[Naean]

I'm having computer problems yet again. Brilliant(!) So, let's get right into the details.


Problem A:

9 out of 10 times, whenever I start my computer and log on to my account, I have to disable and then re-enable my Local Area Connection in order for the Local Area Connection to work.

Otherwise, it defaults to just detecting the Wireless Network connection, which is obviously not what I want.

I've had this problem both in my current Windows 7 installation and my previous one.


Problem B:

This problem is extremely fucking irritating. For some weird reason, I can no longer play Grand Theft Auto: Episodes From Liberty City or Need for Speed Carbon without the threat of my monitor completely blacking out and going on standby mode. When this happens, the audio also cuts off. I can only play games for 5 to 10 minutes until my monitor decides to say ‘fuck it’ and goes into standby mode.

I doubt that many any other games would also work without encountering this issue. I haven't tried yet. (Although the KEGA Fusion emulator is an exception that works absolutely fine, both full screen and windowed. The monitor blackouts seem to affect any games that are directly powered by NVIDIA in some shape or form.)

The only (and I mean THE ONLY WAY) to remedy this is to either force a restart of the computer via the restart button on the computer tower, or force a shut down and turn on via the computer tower power button, or switch off and switch on at the mains. Control, Alt & Delete, and any other keyboard commands you can think of do not work. Ejecting the game disk also has no effect whatsoever. Additionally, switching the monitor on and off via both the monitor itself or the mains, and disconnecting and reconnecting the power cable at the back of the monitor also does not do anything.

These blackouts NEVER happen once when not playing NVIDIA powered games.

This is a problem that I did not have whatsoever in my previous installation. This only started happening as soon as I started playing NVIDIA powered games using my current Windows 7 installation. It is very weird that I have got this new problem, as previously I did not have any problems like this at all. The last time I had any issues with NVIDIA powered games, it was BlueScreen related....


Problem C:

Today, my computer has one again encountered a BlueScreen error. How lovely!

It is once again a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT error, which I have previously had many times in past Windows installations. According to BlueScreenView, afd.sys, ndis.sys and ntoskrnl.exe are directly involved in the BlueScreen error. I was rendering something in 1080p H.D. in Sony Vegas Pro at the time the BlueScreen occured, by the way.

This is the first time that I have encountered a BlueScreen error in my current Windows 7 installation.

I've had this problem both in my current Windows 7 installation and my previous one.



So obviously as you can see my computer is pretty much fucked up the ass with numerous problems, and combining all the issues together it is overall an exceptionally frustrating experience using my computer.

If I come to the conclusion that I can't get these three problems fixed via help from fellow Sonic Retro members (I wouldn't blame you though.), I guess I'm left with no option other than to take my computer into a computer shop. It'll cost money but if it's needed in order to get it fixed, so be it.

Finally, I'd like to make it very clear that I have NOT ONCE overclocked any of my hardware whatsoever.

Furthermore, between my previous Windows 7 installation and my current Windows 7 installation, I DID NOT open up my computer tower and change/replace/fiddle with any hardware at all.


I apologise if I sound rather annoying, but honestly my computer is seriously putting my patience on the last straw.

While I was using some of my previous Windows installations, I made a topic a long time ago when I was having severe BlueScreen error problems. I greatly appreciated all the extensive effort and time that many Sonic Retro members put in to try and help me solve my previous computer issues. Seriously, I'm still very thankful for that.



Here are some of my computer specifications:




Minidump file from the recent BlueScreen:

http://www.mediafire...n1pbz3py97mu4d4


Of course, I'll be more than happy to provide additional information from elsewhere in my system if need be.



I would really appreciate any help or assistance whatsoever that could possibly get my computer working properly again. As always, many thanks in advance!

This post has been edited by Naean: 25 March 2012 - 12:58 PM

[SteelBrush]

Try backing up and reinstalling Win7. It's also worth trying a Linux live CD to see if any problems occur, it will help identify I'd the problem is hardware or software. I have a similar problem with my ethernet port in Win7. It will occasionally loose connection with the router, stopping me from accessing the internet, I have to reset the ethernet controller, and even the router itself sometimes, it is definitely a windows problem, as it doesn't happen in Linux or if I'm using my phone through wifi.

[Herm the Germ]

The PFN_LIST_CORRUPT blue screen happens with me time and again, as well -- far as I can tell, it, among the many other blue-screens and the fact that my computer sometimes boots up without recognizing 100% of my RAM seems to be a pretty good indicator for me that the motherboard is pretty much fucked in some way.

