Weird computer errors and crashes

[Deleted]

First of all I will let you know that I'm pretty much a noob around computers.

But the other day I ran into the "ATI display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error..
I checked my drivers, reinstalled them and it was all fine untill a couple of hours later where the monitor went to a stripped(brown, green, blue, white, seen them all) coloured screen when I started wow. Had to reboot the system manually and everytime I would run anything that was a little more graphic intensive that a webbrowser my computer would do this. So I removed the card from my system and reinstalled it. Nothing happened.

I gave my computer 10 hours of rest after this, and when trying to boot it the next day it wouldn't boot, everytime it was past the windows startup it would bluescreen(couldn't actually see what it said since it was really fast) then it would reboot in repair mode. Repairing didn't work, booting from last known good BIOS didn't work, booting from last known good windows didn't work, and I came to the part where I would reinstall my windows. This partly solved the problem. I could now actually enter my computer, but with the same problem of having crashes when launching graphic heavy things. I've updated motherboard driver+BIOS same goes for GPU and still nothing. However my problem has come to an even weirder extend after a couple of days. Now when trying to boot it, it takes about 5 mins with weird bips from the computer every 30 secs or so before it boots, and in games(which can now be launched) it will keep flashing and sometimes go into the stripped coloured screens which requires a reboot to fix.
I have tried running windows from another HDD as well and same shit happens. Any ideas to what might cause this problem and/or a solution?

Thanks on beforehand - Booteh

EDIT: My system is as following(and yes I need a new monitor!)
http://www.2shared.com/document/xTaShJOX/DxDiag.html

[Deleted]

I'm sorry but I have to say this.

I shit my pants whenever my anti-virus blocks a slightly suspicious site and my life flashes by as I sit crying knowing for sure that it will break which will most likely result in a slow and painful death.


AND YOU WENT THROUGH THAT AND STILL POST ON THE FORUMS AS IF EVERYTHING WAS COOL?!

[Deleted]

Well I can't really do anything apart from trying to figure out how to fix it, or find out what is wrong as long as the provider is not answering their mail.

Trust me I have been as close to throwing it out the window or down the stairs as one can possibly be!! Also this happened at the best times of all while I was at a LAN in sweden(I'm from Denmark) so I used like 12 hours to get it somewhere close to running a game so I could actually play.. Then the errors just made my day(and night).. But it's barely playable when crashes are luring around the corner at all times..

[Deleted]

My baby is 3 years old. A slight shift in volume from the fans makes me unable to use the computer at all, I get scared and do 3 full system scans and then let it rest for several weeks. I fear that what happened to you might happen to me some day.

I respect your courage in a situation like this and I really hope that you will find out what's wrong. Hopefully it won't be hard to fix or cost a lot of money

[Deleted]

My system is merely 5 month old, so it should run on the warenty. Also this is what worries me, I really have no idea where this shit came from. Attacked me from behind did it!

[Xheoul]

It's very possible your video card got fried. Have you tried plugging in your monitor to your motherboard directly?

[Deleted]

As I said I am pretty much a noob around computer, I don't think I've got a VGA or DVI outtake on the motherboard at least.
But the thing with the fried Video card is.. I haven't been OC'ing, and it's only 5 month old + the fact that it is running all fine up and untill these crashes and flashes..

[Skaba]

Try a mem test, or remove 1 ddr module and try again, then remove the other one. And let us know what happens.

Edit: Damn i think it might be your gpu mate.. But try a mem test to be sure (just google)

[Biernot]

Your GPU is toast. Well not completey, but it's going downhill for sure.
Time to unplug the thing and take it to the store you bought it from for warranty. (as it is only 5 months old...)

Sometimes, parts just fail. Not your fault. Move on.

[Felaful]

First of all I will let you know that I'm pretty much a noob around computers.

