Random Restarts

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BIOS9

n00b
Joined
Jan 16, 2006
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39
Dear [H],

This is my first build. Ever since I have gotten the computer up and running it would not last a couple of hours without rebooting itself. It happens under normal environments, not when I'm gaming, running hardware intensive programs, or anything like that. All drivers, as well as the BIOS are up to date. Right now I'm thinking it might be a PSU problem, but it could just as well be anything else. Any suggestions on what the problem might be? I'm getting really worried... :(

Thanks.
 
at the desktop:

right click "my computer">"properties">"advanced" tab>"startup and recovery" "settings">uncheck "automatically restart" under "system failure"

Next time, instead of restarting, it should blue screen and hopefully tell you what is causing it.
 
Oh wow, thanks! That seemed to do the trick, but I'm going to have to see. If this does solve my problem permanantly, I have a question, why would an exception error occur in the first place? Is there still a problem I must adress?
 
The problem is still there. What I posted will only stop XP from hiding it, by restarting (assuming that the problem is a BSOD). Use your computer as you normally do and if the problem happens again you will get a blue screen of death (BSOD). This screen should give you some idea of where the problem lies. If you need any further help with diagnosing the problem feel free to ask.
 
Hmm, it seems good things never last. It happened again, although at least this time it gave me time to see what the BSOD said before it restarted.

Page Fault in Non Paged Area.

What does this mean?
 
It's usually a driver problem. Did it mention a driver in the message? Do you have all your drivers up to date?
 
Yes.

It did say something about drivers, but It was simply a default message about checking your drivers, contacting your administators and such.

I have the latest drivers installed.

Could there possibly something wrong with my RAM? Since, I googled "page fault in non paged area" and it talked about that. RAM that is.
 
It could be RAM but it's more likely to be a rogue driver. You can test for RAM errors with MemTest86.

Make sure that you have small memory dumps enabled. To do this:

Go to the same place as before but under "write debugging information" make sure that "small memory dump (64KB)" is selected from the drop-down list. If it's not, select it and wait for another BSOD so that Windows can generate one.

Once you have a minidump (the default location is C:\Windows\Minidump) host it somewhere and post the link. If you don't have anywhere to host it I'll give you my email address to send it to. If you have a lot of them just put up the latest one.
 
The minidump points to win32k.sys but as this is a Windows core component it is unlikely to be the problem. Can you send me three more minidumps?
 
I'm running a memtest right now so I can't send you the mini dumps as soon as I would like to, I am running into errors though. Are some errors normal, or does even one or more mean a defective RAM module?
 
You shouldn't see any errors. Seems that the RAM is the culprit (although unlikely, it could also be CPU or motherboard). Forget about the minidumps.

Are you running the RAM at their default timings?
 
They are currently on auto in the motherboard, which would actually sets them lower than their default. The only reason I didn't want to change it was because after 5-5-5-12, you could modify more values and those were the only ones I knew. I didn't want to get into that, afraid I might do something wrong.
 
Try re-seating the modules, i.e. take them out and put them back in), then re-run memtest86.

If you still see errors, swap the modules over and re-run memtest.

If that fails, try each module individually. This should show which one is faulty (if any).
 
Sorry, but I'm wondering how that changes anything =/. I'll go ahead and do it though. Should I swap their places?
 
I still ran into errors. I guess no choice now but to RMA. Thanks for all your help Byte, I really appreciate it. :)
 
You got errors on both sticks? That's got to be rather unusual (almost makes me think it's not the RAM). Sorry I couldn't be of more help.
 
CPU, motherboard, PSU. I'm not saying it's definitely not the RAM but if you tested both sticks individually and both gave errors...I don't know. It would seem prudent to test other aspects before RMAing the RAM.

I assume when you tested them seperately you used the same slot? You could try a different one to rule out the first being bad.

Have you tried updating the BIOS? Do you have access to a multimeter? You could try testing the PSU with it.

I'll be going to bed now so I'll pick it up again tomorrow, if you're willing.
 
It could be all of that or maybe... it's just getting TOO HOT! try openning the case and running it like that, if you have a fan (the big, household ones) point it inside, if not, just try throwing some ice in there (and pray it doesnt short-circuit, j/k!!!) well, you get the idea... good luck
 
DefineByte said:
CPU, motherboard, PSU. I'm not saying it's definitely not the RAM but if you tested both sticks individually and both gave errors...I don't know. It would seem prudent to test other aspects before RMAing the RAM.

I assume when you tested them seperately you used the same slot? You could try a different one to rule out the first being bad.

Have you tried updating the BIOS? Do you have access to a multimeter? You could try testing the PSU with it.

I'll be going to bed now so I'll pick it up again tomorrow, if you're willing.
Click to expand...

I ran torture tests on Prime 95 for the CPU and it pulled through just fine. The BIOS is smack up to date. I don't have a multimeter, although I assume if there was a problem with the PSU, the computer would just turn off completely due to a sudden loss of current, while in actuality it just BSODS and hangs there until I decided to press the power button. The hard drive, I'm not so sure. I'll run more memtests on different slots as you suggested.

And to PCMan, I'm running speedfan and the processor is averaging 30C. I also have two big ol' 120mm fans in the front and back, so I'm pretty confident that heat is not the problem.
 
BIOS9 said:
I don't have a multimeter, although I assume if there was a problem with the PSU, the computer would just turn off completely
Click to expand...
Your assumption is incorrect. A flakey power supply could produce exactly the symptom you're experiencing. Can you borrow a multimeter from someone? If not (and you've ruled out the bad RAM slot, I'd next look at the RAM settings in the BIOS. Turning off any advanced features etc. The chances of both sticks being bad are very low.
 
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