HELP! BSOD ADVICE NEEDED!!!

[Neil]

Hi Guys!

I could really use your help.

Here are my specs:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ (Socket 939)
7900GTX GPU
2GB PC3200 Crucial RAM
A8N SLI SE Socket 939
XFI Xtrememusic
600W PSU
Windows XP Home SP2
93.81 Forceware and Stereo Beta

I have been experiencing this for some time, and I don't know if it is hardware or software, and it is driving me NUTS!

I am getting occasional BSOD, and I can't trace the problem. I'd be a bit more understanding if I was in the middle of a game, or my temps were high, but I don't overclock any components, and the BSOD can happen while browsing the web or regular day to day office stuff. It can happen when I'm staring at a desktop!

Can someone outline some utilities they use to rule out a BSOD problem?

I know the memory is good because I swapped my RAM with my wife's machine, and got the same problem.

I have a suspicion that it might be my memory timings, but I'm not sure.

I have run Prime95 and Memtest without problems - but maybe there are better utilities, or maybe I'm not running them long enough? In real life operations, maybe things are different?

What timings should I use for my memory (be conservative)? Can someone give me a step by step hardware testing protocol to use?

I'd really like to rule out the hardware before I even consider reinstalling my operating system.

Is there anything I can use to properly test my motherboard components?

Neil

[Isei]

Does the BSOD show an error code or a driver name?

This helps alot to narrow down what has caused the problem.

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Screen_of_Death

[Freke1]

I allways use a driver install guide from JR1dist (mvkteck.net) I got a while back. I involves installing in Win safe mode and using Driver Cleaner Pro.

I use 93.81 too but 91.31 is better imo. With 93.81 my convergence sometimes "slip/unadjust".

And I can highly recommend the free reg cleaner: TweakNow RegCleaner Std.

But getting a BSOD when in desktop mode is odd. I'm not sure I've ever tried that. Some 7900 cards have been plagued with problems. There are threads in Nvidia's forum. Hope this helps a little.

[Neil]

Well, I think I'm getting closer to the solution!

I ran memtest last night, and sure enough, I found some errors in test #5!

FINALLY! A hint at something wrong with my memory!

I have two 1GB PC3200 Crucial RAM DIMMS running at 3-3-3-8 (standard automatic settings), and when the test was run twice, the errors happened in the same place.

I have the first dimm running alone with Memtest now, and no errors have been found. I'll test the second dimm later tonight.

I'm wondering if the dimms will test ok in single channel, and only fail in dual channel. THAT will be a problem because I won't be able to figure out which dimm is defective!

Neil

[sharky]

this is a tipical ram problem! i can bet that the ram is causing it.

bye