Computer crashes several times a day.

[Scarmoose]

I have a problem with my system, and I’ve narrowed the responsible part(s) down to CPU or motherboard (I think)

 

Specs:

Motherboard: Maximus IV Extreme-Z Z68

CPU: i5-2500K w/ Corsair H100 cooling.

GPU: ASUS GTX 670 CUII

PSU: Corsair HX1050

RAM: 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz

Bootdrive: 120GB Corsair Force Series GT

 

CPU is overclocked(edit: not anymore), but I have experienced crashes while running at stock speed, and temperatures are nowhere near critical when it happens. I have 2 (identical) video cards, and no matter which one I use, I experience problems. 

 

By now I have changed all the components except my motherboard, and my CPU, and I still see funky flickering colors (in BF4 - solved) and sudden crashes, even on the desktop at idle.

BF4 video: 

In Battlefield 3 I never experienced colors like in the video, but it looked like it was running at a low frame rate, even though fraps would say 100+ fps. 

 

There’s been some sort of problem in more or less every game I’ve tried, from ridiculously low frame rates to crashing the game before it’s even properly started.

 

Can a faulty CPU/motherboard cause these kinds of problems, or am I missing something?

[TheRuke]

Your computer is on Acid

[Cryptonite]

I have a problem with my system, and I’ve narrowed the responsible part(s) down to CPU or motherboard (I think)

 

Specs:

Motherboard: Maximus IV Extreme-Z Z68

CPU: i5-2500K w/ Corsair H100 cooling.

GPU: ASUS GTX 670 CUII

PSU: Corsair HX1050

RAM: 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz

Bootdrive: 120GB Corsair Force Series GT

 

CPU is overclocked, but I have experienced crashes while running at stock speed, and temperatures are nowhere near critical when it happens. I have 2 (identical) video cards, and no matter which one I use, I experience problems. 

 

By now I have changed all the components except my motherboard, and my CPU, and I still see funky flickering colors (in BF4) and sudden crashes, even on the desktop at idle.

BF4 video: 

In Battlefield 3 I never experienced colors like in the video, but it looked like it was running at a low frame rate, even though fraps would say 100+ fps. 

 

There’s been some sort of problem in more or less every game I’ve tried, from ridiculously low frame rates to crashing the game before it’s even properly started.

 

Can a faulty CPU/motherboard cause these kinds of problems, or am I missing something?

your GPUs might be overclocked by some software like MSI afterburner and overclock on startup, even if you replace the GPU with a simular one it will try to do the same overclock.

[Wi RoZ]

I think we need to know a bit more about your setup. So I've got some questions for you:

 

- Since when (since the beginning?) have you experienced such strange behaviour of your PC?

- Did you change anything before those problems started to occur? If yes, what did you change?

- Which drivers have you been using for the GPU's?

- Like Cryptonite says, have you overclocked your GPU and made it default clock?

[Scarmoose]

your GPUs might be overclocked by some software like MSI afterburner and overclock on startup, even if you replace the GPU with a simular one it will try to do the same overclock.

But would that cause this? And for the record I've never overclocked the GPUs

[Scarmoose]

I think we need to know a bit more about your setup. So I've got some questions for you:

 

- Since when (since the beginning?) have you experienced such strange behaviour of your PC?

- Did you change anything before those problems started to occur? If yes, what did you change?

- Which drivers have you been using for the GPU's?

- Like Cryptonite says, have you overclocked your GPU and made it default clock?

Since always more or less. The current system is made from an "old" one that's been upgraded along the way. I had some problems with a defect HD5970 back then, and my CPU/motherboard overheated so I changed a lot of parts at once. 

The drivers are updated through Nvidias Geforce experience.

[Wi RoZ]

Since always more or less. The current system is made from an "old" one that's been upgraded along the way. I had some problems with a defect HD5970 back then, and my CPU/motherboard overheated so I changed a lot of parts at once. 

The drivers are updated through Nvidias Geforce experience.

 

Allthough your components are fairly new, did you ever run one or more components in combination with older, not mentioned hardware? If so, the problems might have started there. And do you have any clue why the CPU/motherboard overheated? The more information the better.

[Norwegiantweaker]

I have a problem with my system, and I’ve narrowed the responsible part(s) down to CPU or motherboard (I think)

 

Specs:

Motherboard: Maximus IV Extreme-Z Z68

CPU: i5-2500K w/ Corsair H100 cooling.

GPU: ASUS GTX 670 CUII

PSU: Corsair HX1050

RAM: 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz

Bootdrive: 120GB Corsair Force Series GT

 

CPU is overclocked, but I have experienced crashes while running at stock speed, and temperatures are nowhere near critical when it happens. I have 2 (identical) video cards, and no matter which one I use, I experience problems. 

 

By now I have changed all the components except my motherboard, and my CPU, and I still see funky flickering colors (in BF4) and sudden crashes, even on the desktop at idle.

