via Task Manager. Install the drivers and restart.