Hi all! I have the following rig - CPU - Core 2 Duo - E4500 2.2GHz, usually runs at 2.7-2.8 GHz but clocked down right now to 2.2 MOBO - MSI P35 Neo2-FR RAM - Corsair CM2x2048-6400C5C HDD - 1x 1TB Samsung Spinpoint- Carries Windows partition alongwith other files 1x 320gb Samsung Spinpoint - Carries Ubuntu partition alongwith other files Gfx Card - MSI 8800gt OC - factory overclocked PSU - Coolermaster rc330kkpb 460W OS - Windows 7 pro and Ubuntu 12.04 Case - Coolermaster RC330 Recently my PC has been giving a lot of problems with regards to Windows 7. It tends to freeze randomly or BSODing pointing to files such as NTFS.sys (the latest one), dxgmm1.sys, etc. I noticed that this problem gradually built up where firstly my Windows 7 installation slowed down and was most noticeable at start up. As I didn't want to format windows 7, I installed Ubuntu 12.04 so that I could use Ubuntu for all activities apart from gaming and word processing and anything else unique to windows. But slowly the problem started getting worse. The PC would randomly freeze or BSOD during FIFA 11 matches or when I exit it. Today I started up Windows to delete a few files and after a few minutes it hung! A peculiar thing I noticed was that when I clicked the reset/restart button on the case, it didn't restart the pc instantly. Instead it stayed at the frozen screen for around 5 seconds and then it restarted. Once I think it even froze in Ubuntu! Now I've had a similar problem before in 2009 and it was a problem with my memory modules. At that time I coped with running the system on just one module but it seems that this time it isnt helping as much as last time. I ran a memtest recently with this module in place and it gave me an error sometime during the middle of the test. Now before I get new modules I would like to rule out a few possibilities and would like your help in doing so, as I cant really afford new RAM right now - 1) Could it be that the Windows installation has been corrupted pretty badly? How can I check?If so, is there any way to fix it apart from a format? 2) Could it be that my motherboard is faulty and keeps killing the RAM? I have had this problem before 2 times. If so, will it be possible to RMA this motherboard even though its well out of warranty. I could argue that it was sold to me in a faulty state and that there was no way of knowing the problem during the warranty period as the modules took quite long to deteriorate. 3) Could it be that my overclock settings are harmful for the RAM? I overclock through the BIOS by increasing the FSB and making sure that the RAM always stays at 800MHz or slightly lower but never above. All the other settings were left at default. 4) Could it be that my hard drives are failing? Is there any reliable software that could check that? Thanks!
dxgmm1.sys is a graphics driver. Uninstall your current one, and re install the driver (In Safe Mode) . Whilst playing FIFA, are you reading the temperatures of your card? This will monitor your temperatures of your GPU. http://guru3d.com/news/coretemp-10-rc1-/ Now for a stress test on the card, http://www.ozone3d.net/benchmarks/fur/ It is fairly straight-forward. I suspect that your card is overheating so this will determine the outcome. If it crashes whilst stressing then its likely to be dodgy card (AFAIK anyways, hopefully someone else can correct me). Please let me know if you need a little more assistance on this.
I don't think I'll be running FurMark cause I'm not in a financial position to risk burning my GPU or PSU. I did reinstall the driver sometime ago in safe mode and that didn't work. Moreover, this issue sometimes occurs in Ubuntu as well where it just freezes at the screen I'm working on. The last time it froze when I was using Ubuntu was when I was browsing the web while listening to a few songs on the music player app. So I wasn't stressing the GPU at all. At the moment, its at 50C and I'm just using the web browser, nothing fancy. The thing is, it doesn't freeze as much in Ubuntu as in Windows. So I'm suspecting its either the hard drive or RAM. Right now I'm running GSmartControl's extensive test to test both of my hard drives. Will post the results up once they are finished. Fingers crossed!
try different sticks of ram one at a time.. can narrow it down that way the 8800gt oc'd may be unstable too- set everything back stock.. downclock the 8800 using software like afterburner.. stress test using something like prime or memtest
The 8800gt is factory overclocked. I havent OCed it since I bought it. Could it still be problematic? I had run a memtest with the current stick in and it gave me an error. I'll try it with the other one after my hard drive tests are complete and let you know. Thanks!
i've just had a machine in with the exact same issue, 1 of the sticks of ram failed the memory tester, all others were fine
You'll need to confirm which stick(s) of RAM are bad, which it sounds like you've already done. Then you can test the rest of the system with just the good one(s) installed, otherwise you won't be able to trust the results since faulty RAM lies. It's most likely just the defective RAM since most other parts in a computer, except the hard drive, either fail or don't, there's very little middle ground. EDIT: Grammer Nazi
