Vista lockup problem

S

Sparky Marky

New Member
At random intervals, the screen will corrupt and 2-3 seconds later the computer will lock up, (see attached image). It will do this randomly when just browsing or using office, etc. And it can be a few minutes after startup or it can be a few hours. Games such as portal and audiosurf run without issue. Sometimes it'll do it once and be fine, other times it'll do it 2-4 times in a row. No logs or errors are being left in the event viewer.

During the running of the windows experiance index, it would do it during the running of the areo assessment until I update the drivers to 7.15.11.8120. Afterwards it ran fine, but the problem still occurs randomly. This was on a clean install.

I haven't overclocked anything on the system.

System information
Windows Vista Business 64
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
4 GB RAM
Intel® Core™2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz, 2400 Mhz

The only upgrades I've made to my system is adding 4GB (was originally 2GB) and added another harddrive.



I've run memtest86+ which reported no problems.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be going wrong.
Edit: Windows Task Manager shows Physical Memeory to be 3325MB, not 4096MB
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1-8KRS2H Bios: Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
    Memory
    2x 2048 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Driver Version: 7.15.11.8120
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron Wide
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 x 4294967296 colors
    Hard Drives
    Model: ST3500320AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 0
    SCSIPort: 1
    Size: 466 GB
    Status: OK
    ------------------------------------------
    Model: ST3500630AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 1
    SCSIPort: 2
    Cooling
    Standard Fans, back, side (processor), video card and psu
    Mouse
    Logitech usb laser mouse
Sparky Marky said:
At random intervals, the screen will corrupt and 2-3 seconds later the computer will lock up, (see attached image). It will do this randomly when just browsing or using office, etc. And it can be a few minutes after startup or it can be a few hours. Games such as portal and audiosurf run without issue. Sometimes it'll do it once and be fine, other times it'll do it 2-4 times in a row. No logs or errors are being left in the event viewer.

During the running of the windows experiance index, it would do it during the running of the areo assessment until I update the drivers to 7.15.11.8120. Afterwards it ran fine, but the problem still occurs randomly. This was on a clean install.

I haven't overclocked anything on the system.

System information
Windows Vista Business 64
NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS
4 GB RAM
Intel® Core™2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz, 2400 Mhz

The only upgrades I've made to my system is adding 4GB (was originally 2GB) and added another harddrive.



I've run memtest86+ which reported no problems.

Does anyone have any ideas what might be going wrong
Click to expand...

Have you tried using a different graphics card? The symptoms you describe and show in your image remind me of an issue I had with a Trident TVGA9000 card many years ago. The card would work fine, but attempting to switch to 1024x768 graphics modes would corrupt the screen and hang the system. This occured because the upper bounds of it's memory buffer where bad. Replacing the bad memory chips fixed the problem.

In your case, the graphics card may hav bad memory chips, or the GPU could very well be overheating. The best bet would be to try using a different card to isolate whether or not that is the problem...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
    Motherboard
    ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
    Memory
    2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAHARA 21"
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80GB Seagate (I)
    2 x 120GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 200GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 250GB Seagate (I/S)
    PSU
    800W
    Case
    Thermaltake Tai-Chi
    Cooling
    Tai-Chi Water Cooler
    Keyboard
    Genius
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    384kbps
    Other Info
    Currently dual booting between Vista x64 Ultimate Windows 7 BETA x64
I had thought of replacing the graphics card, but I don't have any spare. One item of information that may or may not be related, is Windows Task Manager shows Physical Memeory to be 3325MB, not 4096MB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1-8KRS2H Bios: Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
    Memory
    2x 2048 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Driver Version: 7.15.11.8120
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron Wide
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 x 4294967296 colors
    Hard Drives
    Model: ST3500320AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 0
    SCSIPort: 1
    Size: 466 GB
    Status: OK
    ------------------------------------------
    Model: ST3500630AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 1
    SCSIPort: 2
    Cooling
    Standard Fans, back, side (processor), video card and psu
    Mouse
    Logitech usb laser mouse
It sounds as you have a 32bit OS installed. This is the only reason I can see that you are losing memory. Try as Peter suggested and try a new card. This may fix both problems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers
    Trust Graphics Tablet

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
I've checked out the memory issues, thread and tried everything it suggested, The memory hole setting in the bios reduced the ram listed in the task manager to 3324...

I'm definitely running 64-bit. I'll try and find if anyone I know has a spare graphics card I can borrow.

