Freeze ups, reboots & BSODs - oh my!

Okay, for the past month or so, my PC has been, well... not a happy camper.

I'll be happily surfing the net or playing GTA VC (not putting a huge load on the system at all) when it'll just restart for no apparent reason.

But I have auto-reboot on errors disabled.

Another thing I should mention is the monitor stays on standby after the reboot most of the time.
So I'm forced to do a cold boot to get things running again.

Other times, the system will just freeze up, even if there's nothing running - idle at the desktop, playing a game or surfing the net - it makes no difference.

I've just reformatted and reinstalled XP and SP2.
I've got all the latest drivers and flashed the BIOS.
I've run memtest86 through multiple passes (using standard tests) and the RAM came up clean, but I'm not entirely convinced.

So, after much troubleshooting, I'm fairly sure it's not a software issue, so my prime suspects are, in order:

RAM
MOBO
GFX card

I've only seen a couple of BSODs, and both times they were very corrupted.
Here's an example
After much hunting around, I found it says

PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

Stop: 0X00000050

And the file that threw the error is called win32k.sys

I've googled the above info and found this on the MS knowledge base: KB329293

I tried to follow the directions KB329293 provided, but this damned comp can't even make it into safe mode - the driver list scrolls up the screen, then it just freezes - every time!

System specs
AMD Athlon XP 2200+
512MB DDR
Jetway V266B Mobo
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9200SE

If you need more info, just ask.

Any opinions advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Post a list of your processes just incase its in there (taskmanager)

ok, im just curious about something. when you go into the bios,or even windows, what year does it say it is? mine used to do a similar (not entirely similar) but similar thing, and my clock year was being changed by something, i have never found the cause tho. It would just happen randomly. I thought it was my mobo (asus p4c800-e deluxe) but aint figured it out yet. :( im just hoping to find someone like me, and maybe get it figured out.

D00d thats exactly what I keep getting, I would really like to know too.

@ 15% - I'm at college at the mo, but I'll post the processes list when I get home in a couple of hours.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mïcrösöül°V³

ok, im just curious about something. when you go into the bios,or even windows, what year does it say it is? mine used to do a similar (not entirely similar) but similar thing, and my clock year was being changed by something, i have never found the cause tho. It would just happen randomly. I thought it was my mobo (asus p4c800-e deluxe) but aint figured it out yet. :( im just hoping to find someone like me, and maybe get it figured out.

---

Glad you asked, because I'd forgotten about this until you mentioned it.
Before I flashed the BIOS to the latest version, there was a couple of times when I got a CRC error in Cmos during post.
The BIOS had reset itself to default settings and the date went back to 1/1/2003.
Another odd thing in POST is that I have 512MB RAM, but POST reports 524MB.

Do you have a soundcard or other cards?

Quote:

---

Another odd thing in POST is that I have 512MB RAM, but POST reports 524MB.

---

Don't worry about that. That is a non issue.

power supply?

maybe your system isnt getting enough power, just a guess tho

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Virtualbody1234

Do you have a soundcard or other cards?

Don't worry about that. That is a non issue.

---

Only card with it's own RAM is the GFX card (128MB)

Sound is on the mobo. I suspected that wasn't part of the problem, but thought I should add it for completeness. Thanks for the confirmation, VB.
Every little bit helps.

Only other cards are a NIC and a 56K winmodem.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by twister

power supply?

maybe your system isnt getting enough power, just a guess tho

---

Hmmm... hadn't thought of that. Will look into it.
My PSU is just a humble 350W jobby that came with the case.

Well of all things mentioned so far in this thread, I think it's the mobo. That isn't a very good mobo. Have you tried installing the chipset drivers? I think that is a VIA chipset.

It could be the powersupply. If you have another one then test that first.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VB

Well of all things mentioned so far in this thread, I think it's the mobo. That isn't a very good mobo. Have you tried installing the chipset drivers? I think that is a VIA chipset.

It could be the powersupply. If you have another one then test that first.

---

Correct, it certainly is a VIA chipset, and I've got the latest VIA hyperion 4 in 1 drivers installed.
I'll ask a mate if I can borrow a PSU, but I'm definately thinking the mobo is turning up its toes at this point.

I have the SAME problem as uNz; I don't think its his mobo or his psu. :ermm:

Bad news - it could be just about anthing.