BF4 video: 

In Battlefield 3 I never experienced colors like in the video, but it looked like it was running at a low frame rate, even though fraps would say 100+ fps. 

 

There’s been some sort of problem in more or less every game I’ve tried, from ridiculously low frame rates to crashing the game before it’s even properly started.

 

Can a faulty CPU/motherboard cause these kinds of problems, or am I missing something?

the green and red are laser's players use. ive seen this happen to me aswell. not as trippy as this but you can see the laser is glitching throug the map.

[Scarmoose]

Allthough your components are fairly new, did you ever run one or more components in combination with older, not mentioned hardware? If so, the problems might have started there. And do you have any clue why the CPU/motherboard overheated? The more information the better.

I overclocked the CPU on a not so overclock friendly motherboard so it caught fire. 

as far I remember, the only components in this setup that was on/in the old motherboard is one of my harddrives and some RAM, which I by now have swapped out for some new ones.

can a bad component "infect" the others, or what do you mean

edit: going over my order history I can see my boot SSD was in my old computer as well as my 5970(a replacement i got)

[Wi RoZ]

I overclocked the CPU on a not so overclock friendly motherboard so it caught fire. 

as far I remember, the only components in this setup that was on/in the old motherboard is one of my harddrives and some RAM, which I by now have swapped out for some new ones.

can a bad component "infect" the others, or what do you mean

edit: going over my order history I can see my boot SSD was in my old computer as well as my 5970(a replacement i got)

 

Well, in some cases the bad components can cause other components to malfunction (via the electric circuits on the motherboard and sometimes via the psu). I've had a bad experience with a GPU which was somehow affected by another bad component: it started to malfunction, got higher temps and at a given moment the PC wouldn't boot anymore (it produced an audiocode with the meaning that the GPU died, and the PC had a i7 860 without an intergrated GPU so the monitor stayed black). Once I replaced the GPU with a new one all problems and crashes where fixed. I ran some hardware tests and everything seems to work fine for now.

 

In your case however, it would be very, very strange that these problems occur due to your HDD or the old RAM. Maybe some static electricity caused damage to one or more components (also unlikely, but not impossible). Hence, I see no problems with your RIG configuration, so it could be a software problem.

[Wi RoZ]

Check if all the drivers are updated, if your OS is 100% without "damage" by running startup repair etc.

[BenestoTech]

Hi Scarmoose,

I have a friend who's computer crashes about 5-15 times per day. These crashes range from freezes to the BSOD. From reading your specs, his computer is older then yours, so his will obviously be more prone to problems.

 

I am not very experienced in computer crashes, but it may be because of two things - 

 

How old is the Hard Drive? Hard Drives tend to go more and more wrong as they get older, and it may be corrupt or just broken

 

Are any of your parts overclocked? - Overclocked parts might get too hot and force shut down the computer, or they may no longer function properly due to overclocking damage.

 

Hope this helps a bit! 

[Wi RoZ]

Hi Scarmoose,

I have a friend who's computer crashes about 5-15 times per day. These crashes range from freezes to the BSOD. From reading your specs, his computer is older then yours, so his will obviously be more prone to problems.

 

I am not very experienced in computer crashes, but it may be because of two things - 

 

How old is the Hard Drive? Hard Drives tend to go more and more wrong as they get older, and it may be corrupt or just broken

 

Are any of your parts overclocked? - Overclocked parts might get too hot and force shut down the computer, or they may no longer function properly due to overclocking damage.

 

Hope this helps a bit! 

 

indeed, maybe run a hardware (stability) test

[Stefken89]

Had the same problem a few days ago. Even worse flickering... Updated my graphics driver, everything back to normal :-)

[Scarmoose]

Check if all the drivers are updated, if your OS is 100% without "damage" by running startup repair etc.

I ran the memory diagnostics without any luck, but would the startup repair do any good, when it boots just fine?

 

Well, in some cases the bad components can cause other components to malfunction (via the electric circuits on the motherboard and sometimes via the psu). I've had a bad experience with a GPU which was somehow affected by another bad component: it started to malfunction, got higher temps and at a given moment the PC wouldn't boot anymore (it produced an audiocode with the meaning that the GPU died, and the PC had a i7 860 without an intergrated GPU so the monitor stayed black). Once I replaced the GPU with a new one all problems and crashes where fixed. I ran some hardware tests and everything seems to work fine for now.

 

In your case however, it would be very, very strange that these problems occur due to your HDD or the old RAM. Maybe some static electricity caused damage to one or more components (also unlikely, but not impossible). Hence, I see no problems with your RIG configuration, so it could be a software problem.

Would you happen to have any idea what kind of software problem? Someone suggested a BIOS update. Does anyone have experience in that area?

