Windows 7 End of my rope

[Prettz]

I cant say I've ever actually seen my BSOD, but Windows claims to be recovering from one.

This has been going on for the last 4 months. This computer was built in 2011 mid year.

I've been assuming that this is a video card issue due to it only happening when the graphics card is "intensely" in use.

Here's what happens:
My monitor goes black
Audio through speakers/headphones continues normally
3-10 second pause during the above
Whatever was coming through sound begins looping at very short interval
Tower lights go off
Reboots at this point

What I've tried:
Researched similar problems others have had
Attempted a few of their fixes
Gone back to an old restore point
Gone back to an OLDER restore point
Keep my video card drivers up to date constantly
Monitor my video cards temperature with passive insanity
Dusted my tower out
Dusted my video card out
7 passes with Memtest86 (Didn't realize that this would take 11 hours) 0 errors

What I haven't done yet:
Punched a wall
Bought a new video card
Asked for help (Kinda-nerd pride overwhelming)

What I don't know how to do:
Delete old drivers?
Uninstall programs that wont let me uninstall them
Regedit
If you can see it in the files I know I have a USB issue I haven't been able to fix it and am not sure if it is related

Things you should possibly know?
I built this computer from parts I purchased
I previously built a computer in 1999 and a couple more prior to that
I screwed up a lot while building it due to ridiculous hardware incompatibility issues that were way over my head
I learned a lot, but I'm still more of a caveman modder than any sort of journeyman producer of PCs
A lot of external hardware on this PC does not work (USB 3.0, SATA Quick slots on the top of the case, headphone jack on the front of the case)

Have at you~

Edit: Fixed the case fan~

 

[kemical]

Hi Prettz,

can you list the size, make of your psu and the GPU your using, you might have a power issue especially if your psu is say a large enough wattage but is not giving your graphics card the ampage it needs.

 

[Prettz]

Power Supply: Newegg.com - Rosewill Green Series RG700-S12 700W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified,Single 12V Rail,ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91,SLI Ready,CrossFire Ready,Active PFC"Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply

See attachment for Video Card

 

[GeneralHiningII]

Before reading: Internet connectivity is low so instead of replying in long full paragraphs as I normally do, I'm listing all the fixes i can think of

Delete Old Drivers:

I use Driver Sweeper (download link should be at guru3d, internet is slow at the moment so can't find the link)
Tick the boxes that you think may have drivers for in your computer, and select "Analyze".
Then click "Clean".

(Note: I do this in Safe Mode [F8 before Windows Logo, Enter Safe Mode] to be sure)


To fully uninstall programs (Normally in Control Panel it would allow you to uninstall it), I use RevoUninstaller.

Have you tried:
Stress testing your GPU for any fractures?
Using:
Furmark
Unigine Heaven
Stress testing your CPU:
Prime95

Got any friends who have spare video cards for you to test?

Update your:
BIOS
Chipset Drivers
Audio Drivers
(in that order, if you haven't done so already)

Update:
Use a PSU Calculator to check that you have enough power to run your system (from the looks of it, yes, but you never know)
Tried a clean reboot?
Clean reboot steps:

1. Unplug all devices from your computer (except for your mouse and keyboard)
2. Shut down your computer.
3. Unplug the black PSU cable from the back of your computer.
4. Hold the "Power" button of your tower for 15 to 20 seconds, to drain all the "dead" electricity out.
5. Replug the black PSU cable.
6. Turn your computer on again.

 

[Prettz]

Delete Old Drivers:

I use Driver Sweeper (download link should be at guru3d, internet is slow at the moment so can't find the link)

I don't know how I could be doing it wrong, but the 4 different pages on guru3d downloaded installers for Driver Sweeper but only installed bloatware (weatherbug, amazon toobar, etc.)

Update: Nevermind~ I had already installed this program 'Uniblue DriverScanner' which is a pay to utilize. It finds drivers and offers for me to download updates but only if I pay for the product.

Is this the correct program? It doesnt appear to have any options to remove outdated or old drivers.

Update 2: Derp~ I did in fact download the wrong program. Getting the right one now.

To fully uninstall programs (Normally in Control Panel it would allow you to uninstall it), I use RevoUninstaller.

This worked like a charm~

Stress testing your GPU for any fractures?
Using:
Furmark
Unigine Heaven
Stress testing your CPU:
Prime95

I'll be doing this tonight.

Update your:
BIOS
Chipset Drivers
Audio Drivers
(in that order, if you haven't done so already)

I'll do this as soon as I can track it all down.

Update:
Use a PSU Calculator to check that you have enough power to run your system (from the looks of it, yes, but you never know)

Not sure where I can get/do this.

I have done a clean reboot.

I'm beginning to suspect nVidia physX. Disabling it as well as Aero seems to have reduced the continued bsods. But I still get one every 1-20 minutes of any hefty GPU using operation.