But the other day I ran into the "ATI display driver stopped responding and has recovered" error..
I checked my drivers, reinstalled them and it was all fine untill a couple of hours later where the monitor went to a stripped(brown, green, blue, white, seen them all) coloured screen when I started wow. Had to reboot the system manually and everytime I would run anything that was a little more graphic intensive that a webbrowser my computer would do this. So I removed the card from my system and reinstalled it. Nothing happened.

I gave my computer 10 hours of rest after this, and when trying to boot it the next day it wouldn't boot, everytime it was past the windows startup it would bluescreen(couldn't actually see what it said since it was really fast) then it would reboot in repair mode. Repairing didn't work, booting from last known good BIOS didn't work, booting from last known good windows didn't work, and I came to the part where I would reinstall my windows. This partly solved the problem. I could now actually enter my computer, but with the same problem of having crashes when launching graphic heavy things. I've updated motherboard driver+BIOS same goes for GPU and still nothing. However my problem has come to an even weirder extend after a couple of days. Now when trying to boot it, it takes about 5 mins with weird bips from the computer every 30 secs or so before it boots, and in games(which can now be launched) it will keep flashing and sometimes go into the stripped coloured screens which requires a reboot to fix.
I have tried running windows from another HDD as well and same shit happens. Any ideas to what might cause this problem and/or a solution?

Thanks on beforehand - Booteh

EDIT: My system is as following(and yes I need a new monitor!)
http://www.2shared.com/document/xTaShJOX/DxDiag.html

I see a few possibilities here as to why this may have happened:

1) Your video card is fried, as was stated before. Try removing the video card from your computer and starting windows.
2) Your video card might have not updated correctly, however you stated you reinstalled your driver, so this possibility changes to: If the latest update was successful, it might have made your video driver incompatible with WoW. This has happened to me before, and crashed my computer every time I opened WoW. This was fixed by simply locating and installing an earlier version of the driver.
3) Windows encountered an error while updating (perhaps during the crash) and valuable data required to run the Operating System (OS) became corrupted or lost, therefore basically destroying your OS. To fix this, you'd have to obtain another copy of, and reinstall windows on your computer. Be sure to wipe the old version off the computer.
4) Your motherboard (the command center for your computer, where everything is located, including basic memory and data to run your OS) is shot, which basically means you need to purchase another computer.

I'm positive that since your computer is starting up and attempting to run Windows before it crashes, your Windows program simply became corrupted, and again, to fix it, you'd need another version of Windows installed on your PC.

--EDIT--

Since your windows appears to be up and running again, as well as your games, the problem seems to be associated your graphics card. Try upgrading to one that is more compatible with your computer and with the game.

Also - is your graphics on-board or is it an actual card in your system? If it's on-board, it means that your computer is using is memory, not only to run the game, but also to run graphics. Since this is the case, your computer is having problems trying to run both, and either sacrifices graphics or memory. By turning your graphics up, you've manually told your computer to focus primarily on graphics output, which in turn might have sacrificed the memory required to run the game or even other "graphic-intensive" programs on your computer. If your computer is not able to put out the memory to run these programs along side the graphics it's already using most of its memory to run, this can lead to crashes and other errors.

To fix this - lower your graphics card settings as far as you can, or see if your computer is compatible for a separate card. By purchasing and installing a separate graphics card into your computer, your system will use the memory provided by the separate card, allowing the motherboard to use it's full memory to run the games and applications on your computer. All you have to do is make sure your computer meets the requirements for the graphics card. Check on the graphics card prior to purchasing it for: memory requirements, minimum-required power supply requirements, etc (if your computer is 400W, you want the card to require a minimum of 400W, etc). Failing to follow these directions might cause your computer to freeze up from not having the proper memory or power to run the card.

If you choose to purchase a separate card, shoot for NVIDEA, not ATI. NVIDEA is reccommended for WoW and has yet to disappoint me. ATI has pretty much ALWAYS disappointed me...

Sorry for the lenghty article of possibliites and fixes, but I really hope it helps! Good luck fixing your computer! Also, if you choose to get a separate card for your computer, shoot for NVIDEA, you will NOT be disappointed!

