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Other O/S freeze problem

Discussion in 'Tech Support' started by Sunburnt, 9 Nov 2009.

  1. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    Hi, i'm new to this forum, i've tried asking this question in other places and have had no answers yet so I thought i might try here.

    I'm encountering a very annoying problem, and was wandering whether anyone else experiences this and/or if anybody has any suggestions. Please bear with me this is rather a long post. I think this might be a software issue but would really appreciate any input -

    I recently installed FSX with the acceleration pack (which i think patches the software to use multi cores and dx10?), since then on the main menu and sometimes during the simulation the mouse will freeze intermitently for 1 to 2 secs over a 30 sec period then be ok for 30 then do the same again, fps goes to less than 5. This also occurs when opening a large speadsheet and occasionally the desktop resets - icons refresh v slowly and already open windows go blank momentarily. So i uninstalled all the FSX software thinking something has screwed up.

    Now i'm noticing the same issues, sometimes on startup, or with a couple of apps open, more frequently with multiple web pages open within one browser (using firefox). The only way i can reproduce this effect in a controlled manner is to run LinX or Intel Burn test, freezing only occurs when all 4 cores have just reached 100%, then maybe once or twice while under sustained load - irrespective of the amount of memory being tested. Prime95 small FFTs or blends using upto 3GB ram don't cause any problems like this, even when the cpu load maxed at 4 cores 100%. I'm 90% sure this wasn't happening before the FSX install, but it may have been to a much lesser extent. I get slightly worse 3Dmark06 scores than before without any crash issues, but at times (i guess when all cores are loaded in a particluar way) everything grinds to a halt then speeds up again.

    These are the things i have done so far:

    1. Reduced a mild overclcock, back to stock settings, both are 24/7 P95 and LinX stable, max load temperatures 53-58C (coretemp) (23C ambient) - this made no difference (btw Vcc never above 1.23 under load).

    2. Verified ram settings, all manually set to manufacture's spec.

    3. Run memtest overnight at both stock and overclocked settings - several passes no errors.

    4. Cleaned the registry with a registry cleaner, disabled AVG and the wireless card.

    5. Turned off all the power saving features in BIOS, C1E and C3 etc, (turbo is disabled anyway), as well as turning off the LAN and Audio ports.

    6. Resintalled the latest Directx SDK and C++ redistributable, re updated all graphics drivers (completely uninstalled old ones first), chipset drivers, flashed BIOS to latest - F4k.

    7. Opened case, removed cleaned and reinstalled hsf, inspected for burned out components, reseated the ram and GPU.

    None of these made any difference. Now i'm about to do a fresh OS install, because i thought FSX may have installed/modified some background process which is hogging resources - but i'm not convinced this will work.

    Also checked the PSU voltages using HWmonitor, but i think there is some compatability issues because BIOS says +12V is 11.850 (never changes), HWM says +4.3 (which fluctuates +-0.4 under load). Tried using gigabytes easytune 6 to monitor temps but can't get it to install, get a dll error which has BIOS in the text string. Maybe thats a Win7 issue - or could that be a motherboard problem?

    So what do you guys think? I'm at a complete loss at the moment. Does this sound like a software issue or a hardware related. Apologies for the long post. Thanks in advance.

    Specs
    Core i5 @ 2.66 or 3.44 o/c (bclk 172, 1.25)
    Gigabyte P55m-UD2
    2x 2GB Gskill DDR3 16000
    HD 5870
    Corsair 750W PSU
    Win7 Home Premium
    AVG free
     
  2. Krikkit

    Krikkit All glory to the hypnotoad! Super Moderator

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    Hmmm... It sounds like you've got some OS silly buggers to me - I've found a stuttering trouble before which was either solved by drivers or OS reinstall, although there's no guarantee it's not a purely hardware thing.

    Having said that I've never heard of that kind of thing being hardware. I'm not surprised other folks are stumped, you've done a cracking job on diagnosing your own problem first! :D
     
  3. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    Thanks! I tried everything i could think of! Last night i used event viewer to see if any errors coincide with the freezing. Turns out yes and no. I get series of CAPI2 errors every time there is a stutter. Reading around this is a windows update issue - o/s is looking for a signature that turns out isn't valid. Furthermore this was an issue with Vista and has been for a long time. So i disabled windows update, no difference. After logging a few it would seem the process which causes these are many but always the same. Also discovered that even when the CPU is idle during simple stuff like browsing etc the system starts to become sluggish stutter/freeze. Monitoring CPU/mem usage shows they are not taxed at all during this slowdown. Sure enough a new set of CAPI2 errors were in the log. I traced the main culprits to consent.exe, explorer.exe and wmperk.exe, as well as a couple of others. I disabled the wmperk (media player update) process in startup and uninstalled firefox, which improved things slightly however it also shifted the occurrences to explorer.exe. Looking back through my whole event log since the computer was built a month ago these errors began occurring on or right around the 1st Nov, well before FSX was installed. So i'm no further on really. One observation though, if i o/c the CPU a bit the stuttering is less pronounced although still there, leads me to believe its software (hopefully) and not a heat issue or just plain hardware. The vista fix involves some fairly serious registry editing and isn't perfect.