Good news?

Quote:

---

usually defective RAM, Level 2 Cache or Video RAM

---

Given the horrendous video image I think the problem lies with the graphics gard, but I would suggest you check temps and Mobo too.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lynx

Bad news - it could be just about anthing.

Good news?Given the horrendous video image I think the problem lies with the graphics gard, but I would suggest you check temps and Mobo too.

---

I was working my way down the list on the bad news site as my checklist.
Use Troubleshooting Tools - Done all of that.
Perform a Soak Test - Did that too.
Check the RAM - Did that too. (standard tests - 3 passes, 0 errors)
Get Desperate - Totally done that. :lol:

None of those things crashed the system, so I still don't know whats causing the problem(s)

...and that's as far as I'd got before posting the problem here.

Disable all BIOS caching and speed-up options. - That's a thought, will try that.
Disable power management. - and will try that too.
If you are overclocking, don't. - I don't.

Antivirus software can cause this error. Disable any antivirus software you have. - Been using Avast! for months now and its never been a problem...

Run Chkdsk /f to check for disk errors because corrupt disk volumes can cause this, too. - Did that and ran the Powermax utility from the ultimate boot CD - No problems found in either case.

Check Event Viewer to see if there are any additional errors or warnings that might provide a clue. - Nothing out of the ordinary there.

So...

Graphics card eh?
Okay, will see if I can borrow a card from a mate and do the swap-out dance.

Oh.. and here's my processes as requested by 15%

http://www.sighost.us/members/unz/processes.png


Thanks for your input so far guys, I really appreciate it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gam3Guy

I have the SAME problem as uNz; I don't think its his mobo or his psu. :ermm:

---

Well the only thing our systems have in common apart from the problem is they both run XP pro corp with SP2... :unsure:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by uNz[i]

Oh.. and here's my processes as requested by 15%

http://www.sighost.us/members/unz/processes.png


Thanks for your input so far guys, I really appreciate it.

---

Did you blank out the user column in that pic yourself?

Well spotted, Chewie. No, that image is completely unedited. :blink:
I hadn't even noticed it tbh. An acute case of not being able to see the forest for the trees.

Edit: and there's no names shown in the Users tab, either...
http://www.sighost.us/members/unz/users.png

I had similar problems with my comp, look at the second page for the thread "Spontaneous restarts", and I fixed it by installing AntiCrash from Dachshund Software.
This neat little program has kept my computer completely without crashes for 4 days straight now.
No freezes, no lockups, no restarts, no nothing.

And btw, I dont see any users in my task manager either lol.

Well, I threw a new case fan into my box this afternoon (the one it replaced was slow, noisy and prone to intermittent vibrations), and so far my system's running great compared to this morning's crashfest.

Stay tuned though, things'll probably go pear shaped again anyway... :ph34r:
If they do, I'll try anticrash, Neo. Can't see how a single click shareware util would fix anything hardware related though... :ermm:

New question. What happened to the User Name?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by uNz[i]

Antivirus software can cause this error. Disable any antivirus software you have. - Been using Avast! for months now and its never been a problem...

---

Don't you want to be certain though? it's worth a shot. ;)



But that Username issue should probably be fixed as well. :huh:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by rossco_2004

Don't you want to be certain though? it's worth a shot. ;)



But that Username issue should probably be fixed as well. :huh:

---

Well, I've been using Avast! for at least 6 months without having a single problem with it.
Why would it suddenly throw my whole system out of whack now?
If it was buggy, surely the crashes would occur on a more regular basis, rather than just the random occurrences I'm experiencing?

As for the username thing, how on Earth do I fix that anyway? :unsure:
Oh yeah... and on that subject, I loaded up my Admin account and checked out the processes and users in there too.
Same deal. no usernames anywhere in task manager. :blink:

Back to the crashes etc. Had a bit of luck today. I was talking to a techie mate about my PC problems, and he's suggested that the CMOS battery could be going flat, possibly because of a faulty PSU.
He's very kindly offered to lend me a similar PSU to my own as well as an identical ATI radeon 9200SE so I can do the swapout thing without having to mess about installing new drivers.

