What is happening to my pc? [Lost Hope]

[ael1985]

Hi guys, I really really need help with a diagnosis for my poor PC. I tried many things and I'm at the end of my puny expertise.

Here are the specs:

OS: Windows 10 Pro
CPU: Phenom X4 955
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600mhz PNY 2x4GB
HDD: Samsung 840 128gb SSD
HHD2: WD Caviar Black 1TB
GPU: MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
PSU: OCZ GameXStream 850w
Motherboard: Asus M4A88TD-V EVO USB3

Here are my range of symptoms:

* While browsing with Chrome and doing nothing else it BSODs or restarts and sometimes just freezes.
* Overwatch used to crash on me but just the app. Now it doesn't. I tried fixing what made OW crash related to Windows 10 and maybe that worked but the main issue is still there.
* Heartstone sometimes just freezes my whole PC, don't know if it's the program or just the same freezes/crashes I have with Chrome.
* Some other games crash my pc.
* If I leave the pc doing nothing, just maybe downloading a game it does not crash. It's when I start using it.

I have many minidumps of the crashes, using WhoCrashed they point to a driver (sometimes realtek, sometimes nvidia, sometimes kernel exception, things like that) and it says that it looks like a driver issue. I tried unistalling all the drivers, updating them, etc. Since my motherboard is old and not supported by windows 10 I should point out I had these issues with Windows 7 and I tried updating to 10 to see what happens.

The latest hardware change was in April (the graphics card) and it worked fine for a month or so. Today I put back my old GTX 560 TI to see if it was the GPU but it froze just minutes ago (hence this post).

Also tried stressing CPU, GPU and memtest to no avail.

I didn't want to trouble you guys but if you could lend a hand I would be most grateful

 

[Trafalgar747]

Uninstall application you dont need, clean up junk from you PC. Use CCleaner to clean the registry etc. Use Defraggler to defragment all your drives (will take a long time) Scan a full system scan with a free antivirus like Avast, and check to see if you have any viruses malware. Uninstall drivers for your components, re install them from the original sites. Clean the dust, dirt and grime from the inside of your pc, and check to see if any cables are slightly loose by any chance. You can reset or refresh windows, or format your HDD.

 

[ael1985]

Uninstall application you dont need, clean up junk from you PC. Use CCleaner to clean the registry etc. Use Defraggler to defragment all your drives (will take a long time) Scan a full system scan with a free antivirus like Avast, and check to see if you have any viruses malware. Uninstall drivers for your components, re install them from the original sites. Clean the dust, dirt and grime from the inside of your pc, and check to see if any cables are slightly loose by any chance. You can reset or refresh windows, or format your HDD.

I have almost nothing installed.
I used CCleaner already.
Everything defragged.
Scanned with Avast (the one I always use)
Scanned with Malwarebytes antimalware
Reinstalled drivers like 5 times
Cleaned the pc and changed the CPU's heat paste
I already formatted the HDD when w7 was doing this, and w10 is doing the same thing now.

 

[Trafalgar747]

Is your ram a single stick or 2 sticks?

 

[chris987]

Cleaned the pc and changed the CPU's heat paste

ensure your cpu temps are monitored. you wouldnt want anything above 60c under load especially now with the nvidia 970 . the phenom cant keep up, you will always experience cpu bottlenecking , core hitting 100% usage in most gaming scenario so temps can easily skyrocket. so stock cooler wont suffice anymore.

RAM: 8GB DDR3 2000mhz

overclocked ram can cause issues, try running at default speeds and see if problems persist.

finally, that is an aging psu you have, i see reviews back from 2006... maybe its time for a new one. all these symptoms you state sound like power issues after all !

 

[ael1985]

Is your ram a single stick or 2 sticks?

I have 4 sticks, but I'm trying 1 in every slot separately to check for errors in the slot/stick.

I selected the best answer by mistake, could a moderator remove it?

 

[ael1985]

Cleaned the pc and changed the CPU's heat paste

ensure your cpu temps are monitored. you wouldnt want anything above 60c under load especially now with the nvidia 970 . the phenom cant keep up, you will always experience cpu bottlenecking , core hitting 100% usage in most gaming scenario so temps can easily skyrocket. so stock cooler wont suffice anymore.

RAM: 8GB DDR3 2000mhz

overclocked ram can cause issues, try running at default speeds and see if problems persist.

finally, that is an aging psu you have, i see reviews back from 2006... maybe its time for a new one. all these symptoms you state sound like power issues after all !

I'm checking every temp they are fine (under 60 C°).

Regarding the PSU, I've been thinking that too but a BSOD because of a PSU? Is that a thing? A freeze? I thought It would just turn off.

 

[Lutfij]

Removed Best Answer upon request of OP.
Moderator
Lutfij

Have a nice day 😉

 

[ael1985]

Removed Best Answer upon request of OP.
Moderator
Lutfij

Have a nice day 😉

Thank you so much!

 

[ael1985]

I want to update that Im testing each ram slot separately and using slot 3 seems to be working with no crashes so far.

