Vista - Did Vista x64 Ultimate kill my Powersupply?

Hello, I recently tried to install vista 32bit on my computer, it was successfull until i installed nvidia display drivers. The error i got was:

Error: Display driver has stopped working and has recovered successfully.

I even tried to get Omega drivers, and old archived nvidia drivers did not work. So i gave up, and asked my retailer if i could get the x64bit instead. they aggreed with that. So i installed that one also correctly. No problems with the GPU drivers there, however in games my computer kept restarting after playing ~20mins and two days later my Powersupply died. a 600W PSU from OCZ.

I then removed vista from my computer and is now running xp x64 and i have no problems what so ever. But i want Vista! loved the functions.

I want to try again soon, but im not sure if my computer will survive.


So my computer speccs are like this:

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3 for AMD CPU. 770chipset.
CPU: Amd Athlon 64 x2 6000+ 3.0GHz with watercolling.
Graphic card: Nvidia Geforce 9800GX2
Main harddrive: 74gb Raptor 10000rpm disc for OS.
and five other slow drives for storage.
Powersupply: OCZ Stealth X Stream 600W.
Memory: Crucial 4x1024mb Basillix 800Mhz.


There shouldnt be any reason for vista to fail, shall it? and did Vista kill my psu?

Do you have a multimeter? Test the 12V voltages. I would start by removing the omega drivers and installing the correct Nvidia drivers. 600W power supply should be fine. What is your video card temperature? Do you have enough video card cooling? Is the video card water cooled along with CPU? If not, you need chassis fans to cool the video card.

Did you replace the psu or it came back alive? Or it has never gone bad?

The answer to that is no. Even if Vista somehow managed to cause your PSU to fail, which is extremely unlikely, it would be because of faulty hardware. The only software that could damage your hardware is overclocking tools and things that wear out mechanical components. Your powersupply isn't affected by any of those.

Ok, thanks for reply.

I just had to try vista after getting a new PSU. I had same issues earlier today, but decided to take out 1 ram module, and its working like a charm. By using memtest none of my ram modules are failing, so i dont know why 4modules and 4gb ram shall destroy the computer.

Hi Chroptus, and Welcome to the forums

Don't worry too much about the memory problems with the install it's a well known issue with Vista x64 installations. once the install is finished Vista works fine with all the memory

im surprised that your system is running on a 600w psu, considering all the powerful components. I tried using the psu calculator with some of ur components & got almost 600w without considering the watercooling!!!

try using it urself, if you dont understand some of the options, there are some instructions at the bottom of the page.

eXtreme Outer Vision - eXtreme tools for computer enthusiasts

Hello and thanks. The memory problems occur while the setup of the OS is done and im on the part installing device drivers and such. Im done with it all now, but i dont dare to put back my 4th module in case my PSU should die (again).

Since i use my warrant i have to send it to the retailer, so they can check on it witch takes a week. then they are looking upon it, witch also takes a week. When they find its not working they are sending a new witch also takes a week.

But im starting to see a pattern here, i had same damn issue in win xp x64bit with my old nvidia chipsett. since some motherboards with nvidia chipsetts made same issues.
So i bought a new Motherboard with AMD chipsett to be able to continue the use of my AMD CPU. If i had taken a Intel based motherboard, i would have to buy a new CPU aswell.

What i should have done, by what i can see have happened in the long run.
bah!

fieseler:
Well, i started to think it might have been me using to small PSU, but during os install i disconnected all other HDDs. witch would result in alot lower then 600. And still the same issues until removing one memory module, witch is very odd!


Another thing to add: The system is really stable after removing that module, no problems what so ever yet!

Call OCZ support. You might need a larger power supply for your needs. One stick of RAM is 1-2A @ 3.3V. I doubt that did your power supply in unless the slot is shorted. I would start by removing any non-essential hardware and putting in your 4th stick. If your system is stable without the extra RAM, I would look at the RAM. Put the 4th stick in slot 1 and test.

My old AMD boards would need to be set to DDR333, if more than 6 sides of RAM were installed. Three double sided sticks could run DDR400. Four (8 sides) was DDR333. Maybe your board has a similar issue. Are your sticks matching or different? I found its best to use only matching sticks of RAM for less compatibility issues.

They were my thoughts too. I'd have got a 700w+ PSU for a 9800GX2.

Did you say you re-installed Vista while 1 module of RAM was removed? You could try re-installing with the module removed like what's been said.

It must be a "hit or miss" thing like I reinstalled Vista 64 bit last week with all 4 memory modules in and it works fine, though I did read SP1 fixed it (I think) and I slipped streamed my Vista disk with SP1, so maybe that's why...