Windows 7 Problem with graphics card on newly built computer

[TheNextSwarm]

Well, I had posted a thread in the installation forum a little while ago where I had trouble installing Windows 7 on a computer I built, and now a few days later while that problem has been solved the rig has been giving me grief in a different way. I've exhausted my own troubleshooting skills so once again I turn to the internet for help.

This is a fresh computer I've recently made myself, and my graphics card is giving me trouble. The computer frequently crashes or resets at seemingly random times (while trying to install basics for a new computer like OpenOffice/Firefox/etc, while on the internet, while looking through all the changes in Windows 7 from XP) although occasionally in a scenario that makes sense like if I'm messing around with the video card settings.

For the drivers I've sorta got two options that I've discovered with neither working well. If I uninstall all of the ATI drivers and everything, go into device manager and uninstall the graphics card, and then let Windows automatically find the device and update it then it seems to work better but is much less stable. Doing this I'll have correct resolutions, it'll correctly recognize what card it is and even what monitor I'm using, and just overall the seem to be working as it should be until it suddenly crashes/resets.

Alternatively I can try using the ATI drivers, either installed from the CD or the most recent Catalyst suite from AMD's website. Doing this I'll get messages that the ATI drivers are not installed or are not working properly, I'll get weird as hell resolution options (no 1920x1080 but instead a ton of bizarre ones I've never seen before), and Windows will say that something is wrong with my graphics card but tell me I'm using the most current drivers if I ask it to automatically update. However it seems to be slightly more stable like this.

Any ideas on what's wrong and how I can solve it? There may be a few things I forgot to mention here that i've already tried, but these are the main two ways to get it 'working.'

 

[TheNextSwarm]

Yeah, the most recent install (where I put all the other drivers first) I hadn't used ninite yet and the computer still froze while I was on microsoft's website. So it's not (only) that causing problems.

 

[TorrentG]

I hear ya. A freeze is only something minor that would probably be alleviated by driver updates. Bsod and error 52 are another matter entirely.

I would clean install Windows while having the latest Catalyst suite ready to install from flash drive or cd. Once to desktop, the first thing would be to install the Catalyst package.

Then if there is any type of error or bsod, we can take it from there.

I know this has be somewhat frustrating as if it were my hardware, it would be for me. Stick with it and we should eventually get onto to it being fixed.

I would suggest returning the video card for a new one but I haven't done that because it is clearly a Windows issue about why the proper driver is not installing and working well, at this point.

 

[TheNextSwarm]

Yeah, this entire saga has been grating. I'll trying re-installing Windows and doing the Catalyst drivers as soon as I first hit desktop, but as a note that's similar to what I tried with my first re-install of Windows, and that still lead to problems (admittedly while using ninite, so that's why I'm trying this again). I've been using a flash drive to install most of the drivers already, as downloading them from the internet each time takes a while and is somewhat prone to freezing the computer. The flash drive/download distinction doesn't seem to have changed much so far.

 

[TheNextSwarm]

Well more bad news. I just tried reinstalling Windows, and it froze three separate times. One time was at 97%, too. Then, when I finally did get through the installation it froze when I tried loading the ATI drivers. It's possible that installation of Windows had an error or something I missed as well; I wasn't at the computer the entire time. I'd try installing again, but I think I'll leave that for later as I don't really feel like installing Windows for a fourth time in a row and many more than that in the last day.

 

[TorrentG]

Based on lots of your new information, I think there is a good chance (good enough to investigate for sure) that the RAM is at issue here somehow. I have been helping people with pc problems for ages and I've never even seen a code 52 for the video driver...and I make/write custom driver installs for people too.

What you should do is download then run CPU-Z. Have a look for your exact model of memory in the memory tab. Then visit the manufacturer's page for the model. Write down the exact voltage, timings and frequency that the modules should be running at.

Then go into the bios and set this all up manually. Refer to your motherboard manual if in doubt about settings. Save the settings in the bios when done.

Try to install the video driver and test it out.

If still no good, run Memtest86+ for as many consecutive runs as you can stand. Overnight is best. See if any errors show. If any, then RMA (replace) the memory modules.
If no errors are found, run the test on one stick of memory installed at a time while others are out. Do this for each stick.

 

[TheNextSwarm]

According to my BIOS and the sticker on the RAM itself, I have OCZ3G1333LV4GK RAM. Well, the BIOS says it's 2GK at the end, but that's because it's 2x2GB. Looking at the website (OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 Gold Low Voltage Dual Channel OCZ Technology), the following specs are listed:

1333MHz DDR3
CL 9-9-9-20(CAS-TRCD-TRP-TRAS)
1.65 Volts
240 Pin DIMM

The BIOS already had the frequency at 1333 so I didn't need to change that, I already had set the voltage to 1.65 (this solved earlier install problems), and so I was left to change the timings. The first time I tried to do this, the second I hit enter while trying to get into the advanced RAM timing options the computer froze. Restarted, managed to get in to change it this time. Tried installing Windows, had it freeze twice, and now I've run out of free time at the moment so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to check the video driver/memtest. Quick question: memtest will run in safemode, correct? Otherwise there's no way in hell I'll be able to do an overnight run as at the computer's most stable point so far it's never lasted more than 10 minutes in normal Windows.

e: as a note, I leave in the early morning on the 23rd to go on vacation and will be coming back on the 30th. If I want to return this RAM, the best time for me would probably be in the early-mid afternoon. I should be able to run the memtest in the morning, and if that shows errors I'll return the RAM to the store I got it at and either get it replaced or try another brand.

I got a friggin' omen about this too - when I was returning my power supply to make sure that wasn't the problem in my original thread, the guy in front of me was returning OCZ Gold RAM.

 

[TorrentG]

If it froze in the bios, there is absolutely without doubt 100% chance that there is a hardware issue present. Very likely RAM issue and if not then motherboard issue.

Yep, test the RAM one stick at a time. It just makes it easier to produce errors that way while testing, if in fact faulty.

Remove one module while the other is being tested. Rinse, recycle, repeat.

 

[TheNextSwarm]

I did 2 passes on the first stick in about 1:20 and 5 passes on the second in just over 2 hours. No errors. I can afford maybe 30 minutes more of testing, so I've popped the first stick back in and will see if I can get a pass in. I assume this means that it the RAM is not the obvious cause of the problem but without more testing it's impossible to rule it out? They're still covered by 30 day warranty by the store, so I may try returning it anyways. Worth a shot at least I figure.

 

[TheNextSwarm]

Aagh, I may have just found the problem. Looking at the MSI compatibility list on their website more closely, the OCZ3G13334GK is listed, but not the OCZ3G1333LV4GK. The paper instruction manual says nothing specific about voltage, but their website mentions only 1.5v RAM. So, the problem is most likely based off the fact I'm an idiot instead bought the low voltage RAM (stupid $15 mail in rebate tricked me). Seeing as the first OS install problems were solved by manually changing the voltage in the BIOS, I'm pretty sure this is it.