 

[Lutfij]

I had some free time and went through your top most post, can you please state your ram's? They aren't supposed be running at stock speeds on your platform since the motherboard specs sheet lists DDR3 2000MHz on an overclock. I would suggest you take note of any BIOS updates and see if you can run off your onboard GPU while on W7. Disable windows updates though. I won't address W10 since it seems you're just compounding the issue by not resolving your hardware level issue (IMHO).

You may also want to uninstall your antivirus and see if the issue is non existent.

 

[ael1985]

I had some free time and went through your top most post, can you please state your ram's? They aren't supposed be running at stock speeds on your platform since the motherboard specs sheet lists DDR3 2000MHz on an overclock. I would suggest you take note of any BIOS updates and see if you can run off your onboard GPU while on W7. Disable windows updates though. I won't address W10 since it seems you're just compounding the issue by not resolving your hardware level issue (IMHO).

You may also want to uninstall your antivirus and see if the issue is non existent.

Yeah that is a mistake on my part. They are running at 1600mhz. They are 4GB PNY 1600mhz DDR3.

I have the latest BIOS update, you recommend installing w7 and use the PC with the onboard video?

Thanks a lot for the feedback!

 

[Lutfij]

Off the top of my head, drop down to DDR3 1333MHz @ 1.65v and install Windows 7 and work with onboard, add your dedicated GPU later on. You could post a pic or state the details mentioned on the sticker that is on your ram or pass on a link to them.

 

[ael1985]

I had some free time and went through your top most post, can you please state your ram's? They aren't supposed be running at stock speeds on your platform since the motherboard specs sheet lists DDR3 2000MHz on an overclock. I would suggest you take note of any BIOS updates and see if you can run off your onboard GPU while on W7. Disable windows updates though. I won't address W10 since it seems you're just compounding the issue by not resolving your hardware level issue (IMHO).

You may also want to uninstall your antivirus and see if the issue is non existent.

Hi Lutfij,

I'm still testing from yesterday morning the PC using just a stick of RAM in the 3rd slot. The computer hasn't crashed for 28+ hours and I've tried the usual suspects that increased (or that's what I thought) my chances of crashing.

This is the link to the RAM sticks I'm using (currently using one):

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-1600MHz-PC3-12800-Desktop-MD8192KD3-1600-X9/dp/B0057XG7XO

This new evidence narrows it down maybe? I'm thinking faulty RAM slot, faulty motherboard overall, PSU might still be on the list?

 

[GateOPssss]

It might be your motherboard. Not sure if PSU would ever show you BSOD, mostly it will just shut down because of lack of power but you shouldn't lose any.

I've had problem before with my old motherboard showing BSOD and randomly shutting down because of my RAM which was weird. When i replaced my motherboard everything worked fine.

You said that only 3rd slot gives no crashes which leads me to thinking it is an motherboard issue. Maybe try different RAM stick and putting it into slots that gives you crashes?

 

[ael1985]

It might be your motherboard. Not sure if PSU would ever show you BSOD, mostly it will just shut down because of lack of power but you shouldn't lose any.

I've had problem before with my old motherboard showing BSOD and randomly shutting down because of my RAM which was weird. When i replaced my motherboard everything worked fine.

You said that only 3rd slot gives no crashes which leads me to thinking it is an motherboard issue. Maybe try different RAM stick and putting it into slots that gives you crashes?

Hi GateOPssss! Thanks a lot for your insight.

That is the plan today, after work. I'm gonna try the other slots and check if it crashes, then go back to the 3rd slot to check again.

I will try to get my hands on some motherboard and try all my components, not sure if I will find one though.

I'll keep everyone posted!

 

[Lutfij]

The rams you have are rated for 1600MHz and should not go any higher. If you're going to DDR3 2000 off the bat then there is the first offence. I would also think that the board is the culprit, likely from asking the ram to do more than it should and in turn making the board compensate for any deficit. Your motherboard manual states that if you have one stick of ram, it can work in any slot regardless of how far or close it is to the CPU socket. If slot 3 is the only one that works, then the slot or ram stick is faulty. If using both sticks of ram, populate slot A1+B1 or A2+B2.

BTW, how are you testing your rams? memtest86? If so you should run the test per stick per slot for 10 passes at least.

 

[ael1985]

The rams you have are rated for 1600MHz and should not go any higher. If you're going to DDR3 2000 off the bat then there is the first offence. I would also think that the board is the culprit, likely from asking the ram to do more than it should and in turn making the board compensate for any deficit. Your motherboard manual states that if you have one stick of ram, it can work in any slot regardless of how far or close it is to the CPU socket. If slot 3 is the only one that works, then the slot or ram stick is faulty. If using both sticks of ram, populate slot A1+B1 or A2+B2.

BTW, how are you testing your rams? memtest86? If so you should run the test per stick per slot for 10 passes at least.

Yeah it was my mistake when typing my specs, I'm using them at 1600MHz, always have. I was using slots 1 and 3 (A1+B1) before (when I was getting the errors), then I tried just the stick on slot 1 (still getting errors, maybe even faster), then I tried just slot 3 and for 30+ hours it's working perfectly.

I used memtest86 with both sticks on slots 1 and 3 (A1+B1) and they were fine for 10 passes. I did not try yet each stick separately on every slot. I will try this afternoon and keep you guys posted.

Thanks a lot for all the help you guys are giving me!