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View Full Version : Have a fairly unstalbe Vista Ultimate 32bit intsallation. Need suggestions...


Paithar
02-26-2007, 10:10 AM
I just recently put together my new system. The specs are as per sig minus one thing, I didn't realize the Scythe Ninja heatsink/fan wouldn't fit real well with the mobo I chose but it's ok because even with the default heatsink/fan that came with the cpu I'm getting cpu temps of 37 to 38 degrees celsius so it's all good as far as that is concerned.

My problem, however, is that Vista has been pretty unstable ever since I installed it on this new system. This last weekend is when I set this pc up and I have since had no less then 10 BSOD's and I have yet to be able to do a normal shutdown and restart. For some reason at seemingly random times the whole system simply locks up. I thought at one time that maybe something was just using system resources making it appear extremely slow so I left it in it's locked up state for over an hour and nothing changed.

I will say that the lock ups have been getting fewer and farther between than when I was initially installing all the things I had on my previous XP box but they are still happening. I really like Vista but I have to admit it's a bit frustrating because in all the time I had XP, even before SP2 came out for it, I had maybe 2 BSOD's. I'm not about to go back to XP because I really like what I've seen and done with Vista so far but it would be nice to figure out why it's locking up.

Sorry, I wasn't sure if this should go in Operating Systems or General Hardware so I posted here. I haven't overclocked yet because I want the system to be as stable as it can be at default specs first. Once I get it that way I just might do some overclocking but that will be a first for me.

djnes
02-26-2007, 10:26 AM
Those BSoDs will give you the clues as to what's wrong. In the meantime, have you tested out the drives, ran memtest, etc?

Paithar
02-26-2007, 12:49 PM
I haven't run memtest yet. I'll do that tonight when I get home. What's the best way to test out my hard drive and maybe my dvd burner?

I'll have to write down what the BSOD's say. I wasn't too worried about them because as soon as I'd reboot and do whatever I was doing when it happened, well, it wouldn't happen again. At least at first I wasn't too worried but by the time I got to the 6th one I started to worry a bit.

digital_exhaust
02-26-2007, 01:03 PM
Use the drive diagnostic utility from WD to test your hdd. Memtest for at least 12 hours, longer if you can, and most of all, check to make sure that your hsf is making good contact with your cpu... heat could be an issue.

And if you can post the stop errors, I'm sure we can be a bit more helpful.

schnitz76
02-26-2007, 03:16 PM
Make sure you disable any on-board sound you might have in your BIOS. I don't know if my experiences will directly relate to what you are seeing but on two different machines I have seen on-board sound drivers BSOD Vista on a very regular basis. One machine uses nvidia sound drivers and the other uses realtek hd audio drivers. Neither machine had BSODed since disabling the on-board sound.

Paithar
02-26-2007, 05:28 PM
I'll definitely make sure that the onboard sound is disabled.

If a BSOD happens again I'll post the codes it gives.

Unless the ASUS utility (ASUS Probe I believe) is reporting the temperature seriously wrong I doubt it's heat. I had, for about a day, a Scythe Ninja heatsink/fan combo installed, however because of the layout of the motherboard I couldn't get it to sit correctly and seat good on the cpu. When I had that installed my cpu temp was 60 degrees celsius. Finally I just decided to put the default heatsink and fan that came with the cpu on and it evidently is seating good on the cpu because it's temp was around 37 to 38 degrees celsius and has been ever since.

If I can I'll let memtest run for 12 hours.

Thanks for the info everyone. I appreciate it.

doghucat
02-26-2007, 07:37 PM
Have you used some of the onboard tools withing vista to see what is going on like event viewer, reliablity and Performance monitor, health report, plus problems and reports.

gman
02-26-2007, 09:59 PM
In my case it was X-Fi Fatality that keep hanging me at the loading bar screen. I only got the BSOD once. I yanked the X-Fi and went with onboard HD and so far haven't had any problems. I'm running Vista Business 32bit.

Try taking out the X-Fi and see what happens?;)