 

[kemical]

Power Supply: Newegg.com - Rosewill Green Series RG700-S12 700W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified,Single 12V Rail,ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91,SLI Ready,CrossFire Ready,Active PFC"Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply

See attachment for Video Card

Your PSU is pushing out 54A so that should be ok Can you try the card in a friends machine? If it runs ok then you know your motherboard might be bad if it craps out again you know it's definitely the card.

 

[GeneralHiningII]

Sorry for the link to Driver Sweeper -
phyxion.net

PSU calc -
eXtreme Power Supply Calculator

BIOS, Chipset Drivers etc etc
Check your motherboard manufacturer's site (Or, if you have a dedicated audio card, check their site)

As kemical said - try a different card and see if it still zones out.

 

[deanio97]

you may want to try your motherboard, If you upgraded the board and kept the old one, try the GPU on that board, if it persists, check your windows installation, if that also fails, then the GPU is likely to be defective unless the hard drive/SSD is on it's way out!

 

[Prettz]

Your PSU is pushing out 54A so that should be ok Can you try the card in a friends machine? If it runs ok then you know your motherboard might be bad if it craps out again you know it's definitely the card.

I'll give this a shot.

you may want to try your motherboard, If you upgraded the board and kept the old one, try the GPU on that board, if it persists, check your windows installation, if that also fails, then the GPU is likely to be defective unless the hard drive/SSD is on it's way out!

I cant currently afford to purchase another LGA1366 mobo.

I've fresh installed the drivers after sweeping them, later today I'll have more of an opportunity to stress test the GPU and everything.

Update:

Boy am I lucky I have a wireless card!
Didn't quite brick my computer, but I'll be updating everything from scratch once I get back home tonight.

 

[Prettz]

Everything appears to be in working order now.

Not entirely sure what ended up fixing it overall.

 

[Prettz]

Spoke too soon.

Here's the dump for the most recent one.

 

[kemical]

*******************************************************************************
*                                                                             *
*                        Bugcheck Analysis                                    *
*                                                                             *
*******************************************************************************


VIDEO_TDR_FAILURE (116)
Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.
Arguments:
Arg1: fffffa8008eaa1d0, Optional pointer to internal TDR recovery context (TDR_RECOVERY_CONTEXT).
Arg2: fffff88007bb1b10, The pointer into responsible device driver module (e.g. owner tag).
Arg3: ffffffffc000009a, Optional error code (NTSTATUS) of the last failed operation.
Arg4: 0000000000000004, Optional internal context dependent data.

Apologies for not seeing your post sooner.

I checked your dmp files and your bios needs updating:
BiosVersion = 0702
BiosReleaseDate = 11/16/2010

Link Removed

Before updating please ensure that the bios update is correct for your board.


Please update your graphic card drivers here:

NVIDIA DRIVERS 310.90WHQL


RTKVHD64.sys Tue Apr 06 11:17:30 2010
Please update your Audio here:

Link Removed

Rt64win7.sys Fri Jun 10 07:33:15 2011
Please update your Ethernet here:

Link Removed

Please un-install Rivatuner or MSI afterburner as they have known bsod issues in win 7.

Did you stress test the card? Also overheating can cause the above errors so make sure the card is free of dust and back off any overclocks until we have determined the culprit.

 

[Prettz]

update your bios

Update: I've updated my bios now. I'll keep an eye out for more bsods.

Also I uninstalled MSI afterburner and am now getting an entirely new blue screen that is OBVIOUSLY from overheat because I can FEEL the heat now.

The fan is not running fast enough with MSI afterburner not installed.

I can't manually underclock my video card either without something like afterburner and I cant manually set the fan speed for my video card to 100% at all times without it either.

new dump attached.

 

[Prettz]

Post all suggested updates:

Here's the latest. Video card is overheating, I know that overheat is the problem.

MSI afterburner fixes the problem allowing me to underclock and set the fan speed to max.

Is there another way I could fix this issue?

Latest dump attached.

 

[GeneralHiningII]

Afterburner's good -

try buying an extra case fan or something, or get one of those big fan's and aim it directly inside the computer case and see if that solves anything.

You can also try:
re-applying the thermal paste that holds the GPU and fan.

Download GPU-Z and check the temps - report what you're seeing.

 

[usasma]

If the system overheats without overclocking - then there's a problem with your cooling solution.
If you have to underclock and crank the fan speed up - that's surely a sign that there's a huge problem!

If it's your video card you either have to fix the cooling on the video card, or get another video card that has a good cooling solution.

 

[kemical]

Apologies. Crysis 3 beta is to blame for my not replying sooner. Can you attach case fans to the front and back? Having good air circulation is critical if you are going to do any kind of overclocking even if your not a good airflow is still desirable. Most cases, even if the fans are missing, will usually have dedicated areas for 120mm fans on either front or back.
To see if this would make any difference try running with the side panel off.