Black screen - No taskbar or icons - Crashing under minor stress

saffer

Member
I've recently started having issues where my PC will switch itself off when I run a number of programs or just a demanding one, like a game. It's not a heating issue, Speedfan's indicating all my hardware is at or below 60'C.

This has been a tolerable issue until today; where after starting my PC up after the PC had switched itself off. I could no longer see the desktop - no icons, no taskbar, nothing. I could, however, load up safe mode, and I used that to look up this issue. I found that people who've had this issue before could in fact ctrl alt delete when they're looking at this before mentioned black screen, whereas I cannot. I can't do anything, and there's no hard drive activity. I solved that particular problem by starting up in safe mode and using system restore, however, as expected, this did not fix the shutting down under stress issue.

I have a feeling this shutting down under stress might be on account of my slightly overclocked CPU. I'm running a Q6600 with a stock speed of 2.4GHz, but I've bumped it up to 2.9GHz. Although it's been this way for the better part of a year and I've had no issues, it's a good place to start, so I'll be clocking that back down to 2.4GHz sharpish. Also, I'm running mixed RAM. I know, I know, it's a big no-no, but there's nothing I can do about it right now though.

Anyway, I'd really appreciate if someone could shed some light onto what they think this issue might be, and maybe a possible solution. I'm running a 32 bit version of Vista SP2.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    MESH
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 2.4GHz @ 2.9GHz
    Memory
    3GB RAM, 500GB HDD
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 9600GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron 22" Widescreen TV Monitor

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Welcome
The problem could very well be the result of your overclocking, but lets not go there yet.
Sounds like a memory problem, take memtest
Guide to using Memtest86+ - Geeks to Go Forums
If that does not show anything try a clean boot to diagnose.
Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup - Windows 7 Forums
If all is negtative
Run a full anti virus scan
Download and run a full scan with malwarebytes. Makes sure to update before the scans.

Thanks very much! I'll start working through those steps tomorrow afternoon when I get home and I'll let you know how I get on.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    MESH
    CPU
    Intel Q6600 2.4GHz @ 2.9GHz
    Memory
    3GB RAM, 500GB HDD
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia GeForce 9600GT
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron 22" Widescreen TV Monitor
Take your time
I will be away for a few days. If I dont see your reply, there are many other members just as willing to help.
You may, also want to press, alt, cntrl, delte and bring up the task manager and then go to process. Click on memory and look at what is using most of your ram. It can be a case of you are using too much ram and do not have enough reserve.

I do wish you good luck
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
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