In your case, it could be anything from the graphics card (likely, I think? Given the black-screening happening in NVidia-powered stuff…) to the RAM to, well, a single bus-line on the Motherboard, me thinks.

[gummyworm]

I need more detailed specs to make a complete assessment:

Motherboard make/model
Ram make/model
Video card make/model
make/model of attached peripherals
a list of installed applications

Off the top of my head though - Have you checked with your motherboard manufacturer for driver and bios updates? Have you updated your video drivers recently?

Also - It should be noted that overclocking doesn't ALWAYS damage hardware. I've had an athlon x2 OC'd to 4.0 ghz - the beast is nearly 5 years old, and running like a champ.
I'm not saying OC damage is a MYTH, but if you do your research and know the limitations of your hardware, it's a perfectly viable way to wrench out extra performance.

[Naean]

SteelBrush, on 25 March 2012 - 05:46 PM, said:

Try backing up and reinstalling Win7. It's also worth trying a Linux live CD to see if any problems occur, it will help identify I'd the problem is hardware or software. I have a similar problem with my ethernet port in Win7. It will occasionally loose connection with the router, stopping me from accessing the internet, I have to reset the ethernet controller, and even the router itself sometimes, it is definitely a windows problem, as it doesn't happen in Linux or if I'm using my phone through wifi.

I reinstalled Windows 7 recently (Also the current Windows 7 installation.) because of this very network issue. I was hoping it would solve it, but it didn't, so I don't think that reinstalling Windows 7 yet again will help to solve it. In fact, I've had this issue ever since my very first installation of Windows 7. (Which was 32-bit, but that probably makes no difference.)

As requested, technical details about my computer will be posted once I'm at home again in a few hours.

This post has been edited by Naean: 26 March 2012 - 08:59 AM

[Naean]

gummyworm, on 25 March 2012 - 09:24 PM, said:

I need more detailed specs to make a complete assessment:

Motherboard make/model
Ram make/model
Video card make/model
make/model of attached peripherals
a list of installed applications

Off the top of my head though - Have you checked with your motherboard manufacturer for driver and bios updates? Have you updated your video drivers recently?

Also - It should be noted that overclocking doesn't ALWAYS damage hardware. I've had an athlon x2 OC'd to 4.0 ghz - the beast is nearly 5 years old, and running like a champ.
I'm not saying OC damage is a MYTH, but if you do your research and know the limitations of your hardware, it's a perfectly viable way to wrench out extra performance.

Sorry for the late reply, but I'm back now.

So, what's the best places on my computer to look in to find those detailed spec's? How do I check for bios and video driver updates?

[gummyworm]

Is it an OEM machine made by dell/HP? if that's the case, I'll just need the model number

[Naean]

gummyworm, on 26 March 2012 - 07:03 PM, said:

Is it an OEM machine made by dell/HP? if that's the case, I'll just need the model number

Nope, my computer was custom built at a shop. I think it's got an ASUS motherboard or something, judging by the splash screen I see before my computer boots into Windows.

This post has been edited by Naean: 27 March 2012 - 02:55 AM

[TmEE]

Soundsl ike GFX card caused problems to me. It would do good to look underneath and around the GFX card heatsink, aswell as CPU heatsink while you're there...

[Herm the Germ]

Naean, on 26 March 2012 - 03:35 PM, said:

So, what's the best places on my computer to look in to find those detailed spec's?

You could try running Speccy.

[Naean]

Herm the Germ, on 27 March 2012 - 07:43 AM, said:

Naean, on 26 March 2012 - 03:35 PM, said:

So, what's the best places on my computer to look in to find those detailed spec's?

You could try running Speccy.

Thanks a lot for that. Quite useful and in depth software!

gummyworm, on 25 March 2012 - 09:24 PM, said:

I need more detailed specs to make a complete assessment:

Motherboard make/model
Ram make/model
Video card make/model
make/model of attached peripherals
a list of installed applications

Off the top of my head though - Have you checked with your motherboard manufacturer for driver and bios updates? Have you updated your video drivers recently?

Also - It should be noted that overclocking doesn't ALWAYS damage hardware. I've had an athlon x2 OC'd to 4.0 ghz - the beast is nearly 5 years old, and running like a champ.
I'm not saying OC damage is a MYTH, but if you do your research and know the limitations of your hardware, it's a perfectly viable way to wrench out extra performance.

Apologies for being image heavy, but I didn't feel like typing a load of stuff out (Programs and Features) as well as screwing up the text formatting via copying and pasting (Piriform Speccy).


