[cweinhofer]

I am having an issue with my OS hanging every so often (approx. every two weeks). It always requires a hard restart via the power or reset button. It doesn't seem to be related to doing the same things on the computer, but other symptoms that have been occurring are as follows:

• When the OS hangs the hard drive light is lit and stays lit continually until the system is restarted.
• Previously after restarts, the MB would not recognize my primary HD (SSD SATA). It seemed the only way to get around this was to completely shut down the machine (including the PS), disconnect the cables to the HD, reconnect them and reboot the machine. Recently, this issues has seemed to go away - now everything reboots fine after the hang & restart.
• When the power to the PS is shut off or disconnected, the MB looses all its settings. I initially thought this was due to the CMOS battery being old and so I replaced it. The problem persists.
• Windows explorer crashes more often then I would think is normal for a Win 7 system (approx. twice a week). This doesn't usually cause a problem and explorer reboots itself and the computer continues working fine (I usually restart shortly thereafter to be on the safe side).

I have suspected the PS, HD, and MB alternately; but can't be sure which is the culprit. I can't afford to buy new parts purely on suspicion and can't swap parts from my other systems long enough to verify that the problem won't reproduce itself after a while.

Would appreciate any advice on correcting the problem or testing parts you can offer. System specs are below:

Win 7 HP, P4 3 GHz, 1 GB DDR RAM
MB - ASRock 775i65G
HD - Kingston SNV425-S2BD 64GB SSD
PS - SH 300W ATX2

 

[DT Roberts]

Hello and welcome to TSF.

Honestly I'm surprised you're getting somewhat normal functionality at all out of that one. Windows 7 doesn't run well with under 2GB of memory and that PSU looks very underpowered. I'd bet that the real reason for your problems is the PSU.

Please follow the instructions here: http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...-instructions-windows-7-and-vista-452654.html

Devin

 

[cweinhofer]

Thanks for your quick response. The perfmon report seemed to confirm the low memory and it would make sense for the windows explorer and system crashes.

As far as the BIOS settings issue, would an underpowered system cause this?

I have run the diagnostics recommended in "BSOD Posting Instructions". The first test spit out an error file (possibly because I have my documents and desktop folders remapped to save wear on my SSD), but the perfmon and driver verifier results are attached.

Also, here is the information requested in addition to what is already below:

· OS - x86 (32-bit)
· original installed OS - yes
· version - retail
· Age of system - built from new and used parts, some as old as 4 years
· Age of OS installation - 6 months
· Video Card - NVIDIA GeForce FX 5500
· System Manufacturer - me

 

[cweinhofer]

...and the driver verifier.

Also, I would test the SSD if I knew of a good tool. Kingston doesn't offer one and their tech support had no suggestions. Would you recommend the Intel SSD Toolbox? SeaTools? something else?

Thanks!

 

[cweinhofer]

Well, I replaced the PS and upgraded to 2GB of memory. While they were probably things the system needed, neither of the issues above have been solved. The most recent hang was particularly problematic because it happened in the middle of a Windows update.

The MB would be my next suspicion given the BIOS setting problem. How likely is it to be the problem if it operates fine 99% of the time?

Also, I would like to test the SSD, so as to eliminate it as a possibility. However, I am not sure what the recommended procedure would be for SSDs. The manufacturer doesn't offer any tools.

 

[DT Roberts]

Hello and sorry for the delay in getting back to you. You must have slipped through the cracks! :grin:

It's pretty rare to get a bad SSD. I don't think that traditional hard drive testing tools work with SSD's, but I could be wrong. Open up an elevated command prompt (Start>type cmd>right-click>Run as administrator) and run the command chkdsk /r. That should find anything that's wrong with the SSD if anything at all.

It's worth noting that you're computer is reporting an error with a Creative Game Port driver, which is apparently a PCI card. A bit of Googling shows that it's not compatible with Windows 7 so I recommend you disable it via Device Manager (help here if you need it: Accessing Device Manager | DT Roberts).

Also, what did you upgrade the power supply to?

Good luck.

Devin

 

[cweinhofer]

One of the reasons I had been using the creative card is that the sound card ports on the MB stopped working well. (I can't remember if they stopped all together or were just really garbled.)

The new PS is a UnitCom UN-650A9/PGN 600W. Still fairly generic, I'm guessing, but it had all the features I was looking for and was a decent price.

 

[DT Roberts]

The new PS is a UnitCom UN-650A9/PGN 600W. Still fairly generic, I'm guessing, but it had all the features I was looking for and was a decent price.

It was a decent price because it's fairly (very) generic :wink:

We can rule out the PSU as the cause of this problem for now, but don't expect that to be stable for too long either.

Is there any way that you won't have to use the Creative card? Perhaps a different sound card or - just for testing - none at all?

 

[cweinhofer]

DT Roberts, thanks for your feedback.

When I was back in the US, I would buy a lot of stuff off of Newegg and thus had access to more "name brand" parts. Now that I am overseas, my best option is the local computer store and it's hard to tell what is generic vs a name brand here that just happens to not be in the US.

Leaving the card out long enough to conclude that the problem has gone away (since it only happen once a week or so) would be a little difficult. If you strongly suspect the sound card, replacing it with one certified for Win 7 shouldn't be terribly difficult or expensive. I can try it. However, the BIOS setting problem still nags me. I took the CMOS battery out to test it and verified it was still good.

Anyone ever had this issue? What was the cause?

 

[DT Roberts]

When the power to the PS is shut off or disconnected, the MB looses all its settings. I initially thought this was due to the CMOS battery being old and so I replaced it. The problem persists.

I'm going to be honest: I missed this bit at first. That tells me that the ROM on the motherboard isn't storing the settings properly, which would have to be the motherboard. This changes quite a bit. As a first action to take, I recommend that you re-flash the newest BIOS and see if it helps, otherwise contact ASRock for an RMA because that isn't right.

If indeed the motherboard is the problem then it would explain the sound issue as well, but because the card isn't compatible with Windows 7 I wouldn't rule it out. You'll be much better off if you replace it.

Devin