Recently my computer has started crashing via BSOD and I have no clue how to resolve it, nor do I know what is causing it.
Some detail I can provide:
The computer is about a month old
Only recently started crashing
Drivers look to be up to date, but I can’t be sure
Windows 7
AMD RADEON 7870 GFX card
Doesn’t crash unless on games like APB: Reloaded and Planetside 2
One BSOD said MEMORY_MANAGEMENT
Another said PFN_LIST_CORRUPT
I am not sure what’s causing these errors and I’d rather not be directed to links upon links to fix it. Literal, straight-forward directions step-by-step to assess would be great. Any further detail I can provide I will.
step4: run Memtest86+ and let it do 2 complete passes.
step5: if the memory test passes, then check the disk with smartctl: smartctl -t long /dev/sda. when that completes, do smartctl -x /dev/sda and inspect the results
step6: if the disk is OK per step5, then check the CPU: download, burn, boot, and run and Puppy Linux Slacko5.5 Live CD ISO and run the CPU test suite.
step7a: if all tests pass, boot Windows and use System Restore. Pick a Restore Point whose date is earlier than when you first started having BSoD problems.
step7b: if step7a didn’t fix it, then re-image your disk with an image backup you created when the system was not having BSoD problems. If you don’t have an image backup, then re-format the hard disk and re-install your OS and apps.
Memtest86+ is step4, so I guess the answer to my previous question is “No”.
You use the CD you burned to boot the machine you want to test. It bypasses Windows and boots Linux. That allows you to test the machine’s hardware without Windows getting in the way.
Once you’ve done steps 1 thru 3, ask for more detail if the menus are not obvious.
I am assuming you can follow directions carefully. In step4, make sure to select the “Memtest” menu item. Do NOT select the FreeDOS menu item… it wants to reformat your hard disk to DOS.
You do have backups of your important data, right?
There’s nothing too important on the computer yet seeing that it’s fairly new. We do have all discs for the software and whatnot if need be to factory reset. When do I know when it has completed one pass and when do I know if it passed or failed? This is all gibberish to me
Also, I’ve been reading up into this slightly, and I’ve read that it could be the memory mods. If that’s the case, do they have to be replaced? I know we have a 500GB Hard drive and replacing that is not cheap…
It will be obvious when you run the test. The screen will indicate testing progress and pass/fail. Failure message will be in red against a blue background. You can see it all the way across the room.
Use your digital camera to take a picture of the Memtest86 screen, and post the picture in this thread. Make sure to use the macro setting on the camera.
Oh no, I was referring to the screenshot you posted. The Cached was 16GB and the RsvdMem was 15GB. I’m letting it run again, and I’ll post pictures later in the day
This thread makes me a bit nostalgic… I haven’t seen a BSOD since I switch to Mac 6 years ago! In fact, aside from system updates that require it, my laptop hasn’t been restarted or turned off in 6 years…
Anyways, ALL MY BSOD’s were on XP or earlier, so take this with a grain of salt… Windows does (or used to, at least) keep an alert log that’ll tell you why it crashed. You may need to do some googling to find it though… I’ve never looked for it in Win 7 or 8. After that, google the errors you see in the log and see what they’re related to. That’ll help identify what caused the issue. Of course, Ether’s testing methodology is a great one for inspecting each part of the computer separately… Knowing where the error is might help you narrow it down.
