I know this is a really broad topic with a whole bunch of possible causes however I wanted to ask you guys if you have any idea why it happened. My rig is as below, I don't overclock and all my temperatures are what they should be. When it happened, I'd just opened up (my "completely legit" copy of) photoshop, the reason I mention this is because I read it could be to do with a dodgy .dll somewhere... Any help or advice would be appreciated, also feel free to tell your stories if there are any as a BSOD advice thread might be good to have knocking around on the forum (I couldn't find any in the search).
Hrm. Download and run IntelBurnTest/Prime95, set it to Very high (In the case of IBT) or In-Place Large FFTs (Prime95), leave that running for 20 loops, see if it fails again. If it does; dodgy processor, run Memtest afterwards to double-check and see if the processor is a fault, or if you've just got some iffy Memory. From there; RMA as needed. Should it all turn up clean; Reinstall Photoshop. It's a bugger, but It should fix it.
Try running mem test to check the ram, it might be failing when it gets loaded up. Also if you can get a pic of the BSOD or give us the codes it would pin point the problem.
Thanks guys, there isn't much point in me running tests I don't think as the only part I didn't buy off ebay was the GPU, so there isn't much scope for RMA. I think I'll just keep using it and I'll keep my camera handy incase it happens again.
There is for the simple reason you can identify which part is dodgy. If it's one ram stick for example then you'll know what to replace, plus if you remove it you wont be running at full capacity but you wont be blue screening either.
Have a look at this: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html You will be able to see the previous blue screen message.
Just happened to me again, didn't have time to get the camera out for the first one but when it booted I chose something along the lines of "launch repair" and it said: STOP: c0000221 Unknown Hard Error \SystemRoot\System32\ntdll.dll However as you may have guessed, on choosing "start windows normally" everything works... and I'm downloading the programs mentioned as I type this. Point to note-I decided to have a look at temperatures in the BIOS while it was broken and it said my CPU was at 48*C when I'd set the max temp to 45*C...
Ntdll? Memory errors. Memtest the heck out of it. Otherwise; you've got a corrupt windows install, which means removal of C:\Windows then install over the top.
It didn't even make it that far... During the 2nd loop of IBT it stopped and said my CPU had become unstable and I needed to adjust my OC or cooling, which perhaps means that the stock intel CPU fan is not so good?
Best get yourself an aftermarket cooler, but even at full load the stock cooler should be able to handle the heat without any overclocking...
What would you recommend? I haven't got that much space around the CPU due to the case layout, I'm currently looking at closed-loop systems but my wallet is being all ...
The Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO is a good budget cooler, but it really does depend on the space and your wallet
Or his memory is fooked. Restart the PC, spam F8 when you do so. Select the boot option of "Windows Memory Test". Its basically Memtest86+, built into windows. You have to remember: IBT also tests the memory. Last time I had a run-in with dodgy Memory; those were the symptoms. Memtest86 would save you a lot of hassle.
I measured it and I've got 80mm each way... I really need it for my work so budgets be damned, is there anything wrong with closed loop systems?
Not really, but I'm concerned that you may buy a H50 or similar, then keep having the issue. Exhaust all testing possibilities before you start buying components, or you'll wind up with a very well cooled, unstable machine.
I appreciate it, the ****er won't even boot without failing, managed to get my camera out this time though: http://tinypic.com/r/5myag2/5
Reinstall all the drivers and use some thing like driver sweeper to tidy everything up before you reinstall them, make sure you're using the most up to date versions as well. The other way is to totally reinstall windows and check each driver is the correct one as you go along. It's still worth running mem test and checking every thing is ok, better to be thorough and do it all properly rather than miss some thing silly and end up trying to back track again.
I'm running the windows memory diagnostics tool now as it won't boot, is there a way I can re-install the OS without losing all my files? It's complicated because I have discs for vista ultimate and then an upgrade to 7, when I put in the vista disc it only gives me the option to start from scratch (reformat etc), but when I put the windows 7 upgrade disc in it gives me the same screen I got before saying: STOP: c0000221 Unknown Hard Error \SystemRoot\System32\ntdll.dll