Those things, along with a new CMOS battery, should enable me to eliminate the majority of my suspects list. If the crashes continue, then I'll know for sure the mobo is to blame.

check if ur Prossesor's(Cpu) fan is not HALF-Death, like it stops suddenly or working slowly, i had simmilar issue but after changing my CPU fan everything went ok.
some MOBO's has an option for alerting in case of fan failuer, if u got that option enable it and ull know wheter its fan problem or not.

Did that already. Checked out the CPU fan when I installed my new case fan yesterday.
It's not binding or anything, and it ran ok when I fired up the system.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by uNz[i]

I was talking to a techie mate about my PC problems, and he's suggested that the CMOS battery could be going flat, possibly because of a faulty PSU.

---

Hmmm...no.
The CMOS battery may be dodgy, but that would have nothing to do with the PSU.

Interesting theory though.

i have the same problem but instead af 0x50 mine is 0x8E

Clocker: Well, either way the CMOS battery is getting tested and/or replaced.

HCT: Google is your friend - MS Bug Check 0x8E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
I'd start with your video drivers. Good luck.



Speaking of video drivers, something new to report. I fired up the ole crashbox last night and the desktop was only occupying a quarter of the screen!

After a brief WTF?? session, I eventually went into Advanced Display Properties > Monitor tab, and after much squinting at tiny text, found that something called "Default monitor" had appeared in the 'Monitor type' section above the "Plug and Play monitor" that is supposed to be there.

I have no idea where that came from. My best guess is perhaps the video card had unseated itself or the drivers had gone belly up?

I uninstalled the drivers and the video card in device manager, then cracked open the case and reseated the card, even though it looked like it was sitting in the slot properly.
Booted up and let windows find the card again, then installed the latest drivers... again.

Checked the Monitor tab in Advanced Display properties and the mysterious default monitor was gone.
So far, this system has been running for the best part of a day now without a single freeze, reboot or BSOD.
I'm just hoping the phantom monitor isn't a symptom of anything else.
Stay tuned...

Someone mention about the clock not saying correct time?? when i looked into that last time i was told by a few people it could be a BIOS problem...worth a mention i suppose.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by uNz[i]

Clocker: Well, either way the CMOS battery is getting tested and/or replaced.

HCT: Google is your friend - MS Bug Check 0x8E: KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED
I'd start with your video drivers. Good luck.



Speaking of video drivers, something new to report. I fired up the ole crashbox last night and the desktop was only occupying a quarter of the screen!

After a brief WTF?? session, I eventually went into Advanced Display Properties > Monitor tab, and after much squinting at tiny text, found that something called "Default monitor" had appeared in the 'Monitor type' section above the "Plug and Play monitor" that is supposed to be there.

I have no idea where that came from. My best guess is perhaps the video card had unseated itself or the drivers had gone belly up?

I uninstalled the drivers and the video card in device manager, then cracked open the case and reseated the card, even though it looked like it was sitting in the slot properly.
Booted up and let windows find the card again, then installed the latest drivers... again.

Checked the Monitor tab in Advanced Display properties and the mysterious default monitor was gone.
So far, this system has been running for the best part of a day now without a single freeze, reboot or BSOD.
I'm just hoping the phantom monitor isn't a symptom of anything else.
Stay tuned...

---

no mine is this error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
STOP: 0x8E
win32.sys

but ill check the video driver just in case

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HCT

no mine is this error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
STOP: 0x8E
win32.sys

but ill check the video driver just in case

---

Oh I see. Well, you only gave me the stop code to work with, so there you go. :lol:

im sorry i mislead you my english is kind of slopy

No problem... a conversation can be hard to follow when it's purely text based.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HCT

no mine is this error PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
STOP: 0x8E
win32.sys

---

This doesn't make sense. The system uses the stop code to look up the description.

If the stop code is 0x8E then the error is KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED. The stop code which causes the message PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA is 0x50.

If your system is displaying the wrong descriptions for the stop codes then something is seriously screwed, I would suggest a reinstall is necessary.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by lynx

This doesn't make sense. The system uses the stop code to look up the description.

If the stop code is 0x8E then the error is KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED. The stop code which causes the message PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA is 0x50.

If your system is displaying the wrong descriptions for the stop codes then something is seriously screwed, I would suggest a reinstall is necessary.

