- Nov 1, 2011
- 10
- 0
- 0
Hello,
I've been visiting Anandtech for many years now but I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I'm having some computer issues and I've been unable to isolate the cause of these problems. So far I'm inclined to believe it's a hardware problem and not a software/OS problem.
My Hardware Configuration:
CPU : Intel Q6600 quad core; stock (no OC) with a large Sunbeam cooler similar to this.
Motherboard : Asus P5QL-E
RAM : OCZ 2GB x 2 (4GB total)
Videocard : PNY 8800GT; stock (no OC)
Soundcard: None, using mobo sound
CD drive : Lite-On DVD reader/writer
Hard disk drives : 1 Hitachi 200GB, 1 Seagate 600 GB or something around there
Operating System : Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit
Description of problem:
So just two days ago I was browsing the web. I was following a link to a YouTube video when all of a sudden my computer freezes. My first reaction was no big deal. Just reboot and everything will be fine. So I hit the reset button. Computer winds down and starts to reboot. Great everything is normal. Nope. It got to the "Starting Windows" screen and then after about 10 seconds the screen goes blank. I waited and waited hoping the log-in screen would appear. After waiting OVER 10 minutes the computer just decides to BSoD and reboot by itself.
Now something is different. The ASUS splash screen that comes up before the system post was not clean. It had artifacts all over. And then when it finally got to the post screen there were dollar signs and random letters all over the screen. Despite all this it still gets to the "Starting Windows" screen. But after that it just goes blank for 10-15 minutes followed by BSoD and reboot. And repeat.
I then took the action to flash the bios to the latest version. I thought that fixed it, but nope. Still the same symptoms. I tried running the Windows Repair and performed numerous restores several weeks old. Still the same thing. That leads me to believe that it's not a OS or software issue.
So then I leave my computer alone. Come back to it the next day and it starts up perfectly. I was back online and could do everything. But that only lasted for 10 minutes and it froze again and the same symptoms reappeared. This made me think that my computer might be overheating. So I let the system stay off for several hours. I start it up and everything is normal. I launch Speccy to monitor the system temperatures. I loaded up YouTube and played a video. Everything was normal. And then it crashed again. Here were the temperatures at the time of this crash:
CPU : 34C
Videocard : 69C
HDD1 : 26C
HDD2 : 28C
Despite this I open up my computer and break out the compressed air can along with a vacuum. Cleared up almost all the dust and link inside. Fired it up again, and it crashes again the same way. I also ran chkdsk. Nothing.
Now here is the kicker. I can boot up in safe mode just fine! I've posting this from the dysfunctional computer! It's been operating just fine in SafeMode for almost 1 hour. That leads me to believe it's possibly my videocard. That or the motherboard is going bad because I keep seeing weird things before and during system post.
HELP!
TL;DR version:
System freezes, goes to BSoD and then reboots and then repeats.
Get weird artifacts and characters all over the screen while booting up.
Tried Windows Repair and System Restore. No difference.
Tried chkdsk. Nothing
Flashed the BIOS several times. Did not fix.
Temperatures of CPU and Videocard are normal at the time of crash. But still cleaned out the interior of the CPU for dust and link. No progress.
System boots up in SafeMode and can stay on (unfrozen). Posting this from the broken computer.
I've been visiting Anandtech for many years now but I'm a new member here and this is my first post. I'm having some computer issues and I've been unable to isolate the cause of these problems. So far I'm inclined to believe it's a hardware problem and not a software/OS problem.
My Hardware Configuration:
CPU : Intel Q6600 quad core; stock (no OC) with a large Sunbeam cooler similar to this.
Motherboard : Asus P5QL-E
RAM : OCZ 2GB x 2 (4GB total)
Videocard : PNY 8800GT; stock (no OC)
Soundcard: None, using mobo sound
CD drive : Lite-On DVD reader/writer
Hard disk drives : 1 Hitachi 200GB, 1 Seagate 600 GB or something around there
Operating System : Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit
Description of problem:
So just two days ago I was browsing the web. I was following a link to a YouTube video when all of a sudden my computer freezes. My first reaction was no big deal. Just reboot and everything will be fine. So I hit the reset button. Computer winds down and starts to reboot. Great everything is normal. Nope. It got to the "Starting Windows" screen and then after about 10 seconds the screen goes blank. I waited and waited hoping the log-in screen would appear. After waiting OVER 10 minutes the computer just decides to BSoD and reboot by itself.
Now something is different. The ASUS splash screen that comes up before the system post was not clean. It had artifacts all over. And then when it finally got to the post screen there were dollar signs and random letters all over the screen. Despite all this it still gets to the "Starting Windows" screen. But after that it just goes blank for 10-15 minutes followed by BSoD and reboot. And repeat.
I then took the action to flash the bios to the latest version. I thought that fixed it, but nope. Still the same symptoms. I tried running the Windows Repair and performed numerous restores several weeks old. Still the same thing. That leads me to believe that it's not a OS or software issue.
So then I leave my computer alone. Come back to it the next day and it starts up perfectly. I was back online and could do everything. But that only lasted for 10 minutes and it froze again and the same symptoms reappeared. This made me think that my computer might be overheating. So I let the system stay off for several hours. I start it up and everything is normal. I launch Speccy to monitor the system temperatures. I loaded up YouTube and played a video. Everything was normal. And then it crashed again. Here were the temperatures at the time of this crash:
CPU : 34C
Videocard : 69C
HDD1 : 26C
HDD2 : 28C
Despite this I open up my computer and break out the compressed air can along with a vacuum. Cleared up almost all the dust and link inside. Fired it up again, and it crashes again the same way. I also ran chkdsk. Nothing.
Now here is the kicker. I can boot up in safe mode just fine! I've posting this from the dysfunctional computer! It's been operating just fine in SafeMode for almost 1 hour. That leads me to believe it's possibly my videocard. That or the motherboard is going bad because I keep seeing weird things before and during system post.
HELP!
TL;DR version:
System freezes, goes to BSoD and then reboots and then repeats.
Get weird artifacts and characters all over the screen while booting up.
Tried Windows Repair and System Restore. No difference.
Tried chkdsk. Nothing
Flashed the BIOS several times. Did not fix.
Temperatures of CPU and Videocard are normal at the time of crash. But still cleaned out the interior of the CPU for dust and link. No progress.
System boots up in SafeMode and can stay on (unfrozen). Posting this from the broken computer.
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