Computer fail!

[smithers3628]

I have a custom PC which i built about 3 years ago now. It worked without flaw for about 6 months to a year when i started having little problems with it. Nothing I couldnt fix, but the problems have not stopped since then.

While playing games for an extended period of time it will blue screen and restart. Other time I shut the game down before it blue screen but still freezes bsod's and restarts once i get to windows. Another thing that has come up within the past month is that while watching movies in VLC the video will get all choppy and distorted. The audio still sounds okay, and you can see whats goin on in the movie, but it is too distorted to see someone's face.

I started the computer running Vista Ultimate 64 but changed after a while because...well...it was vista. Running XP, Vista, and Windows 7 all have the same problems. Only OS that wouldn't mess up is Ubuntu (which is installing as i type away at my laptop lol)

I have done everything I can think of to stop these issues but to no avail.

BSOD code: Stop 0x000000116
I know this is supposed to be a driver issue but like i said i have tried re-installing operating systems, drivers, and even different hardware and i Keep having the same problem.

Hardware:
EVGA 780i
XFX HD Radeon 4890
WD Caviar 500 GB
8 GB Corsair Dominator DDR2
Intel Q6600 @ 2.40
NZXT Lexa Blackline Case

First graphics card was 8800GTX. Sold it because i thought that was the problem...which it aparently isnt.

If anyone has any idea as to how to fix this please let me know.

 

[JogaBonito1502]

Have you tried testing new RAM? Many BSODs are direct result of RAM issues.

 

[wol-va-rine]

did that case come with a psu...? what brand and wattage is your psu...? if it's a crappy psu the first thing I would do is replace that with at least a 500w quality psu, maybe even 600w, but whatever wattage you get the key is to make sure it's a quality psu...

 

[Grantofhell]

Read the voltages in BIOS and also test the PSU with a multimeter if you have one (ask if you need help on how to do the latter). If the reads are outside of .3 from the desired voltage, it needs replacement

I also believe the RAM is a quite a possibility as that is where most BSODs after normal use come from. Go to MemTest.org and download 4.0 in ISO form. I'm sure you are familiar with ISO's, so use your program of choice and burn it to a disk. Have the disk in the drive and boot to it. Personally, I only run MemTest with one stick in the system at once as it others have also said this will produce the most accurate results. So Test All of your RAM (with whatever method you use) and see if it comes up with any errors. If so, new RAM time. But the advantage of testing one stick at a time is knowing which stick has the issue.

 

[smithers3628]

I have a 750 watt PSU tho I am not sure the brand (which may be the problem) and while i have Memtest i never actually tested each stick. Tho with phoenix BIOS i test it at each startup and it seems fine. I will run memtest first thing when i get outa class tomorrow.

But I would deffinately like to know how to test the PSU, i have no idea how to go about that. And what voltages am I lookin for in the bios? (I am not asking what they are or where to find them, but what are the desired numerical values?)

 

[Grantofhell]

3.3, 5V, and 12V. I Would HIGHLY suggest getting a PSU tester or multimeter (There is most likely one of these around your house). You can read it from BIOS, but I wouldn't trust any readings from an OS environment. Too much read corruption can happen.

If you have a multimeter or go purchase one, to test your PSU, remove all connections from your board and devices (you don't have to remove it from the case if you don't want to).

Refer to this diagram:

Flip the switch for your PSU on and make sure it is plugged to the while. And using a paper click or any other wire jump pins 4 and 6 together (otherwise known as PSU-ON {Green} and GND-Ground {Black}.

The PSU fan should turn on. Leave the paper clip or whatever you used in there the best you can as you need the PSU to stay running. Using the multimeter, turn it on to read DC voltage, and put the red (+) probe into any of the 3.3 pins on the PSU, and the black (-) Probe into any available GND as illustrated by the diagram. Do this for the 5V and 12V as well. Make sure they are the right pins! Not doing so can cause damage to your PSU.

Some say it's best to have your system running under stress while you test it. I agree, but it's hard to do that since the ATX is still plugged into the board. While you can use Molex connectors which have +12 and +5, it's still most accurate to read from the ATX. If the numbers seem to be ok for your reads, then it would be feasible to test the system under 100% stress for voltage spikes or droops.

 

[setishock]

A lot of issues that make you think hardware is failing or has a problem is a direct result of overheating. Pop that puppy open and give it a good cleaning. Then if you still have the problem at least you have eliminated one possibility.