Freezes and BSODs

A

Almanac

Member
Hello all,

I've been having some strange crashes, freezes and the occasional BSODs over the last few weeks and I've run out of ideas. There seems to be no one cause and I can't reproduce the error consistently at all.

The BSODs have been exclusively related to "A clock interrupt was not received on a secondary processor". I have done tests with Memtest, Prime95 (both overnight runs), the Windows Driver Verifier, Seagate Harddrive thingy and several others all with no errors. I've updated all my drivers as far as I can tell, updated the BIOS as well as defaulting it settings and resetting the CMOS etc. I've had crashes in and out of Safe Mode too. I have not overclocked anything at any point. Most recently I did a fresh OS install and the problems continued.

I haven't sent in my PC to PCS yet, but it's looking like the last option available.

So, questions: Is there anything I might have missed? How easy is it to send my PC for tests (packaging, pickup, costs which I couldn't quite figure out from the site) and how should I go about it?

Specifications (PC owned for just over 1 year):

Processor (CPU)
AMD A8-5600K Quad Core APU (3.6GHz) & Radeon™ HD 7560D Graphics

Motherboard
ASUS® F2A55-M LE: (M-ATX, DDR3, USB2.0, SATA 3Gb/s)

Memory (RAM)
8GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 4GB)

Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 660 Ti - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready

Memory - 1st Hard Disk
500GB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 16MB CACHE

Power Supply
450W Quiet 80 PLUS Dual Rail PSU + 120mm Case Fan

Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER

Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)

Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs

USB
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD

Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
If you get silver warranty you don't need to pay for postage to send it back, if you have standard warranty you will have to pay. You also need the original packaging to send it back, if you lost it you could request a replacement at a cost.
 
A

Almanac

Member
Just to update:

The crashes in Safemode were unrelated and caused by me being silly. The issue was related to the most recent NVIDIA graphics drivers and their GeForce Experience stuff. Rolling back solved the crashes.
 
A

Almanac

Member
A

Almanac

Member
Well it looks like I spoke too soon. I've had two reboots today, once when I wasn't even using the PC. Rolling back drivers certainly reduced the number of crashes however.

No minidumps were made (have disabled automatic restarts) and event viewer gives nothing. It's looking like hardware problems now. Since I can't seem to reproduce the problem, I'm wary about a RTB finding nothing and losing the PC for several weeks (since I need it for work) only to be in the same position.

From the problems I've been having it seems like PSU failure. I've used the various online calculators to figure how much power I'd need (the current one should in theory be sufficient) but they come up with different results each time.

So more questions:

- Ignoring possible PSU failure, should my supply be enough as is?
- Is it worth buying my own PSU and installing it, or choosing the 'Upgrade' option from PCS to get something more hefty?
- I'm still within the 3-year labour warranty, but not parts. What does the labour warranty cover and how much would I be looking at to replace/upgrade the PSU?

Thanks again! :)
 
keynes

keynes

Multiverse Poster
- Ignoring possible PSU failure, should my supply be enough as is?
- Is it worth buying my own PSU and installing it, or choosing the 'Upgrade' option from PCS to get something more hefty?
- I'm still within the 3-year labour warranty, but not parts. What does the labour warranty cover and how much would I be looking at to replace/upgrade the PSU?
Click to expand...

If you didn't get any warnings in the configurator I doubt it was an unsuitable PSU and it seems your PSU should handle your system as well.
I would contact PCS first to diagnose the issue before thinking of upgrading the PSU. To replace/upgrade the PSU you are looking at postage cost (I think £6) + the cost of the PSU but eventhough the warranty from PCS may have ended in parts your PSU could still be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
You're right that it could be a hardware issue but you haven't yet properly eliminated software as a cause, and you really should do that before you send it back or pay for an upgraded PSU.

The only way to be sure that it's not software is to do a clean reinstall of Windows (deleting all existing boot drive partitions when you do that). Then install only the PCS supplied drivers. Install no additional software, make no configuration changes, and do not install any external hardware.

If you get problems when using it in that completely clean state then it probably is hardware. But if it's ok in that state then it's a software issue with one of your applications or external hardware devices.

I realise that's a long process but it's better for you to do that now that send it back, or spend money on an upgrade, only to later find it was software after all.

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top