First PC Build... and big problems

[Val]

Hello J

First I’ll apologize in advance as this will be a long read, I think it’s important to give as much information as possible when troubleshooting / running diagnostics.

Second. Please understand that when it comes to computers I am for the most part drowning in ignorance. Most things you see as common sense I struggle to comprehend so I ask your patients when you try to explain them to me. As I mention below this is the first computer I have ever built.

My PC consists of the following:

CPU: Intel i5 3570K ivy-bridge
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77–V Deluxe
Ram: SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MV-3V4G3D/US
PSU: Corsair AX 750
SSD: 2.5’’ Crucial M4 128GB
HDD: 2TB Western Digital Greens x 2 (storage)
Video Card: Is in progress. I wanted to see what the next generation would bring… So I am running the onboard Intel HD 4000 Graphics. (Ran the programs with no issues prior.)

I got the chance to build my first PC about a year ago and all was fine. Fast forward about 6 months and all of a sudden whenever I try to play a game, (Path of Exile, Atlantica Online, Diablo 2, Metro 2033, list goes on).
I have, until then ran them all in the past with ZERO issues. Now a few things happen:

a) the game loads to a certain point, generally to or right before you would log in, so I’m assuming right after the cinematics. At which point the PC locks up and becomes unresponsive in any way causing me to restart.

b ) IF I’m lucky… I am able to get it to restart and able to try to open the game again I usually get a message telling me the game version is invalid forcing a re-install.

c) If I’m unlucky Windows will not load and I will get a blue error screen that comes up MUCH faster than I am able to read which causes to PC to restart and continue its cycle.

Being for the most part Ignorant when it comes to computers…  I came to the assumption that it was a virus! So I ran every single scanner I could think of (AVG, windows security essentials, Kaspersky, etc.) NOTHING shows up. At this point I need to assume they are right and try to find another answer.

After I restarted the PC a few times something caught my eye! My SSD! I noticed when my Pc was going through its check my SSD now comes up as “Unconfigured” I am 110% sure that it had not before.
The only information I have found relating to that was a rumor that Crucial M4 SSD’s should be plugged into the light blue / white SATA ports over the dark blue “SSD Cashing” ones. I’ve tried all 8 SATA ports with no change.

To me I can only see 3 culprits:

a) The SSD is not working properly and will need a RMA.

b )An issue with the Motherboard… Either the SATA ports (unlikely all) or an issue with the chipset. Would like to test but do not know where to begin.

c) My CPU. The only reasoning behind this is the fact that I opted to stick with the onboard HD 4000.    I would like to test this but unsure the program, what to look for exactly… and what exact settings I would need on the program to run the diagnostics.

d/e) the only other options would be my RAM and PSU. I ran… MeMTest and nothing came up.

I am waiting on a reply from all of them.


I am grateful for any help or suggestions you can give me.

Thanks in advance,

Val

 

 

[Scia]

Hi,

 

I'd install Bluescreenview so you can check on the error message once you are back in Windows / Safe Mode.

The M4 has some issues with the Firmware it's being shipped with, try to update it.

 

It might be a dead SSD [happens] but first try the BSODviewer and check what the errors tell you / post them here.

 

And please, use the standard font, reading a text in bold is really annoying ^^

[SpamBrie]

To check if it is the SSD you could try it in another computer if you can.

If you think that it is the SATA ports try changing one of the HDD to where the SSD is now and see if that works.

Try running Prime95 and see if you get any errors.(http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/)

[Volbet]

Upload the dump file, which is located in C:\Windows\Minidump in a .zip file. 

 

Secondly: Do have any sort of RAID configuration on the Green drives? Greens don't do RAID very well and have a tendency to screw up files.  

[legopc]

mabey try installing win on one of your hdds and see if that works if yes rma the ssd and an other thing if win works normal on your hdd then you know your mobo is ok 

[Val]

<sup>I’d like to apologize for taking so much time to respond. Unfortunately I have some health issues that limit what I can do in a day. Also like to take the time to thank everyone for suggestions.

Some small updates are:

a) I removed the SSD out of the equation. It’s not hooked up in any way. Instead I used a Hard drive, to which I have plugged into another MUCH older PC and through DISK Manager and formatted the Hard drive (NOT the SSD) using the most number of passes and as deep scan possible. I concluded that the HDD was completely clean. I have a clean copy of Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit, which I managed to install.
Seems I still have the same issue whenever I try to play any games.  Fairly sure he SSD is not the culprit… BUT I still need to fix this (comes up as “Unconfigured” deal).
I had a very strange idea that… perhaps my drivers weren’t…. installing properly?

This leaves a few things:

1) It’s an issue with the Intel i5-3570K
2) Issue with the Motherboard
3) Issue with the Ram

I’m still waiting from replies from all the manufactures involved.
I have a few things up my sleeve yet. I’m hoping I can scrounge together some close friends who have:

1.An Intel Ivy Bridge CPU that we can switch.
2. A Z77 Motherboard + the RAM
3. A video card, Strong enough that games are playable So we can turn the HD 4000’s off  I have a VERY bad 1 on this PC ( 3 cheers for Q6600 ) I have an old as the hills NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT…. Hoping it’s enough to at least get the game “playable” instead of locking it up. Process of elimination should help out a lot.

@ Scia / @SpamBrie  / the rest (LAATE here) you’ll have my answers to your questions later this evening if all goes well.</sup>