Computer Schenanigans

nuclearalchemist

Hi H&A,

So today, minding my own business on my Vista box, I was playing a video game where suddenly, from nowhere, I get a Driver IRQL exception. I have had this once before, and rebooting fixed the problem. However, this time, I attempted to reboot the computer and had several problems, no including:

Could not find CI.dll
Something involving the kernel
Something involving winloader

Thus, I began to suspect that something was very, very wrong with my computer. So I downloaded memtest86+ to check the memory. The first time running memtest, it reported that the first 2 bytes of all of my memory was bad (both sticks, I have 2 gigs). Then, just about 4 minutes ago, Memtest itself crashed and burned on my computer.

Basically, at this point, I know that something, somewhere went horribly wrong. I can't use the Vista disk to repair the installation, making me think its hardware related. My hard drives are more than likely ok, since they are both really new. At the moment, I am thinking this is probably motherboard, not memory, but I am looking for other opinions on the subject.

tsmvengy

Try booting into safe mode if you can.

If you can get to your data back up whatever you need to back up.

Then just try reformatting and reinstalling windows.

If you are still having problems at that point you have a hardware problem.

vonPoonBurGer

Are you running dual channel RAM? If so, try pulling one stick and testing it individually with memtest. Then swap the sticks and test the other one by its lonesome. Try retesting both in a different slot as well, just in case it's related to a specific slot. If you're still seeing the same errors (or memtest crashes) regardless of which stick you're testing or which slot it's in, then the problem is likely a fault somewhere in the northbridge chip on your motherboard. That's the one that contains the memory controller, and if it's flaking out then massive system instability would be the result.

Note that not all memtest errors indicate an actual memory fault. Errors on tests 1-4 usually indicate problems with the physical RAM, but tests 5-8 actually depend on functionality in the memory controller and are thus more of a memory controller diagnostic than anything else. I've also see errors on tests 5-8 if RAM is set to run at the wrong speed or wrong timings in the BIOS.

nuclearalchemist

Well, the problem is that even when I put in the Vista disk, it still crashes in the system, which I have never heard of with a hard drive failure. Also, memtest is failing on every single bit of memory, which either means the memory controller or the memory. I am going to try a different memory utility, and then go from there.

vonPoonBurGer

If it's saying every single bit is bad, I'd be inclined to think memory controller. I.e. maybe there are some bad bits in your RAM, but there's no way to tell because everything is getting mangled by your memory controller.

nuclearalchemist

Hey all, an update on the computer status. I tested both of the sticks of RAM individually, and they both test out okay. Sometimes, the system boots, and sometimes it doesn't even post. Now, its posting only about 1/10 times that I try and start the computer. I am down to thinking that its either the video card or the memory controller, more than likely the memory controller. Would that be consistent with the computer not even posting, if something was terribly wrong with the memory. The hard drives have been eliminated as the source of the problem, since I am attempting to boot from a Knoppix disk, and even that won't work (again, the no posting). Even if it posts, it usually hangs soon thereafter.

vonPoonBurGer

I'm assuming there's no beep code when you try to turn the system on? If so, I'd really say memory controller. If it was a video card issue I'd expect there to at least be a beep code when the system failed to POST.

nuclearalchemist

Yup, no beeps at all. Thanks!

Elin

Just to mention the idiot mistake my husband made with his box ...
We got a vista machine and put his nvidia card in it. All was well for a month until it started rebooting itself, giving blue screens and refusing to boot. Recovery would fail after 2%. He took his after market card out and recovered, just fine. Put his card back in, a week later the issues started coming back.
Turns out the onboard card is an ATI and he forgot to disable it. Just saying, check the dumb easy stuff before you look for the scary bad crap.

nuclearalchemist

The thing is that its been working for > 4 years, and I put in the new Nvidia card about a year and a half ago, and had a different Nvidia card before that. So yeah, probably not the video card, but I will check again to make sure!