Constant BSOD

[ddmagnan]

Just bought a new pc and decided to try Vista. So far I am regretting that decision and am very close to installing XP. I thought most of the bugs would have been worked out but this is ridiculous.

I am getting constant BSOD crashes. 90% of them are "A clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor within the allocated time interval". I've updated every Vista, every single driver, tested the ram, and even updated the mobo bios. Nothing has helped. The cpu temp is around 50c so it is not a heat problem. It has even crashed while in safe mode!

AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 6400+
Nvidia 9600 GT
4gb ram
M2N SLI Motherboard
On board CM6501 Sound Card
Vista 64 Home Premium

Currently my only thought is that I an using a slightly old CRT monitor, a KDS XF-9i. There is no updated driver for Vista, so I am using Vista's "Generic non-PnP Monitor" driver. Could the monitor be affecting the stability of the OS that much? Before I go out and buy a monitor that I don't currently have the funds for, anyone have any ideas? Other than the monitor, I'm fresh out of them.

 

[johngalt]

If you post the *exact* BSOD here dmex has a way of looking up the error ode(s) and then you may have a chance at resolving the issue.

 

[Dwarf]

Hi, and welcome to the forums

What is the exact model of your motherboard? Check your motherboard manual. Are there any settings in the BIOS or jumper settings on the board itself that you have overlooked? If there is a setting in your BIOS to disable one of the processor cores then try it. On some BIOSes you can select which core to disable for troubleshooting purposes. It is possible, but unlikely, that one of the cores on your processor is faulty. Is the board actually capable of supporting your processor? What readings are you getting on the 'System Health' page in the BIOS? Did you install Vista with all 4GB of RAM installed? If so, try reinstalling with just 2GB and then upgrade to 4GB afterwards.
Dwarf

 

[dmex]

Hi DDmagnan,

Do you know the BSOD error code you getting so I may lookup the cause and resolution?

 

[ripbox]

A quick google search turned up the same answer many times, a re-install of windows to fix this problem
see what dmex has to offer though:D before you do

 

[ddmagnan]

Being brand new the pc was still under warranty and their help desk decided it was a bad cpu. They are sending me a new one I can replace the current one with. If that doesn't help I'll be back to pester you. Thanks for the help.

 

[johngalt]

First of all - are you good with computer hardware - because you simply cannot pop in a modern CPU and go - you'll need thermal compound, plus a way to clean off the existing thermal compound *and* the know how to remove the heatsink and what not....

If you do know, then go for it - if not, you bought the PC make them send someone over to do it - he'll also be able to troubleshoot it further (and faster) to determine the actual problem if it turns out it is not the CPU.

 

[ddmagnan]

I've built my own pcs in the past. I'm no expert but I can get by as long as there are no major problems. I didn't build this one because I found a place with good prices for parts that will build it for free if you buy everything from them.