Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but it looks like a great forum with lots of pros with valuable info to share.

So, here's my problem... About a week or two ago, my pc started to reboot/bsod at random times, the time intervals started to get shorter and shorter. My first thought was that I had either a nasty bug on my pc or some sort of driver/software conflict. So after long and intensive pc checks/cleanups and checking/updating drivers, I just said heck with it and did a complere reformat/install of windows xp pro. Well, I'm still having a problem before I loading anything but the essentials items I need on my pc (mobo drives, etc...). So now I'm thinking maybe cpu/mobo (I thought this earlier too, but was in denial...) or ram. I have 3 sticks of ram and took them all out and tried to run the pc with only one in at a time to see if one of them were bad. No luck, pc still bsod's, (by the way, the intervals are much shorter now, the first after about 5 mins of pc usage, then just before the pc loads windows on subsequent startups). So now I'm almost 100% sure it's my cpu/mobo. The thing that is strange to me is that I can run the pc all day long without any bsod's while in safe mode... That part confuses me... I guess, what I'm looking for here is a confirmation from someone agreeing with me that this is my problem. The thing that gets me is that I built this pc myself and have only had it about 3 years, shouldn't these components last longer than that?? I'm kinda to'ed at the whole situation and just looking for some guidance... I have attached my 3 latest dump files for viewing. Thanks for your help and I look forward to any suggestions!!

Thanks,
Scott

Attached Files

	Mini072707-04.dmp (64.0 KB, 5 views)
	Mini072707-03.dmp (64.0 KB, 1 views)
	Mini072707-02.dmp (64.0 KB, 0 views)

Sorry to tell you, but the BSOD does point to hardware failure, from the information the Microsoft site has given me about it.Of course, we need to make sure that's what's causing it, and then we need to find what device is the culprit (doesn't that sound like fun? Well, maybe not for you, but it is for me! ).

Okay, so the results for this BSOD don't jump out to me as anything but memory. This is probably going to be the most frustrating part for me, and for you, especially if I'm wrong. But then we'd at least have something narrowed out, so it's time for the almighty Memtest!

First, you need to go [link=http://www.memtest86.com]here[/link], and download the file. I suggest putting it to a floppy disk, and make sure that you're downloading th emost recent version.

----------------------
Installation

For windows installation begin by downloading either the Pre-Compiled Windows package to build a boot-able floppy disk or an ISO (zip version) to create a boot-able CD-ROM. After the file is downloaded an extract must be done to uncompress the file(s). To extract right click on the downloaded file and select the "Extract All" option. The extract option will let you choose where the files will be extracted to. To build a bootable floppy go the the folder where the files were extracted and click on the Install icon. The floppy disk will appear to be unformatted by Windows after the install is complete.

To build a boot-able CD-ROM use your CD burning software to create an image from the un-zipped ISO file.
----------------------

After you download it and put it onto your floppy or CD, boot up your PC and load it up with only one stick of RAM in. I suggest running it 3 to 5 hours for each stick, and then put all the ones that show up as having 0 errors after that time back in, and run it for about 12 hours on that. These numbers don't come from a professional or anything, but I've used those times and they're okay. Remember, if you start getting errors, you can just stop the test then and there and note the stick as bad.

Remember, only change the sticks when the PC is off.

Good luck, and I hope to hear back from you on this issue once your tests are done.

Thanks for your quick reply, I will test my sticks of RAM and let you know the results.

Thanks again,
Scott

Ok Rodents, here are the results... I tested each stick (3 of them, 2x512 and 1x1024) for a min of 12 hours each. They all showed 0 errors during the test... Any ideas for what to try next?? I really appreciate the help, this problem is stumping badly.

Thanks,
Scott

Have you tried it with all 3 in? Maybe it's a bad slot. I have a few ideas, but I need this completely narrowed out.

Yeah, I actually ran memtest a couple of weeks ago with all 3 in. I was noticing that when I would play Battlefield 2 and other high intensive games, they would get really choppy. I thought maybe RAM was going out or CPU was overheating, so I did the memtest, but no errors came back...

Since your "My PC" section says you are running Windows XP Pro with a Nvidia GeForce 7800 GS, I need you to boot up and download this:

ForceWare Release 162

And install it. It isn't unheard of to get a hardware error from a bad driver, though I would have expected to see the driver file mentioned, but it can't hurt.