Windows Updates (Vista64 bit)

[Leader Bee]

Is it possible that windows updates can interfere with the stability of your machine?

 

Recently my computer has been experiencing random freezes (ctrl, Alt + Delete doesnt work and there is no cursor movement, basically no access to the system at all and forces me to shut down the computer manually) I also experience BSoD "Driver Power state failure" but only when my computer has been on for some time AND only when I run the shutdown sequence.

 

The Machine will show the "shutting down" screen for about 15-20 minutes then go BSOD and reset itself - once the OS has loaded again a subsequent shutdown will happen almost immediately (about 10 secs) after i've told it to do so.

 

Since this problem has begun occuring i've run a full system defragmentation, registry cleaner, virus scan and cleared temporary files. I've even run a version of Memtest 86 incase it was a RAM problem - though i'm not sure how accurate this was because my machine is a dual core and i dont think it's 100% designed for that and opened her up to scrape all the gunk out of the fans.

 

Before I go last resort and do a format of the machine I came up with the idea that this may be a problem with recent updates and patches that windows automagically installs rather than a hardware issue ( I really hope it isnt cause i'm not all that tech savvy and wouldnt know how and what to replace)

 

Do you IT guys reckon I could fix this problem with a rollback to the patches?

 

Asus Striker II Formula MoBo

1010 Watt PSU

2 Nvidia GTX280 in SLI

[Royston]

Is it possible that windows updates can interfere with the stability of your machine?

 

Recently my computer has been experiencing random freezes (ctrl, Alt + Delete doesnt work and there is no cursor movement, basically no access to the system at all and forces me to shut down the computer manually) I also experience BSoD "Driver Power state failure" but only when my computer has been on for some time AND only when I run the shutdown sequence.

 

The Machine will show the "shutting down" screen for about 15-20 minutes then go BSOD and reset itself - once the OS has loaded again a subsequent shutdown will happen almost immediately (about 10 secs) after i've told it to do so.

 

Since this problem has begun occuring i've run a full system defragmentation, registry cleaner, virus scan and cleared temporary files. I've even run a version of Memtest 86 incase it was a RAM problem - though i'm not sure how accurate this was because my machine is a dual core and i dont think it's 100% designed for that and opened her up to scrape all the gunk out of the fans.

 

Before I go last resort and do a format of the machine I came up with the idea that this may be a problem with recent updates and patches that windows automagically installs rather than a hardware issue ( I really hope it isnt cause i'm not all that tech savvy and wouldnt know how and what to replace)

 

Do you IT guys reckon I could fix this problem with a rollback to the patches?

 

Asus Striker II Formula MoBo

1010 Watt PSU

2 Nvidia GTX280 in SLI

 

As the name suggests, it's likely to be a driver problem. How do you update your drivers ? If you let windows do it for you, where you've previously downloaded from a website (especially for display adapters) you'll run into problems. You're probably better off sending your dump files to microsoft support, who'll be able to locate the source of the problem. You've got a new system, with ample power, although you didn't give us your hdd details (unlikely it's a power issue though) and you've checked your ram...so it's probably not a hardware issue. I'm quite envious of your set up btw

[Leader Bee]

As the name suggests, it's likely to be a driver problem. How do you update your drivers ? If you let windows do it for you, where you've previously downloaded from a website (especially for display adapters) you'll run into problems. You're probably better off sending your dump files to microsoft support, who'll be able to locate the source of the problem. You've got a new system, with ample power, although you didn't give us your hdd details (unlikely it's a power issue though) and you've checked your ram...so it's probably not a hardware issue. I'm quite envious of your set up btw

 

For windows updates I let it do those automatically, as for GPU & Mobo updates (Which i've not done in a little while) I usually visit http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and use option 2.

 

I'm concerned that the random freezes are not related to the driver issue and have read that this could be related to heat. AI Suite says my internals are never reaching above 65 C though and would have expected this to be a reasonable temperature.

 

Like I said, i'm not a techie so I didnt really see the need to post HDD specs assuming it was just a storage medium and didnt really affect anythign in a significant manner - HD1 = 300GB HD2 = WD Raptor 10,000 RPM with 60gb space ( I generally dont use this much)

 

plus I have 8 gig of DDR2 in 4 sticks if that matters?

 

Dual core I7 cpu i think, clocked at 3. something

Edited July 23, 2010 by Leader Bee

[Cap'n Refsmmat]

Cursory Googling indicates this is likely to be a hardware problem.

 

Also, you can go to C:\WINDOWS\Minidump for "minidumps", which are extra-detailed information about what went wrong at the time of the crash. Find the latest one and see if you can attach it here. (You might want to put it in a Zip file first if it's really big.) The minidump usually can tell you what hardware is at fault.

 

Or, instead of uploading, check out this article:

 

http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives/2009/01/17/analyzing-windows-crash-dump-or-minidump-with-whocrashed/

[Royston]

For windows updates I let it do those automatically, as for GPU & Mobo updates (Which i've not done in a little while) I usually visit http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us and use option 2.

 

I'm concerned that the random freezes are not related to the driver issue and have read that this could be related to heat. AI Suite says my internals are never reaching above 65 C though and would have expected this to be a reasonable temperature.

 

Like I said, i'm not a techie so I didnt really see the need to post HDD specs assuming it was just a storage medium and didnt really affect anythign in a significant manner - HD1 = 300GB HD2 = WD Raptor 10,000 RPM with 60gb space ( I generally dont use this much)

 

The only reason I asked is more storage, generally means more power consumption, so I think we can rule that one out.

 

Here's a way to create dump files, that you can send to microsoft support...dump files

 

If you're system is not overheating, the random freezing could just be a driver conflict, you may have something lurking that's causing problems. You could try driver sweeper...Driver Sweeper reboot in safe mode (with internet access) and get everything you need, and reinstall your drivers. But your first port of call really should be with ms support, with your dump files. If they can't find anything, then at least the possibilities of the problem have been narrowed down.

Edited July 23, 2010 by Snail

[Leader Bee]

Well tank you very much gentlemen; I'm at work currently so a minidump will have to wait - I've posted this problem at the tech support forums too and they've asked for the exact same thing, though a little more bluntly without any speculation on what it could be.

 

I'd really like to just be a software problem because that means I won't have to worry about finding which piece of hardware has gone wrong and replacing it. I've heard this can be a nightmare to narrow down.

 

You've both been very helpful.

[Ncurtisbrown]

As the name suggests, it's likely to be a driver problem. How do you update your drivers ? If you let windows do it for you, where you've previously downloaded from a website (especially for display adapters) you'll run into problems. You're probably better off sending your dump files to microsoft support, who'll be able to locate the source of the problem. You've got a new system, with ample power, although you didn't give us your hdd details (unlikely it's a power issue though) and you've checked your ram...so it's probably not a hardware issue. I'm quite envious of your set up btw

 

When I used windows driver updates to update my laptop, It crashed the computer, and I had to do a system restore, I prefer to do it manually if you have the time and energy.