So i'm trying to figure out an issue i'm having with blue screen crashes when Windows is booting. First, the hardware:
Asus P7P55D mobo
G.Skill 4x2GB DDR3 1.5v 1600mhz RAM
Intel i7 860
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB
WD Caviar Black 1TB
WD Caviar Green 1TB
Corsair 750HX PSU
Windows 7 Professional x64
I thought I had the situation figured out when I found a stick of memory that was producing errors in memtest86+. I RMAed the stick and got a new one.
The problem was that I was getting Blue screens on startup at the windows loading screen, with various error messages. (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, etc etc.) The weird thing was that if I ran windows repair after the crash, it would boot up fine, and I would even be able to restart it fine right afterwards, but when i came back from work the next day (computer had time to sit awhile - no idea why this would make a difference with electronics) it would crash.
Now i'm getting the same type of crashes in the same place (while loading Windows) when using more than 4GB of RAM (3 or 4 DIMMs). The REALLY strange part is that I can pull the 3rd and 4th DIMM's out, boot (It always boots with only 2 DIMMs installed), turn it off, pop the other 2 sticks back in, and it will boot fine! However, when i try it the next day it will Blue Screen.
I'm putting the DIMMs in the correct places (checked the motherboard manual and double-checked it). Also, I get the same crashes with 3 DIMMs installed, regardless of which physical stick I put in or which DIMM slot (I thought it might be a bad Slot, but it crashes on both).
I'm totally stumped at what could cause something like this. Any ideas? It's bizarre that I can get it to work by unplugging and re-plugging the RAM, but then it doesn't work the next day. There's no way it's a loose connection either.
To make it more complicated, there's another issue that pops up sometimes IN windows, where it will stutter every 1 or so seconds as if it's thinking really hard (the mouse will pause, then jump forward to catch up even though my hand is moving smoothly), but i'm barely doing anything that strenuous, and the task manager shows all 8 threads under 10%. It will also cause the audio to cut out temporarily at the same time the mouse freezes. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's infuriating. This might be unrelated, or it might not be, i have no idea, but thought I should mention it.
Should I try to see if i can RMA the motherboard and see if i get the same issues with a new one? Any ideas what could be the possible culprit so i can try to narrow it down more? I've tested the RAM and they are all good. However, I DID run memtest86+ AFTER a bluescreen, and i got about 10k errors in 2 minutes.
Asus P7P55D mobo
G.Skill 4x2GB DDR3 1.5v 1600mhz RAM
Intel i7 860
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB
WD Caviar Black 1TB
WD Caviar Green 1TB
Corsair 750HX PSU
Windows 7 Professional x64
I thought I had the situation figured out when I found a stick of memory that was producing errors in memtest86+. I RMAed the stick and got a new one.
The problem was that I was getting Blue screens on startup at the windows loading screen, with various error messages. (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION, etc etc.) The weird thing was that if I ran windows repair after the crash, it would boot up fine, and I would even be able to restart it fine right afterwards, but when i came back from work the next day (computer had time to sit awhile - no idea why this would make a difference with electronics) it would crash.
Now i'm getting the same type of crashes in the same place (while loading Windows) when using more than 4GB of RAM (3 or 4 DIMMs). The REALLY strange part is that I can pull the 3rd and 4th DIMM's out, boot (It always boots with only 2 DIMMs installed), turn it off, pop the other 2 sticks back in, and it will boot fine! However, when i try it the next day it will Blue Screen.
I'm putting the DIMMs in the correct places (checked the motherboard manual and double-checked it). Also, I get the same crashes with 3 DIMMs installed, regardless of which physical stick I put in or which DIMM slot (I thought it might be a bad Slot, but it crashes on both).
I'm totally stumped at what could cause something like this. Any ideas? It's bizarre that I can get it to work by unplugging and re-plugging the RAM, but then it doesn't work the next day. There's no way it's a loose connection either.
To make it more complicated, there's another issue that pops up sometimes IN windows, where it will stutter every 1 or so seconds as if it's thinking really hard (the mouse will pause, then jump forward to catch up even though my hand is moving smoothly), but i'm barely doing anything that strenuous, and the task manager shows all 8 threads under 10%. It will also cause the audio to cut out temporarily at the same time the mouse freezes. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does it's infuriating. This might be unrelated, or it might not be, i have no idea, but thought I should mention it.
Should I try to see if i can RMA the motherboard and see if i get the same issues with a new one? Any ideas what could be the possible culprit so i can try to narrow it down more? I've tested the RAM and they are all good. However, I DID run memtest86+ AFTER a bluescreen, and i got about 10k errors in 2 minutes.