The fan on the graphics card seems to be working fine, don't think its a heating problem though since it can happen after just turning on the computer and after hours of use.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1-8KRS2H Bios: Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
    Memory
    2x 2048 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Driver Version: 7.15.11.8120
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron Wide
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 x 4294967296 colors
    Hard Drives
    Model: ST3500320AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 0
    SCSIPort: 1
    Size: 466 GB
    Status: OK
    ------------------------------------------
    Model: ST3500630AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 1
    SCSIPort: 2
    Cooling
    Standard Fans, back, side (processor), video card and psu
    Mouse
    Logitech usb laser mouse
Sparky Marky said:
I've checked out the memory issues, thread and tried everything it suggested, The memory hole setting in the bios reduced the ram listed in the task manager to 3324...

I'm definitely running 64-bit. I'll try and find if anyone I know has a spare graphics card I can borrow.

The fan on the graphics card seems to be working fine, don't think its a heating problem though since it can happen after just turning on the computer and after hours of use.
Click to expand...

It's a common misconception that running a 32-bit OS is the cause of the "4GB Installed-but-3.5GB-is-Available" phenomenon.

Question: Can your motherboard support more than 4GB memory, or is it maxed out at 4GB? If the physical max is 4GB, then it likely is using a 32-bit memory controller. If you do the math (2^32) then you'll find the limit of 32-bit is 4GB.

When you first power up your computer, all the various devices are allocated (when needed) a block of memory. The memory space assigned to each device must fall within the 32-bit limit, and the space between 3GB and 4GB is the most common area allocated. Once this mapping takes place, the memory is "lost" to the system, hence the installation of 4GB, but only the availability of 3.3GB.

If your motherboard can support more than 4GB of memory, then it likely uses a 64-bit memory controller, and the memory assignments take place ni the upper parts of the 64-bit limit. In many cases, you'll lose maybe 1 or 2 MB of the first 4GB to the memory controller itself, in which it would place a memory mapping table for legacy 32-bit devices so that it can map 64-bit memory addresses to them.

So it does not matter if you are running a 32-bit or a 64-bit operating system. If you hardware is using a 32-bit memory controller, then you will have this memory "hole" that far too many people are blaming on Microsoft....
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
    Motherboard
    ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
    Memory
    2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAHARA 21"
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80GB Seagate (I)
    2 x 120GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 200GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 250GB Seagate (I/S)
    PSU
    800W
    Case
    Thermaltake Tai-Chi
    Cooling
    Tai-Chi Water Cooler
    Keyboard
    Genius
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    384kbps
    Other Info
    Currently dual booting between Vista x64 Ultimate Windows 7 BETA x64
I believe its maxed out at 4GB, however the main issue at hand is the crashes, the memory gap was extra data that may or may not be related.

Running through all my drivers at the moment, making sure they're up to date.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1-8KRS2H Bios: Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
    Memory
    2x 2048 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Driver Version: 7.15.11.8120
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron Wide
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 x 4294967296 colors
    Hard Drives
    Model: ST3500320AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 0
    SCSIPort: 1
    Size: 466 GB
    Status: OK
    ------------------------------------------
    Model: ST3500630AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 1
    SCSIPort: 2
    Cooling
    Standard Fans, back, side (processor), video card and psu
    Mouse
    Logitech usb laser mouse
Sparky Marky said:
I believe its maxed out at 4GB, however the main issue at hand is the crashes, the memory gap was extra data that may or may not be related.

Running through all my drivers at the moment, making sure they're up to date.
Click to expand...

Does you motherboard have an onboard graphics card that you can use temporarily? If yes, remove your 8600 GTS and check.

I'm still leaning to a bad graphics card.

What size power supply are you using?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
    Motherboard
    ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
    Memory
    2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAHARA 21"
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80GB Seagate (I)
    2 x 120GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 200GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 250GB Seagate (I/S)
    PSU
    800W
    Case
    Thermaltake Tai-Chi
    Cooling
    Tai-Chi Water Cooler
    Keyboard
    Genius
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    384kbps
    Other Info
    Currently dual booting between Vista x64 Ultimate Windows 7 BETA x64
350W dc output
It does have onboard graphics (after searching the BIOS to enable it).
rebooting now.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1-8KRS2H Bios: Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
    Memory
    2x 2048 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Driver Version: 7.15.11.8120
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron Wide
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 x 4294967296 colors
    Hard Drives
    Model: ST3500320AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 0
    SCSIPort: 1
    Size: 466 GB
    Status: OK
    ------------------------------------------
    Model: ST3500630AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 1
    SCSIPort: 2
    Cooling
    Standard Fans, back, side (processor), video card and psu
    Mouse
    Logitech usb laser mouse
Well its been almost 4 days now without incident, so it looks like it was the graphics card. Any suggestions on a replacement for a Nvidia 8600 GTS, or is it best just to buy the same card to replace it??
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM)2 CPU 6600 @ 2.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Foxconn 946GZ7MA-1.1-8KRS2H Bios: Phoenix-AwardBIOS v6.00PG
    Memory
    2x 2048 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS Driver Version: 7.15.11.8120
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG Flatron Wide
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 900 x 4294967296 colors
    Hard Drives
    Model: ST3500320AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 0
    SCSIPort: 1
    Size: 466 GB
    Status: OK
    ------------------------------------------
    Model: ST3500630AS ATA Device
    InterfaceType: IDE
    Partitions: 1
    SCSIBus: 1
    SCSIPort: 2
    Cooling
    Standard Fans, back, side (processor), video card and psu
    Mouse
    Logitech usb laser mouse
Sparky Marky said:
Well its been almost 4 days now without incident, so it looks like it was the graphics card. Any suggestions on a replacement for a Nvidia 8600 GTS, or is it best just to buy the same card to replace it??
Click to expand...

Right, so now we've isolated where the problem lies. From here, if possible, loan another WORKING graphics card from a friend that you can use for testing over a gfew days. If the problem does not come back, then it would be safe for you to buy another graphics card yourself.

If the problems do come back with a different card, then the true cause ofthe problems lies either with your PCIeX slots (the motherboard), or your power supply is not delivering enough power to the graphics card. You DID mention that it is only a 350W PSU...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    AMD Phenom 9600 Quad
    Motherboard
    ASUS MB-M3A32-MVP Deluxe/WiFi
    Memory
    2 x A-Data 2GB DDR2-800
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ATI Radeon HD 2400PRO
    Monitor(s) Displays
    SAHARA 21"
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1200
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80GB Seagate (I)
    2 x 120GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 200GB Seagate (I/S)
    2 x 250GB Seagate (I/S)
    PSU
    800W
    Case
    Thermaltake Tai-Chi
    Cooling
    Tai-Chi Water Cooler
    Keyboard
    Genius
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Internet Speed
    384kbps
    Other Info
    Currently dual booting between Vista x64 Ultimate Windows 7 BETA x64
Hi to all. I am newbie here and sorry for my bad english also. I was facing the same problem with a different card from Nvidia - GeForce 8 Series - 8500GT 512MB DDR2 PCI-E. I bought it as was finding that some maps on Warcraft games was lagging, so I installed the card and the drivers, check it out about power usage, setup everything to run fine and overclocked it. At the first minutes was ok even at the maps I had lag. After some couple of hours the computer lockup and had to reset it directly from case. I thought was a problem with temperature or memory. After several weeks even with only 1 window open (internet explorer or office or firefox) happened the same. So after runned 2 different online antimalware programs, after Windows Memory Diagnostics full test, after check out if all wires were fixed properly and if no dust in fans and after all the updates also and reinstalled (reformat) all pc with OS, all drivers, all updates and no overclock and the situation was the same as still lockup.

So I uninstalled again the graphic card and the drivers and I am now running with the onboard graphic card. Had no problems running a lot of programs together (Adobe Photoshop, Windows Media Player, MSN, Skype, 10+ different tabs of Firefox and IE together, some devices connected by usb ports, and gaming)

Configuration:
ECS A780GM
AMD Phenom 8450 TripleCore (Onboard Graphic Card - Ati Radeon HD 3200 - and Sound Card IDT Audio 7.1)
2x 2Gb RAM DDR2-667
2x500Gb 7200 RPM Sata
Aerocool Aeroengine "Blue Eye"
Huntkey LW-6450SG

Temperature measured Idle:
MotherBoard - 40C/104F
CPU1, 2 and 3 - 34C/93F
Onboard Graphic Card - 31C/88F
Seagate 1 - 34C/93F
Seagate 2 - 34C/93F

Temperature measured Full:
MotherBoard - 42C/108F
CPU1, 2 and 3 - 48C/118F
Onboard Graphic Card - 35C/95F
Seagate 1 - 35C/95F
Seagate 2 - 35C/95F

And right now outside is 31C/88F and working without conditioner air. So as I did not had any solution for this graphic card to run fine without lockup my computer I will wait to buy another graphic card and not from Nvidia.
 

My Computer

System One

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