[Deleted]

My first guess was the video card being fried as well since it seems rather obvious, but if you read through all the weird things going on it makes it look as if it is not just the video card.

Also - is your graphics on-board or is it an actual card in your system?

I don't know if you can't see the link or if it is just not obvious enough, but there is a download link to a dxdiag file in the post(which shows I am running a XFX HD5870)
Hate it when ppl post with useless replies though they contain useful info.

[Deleted]

My baby is 3 years old. A slight shift in volume from the fans makes me unable to use the computer at all, I get scared and do 3 full system scans and then let it rest for several weeks. I fear that what happened to you might happen to me some day.

I respect your courage in a situation like this and I really hope that you will find out what's wrong. Hopefully it won't be hard to fix or cost a lot of money

Offtopic: Dude.. Like, really? I don't think you should be posting here, you'd die if you'd the horrors in here.

[ispano]

Offtopic: Dude.. Like, really? I don't think you should be posting here, you'd die if you'd the horrors in here.

Ahh, Fear of Computers, leading cause of noob users.

[Deleted]

Just to clear up this post I got a XFX 6850 at their cost.. And it is working to it's full powers now. Thanks for the responds though

[Deleted]

I was looking at the beeping codes for award, but im not sure what yours means. It could be one of the following.

Repeating (endless loop)= Memory error
Repeating High/Low= CPU

could you tell more about how the sound is? high, low, changing?

[Dalehan]

Like most've said, likely a GPU fry. I've had two such instances before, both probably because of my own fault in my previous PC since I used Rivatuner to tone down the fan speed /noise.
With the first card I had a similar issue like you've had. The graphics would go all liney and crap, then BSOD. Card was fried, so that was shit. Sent the card back to the vendor as an RMA case, I got a replacement for it which was ATI. Personally, I dislike it, but I had to swallow my pride and took it anyway since the Nvidia that died was no longer being produced. The downside? The stock fan was fucking LOUD!
Which eventually might've resulted in the second issue where, again, I used Rivatuner to tone down the fan speed. I also started using a dualscreen setup with my VGA monitor and a Cintiq in the DVI port. But at a certain point, the ATI CCC driver update didn't cooperate well for a dualscreen setup anymore, causing the Cintiq to flicker lines whenever I scrolled an internet window on the primary screen. Only could resolve it by not installing CCC at all, only the card driver.
Now a while ago, it went to shit where having the Cintiq screen plugged in would cause my PC to crash entirely. Sooo I could only conclude it was the GPU gone to shit again, because I had -no- problems whatsoever when I uninstalled the card and plugged in a low-end nvidia GT220 card for the same dualscreen setup.
Now, frankly, leaving the fan on max speed or not didn't make a difference, because this Packard Bell PC I had didn't have ANY airflow or case fans whatsoever. So frying was inevitable.
Bought a new PC that has been custom build by a friend's friend, with proper cooling etc so that crap won't happen again. GOOD TIMES.

[Cilraaz]

My baby is 3 years old. A slight shift in volume from the fans makes me unable to use the computer at all, I get scared and do 3 full system scans and then let it rest for several weeks. I fear that what happened to you might happen to me some day.

I respect your courage in a situation like this and I really hope that you will find out what's wrong. Hopefully it won't be hard to fix or cost a lot of money

You are insanely paranoid, which is not a good quality around computers.

Also, this is the second post in this thread that mentioned letting a computer "rest". You realize that they're silicon, metal, and plastic... not flesh and bone. No computer needs a "rest" ever.

[Deleted]

Don't want to bring up the topic but I had some weird shutdown.. Screen loses it's connection, computer goes on for 30 seconds or so and then shuts down.. It only happened once since, so lets hope it was just a wtf error.. But really I am getting annoyed with errors even after reviewing the system, finding the card to be erroring and changing it.. just to see something simular in 2 weeks after changing.. Ain't at my computer atm(at school with my laptop) and the thing happened at like 3am so just went to bed and didn't bother looking at it, so I'll have a look at what the computer actually writes about the error when I get home.