---

no wonder its been hard to find a solution. stupid me :wacko:

Can I just jump in and ask about my system Re-Boots...been gettin em for a couple of days..not playing games or anything intensive..just opening folders etc??!!?

Here are my Specs - (do the problems lie here?)

SiSoftware Sandra

Processor
Model : AMD Athlon(tm) XP 2800+
Speed : 2.08GHz
Model Number : 2800 (estimated)
Performance Rating : PR3020 (estimated)
Type : Standard
L2 On-board Cache : 512kB ECC Synchronous Write-Back (16-way, 64 byte line size)

Mainboard
Bus(es) : ISA AGP PCI IMB USB i2c/SMBus
MP Support : No
MP APIC : Yes
System BIOS : American Megatrends Inc. P1.80
System : K7S8XE+
Mainboard : K7S8XE+
Total Memory : 511MB DDR-SDRAM

Chipset 1
Model : ASRock Inc SiS746 CPU to PCI Bridge
Front Side Bus Speed : 2x 167MHz (334MHz data rate)
Total Memory : 512MB DDR-SDRAM
Memory Bus Speed : 2x 133MHz (266MHz data rate)

Video System
Monitor/Panel : Default Monitor
Adapter : ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 SERIES (Omega 2.5.90)
Adapter : ALL-IN-WONDER 9800 SERIES - Secondary (Omega 2.5.90)

Physical Storage Devices
Removable Drive : Floppy disk drive
Hard Disk : Maxtor 6Y080L0
CD-ROM/DVD : LITE-ON DVD SOHD-167T
CD-ROM/DVD : _NEC DVD_RW ND-2500A
CD-ROM/DVD : Generic DVD-ROM SCSI CdRom Device

Logical Storage Devices
1.44MB 3.5" (A:) : N/A
Hard Disk (C:) : 76.3GB (35.0GB, 46% Free) (NTFS)
CD-ROM/DVD (D:) : N/A
CD-ROM/DVD (E:) : N/A
Tutorial cd (F:) : 604MB (0MB, 0% Free) (CDFS)

Peripherals
Serial/Parallel Port(s) : 1 COM / 1 LPT
USB Controller/Hub : SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : SiS 7001 PCI to USB Open Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : SiS PCI to USB Enhanced Host Controller
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
USB Controller/Hub : USB Root Hub
Keyboard : Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural PS/2 Keyboard
Mouse : HID-compliant mouse
Human Interface : USB Human Interface Device

MultiMedia Device(s)
Device : Standard Game Port
Device : C-Media AC97 Audio Device

Printers and Faxes
Model : EPSON Stylus C84 Series

Power Management
AC Line Status : On-Line

Operating System(s)
Windows System : Microsoft Windows XP/2002 Professional (Win32 x86) 5.01.2600 (Service Pack 2)

Network Services
Adapter : SiS 900-Based PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter

I do get this error message in Si-Soft Sandra -

Warning W2541 - FSB exceeds chipset rated FSB. If you’re over clocking* the system just be aware that it may not be as stable as you may think.
Fix: Reduce the FSB in the BIOS settings/jumpers to the rated FSB.

*Im not overclocking shit by the way!!

These temps are not too much are they?? -

SiSoftware Sandra

Temperature Sensor(s)
Board Temperature : 36.0°C / 96.8°F
CPU Temperature : 51.5°C / 124.7°F

Cooling Device(s)
Auto Fan Speed Control : No
CPU Fan Speed : 4821rpm

Voltage Sensor(s)
CPU Voltage : 1.65V
+3.3V Voltage : 3.22V
+5V Voltage : 4.70V
+12V Voltage : 12.10V
-12V Voltage : 1.30V
-5V Voltage : 2.19V
Standby Voltage : 4.82V


I think also my Power Supply is about 300w maybe 350w tops!!!

All I can suggest is what worked for me...

Uninstall video drivers and video adapter in device manager.
Open case, reseat the video card, reboot and let Windows re-detect the video card, then install the latest drivers.

Final update: (knocks on wood)
3 days now, and this PC has been running flawlessly.

I was all set to go out and buy a new mobo. Now I don't have to.
With the money I saved thanks to you guys, I can get myself a second hand monitor to replace my blurry old 15 inch CRT.

:beerchug:

Now... what to do about that wierd task manager problem?? :wacko: