Help diagnosing Win7 crashing problem

My computer has started randomly crashing since I moved to Win7-64, once or twice a week usually but one day it did it three times. It happens often when I use USB, otherwise it's pretty random. XP was stable.

The PC is self built, Q6600 on an Asus P5Q SE/R. 8GB of RAM (4GB Corsair Dominator, 4GB Corsair Value Select), and a fanless nVidia 8500GT card. I have two OWC SSDs, two Seagate disks, and one WD black disk.

Every now and then the screen flickers, and I get a message saying the nVidia driver (latest version) has stopped responding and was being restarted. That doesn't seem to happen at the same time as the crash.

I have all the windows updates applied, and as far as I can tell I have all the latest drivers.

I have no idea how to work out what the problem is. Any suggestions? Below is what windows says when it reboots.

You say "fan-less" video card? Any way to test your temps? Wonder if your card isn't getting sufficient cooling?

The CPU cores are around 40 degrees C, GPU is 74 degrees C, hard drives around 30. It's about 17 degrees in my office.

Use http://www.nirsoft.net​/utils/blue_screen_vie​w.html to read that file and see if it helps you out.

I was having the same type of issues with my Win 7 build and looking at the dump file showed that the errors were coming from the driver for my Kensington trackball mouse. Bought a Logitech mouse, got rid of the Kensington drivers and the system has been fine since.

74C = 165F

That strikes me as a little bit toasty.

Thanks for the Blue Screen software link krb. Below is what it says... basically it's the NT kernel crashing, not a driver.

Could an overheating video card do this? A quick google suggests 74 is within the operating range of the card.

051411-11980-01.dmp 14/05/2011 2:30:29 p.m. SYSTEM_SERVICE_EX​CEPTION 0x0000003b 000​00000`c0000005 fffff80​0`02afd431 fffff880`08​47bd00 00000000`000000​00 ntoskrnl.exe ntoskr​nl.exe+7fd00 NT Kernel & System Microsoft® Windows® Operating System Microsoft Corporation 6.1.7601.1​7592 (win7sp1_gdr.110408-1631) x64 C:\Windows\​Minidump\051411-11980-01.dmp 4 15 7601 291,8​72

The first thing I would recommend whenever you have seemingly inconsistent failures is to test your memory. It is easy to do and is a good thing to rule out as it is IMO the component that is the most likely to fail.

memtest86+ is a good easy way to test your memory. It is a free download.

Yes, an overheating card could cause it. It could also be that there's a weak/cracked bit of solder or something that is loses connectivity when parts expand from heat. Could be worth your time to open it back up and make sure the card is fully seated. Maybe give it a thorough looking over for any signs of physcial problems, poorly seated components, etc.

Could also be a system memory issue. Open the case and make sure the DIMMs are fully seated. Maybe try removing some DIMMs and try different combinations to see if it maybe only happens with a certain DIMM installed.

dalto's suggestion of memtest86+ is a good one, too.

Good point, I recommend memtest myself so I don't know why I didn't try it already. I've just downloaded it and i'm heading out, so i'll leave it to run for a few hours.

When I reboot i'll reseat the ram and video card too.

Thanks for the thoughts so far guys, keep them coming, i'll check back in when i'm home later tonight.

The memory tested out fine.

Tim,

This might have sounded silly, but I've even seen a lot of techs do that, and miss it. Did ya try reinstalling the card's drivers?

Also, Win7 is heavier on the GPU than XP was, which was more CPU dependent, so the temp of the card is going to rise unless you have sufficient cooling. The first thing I would do is see if all of your fans are able to make "Flow" through the computer case, and nothing is blocking it. While your at it, is anything close to the G. Card that might prevent the heat "Flowing" out? If not, I would look into a fan to clip onto that heat sink for that G. Card.

Tim,

Have you tried taking out one of the 4Gb ram sets in case one type is clashing with the other, I've had two different makes cause no end of problems before and it took me about a week to realise what it was. - Just a thought.

1. Was there anything else you installed during the upgrade?

2. Did you do an upgrade from XP or Format & Reinstall of Win 7? It's usually best to format and start from scratch. Even though an upgrade from a previous OS can seem successful, there maybe an old driver(s) that could conflict with the system.

3. How big is the PSU (Power Supply)?

AlistairM wrote in post #12408272
Tim,

This might have sounded silly, but I've even seen a lot of techs do that, and miss it. Did ya try reinstalling the card's drivers?

Also, Win7 is heavier on the GPU than XP was, which was more CPU dependent, so the temp of the card is going to rise unless you have sufficient cooling. The first thing I would do is see if all of your fans are able to make "Flow" through the computer case, and nothing is blocking it. While your at it, is anything close to the G. Card that might prevent the heat "Flowing" out? If not, I would look into a fan to clip onto that heat sink for that G. Card.

I've installed updated drivers. I haven't tried a complete reinstallation. Is there any point?

NinetyEight wrote in post #12408629
Tim,

Have you tried taking out one of the 4Gb ram sets in case one type is clashing with the other, I've had two different makes cause no end of problems before and it took me about a week to realise what it was. - Just a thought.

Worth a shot, especially if it starts happening more regularly. Sometimes it'll work for a week before it stuffs up so it'll be hard to work out if it helps.

ecub wrote in post #12408953
1. Was there anything else you installed during the upgrade?

2. Did you do an upgrade from XP or Format & Reinstall of Win 7? It's usually best to format and start from scratch. Even though an upgrade from a previous OS can seem successful, there maybe an old driver(s) that could conflict with the system.

3. How big is the PSU (Power Supply)?

1. No hardware has changed, other than the RAM added.
2. Fresh install to a new disk (OWC 60GB SSD).
3. I can't remember, it's 5 years old or more. Since XP worked fine I doubt it's the PSU. Using my power meter I can see that my PC draws 15W when off, 70W when idling, and 100W when really working hard. Any PSU should be fine at 100W.

Tim,

Yes, there is a point. Blotched driver install; it happens a lot with V. Card drivers, or just a really flaky driver. It happens all the time, you could even try going back one and see if it's more stable for you. That's all that matters, really unless you game a lot anyways which sounds like you don't.