 

And I'll probably do some prime95 and FurMark if the system doesnt freeze 

[Scarmoose]

Had the same problem a few days ago. Even worse flickering... Updated my graphics driver, everything back to normal :-)

My graphics driver should be up to date, and to be honest the flickering isn't the biggest problem for me. It's the irregular freezing when just on the desktop. 

[Scarmoose]

I just updated some chipset driver, and at least in Battlefield it seems to have solved the problem. I guess time will tell whether all is fixed.

Anyways thanks for the reponse!

[Wi RoZ]

I ran the memory diagnostics without any luck, but would the startup repair do any good, when it boots just fine?

 

Would you happen to have any idea what kind of software problem? Someone suggested a BIOS update. Does anyone have experience in that area?

 

And I'll probably do some prime95 and FurMark if the system doesnt freeze 

 

Startup repair can defenitely help out, even when it boots fine. Sometimes when you swap components in the PC their is a small change that some files become corrupt. More likely this will occur when your PC crashes or something in the powercircuits went wrong. So yeah, if updating drivers didn't help solve the problems completely, try startup repair.

[sperkowsky]

could be the overclock? 

[Scarmoose]

Well, it still freezes quite often, but the flashing colors and low frame rate problems seem to have been solved by the chipset driver update. 

 

could be the overclock? 

 

It happens whether it's overclocked or not

[grayperview]

Could be memory, i have a hunch its the motherboard. but test the memory anyway.

[Scarmoose]

Could be memory, i have a hunch its the motherboard. but test the memory anyway.

I ran Windows Memory Diagnostics a couple of times, but no errors. Should I use another test tool?

I downloaded the memtest 86+, but didn't quite figure out how to use it without a CD/DVD or flashdrive to boot from. 

[Kiwiandapple]

I recently had the same problem. It would freeze up after an hour or 2. I let it go to a few companies to let it check. They replaced my motherboard and said everything was fine. Wich I guess was the case. But when I got home, my pc started to randomly shut off. it sometimes was a few times a day, sometimes it took a day or 3. 

 

What the case was with my PC. The power cable or the power junction box was faulty. I discovered this, after a good 2/3 months..  :huh: because I wanted to plug in my subwoofer into the box. Wich I did, but then my PC booted on. Without me touching the thing. Luckly I still have a box off cables where I had an power cable in. So I replaced that one and the junction box. I am not sure wich one was the faulty one, but I trew away the power cable. 

Anyway, if you don't have that a few things I suggest.

 

• If you have multiple drives. Open your case and unplug the 2 cables on the HD where your OS is not on. 
• Aswell with an optical drive. 
• If you have onboard graphics on your CPU. Get the GPU out off the system. 
• If you have multiple sticks off ram, take some off them out. Ofcourse let at least 1 RAM stay in and a minimum off 2GB. If the problem still comes by, place the ram stick(s) that you moved out the board back in. And take out the one(s) that were still in it. 
• You can aswell test the PSU by unplugging everything off the board. Then turn off (if possible) the PSU and remove the power cable out off it. (at the back!) Just because you turned the PSU off doesn't mean it's safe to work with. Then grab a paper clip and place it in the connector with the green cable in it and a black one. It doesn't mather wich black one. Here is linus doing it in one off his build guides. 

This will eliminate that the problem lies in those parts off the PC. 

[Scarmoose]

 

• If you have multiple drives. Open your case and unplug the 2 cables on the HD where your OS is not on. 
• Aswell with an optical drive. 
• If you have onboard graphics on your CPU. Get the GPU out off the system. 
• If you have multiple sticks off ram, take some off them out. Ofcourse let at least 1 RAM stay in and a minimum off 2GB. If the problem still comes by, place the ram stick(s) that you moved out the board back in. And take out the one(s) that were still in it. 
• You can aswell test the PSU by unplugging everything off the board. Then turn off (if possible) the PSU and remove the power cable out off it. (at the back!) Just because you turned the PSU off doesn't mean it's safe to work with. Then grab a paper clip and place it in the connector with the green cable in it and a black one. It doesn't mather wich black one. Here is linus doing it in one off his build guides. 

This will eliminate that the problem lies in those parts off the PC. 

 

Most of the things I've done in the past, but maybe I should try it again. 

GPU-wise my problem is that even though it's a Z68 board, it doesn't have a VGA-port for onboard graphics. I don't know if ASUS thinks no one would use it with this motherboard, but it would've been nice to have.

[Kiwiandapple]

Most of the things I've done in the past, but maybe I should try it again. 

GPU-wise my problem is that even though it's a Z68 board, it doesn't have a VGA-port for onboard graphics. I don't know if ASUS thinks no one would use it with this motherboard, but it would've been nice to have.

 

Do you have any other power cable? Now you can't rule out the GPU, Motherboard/CPU and HDD. Did you try to stress the system?  

If you have another PC nearby - then you could consider to plug the GPU into that one to see how that works. This way you could rule out the GPU.