Piriform Speccy:

CPU:



RAM:



Motherboard:



Graphics:



Network - 1:



Network - 2:



Peripherals - 1:



Peripherals - 2:




Control Panel:

Programs and Features:




So, what are the best actions for me to take next?

This post has been edited by Naean: 28 March 2012 - 10:46 AM

[HighFrictionZone]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but PFN_LIST_CORRUPT would indicate that there is some sort of problem with your memory. Perhaps try running a memory test to rule out the faulty memory.

Windows 7 includes a memory diagnostic tool, but if that doesn't detect anything you could also try downloading a memtest+ iso and burning that to disk.

To access the Windows 7 memory diagnostic, open the start menu and in the search box type "mdsched" and pres enter. Click "Restart now and check for problems" (or, you could select the other option and it will check next time you boot your computer)

ALTERNATIVELY: If, for some reason, you can't do the above you can access the memory diagnostic as thus: when you reboot your computer, mash the fuck out of your F8 key until the "Advanced Boot Options" screen appears. It is important you do this after the BIOS but before Windows loads. Once you're on the "Advanced Boot Options" screen, hit the Escape key once. Now you should be on a screen labeled "Windows Boot Manager" - if so, simply press tab once and that will select "Windows Memory Diagnostics"

Let Memory Diagnostics do its thang (or Memtest+, if you chose that route) and it will report back. Do note that there is no 100% guarantee that faulty memory is the problem or that these tools will necessarily detect it. But if you do have faulty RAM, that is an easy enough fix: Find the faulty module, replace it. Or just replace it all. RAM is not terribly expensive. And chances are good that if you do have faulty RAM, it's also the cause of other, seemingly unrelated problems.

No idea on the Local Area Connections problem though. Perhaps double the dataforces remove the device driver and then rescan? I don't know.

[Naean]

Thanks for all the responses. I've found out the reason why my monitor has been blacking out.

Using Speccy, I have discovered that in fact my computer's NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX/9800 GTX+ has been overheating whenever I play GTA EFLC for too long, thus causing monitor black outs. Upon opening my computer, it seems that there is simply not enough ventilation for the graphics card to cool down. It doesn't have its own fan*, and the fan above it has been positioned so that it just blows air straight into the side of my computer case. (Which doesn't really have any ventilation holes in it.) Needless to say, I don't think my computer was custom built by the brightest bunch of people.

So, I'm going to be saving up all the money I can, and fingers crossed when my 20th birthday comes along this April 30th, I'll have enough cash to get my computer properly seen to and fitted with plenty of ventilation and most likely a new computer case.


I'm still not sure why I'm having the network issue, though. Removing the driver in Device Manager and scanning for hardware changes only works once. (Just like the disabling and re-enabling of the Local Area Connection.) I'm going to try switching from the Thomson router I'm currently using to a Netgear router to see if that changes anything. My mum's Windows XP computer never suffers from the networking issue my Windows 7 computer has, so maybe its a compatibility issue at hand here....


Oh, and as for running memory tests/diagnostics, I've done that many times in the past on previous Windows installations with both Memtest and the built in Windows 7 tool, and they never found anything. I doubt that they would find something now. (I ran Memtest for over 10 hours with no detections!)


* Edit: Upon closer inspection, it did in fact come with its own built in fan, but it is no longer working.

This post has been edited by Naean: 01 April 2012 - 02:57 PM

[gummyworm]

Overheating is a very common issue - especially among that generation of cards

I'd recommend cleaning out your CPU's heatsink - it's running a little hot for an x2. (mine used to run at 55*C when it was overclocked to like... 3.5ghz)

have you considered a different heatsink for your 9800?

[Naean]

gummyworm, on 01 April 2012 - 07:29 AM, said:

Overheating is a very common issue - especially among that generation of cards

I'd recommend cleaning out your CPU's heatsink - it's running a little hot for an x2. (mine used to run at 55*C when it was overclocked to like... 3.5ghz)

have you considered a different heatsink for your 9800?

Thanks, but you don't have to worry about my graphics card or anything else like that any more.

I did an extensive hoover of the inside of my computer, and it is running much better now. All the fans and components got a good de-dusting.

With the help of a friend over Skype, I also replaced the broken fan for my graphics card with a new USB powered one, detached from a netbook cooler I bought from Poundland a while ago! It works like a real charm, and I'm no longer having the graphics card overheating or screen blacking out. Great stuff.

The only problem remaining now is my network connection issue. I'm going to try switching to my Netgear router soon, as I think that the Thomson one currently in use doesn't exactly have the best compatibility with Windows 7 64-bit.

This post has been edited by Naean: 01 April 2012 - 02:33 PM