Random Blue Screen Errors - Please help!!!

[JohnTrainHead]

Okay, this doesn't really have to do with Railworks, but this has been going on for the past few months and it's really getting on my nerves...

So back in summer, I was of course on vacation from school. Because I was free, what was I doing? Wasting a bazillion hours of my life on Railworks, which I don't blame myself for because I was still having fun. So I rarely turned off my computer so I could begin playing faster, I either left it on completely or put it in "sleep mode". So then in July or August, my computer started to blue screen,
ALL THE TIME...

So I noticed a pattern - the longer I left my computer off, the less often it would blue screen. So then I turned it off a lot for a while. But I still got blue screens pretty often. First, I thought it could be a memory error, so I checked the memory for bad sectors - none! Then I decided to see if it was a problem due to Windows going into it's grave, I backed up my files, wiped my hard drive several times, and re-installed Windows and my files. My computer worked fine for the next few days, until...

MY @#@$!&$@*&&^&%#@*$^**$#@ING COMPUTER STARTED DOING IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, I really should calm down now. Now where was I..........

Ah yes...

So I left my computer off often, but whenever I started up my computer again, it blue screened. So eventually, the easy solution flipped, the longer I leave my computer on, the less it will blue screen. So now I never can turn off my computer or it will drive both of us insane... Even so, I still get blue screens every few weeks or so...

My grandfather talked to one of his friends, who is a computer technician, and he says he finds tons of errors like this, and has no idea what is causing them or how to resolve them. He also says that it could be a virus from China or Russia, but he doesn't know for sure...

So for any of you that know what this might be, tell me, please!!! What did I do wrong?!?

Thank you guys so much!

[arizonachris]

Hi, John. OK, so how old is this PC? Is it a desktop or a laptop (desktop I hope). What version of Windows are you running? Since you have already formatted the drive then reinstalled Windows, I'm thinking it's not a virus problem. I presume you do run an anti virus?

If the PC is a few years old, it may just need a good cleaning. If you are technical in any way, this is easy. Open the cover (power off first!) and with a can of compressed air, blow all the dust out you can. That would fix a heat related issue. But if the blue screens are at start up, this could be a hardware problem, either a dying hard drive, or a dying motherboard or CPU. RAM tested ok, right? Do you get any error code with the blue screen, or does Windows reboot before you can see the code? There is a check box that stops Windows from rebooting on a blue screen, Ericmopar posted it here somewhere. With that "STOP: xxxxxxxxxx" code you can sometimes diagnose what's going wrong.

If you can post the specs of your PC that would be a big help.

[slick204]

I would look at the Event Viewer in Computer Management (right click "My Computer", then click "Manage"). It's very helpful for tracking down problems. Also, in my Vista days ( ) I used a program called "WhoCrashed" to figure out what was going on.

Good luck!

[JohnTrainHead]

Hi, John. OK, so how old is this PC? Is it a desktop or a laptop (desktop I hope). What version of Windows are you running? Since you have already formatted the drive then reinstalled Windows, I'm thinking it's not a virus problem. I presume you do run an anti virus?

If the PC is a few years old, it may just need a good cleaning. If you are technical in any way, this is easy. Open the cover (power off first!) and with a can of compressed air, blow all the dust out you can. That would fix a heat related issue. But if the blue screens are at start up, this could be a hardware problem, either a dying hard drive, or a dying motherboard or CPU. RAM tested ok, right? Do you get any error code with the blue screen, or does Windows reboot before you can see the code? There is a check box that stops Windows from rebooting on a blue screen, Ericmopar posted it here somewhere. With that "STOP: xxxxxxxxxx" code you can sometimes diagnose what's going wrong.

If you can post the specs of your PC that would be a big help.

Okay, well I blow out the dust from my computer once every few months, so I don't think that's the problem. My grandfather who has worked with many computers in the past, assembled my computer here from scratch half-a-decade ago. Over the years, I have upgraded my machine quite a bit (Mainly graphics, Memory, Hard Drive, Power Supply, etc.). Here are my specs:

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit), Service Pack 2 (I know, laugh)
Motherboard: GIGABYTE MA785G-UD3H
RAM: 12 GB DDR2
Processor: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Processor 3.00 GHz
Hard Drive: 500 GB
Video Card: Nvida GTX 560

And yes, I do get a "STOP:xxxxxxxxxxx" code, but I only have just a few seconds to read it before the computer restarts. What can I do with that code and what does it mean?


Oh wait!!! I think that I replaced my power supply to within all these months of agony from 500 watts to 750. At least I have a better power supply now...

