Unexplained Crashes.....

Hi guys,

I recently purchased a new machine but I appear to be having some unexplained, and fairly random, crashes which are defined by a complete system lockup (screen freezes, mouse doesn't move, can't turn off num lock light etc.) that requires me to reboot using the power button.

I've run memtest via a bootable CD and it didn't pick up any errors, I've run AVG and Spybot with no viruses/spyware reported and I've moved my SLI graphics cards around, even turning off the SLI option and I still get the problems.

The freeze can happen at any time, occasionally at the boot screen (which makes me think it's not the graphics cards), sometimes as soon as the Windows desktop appears but usually whilst in a game of some description. The last time it did it, I got a CMOS settings error at boot up which told me it had reset to defaults and to press F1 to continue.

My current specs are:

Windows XP Professional

ASUS P5N32-SLI-Premium
Quad Core 6600 2.4ghz
4GB DDR2 RAM
2x1GB Nvidia GeForce 8500GT

The case is quite well ventilated, with three case fans (2x12cm front and back, 1 smaller side fan) so I can't see it being a temperature issue.

My thoughts, after pretty much ruling out RAM etc. is that it's a motherboard battery fault, but would that cause random freezing? Could it also be a hard drive error (although I've error checked with no errors reported)?

Any ideas/suggestions would be gratefully appreciated as it's getting on my nerves now and I don't want to have to go through the hassle of returning the machine (I'm liable for postage!) if I can sort the problem myself!

 

Well I would doubt it being a CMOS battery problem. I would think, in the first instance a grahics card driver problem. Have you installed the latest driver for the graphics card?

And as a second thought does it do this crashing if you leave it running in Safe Mode for a time?

 

Do you have a usb keyboard and/or mouse?
If so does it still happen with a conventional set?
Safe mode is also a good option.

If you have the patience you can selectively use msconfig to work through the drivers one at a time to see if one has a problem.

Oh and welcome to Major Geeks.

 

Thanks for the reply!

It happens with both the latest RELEASED graphics card drivers AND the latest Beta drivers.

I've not tried running in safe mode though as the freeze also happens occasionally when booting (the very first ASUS screen) so kinda ruled out Windows.

 

Thanks Studiot:major

I'm using USB mouse/keyboard and don't have access to any ps/2 equivalents, would the USB ports cause such an issue? It doesn't just freeze mouse movement/keyboard movement it actually freezes the screen with no HD activity and loops the sound until reset.

As for MSConfig......*shudders*

 

Yes the USB can cause all sorts of glitches, including the sort you describe.

 

What size is your power supply?
Running Quad Core 6600 2.4ghz, 4GB DDR2 RAM, 2x1GB Nvidia GeForce 8500GT
You may be taxing your power supply. Plus, you have at least one hard drive and one cd-rom?
Plus, even though you don't think it could be a heat issue, it may be an air flow issue. The air should come in from front & side(s) and exit through the rear.

 

I believe the PSU is 700w so that should be more than enough, surely?

The weird thing is, I unplugged my USB peripherals and put them into the two USB slots below.........my machine hasn't crashed for over 5 hours now! Thanks to studiot for that one!

Well, I say it hasn't crashed....it hasn't had the usual problem. I've found another though.

My Samsung TSSTcorp S202N DVD DL writer wont change its booktype at all, even through DVD Info Pro or ImgBurn.

When I try to change it through DVD Info Pro I get a BSOD with 'Machine_Exception' error or something similar. ImgBurn just tells me that the drive can't report it or something.

It's running on the latest firmware and is reported to be a half decent drive.....but it's no good if I can't change the booktype for writing DVD-ROMs onto DL media!

Any ideas on that one?

 

Re: Unexplained Crashes.....IE-7

Hello, I am new to this board, and new to this type of problem, too! I hope someone can answer this question for me: I have Windows XP Professional, SP2, and IE7..... Been working just fine, except I am having some issues with IE-7 just plain closing on me, for no reason. (is this actually called a crash?) I have, however, received this error when I shut down the computer: "dwwin.exe failed to Initialize" along with a critical stop of course, then the computer will shut down. My question is this:
What is "dwwin.exe"; and, why is my browser closing on me? Any idea what is going on?
My computer is on auto-update for windows. I checked again, and there are no updates currently available. I am using Trend Micro PC-cillin Internet Security 14, that scans and updates on a daily basis. No virus, or malware has ever been found. I sure would like to get to the bottom of this! Thanks, :cry

 

Re: Unexplained Crashes.....IE-7

Hi TeeCee, I quickly googled your problem and found this link that may be of help:

http://www.askmehelpdesk.com/windows/dwwin-exe-dll-initialization-failed-shutdo-3503.html

 

Re: Unexplained Crashes.....IE-7

Hi Kaje, I checked that out, and am more confused than ever! I don't like to have to mess with the "Hockey_Registry".... that just gives me a headache I am not so computer savy, so I will need a more "simplified" version! Thanks, for your help tho.

 

Thanks for the help, that does explain a lot better . I did the IE with no add-ons, but didn't make any difference, and I also did do a thorough clean-up: I did the CHKDSK for errors, none were found; disk cleanup, AOK, and Defrag. I do this every wek tho. This is not a constant problem, but more like intermittent I wonder if something gets 'stuck'??? I am running Windows XP (2002) SP2 with IE 7. I am on auto-updates, and keep checking to see if there are any "new updates" but none so far. Thanks for the info, TeeCee:wave

 

ThankYou, Plodr, I did that, and got a CRYPT 32 and an APLICATION : FAULT BUCKET .... Thanks, now I can check that out in Microsoft.
The ONLY add-ons I have, on my IE7, is the google toolbar. That is it. Thanks bud! :wave

 

here is what I found out: The "Appl. Fault Bucket" error was a failed update of "ROOT CERTIFICATES" from Microsoft Windows Update. It was NOT a critical update, but a "minor" update. I took care of that! The 'Root Certificates' are now updated.

NOW...... The other one: AOL-DSL Connectivity driver file (ATWPK2) is known to cause Windows to Crash. It is recommended to Remove it to AVOID any crashes..... Dah... do ya think so? That has been taken care of, so I hope if anyone else is having the same problem, this will help them. THANK YOU plodr for your helping to steer me in the right direction! Hey, it is hard to be blonde That last one, about the AOL-DSL just came to me as an alert from Dell. Could have come about 2 weeks ago, and saved me some grey hair!

 

Well, today is the 15th, and I haven't had a problem since I did the above! Can't thank you folks enough for your quick responses. I Thank you, :wave