    Will just have to do a fresh install and hope it goes away, i can't find any really similar win7 +CAPI2 problems described anywhere. I would RMA the CPU or the motherboard or ram but just don't have any proof its one or the other causing this crap, so would have to RMA the whole lot i suppose... before i do i will run linX in safe mode and see if the stuttering continues to rule out hardware/driver issues, then fresh install, then send the whole damn lot back. :wallbash:

    Quick update: Tried a variety of fixes for the error i found before. None worked. Re-installed os, now no CAPI2 error. This time around windows installed a driver for the wireless PCI card which works right off the bat... the installation was also much quicker than before ~20mins from disk in to desktop. First installation was probably messed up. I'll run LinX before doing anything else to see if i still get the same stutter problems.
     
    Last edited: 10 Nov 2009
  4. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    I think i have discovered what was causing my problems, (and your not going to believe the second part). After resintalling windows and testing with LinX before installing any other programs i discovered i had the same problem (although to a lesser extent). So i went out on the net from the same computer and started browsing around for any more help, to my surprise the system was grinding to a halt while just surfing. Disabled the wireless as before, no change. Then uninstalled the driver which Win7 helpfully installed on the first boot into OS, opened up a couple of saved web pages, slightly better. Then shut down, removed the WLan PCI card and removed all remaining bits of software relating to it. Much better now, connected via ethernet, browsing was cured! In addition my coretemp readouts were a couple of degrees lower.

    However I still had the LinX induced stuttering (also occurs in safe mode). This was worst when the CPU was coming on and off load, once at 100% for a few secs no problem, as soon as the load drops off inbetween calcs - freezer central. Once, the system completely locked up after the test had ended, began to be sluggish as the load decreased, eventually grinding to a halt about a minute later. So - and this is the part your not going to believe - after playing with voltages for a while i decided to mess with the CPU fan control. Disabling auto so it runs flat out all the time, this made the issue disappear completely! I was very surprised and sceptical. So set LinX to use maximum ram 20000calc/3003MB/40flops, during that I could now do a multitude of tasks in the background, internet, openning closing office docs, changing startup items, search event viewer etc without any hanging/freezing or stuttering. As before - clocks 2.66 (20x133) / 1333 and BIOS set voltages were Vcc 1.25, Vtt 1.10, Vdram 1.5, which i believe is stock. Coretemp reported very similar (to the auto setting) high 40s on 100% load. Set fan to AUTO again, problems returned.

    Reinstated the 3.4 o/c (BIOS profiles are great!) did the same test, everything ran nice and smooth. Basically spent 6 six hours stressing and playing in the bacground, so i didn't get a chance to install FSX last night. Ran P95 overnight @3.4 with no errors maxed 53C temps (ambient 22-23). I just can't believe the fan control is the culprit. Would you guys conclude the motherboard is to blame?

    This time around i got easytune to install and was able to monitor PSU voltages, all were stable and within 0.03 of their datums. An added feature I found here is an "advanced" fan control, basically two levels, i set 25% below 40C and 100% above. Ran a bunch of stress tests without issue.

    The event log doesn't have any of the errors I found before but they may return in due course as windows updates itself and i install FSX again!

    Sorry for the the long post again
     
  5. thehippoz

    thehippoz What's a Dremel?

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    could be a overheating issue from the sound of it.. you could try and re-tim the chipset and re-seat the cpu- use something like mx-2 or mx-3 on it
     
  6. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    OK, that was one of my thoughts too. Although i have already re seated the CPU and hsf once, i used artic silver. Not done the chipset though.

    Thanks
     
  7. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    I noticed this problem is getting worse, to the extent it happens on the desktop a few mins after booting. Checked out components inside and noticed the chokes and capacitors around the CPU are very very HOT. This can't be a good thing.
     
  8. Krikkit

    Krikkit All glory to the hypnotoad! Super Moderator

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    How hot? Scalding, burning hot? Try getting a fan pointed there to see if it helps. :)
     
  9. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    Originally thought i saw consensation or something. These chokes are normally greyish so when i saw black patches on a couple of them, went to touch test and burnt my finger! So scalding yes. Turns out they are changing colour a little. Voltages are all stock... I did try a big fan but it was hard to tell if things got any better, maybe slightly...

    I should've gone the i7 route...established hardware etc...
     
  10. Sunburnt

    Sunburnt What's a Dremel?

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    Quick update: As a last resort I picked up an EVGA P55 LE motherboard yesterday on my way home from work. Not sure what the exact problem was but obviously something on the old board. Now everything is as it should be. In addition:

    1. The wireless card works continuously - previously intermittent.
    2. GPU seems much smoother (used to get flickering and occasional crashes).
    3. Memory score in win performance (not that it means much) 7.9 from 7.4 at same timings.
    4. 3Dmark06 score up 3000pts at same clocks, Unigine Heaven up 400pts.
    5. Much more comprehensive BIOS settings - eventually managed 350Mhz higher o/c with 5C lower load temps and tighter RAM timings.

    Haven't had much time with the new board yet. Amazing what only a few more pennies buys...

    Thanks to everyone for their help, I very much appreciated your input, sorry for sounding all negative in the last couple of posts... :D

    /Nick
     

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