Revert Q6600 to original clock settings?

[Vamp]

I recently got a PC with a Q6600 2.4ghz OC'd to 3.0gh. It's running on a ASUS P5N-D 775 ATX M/Board with XP SP3.

I've been getting random hard crashes lately...I can game fine without any problem, it just seems that at random (but somewhat frequent - as in once or twice a day) it'll reboot.

I'm guessing it might have to do with the OC.

How can I go about reverting the CPU to its original settings in order to try remedy the problem?

Could it be another factor, like service pack 3, maybe?

Any help is appreciated!

[lynx]

Although it is unlikely to be related to SP3, there's certainly a possibility that there's a driver problem so you should check that out first.

You need to turn off Automatic restart after failure. Right click on "My computer" and select "Properties". Choose the "Advanced" tab and click on "Settings in the "Startup and Recovery" box. Now uncheck the option "Automatically restart", click "OK" and click "OK again. Next wait for the system to fail and check to see if you get a blue screen message. If you get one, you can check back here to find out what it means, or check on this site: http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm

If it doesn't reveal a driver problem, there are so many settings that may have been tweaked you would be best advised to check with the person who changed them before altering individual settings, you could make things worse.

Alternatively you can change all the settings to default. If this is the route you wish to take it is fairly simple to effect. Reboot the system, and press the DEL key before the system starts to load to enter bios setup. Once you've got into the bios setup simply press the F5 key to load defaults (you may be asked to confirm the change). Next press F10 to save and exit (you will be asked to confirm). The system will work in this configuration but it may not be optimal for the things you've got attached. Without knowing the exact configuration of your system it is impossible to say what changes you might want to make to improve this, but most system builders wouldn't know what to change so they would leave the default options anyway.

[Vamp]

Shot a lot dude! Reverted to SP2 and no crashes as of yet. Thanks for the automatic restart tip. Never knew that one.

[Vamp]

Update:

Still getting these random crashes.

What I've done so far:

Disabled Auto Shut Down...Still get restarts with nothing in the event viewer and no minidumps.

Replaced PSU (due to a fault, I thought that the new PSU would sort out the crashes too.)

Ran Memtest86 with no errors.

Have run: Spybot, AVG, CCleaner, System Mechanic, MCAfee Anti Rootkit and a host of other security programs.

My vendor doesn't rate that OC'ing is the cause of the error due to the fact that the CPU runs fine under load and most of the crashes occur when it's idle.

Any further suggestions?

[Detale]

You might want reinstall the OS. I think it may be a driver problem now, you could try and sortt out which driver is f*cked but I find it's easier to just do a reinstall.

[MadIrish]

Have run: Spybot, AVG, CCleaner, System Mechanic, MCAfee Anti Rootkit and a host of other security programs.

Any further suggestions?

Outside chance.... any of that host of security programs might be conflicting, or an auto-update process / corrupted update definition file is? That might explain the frequency and fact it seems to happen when otherwise idle.

No idea what you have installed now of course, this could be way off, but how about you uninstall pretty much everything like that and either run it offline or reinstall the bare minimum from scratch, see if that does anything?

[Vamp]

Could I do an XP Repair, rather than a reinstall?

The load of security software was installed after the crashes started occuring in an effort to try remedy them.

[tesco]

Could I do an XP Repair, rather than a reinstall?

The load of security software was installed after the crashes started occuring in an effort to try remedy them.
You can try that if you want. No guarantees it will work.
You're better off doing the reinstall imo, more chance that that will work than a repair but you could get lucky. ;)

[Vamp]

How should I go about doing it? Uninstall XP and then simply reinstall, or is a format necessary?

[Detale]

Well you can't exactly "uninstall" XP you need to reinstall. I would suggest to do a "quick format" and completely reinstall the whole thing. Also I would suggest a Black XP version as they have always worked fantastic for me :) if you can't find it ou there PM me and I'll help you find a good version.

[anoneemuse]

check your log files first before you do anything

start-run- eventvwr.msc and check the system log

[Vamp]

Before I format, can someone maybe take a look at my overclock settings and tell me if they could be the problem...What information is needed and where do I find it? I didn't do the overclocking myself, but it's a Q6600 (2.4ghz) running at 3.0.ghz.

Everest reports CPU is at 20 degrees celcius when (relatively) idle. Crashes occur even when the CPU is not under load... Is this an indication that it's not the problem with the OCing?

Everest voltages:

CPU Core - 1.36v
+2.5V - 3.25V
+5V - 4.97V
+12V - 12.16V
+5V standby - 5.00V
VBat Battery - 3.15V

CPU Multiplier: 7.0X
CPU FSB 428.30mhz

[clocker]

Your core voltage appears to be stock, so it's fine.

I'd try lowering the FSB and upping the multiplier...maybe something like 375 x 8 and see what happens.