Help - can't get into Windows, even safe mode

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Varmint

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
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My PC has been steadily declining, starting out with BSOD every couple days. I backed off on OCing to completely stock, and that worked for a few weeks, but gradually got bad again, and now I can't get into windows before it goes black and reboots or just powers off.

In safe mode, I can get into Windows sometimes, and do stuff, but if I start anything that requires much horsepower, like Prime95, screen instantly freezes in a hard crash.

What's the most likely cause? Memtest passes, and I tried 2 different sets of RAM, no difference. Temps are all very low. Tried 2 different PSUs.

e5200 @ 2.5GHz (stock), Gigabyte P45-UD3R, Corsair 550W.

I'm thinking the motherboard is toast? It's running safe defaults right now.

UPDATE:
i swapped the motherboard out, and it boots fine and runs Prime95 in Windows. I haven't tried overclocking it yet though, could be the CPU is also damaged, but seems like the UD3R is the culprit.

The UD3L I got to replace it doesn't seem as nice, only 4pin CPU power, fewer heatsinks, and some missing options in the bios, but I'll see how it overclocks.
 
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Hmm.. I am wondering if your boot files on your HDD is pretty messed up where you can't even load Windows. Or, I wonder if your Corsair 550W PSU is acting flakey. Do you have another PSU to swap? Your mobo chipset temp is ok?
 
HardwareGuru said:
Hmm.. I am wondering if your boot files on your HDD is pretty messed up where you can't even load Windows. Or, I wonder if your Corsair 550W PSU is acting flakey. Do you have another PSU to swap? Your mobo chipset temp is ok?
Click to expand...

I do have a backup Corsair 400W I could try. I'll check the chipset temp when it's done memtest, thanks.

I'm thinking HD is ok cause it goes to a different spot each time before locking up. Sometimes the blue Windows screen, other times, it goes all the way to ESET scanning before crashing.
 
HardwareGuru said:
Or, I wonder if your Corsair 550W PSU is acting flakey. Do you have another PSU to swap? Your mobo chipset temp is ok?
Click to expand...

I tried my other PSU, same thing. And the chipset temp (System temp I think?) is 45C, so seems ok.
 
Take the sidepanel off and stick a room fan on it, then try priming. This will tell you if its a heat problem or not. ;)

To rule out a SW problem, unplug HDD, boot to a live CD with diagnostic tests for your CPU, like UBCD or BartPE, and run the CPU stress test off the live CD.
 
enginurd said:
To rule out a SW problem, unplug HDD, boot to a live CD with diagnostic tests for your CPU, like UBCD or BartPE, and run the CPU stress test off the live CD.
Click to expand...

Good idea. Ok, I tried that, booted to UBCD with HDs disconnected.

It passes StressCPU w/ SSE or Memtest, but instantly fails Prime CPU test, either rebooting itself or freezing.

Uhh, so what's that mean, is it likely the CPU, or could it be the motherboard?
 
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99% of the time, it'll be the mobo with the problem rather than the CPU. Sorry I didn't mention that earlier.
 
i swapped the motherboard out, and it boots fine and runs Prime95 in Windows. I haven't tried overclocking it yet though, could be the CPU is also damaged, but seems like the UD3R is the culprit.

The UD3L I got to replace it doesn't seem as nice, only 4pin CPU power, fewer heatsinks, and some missing options in the bios, but I'll see how it overclocks.
 
RMA the UD3R if there are no issues with the UD3L.

Varmint said:
Good idea. Ok, I tried that, booted to UBCD with HDs disconnected.

It passes StressCPU w/ SSE or Memtest, but instantly fails Prime CPU test, either rebooting itself or freezing.

Uhh, so what's that mean, is it likely the CPU, or could it be the motherboard?
Click to expand...

When you did this, was the system OC'd still?
 
The e5200 overclocks fine (up to 3 GHz so far), so the CPU seems fine - just my UD3R was crap from the start - floppy and IDE never worked, and it was flaky in Windows for a couple months before finally crapping out.
 
Ouch... yah, hopefully the RMA will fix all that and you can switch back to the better model. If the FDD/IDE didn't work from the beginning, I would have returned the board to the retailer for a brand new replacement. ;) Even if I'm not using something, I paid for the whole product, so I expect a working product in full, but thats just me. :D
 
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