[peterhayes]

John
You need to run some basic tests as some of your hardware may well be wearing out.
I would try these:
Windows + R key type in sfc /scannow space between c and / press enter - this checks if system files OK. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833
Open cmd.exe as an administrator type in chkdsk /r press enter - you will get a message saying that it can't be done until the next re-start - accept that. close down the PC and then re-start - warning can take several hours - checking HDD for errors. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/maga ... 72425.aspx
Defrag the HDD http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/wind ... -hard-disk
How full is the HDD ie how much free space?
Windows + R key - type in dxdiag - check for video errors - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/wind ... ostic-tool
Use Windows cleanup to get rid of excessive files. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/wind ... =windows-7
Use something like Cpu-z and msi afterburner to check temps of cpu and video card.
Run Memtest or similar software to check RAM (not sure if Vista has an inbuilt option - Win 7 does it does - http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/wind ... ry-problem)
As someone else said open the event viewer log and see what caused the BSOD http://superuser.com/questions/148114/w ... -i-view-th
Use a "clean boot" and see if the BSOD still occurs http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135
Best of luck
pH

[arizonachris]

Here's how to stop the reboot on a blue screen error: http://pcsupport.about.com/od/tipstrick ... estart.htm When you do finally get the STOP code, just enter it into Google, will take you to about a thousand links.

Been a while since I used Vista, never was happy with it, Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit just runs so darn good I'll never give it up.

[JohnTrainHead]

Okay, Thanks for the help guys. One thing that I did not mention earlier, and I don't know if this is important or not but just wanted to make sure, is that one time, when I tried to power off my computer manually when the computer blue screened, but was already set to auto-restart, the computer would not start when I tried to turn it on. No light, nothing on the screen, nothing. As if the power was out or something. After a few days I tried to start my computer again after I got home from a trip to western New York and what happened? My computer started up normally. Does the disruption of power flow to the computer mean anything? Or is it just another thing that doesn't really tell anyone much about the problem?

Thanks

[Chacal]

I'd say your power supply could be about to shuffle off his mortal coil.
Literally.

[Bananarama]

I too have seen a rash of BSOD on my XP system lately. New drives and other bits, but I haven't yet checked memory...

[mrennie]

I've had many PCs and laptops over the years and every time that they've begun to suffer BSODs, it's foretold an impending hardware problem. One time it was the graphics card, another it was a faulty disc drive, another time a faulty SSD ... (never had a problem with memory chips though).

[arizonachris]

I think Chacal may be on to something. I have seen more than a few PC's that won't power up at all untill the main switch is left off for quite a while, this drains all of the energy in the capacitors in the power supply, and gives it a fresh start, as it were. Lots of PSU's several years back were made with inferior capacitors, these actually burst open and can cause all sorts of niggling little (and big) issues.

Did you get a chance to get that "STOP" error code yet?

Marc, download and run that Memtest program that pH linked to, it will test the RAM in your PC.

[JohnTrainHead]

Okay, I finally copied down the error code:

STOP: 0x0000003B (0X00000000C0000005, 0xFFFFFF960000EC5EF, 0xFFFFFA600E23B220, 0x0000000000000000)

Then I copied this...

win32k.sys - Address FFFF960000EC5EF base at FFFFF96000020000, DateStamp 4a8569e1

Then I manually shut my computer off, but my computer would not start up when I tried to push the power button. A light on the button came on, but nothing else seemed to happen, nothing on the screen, no sound, nothing. I would say it was a power supply problem, but the fact is that I just got a new power supply just a few months ago, after I had started having these problems. I am going to research what these codes mean now, but if any of you see anything that points out anything obvious please let me know.

Also, a few days ago, I noticed as my computer was flying by with the information this:

ataport.sys
What is this?

Thanks

[JohnTrainHead]

And now, 15 to 20 minutes later, my computer starts up normally when I tell it to.

[JohnTrainHead]

And 5 minutes later, I get this:

STOP: 0x000000A (0x0000000000000029, 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000001, 0XFFFFF80002AFA103)

[arizonachris]

Oh, boy. "STOP: 0x000000A" is an old one that still plagues us. It's what they call an "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" error: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... 40ce6dec0f . This can mean bad memory (which you have tested) or a crappy driver. Try what they suggest in that MS Community Thread.

The "STOP: 0x0000003B" code can also be a bad driver, or memory: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/wind ... aeef50cde3

I would try and uninstall the video driver and install a version a few numbers back (I and some others I know did not like the latest Nvidia drivers) I'm running the 314.22's and they seem fine. If that doesn't fix things, it may be time to try a new set of RAM chips.

One thing both those articles mentioned was to unplug, then replug all connectors, take out RAM and video card and re-seat them. Try the easy stuff first then on to the next step.