Help fix my Computer...Blue Screens, crashes.

[Whyhello]

So recently my computer has run into some problems consiting of blue screens, crashes, or freezes. These events don't seem to follow any particular pattern; I was playing minesweeper one time, I was checking email one time, I started a download, I was in the middle of a Bad Company 2 multiplayer game, etc. I have booted in safe mode (with and without networking) and it has crashed. I've walked away for half an hour and come back to see it crashed before.

I have DBAN'd my hard drive to try to fix it, reinstalled windows 7, and the same problems occur.

At one point, my computer wouldn't boot (it would get to the "loading windows" on boot up and then freeze). I reset my CMOS using the pin on my mobo and that problem was fixed. Now I'm just back to the random crashes. I uploaded 2 .dmp files from blue screens I got (found in the megaupload link). I'm not sure how to open them, and if I did I'm not sure what to look for. But I thought I would post it here.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KKSEWJ0W

Here is a picture I took from my phone of a crash while I was playing bad company 2. The game changed to this screen and then froze on it.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/847/errorol.jpg

Some troubleshooting I've done:
I installed windows 7 on an external hard drive (connected through SATA) and ran into the same problems. So I don't think it's my hard drive.

I booted from a dvd with Memtest 86 (http://www.memtest86.com/) on it, ran the test overnight for a ton of passes; no errors. So I don't think it's my RAM.

I haven't had any trouble getting video inputs so I don't think it's my graphics card. It would probably just have shut down the card itself rather than the whole computer.

I haven't added any new components to the computer recently so I don't think the PSU is the problem.

I've checked all over the inside of my case and have found no problems.

CPU? Not sure.
Motherboard? Not sure.
Random part I didn't know about? Not sure.

Computer Components:
RAM: OCZ 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz
Mobo: BIOSTAR TA790GXB3 AM3 AMD 790GX ATX AMD Motherboard
GPU: XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit DDR5
PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64

edit:

Just install bluescreen view and look at the dumps there. Should be quite easy to see what is causing the problem.

So I took this advice, and it seems to have found something. Here's a picture of the results (the bottom part was connected to the top, I just moved it to compact it a bit):
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/831/errorsj.png/

So what is ntoskrnl.exe and how do I get it to stop crashing the computer?

[Tripl]

Looks like a GPU failure, from what I can make up out of the small picture. Can you give us some temps of your system?

[morbidjbyrd]

Yah its obviously a hardware issue. What is the max amount of time before it freezes?

You can try to unplug everything nonessential.
DvDs, extra HDDs, 1 stick of memory and then seen if it crashes.

If so, its likely your Video card.

Also, do you hear any beeping?

[Deleted]

Clean your computer from inside your case. I bet you have lots of dust there

[morbidjbyrd]

Clean your computer from inside your case. I bet you have lots of dust there

that wont fix anything

[Floboduck]

Looks like a GPU failure, from what I can make up out of the small picture. Can you give us some temps of your system?

This guy hit the nail on the head, my first port of call would be temps, if all are well within tolerances i'd then focus on the GPU.

[blastoma]

I agree with Tripl. This appears to be GPU related.

Some steps you can try:

Swap video cards with a known-working one (maybe hit up a friend for theirs?) Or if you have onboard video support, just yank out your card. If your system is now stable, you've obviously found the problem. If you're not stable, you probably need to look at your motherboard.

Consider replacing or RMA'ing the graphics card if this works.

If you havent already, check your cards manufacturer's website for the most up to date stable driver.

Download one of many temperature gauges online. See what your graphics card is running at. My graphics card runs at 40 degrees C on stock cooling and stock speeds under load. Put yours under load (open warcraft, etc, for a few mins) and see what your temps are. If you're above 60 degrees C, this can easily lead to stability issues. If you're out of warranty, consider remounting the card's fan/heatsink, remove the previous thermal paste, apply a new layer, and reseat the heatsink.

Check the manufacturer's forums for other users with similar problems, or call the manufacturer's support. Have your event viewer ready for them and have your windows STOP codes from the BSOD's available. Could also try searching google with your specific STOP code and see what others have to say.

