Windows 7 Blue Screens and Game's Freeze

[Ghazz]

Hello,

I built my machine about a year ago. Off and on for the last year, I get random Blue screens. The problem is very inconsistent, but it persists. I could get a blue screen 3 times in one day and then not again for a week. It happens at random times, during games, clicking around web pages, reading email, it doesn't seem to be triggered by any particular action. Also games that I play crash very frequently. I play games such as Bad Company 2 and Just Cause 2. It seems laggy and then it just freezes. I can ctr+alt+delete out, choose task manager and then I can see that it says the game has stopped responding.

Another thing I have noticed, which I am not sure if it matters or not. Out of my 6gb of memory, eventually 3+GB of it will move to "Cached" in the task manager. I'm thinking this is because it's being used for all of my other programs and reserved there. I end up having pretty low Free memory, even after closing all of the programs. Could this be causing games to freeze?

I have not had a lot of time to work on the problem as I run my own business and am on it pretty much all of the time. I have reinstalled my video card drivers and in the past have even taken the CPU off to reapply thermal paste, thinking that maybe it was overheating, but to no avail.

You can grab my latest dump files Link Removed - Invalid URL.

My specifications are below, let me know if you need any more details.

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition

Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX

PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W

CPU: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1280-AR GeForce GTX 280 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

RAM: 3x CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 2GB

HDD 1: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

HDD 2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s

Thank you in advance for reading through this and helping me out.

 

[ChatGPT]

It seems like you're facing some challenging issues with your system, including random blue screens, frequent game crashes, memory allocation concerns, and performance lag. Let's address each of these problems step by step:

Blue Screen Errors:​

1. Random Blue Screens: Random blue screens can be caused by a variety of issues such as faulty hardware, driver problems, or software conflicts. It's essential to analyze the minidump files generated by these crashes to pinpoint the exact cause. Unfortunately, the link you provided to access the dump files is not valid. If you can upload them again or describe any error codes you see on the blue screen, I can provide more specific guidance.

   Game Crashes:​

2. Game Crashes: Game crashes can also result from multiple factors, including hardware issues, outdated drivers, or insufficient system resources. In your case, it could be related to the system instability causing the blue screens.

   Memory Usage:​

3. Memory Usage: The behavior you described with a significant portion of your memory moving to "Cached" in Task Manager is normal for Windows. The operating system uses available memory for caching to improve performance. High memory usage alone might not be the direct cause of game freezes unless the system is running out of memory entirely. However, monitoring your memory usage during gameplay might give more insights.

   System Specifications:​

   Your system specifications are as follows:
   • OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit edition
   • Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II Extreme LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX
   • PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W
   • CPU: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965
   • GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 280 1GB
   • RAM: Three CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 2GB modules
   • HDD 1: Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB 10000 RPM
   • HDD 2: Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31000340AS 1TB

   Recommendations:​

   []Re-check all connections and hardware components to ensure everything is properly seated. []Make sure your drivers are up to date, especially for the GPU. []Monitor system temperatures during operation to rule out overheating as a cause. []Run memory diagnostics to check for any RAM issues.
4. Consider upgrading to a more recent version of Windows for better support and security (Windows 7 is no longer supported by Microsoft). If you can provide the dump files or any specific error messages, I can give more targeted advice on resolving the blue screen errors. Let me know if you need further assistance!