Video corruption/checkboarding, random BSOD's and hard lockups

[USteppin]

Hello, just a week ago my computer has been acting very oddly. I was playing a single player skirmish in command & conquer generals and my screen checkerboarded and hard locked my computer, so i rebooted and attempted to try playing again, the intro videos played normally but once the game menu loaded my computer locked up (mouse was moving but could not alt+tab or alt+ctrl+del) with no video corruption and eventually BSOD'd, my computer was auto rebooting itself and I was not able to get what the whole BSOD was saying but it was something along the lines of 'Page fault in non-page area'.

 

So I gave up trying games that night, next day I attempted to play Battlefield 2 and the same video corruption/checkboard happened once the game menu loaded. Next day I reinstalled windows and the problem still persisted to exist, direct3d and opengl (quake) games caused video corruption/checkerboarding and hard locking my computer. Doing the direct3d/directdraw tests in dxdiag also caused it to checkerboard and crash.

 

More then half the time after this occured, the bios loading screen, lanparty logo and windows loading screens and windows itself were also corrupt, lines everywhere and checkerboarding. Rebooting it constantly eventually fixes it for alittle, 2 days ago i was able to play a game for 4 hours before it decided to checkerboard on me, it has also been randomly BSODing doing normal windows things, talking on irc, browsing the web, browsing my files in windows explorer

 

I went out and bought a different video card (geforce 7600gs) to test if that was the problem but the crashing and video corruption still persisted so i returned that video card and now im stuck here with no idea what to do.

 

I've ran a memtest for a total of 14 hours or so, i forgot the total amount of passes but 0 errors were reported. i tried the ram in different configurations and using them alone with crashes still happening constantly.

 

I suck at explaining things and writing them out..hopefully someone can decipher my problem and give me some ideas on what to try to hopefully solve this problem, this system has been rock solid up until a week ago when this starting happening out of nowhere. It's been stable today for 4 hours just in windows, haven't bothered trying to play a game or anything.

 

Thanks for any help.

[tasr]

Welcome to the Street

 

So you just tested the memory well that is a start.

 

Then you can do a blend test with Prime95 for 8hr or so this will also test the memory controller and CPU.

 

Also check out Praz new thread Stability Testing Programs. It is a definitely a winner.

 

 

 

Did you follow the NF4 LanParty - initial build w/pictures linkage.

 

Are All four (4) power connectors should be plugged into the motherboard? These are;

24-pin main power connector

4-pin 12v secondary connector or EPS

4-pin 5v/12v molex connection or HDD-type

4-pin 5v/12v floppy connection or FDD-type

 

 

 

When overclocking refer to; The Definitive DFI AMD Overclocking Guide.

 

Then re-read it you will be surprised how much more info you’ll pick up. It may seem overwhelming at first but it’s not that bad just take your time, be patient and asking questions.

[Guest Kobalt]

Check for heat issues, some of those symptoms sound heat related.

[USteppin]

Then you can do a blend test with Prime95 for 8hr or so this will also test the memory controller and CPU.

 

When overclocking refer to; The Definitive DFI AMD Overclocking Guide.

 

Well i just installed Prime95 and attempted to run it and all it keeps saying is:

 

ERROR: ILLEGAL SUMOUT

Possible hardware failure, consult readme.txt file, restarting test

Maximum number of warnings exceeded

Execution halted.

 

I've also never attempted to overclock anything, running the memtest86 was my first time in the bios since owning this board i think heh

 

Check for heat issues, some of those symptoms sound heat related.

 

I am in florida so heat should be an issue, ive never had a problem but if anything temps should be lower since outside temperatures have dropped 10 degrees or so in the past couple of weeks, according to this 'speedfan' program, all my temps look normal

[tasr]

When you RUN prime are you;

 

Open Prime95 --> Options --> Torture Test --> Blend Test --> OK

[USteppin]

When you RUN prime are you;

 

Open Prime95 --> Options --> Torture Test --> Blend Test --> OK

 

yes

[tasr]

What OS? Try and reinstall Prime95.

[USteppin]

windows xp pro sp2, 2 day old fresh install

 

still saying the same error when uninstalling/reinstalling prime95

[tasr]

When you installed the nVidia drivers did you install the firewall or management software?

 

Installing those software components can be problematic. It is not recommended installing them.

[Praz]

More then half the time after this occured, the bios loading screen, lanparty logo and windows loading screens and windows itself were also corrupt, lines everywhere and checkerboarding.

Based on the above I would be looking at the psu, cpu and motherboard in that order. If you are passing 10+ hours of Memtest you should at least be able to boot to the bios without video corruption induced by memory problems. The power supply would be the most likely source of trouble. Do you have another power supply that you can try? Maybe even borrow one?

[USteppin]

no im positive that it was unchecked when i installed the drivers

[USteppin]

Based on the above I would be looking at the psu, cpu and motherboard in that order. If you are passing 10+ hours of Memtest you should at least be able to boot to the bios without video corruption induced by memory problems. The power supply would be the most likely source of trouble. Do you have another power supply that you can try? Maybe even borrow one?

 

ill try picking one up tomorrow.. i bought the secondary video card at compusa and was able to return it open/installed without any trouble, ill let you know if the problem still exists