Best of luck.

[OhpUldum]

Considering the picture I have to throw in that it is the GPU.

[Whyhello]

I agree with Tripl. This appears to be GPU related.

Some steps you can try:

Swap video cards with a known-working one (maybe hit up a friend for theirs?) Or if you have onboard video support, just yank out your card. If your system is now stable, you've obviously found the problem. If you're not stable, you probably need to look at your motherboard.

Consider replacing or RMA'ing the graphics card if this works.

If you havent already, check your cards manufacturer's website for the most up to date stable driver.

Download one of many temperature gauges online. See what your graphics card is running at. My graphics card runs at 40 degrees C on stock cooling and stock speeds under load. Put yours under load (open warcraft, etc, for a few mins) and see what your temps are. If you're above 60 degrees C, this can easily lead to stability issues. If you're out of warranty, consider remounting the card's fan/heatsink, remove the previous thermal paste, apply a new layer, and reseat the heatsink.

Check the manufacturer's forums for other users with similar problems, or call the manufacturer's support. Have your event viewer ready for them and have your windows STOP codes from the BSOD's available. Could also try searching google with your specific STOP code and see what others have to say.

Best of luck.

So I just put my friends GPU in my computer and I still got a blue screen. I'm going to try to find a temperature gauge (any recommendations?) and take some readings on my computer with my GPU and friends GPU in.

At this point I'm thinking it's the motherboard? Just not sure.

Thanks for all the help so far.

[Deleted]

Just install bluescreen view and look at the dumps there. Should be quite easy to see what is causing the problem.

[blastoma]

So I just put my friends GPU in my computer and I still got a blue screen. I'm going to try to find a temperature gauge (any recommendations?) and take some readings on my computer with my GPU and friends GPU in.

At this point I'm thinking it's the motherboard? Just not sure.

Thanks for all the help so far.

Well, it sounds like you've eliminated one component.

For a temp guage, just google search "CPU Thermometer" they all essentially work the same, in that they're all reliant on the information your motherboard is capable of producing.

Have you defaulted the BIOS on your motherboard? Go into the BIOS and restore the defaults. Try that (with your friends card)

Also, you may get some additional information based on your specific STOP code. Next time it happens, write down the code you're receiving and either post here, or google the code. If the computer is restarting too quickly, you can find this code in the event viewer, or you can stop the automatic restart. To stop the automatic restart in Windows 7, go to Control Panel > System and Security. Click on System. Click on Advanced system settings. Startup and Recovery, click settings. Uncheck the box next to automatic restart. Wait until your system crashes again and get the code.

Report back with your temps, after you've defaulted your BIOS, and your specific STOP code.

[Whyhello]

Just install bluescreen view and look at the dumps there. Should be quite easy to see what is causing the problem.

So I took this advice, and it seems to have found something. Here's a picture of the results (the bottom part was connected to the top, I just moved it to compact it a bit):
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/831/errorsj.png/

So what is ntoskrnl.exe and how do I get it to stop crashing the computer?

---------- Post added 2011-09-08 at 11:23 PM ----------

Well, it sounds like you've eliminated one component.

For a temp guage, just google search "CPU Thermometer" they all essentially work the same, in that they're all reliant on the information your motherboard is capable of producing.

Have you defaulted the BIOS on your motherboard? Go into the BIOS and restore the defaults. Try that (with your friends card)

Also, you may get some additional information based on your specific STOP code. Next time it happens, write down the code you're receiving and either post here, or google the code. If the computer is restarting too quickly, you can find this code in the event viewer, or you can stop the automatic restart. To stop the automatic restart in Windows 7, go to Control Panel > System and Security. Click on System. Click on Advanced system settings. Startup and Recovery, click settings. Uncheck the box next to automatic restart. Wait until your system crashes again and get the code.

Report back with your temps, after you've defaulted your BIOS, and your specific STOP code.

I have reset the BIOS to default and I put the stop codes with the other info from blue screen viewer. Working on temps now.

---------- Post added 2011-09-09 at 08:00 PM ----------

anyone have any advice for that new error?