Solved strange errors, video and audio playback problems

ezekiel87 · Aug 27, 2011

hi there.
so i've built a new pc for myself. i encountered some strange errors and i wanna ask for advice.
for example, i play "team fortress 2" for more than 15 mins, the game would crash to desktop. after this, audio playback is broken (i hear strange noises from time to time, distorted mp3 playback at each 4-5 seconds)
the video playback is also broken (vlc player displays image like it would lack the proper codecs - but before error it would play nice)
the system becomes pretty unusable, if i try to open some application/program, it would run with errors or not run at all: tried opening a program to make a screenshot, it crashes with strange errors, tried opening google chrome - when it displays a flash content, it freezes and eventually crashes.

don't know if it's related to this problem, but my hdd already died (mechanical failure, i guess, it just clicks and nothing else). now i'm using my older hdd, seagate barracuda 7200.10, 160GB. i'm a bit scared this one will also die.

don't believe it's os-related, encountered same problem on windows 7 64bit also.
also don't believe it's video card's fault - it's not new, i used it for about 6 months on an older system and never had a problem with it.
so, please, any advice? need aditional details? just ask.
thanks

my specs:
processor: phenom II x4 955 black edition
mobo: asrock 760gm-gs3
ram: kingmax 4gb DDR3 1600 (one piece)
hdd: samsung spinpoint f3 1TB 32MB buffer
psu: raidmax 500w 12cm fan
video: powercolor AX4650 1GBK3-H (radeon HD4650 1GB DDR3)

ezekiel87 · Aug 28, 2011

okay, i'll post some more details + screenshots, maybe it'll help
so, screenshots:
#1 - the game crashes, i hit ctrl-alt-del to go to desktop
#2 - strange things happening to the desktop icons
#3 - not only the icons, but the taskbar also (it's not usually red). the whole interface actually
#4 - resource monitor also goes crazy. you have to see it in a video

videos:
#1: resource monitor goes crazy : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Enpa6NhJbdY
#2: desktop icons, video playback, windows explorer errors: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brZ4UKNTCmw

also i need to mention: after restart, system works ok for some time.
could it be ram's fault? processor? motherboard?

tom982 · Aug 28, 2011

Hello ezekiel87 and welcome to the forums :party:

Do you know if your motherboard has graphics functions built into it?

What I would suggest is to shutdown your computer, then remove your graphics card and boot up again. This will indicate whether the problem is due to your graphics card

It seems unlikely that the problem is RAM based, but you can check your RAM with this tool:

Guide to using Memtest86+ - Geeks to Go Forums

Tom

ezekiel87 · Aug 28, 2011

yes it has an onboard video graphics. i'll try that one first, then memtest
thanks

tom982 · Aug 28, 2011

Okay, good luck!

Tom

ezekiel87 · Aug 30, 2011

here's the result.
i took out the graphics card, then used the onboard graphics: after a while i've met the same problem, so i guess it's not the graphics card's fault.
then i ran memtest for about 2.5 hours, got no memory errors.

what should i do now?

i ran memtest with the onboard graphics (so it should have used some of the system's ram). should i put back my graphics card and run memtest again?

edit: why does it say 200mhz for my ram in the picture below? it should be 1600mhz...

richc46 · Aug 30, 2011

Lets start the search for the cause
Try in safe mode, if it happens its probably hardware if not, its software.
Also take this test to see if you can handle Seven. Test sometimes picks up hardware issues.
Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor - Download - Microsoft Windows
Not to miss the obvious, lets take an antivirus test and download and test with malwarebytes. (although this is most likely not the cause, lets be sure)
When it happens, type event viewer in search, put the cursor in the left panel administrative and then look for errors.

ezekiel87 · Aug 30, 2011

well, in safemode i doubt i'll be able to play something (like tf2, cs:s, cs)

the system runs pretty fine if i'm not 'stressing' it: i can see movies, browse the web, things like that for hours without this problem occurring

i'll try the upgrade advisor, but i already mentioned in the firs post, i encountered the problem on windows 7 prof. 64bit, too. (many thanks to microsoft academic alliance for the OS licenses :D )

it's unlikely to be a virus-related problem, i'm using microsoft security essentials. and the same problem happened on two totally differrent HDDs (the first one died as i mentioned in the first post)

ezekiel87 · Aug 31, 2011

tried the win 7 upgrade advisor, here's the result seven upgrade advisor report.mht
here's the event log from yesterday, when the problem happened twice.
i entered event viewer -> custom views -> administrative events. ordered by date, selected all from yesterday and saved them to a file: events log.evtx
last night i put back the graphics card and ran memtest again for more than 2 hours - again, got no memory error

what should i do next?

richc46 · Aug 31, 2011

Personally, I lean toward memory. When you took the test, it should take about 8 hours. You run memtest (be sure its memtest and not the test that comes with the OS)
Then you take a known good stick and test each slot for 8 passes.
Did you ever mix and match, while installing new ram?

ezekiel87 · Aug 31, 2011

i've got only one memory stick, it's a kingmax 4GB ddr3 1600mhz module: KINGMAX Technology Inc.
and i've run the memtest after these instructions: Guide to using Memtest86+ - Geeks to Go Forums (as suggested in the first reply)

richc46 · Aug 31, 2011

Did you take that stick and test each slot for 8 passes?

ezekiel87 · Aug 31, 2011

no, i didn't. would it be useful? i left the ram stick in the same slot where it is when it makes those problems. if it's always there (when testing, also and when the problem happens), shouldn't show errors when memtesting it?

richc46 · Aug 31, 2011

I would tend to agree, but testing each slot is the procedure and before we move on I want to be 100% certain. Once we accept memory as good, if it is not, we may never get this fixed.

ezekiel87 · Sep 6, 2011

i've tested it with prime95 and after 2 minutes 'the problem' occurred, and prime95 crashed.
i've read in the prime95 instructions what should i do: increase the voltage for CPU - and that's what solved the problem.

i had it lowered before, due to overheating problems, beceause i've read about it here: AMD Phenom II x4 955 BE heating problems? - Yahoo! Answers India
unfortunately, after lowering the voltage i didn't test it with prime95 as it was suggested, and my 'problem' appeared after two days - that's why i didn't associate the problem with the cause.
so: i increased the voltage from 1.275 to 1.375 and the problem is gone.
and i installed an additional case fan for my overheating problem.

thanks for the replies.

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