ArmandoFF
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Random blue screens
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Awhile ago I started getting random blue screens. I would especially get them while playing Halo 2. Well I got a new hd (ssd) and it was working fine for a bit. However, the random blue screens are back. I did a ram test and it came back negative. I would still get random blue screens but could never recreate the problem. I swapped out my old video card and put in a GTX 275. I would still get random bsods. Last night I fired up AC and when I went to change the resolution, it blue screened. The computer restarted itself and when it got to the desktop it blue screened again. It restarted a few times before it started working again. Went into AC again and 2 hours later it blue screened again.
I did notice, however, that while I was playing AC my video card (or at least that is where it sounded like it came from) was making a weird noise. I'm not sure how to describe it. Today I was messing with comp, updating vid drivers and bios to see if that would he and stumbled upon the windows index thing. I refreshed it and while it was testing direct3d, it made the same noise it was making when I was playing AC! I haven't been able to play since doing the updates today. The bsod did create a dmp file but I don't know how to "translate" them.
Does anyone have any advice? I'm absolutely stumped and am very frustrated. Please help
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Greybear1andonly
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Random blue screens
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Power Supply Issues.
Or you have a fan going out causing an Overheating issue, hence the NOISE. It could be the CPU or the PSU, since the problem kinda existed before the Changing of the GPU.
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heiromancerdrackus
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Random blue screens
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Capacitor whine. Either a PSU or bad cap on your GPU. Only way to isolate is to swap out a part, unfortunately.
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ArmandoFF
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Random blue screens
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Grey, the problem did indeed exist before I swapped out the video cards. I checked all my fans and they are all running. The fan on my video card is working as well. As far as overheating, my comp temps are in the 25C range. Per the BIOS anyway. I'm going to swap my old card in again and see if it still makes the noise when I play AC. I can't recall if it made a noise when I played Halo 2. If it does then would it be safe to say that it's not the video card? (Is GPU the same as a video card?)
heiro, capacitor whine is absolutely it! I looked up capacitor whine on youtube and I found a video that sounds exactly like mine does! It's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up_axOyd1Z8 . Fast forward it to 30 seconds. That's the same noise. Why does it make that noise? On one of the youtube videos, the guy was saying that he got replacement CPUs and they did the same whining noise.
I'm not sure if i'll get to swapping out the video cards today but I'll definitely post back with results. I'll have to find a spare PSU somewhere so I can test that out as well.
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Greybear1andonly
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Subject:
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ArmandoFF posted:
the guy was saying that he got replacement CPUs and they did the same whining noise.
Speculation on my part....
CPU = transitors.
Capacitors are the power storage devices on motherboards, addon cards, in PSUs.
These being the small barrel shaped items with flat shiny tops.
Bad cap:
1) check all the capacitors(caps) for buldged tops.
Locating cap:
2) make a paper tube and move it over the caps to see if the noise gets louder.
Loose Cap:
3) use a Qtip and apply pressure to the caps and see if noise stops.
Weak power:
4) replace the PSU
Weak cap:
5) replace the cap
This is all specualtion on my part.
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ArmandoFF
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!!!Update: I swapped my old 8800GT and it's still making the same noise, but just not as loud. I just loaded up AC and it is making the exact same noise it was doing with the other card! So it looks like it's not the card (which is what I was suspecting). I have to get to bed but I have an extra power supply that I'm going to swap out and see what happens then. So for sure it looks like the power supply or mobo?
On a side note, whenever I try to use the front USB port on the case, it causes the computer to restart as soon as the metal USB connection makes contact. Not sure if that is somehow related or is another issue entirely.
Grey, I meant to say replacement psu, not CPU. I was pretty tired so I got them mixed up
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Mortalis3
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Subject:
Random blue screens
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ArmandoFF posted:
Update: I swapped my old 8800GT and as soon as i turned it on, it made an extremely loud noise. Even louder than with the other card. so I'm thinking that it's not the card. I don't know if this is worth noting but the 8800GT just snaps into the motherboard. It doesn't require extra connections from the power supply. However, the GeForce gtx 275 requires 2 extra 6 pin connections. Why would it make an even louder noise with the other card that requires no extra connections from the power supply?
On a side note, whenever I try to use the front USB port on the case, it causes the computer to restart as soon as the metal USB connection makes contact. Not sure if that is somehow related or is another issue entirely.
Grey, I meant to say replacement psu, not CPU. I was pretty tired so I got them mixed up
That's really odd! Both of my 8800GT's have a 6 pin power connection on the tail end of each card. Are you positive that your 8800GT does not have a power connection on it? If it does then that is most likely a cause for BSOD with lack of power especially when applying a load to the GPU.
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ArmandoFF
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Mortalis3, I feel stupid. I'm pretty tired and as a result forgot to plug in the connector to the video card. When that used to be my main card, I had the connector plugged in. I was just so tired that I didn't see it this time, hah. I just plugged it in and turned the comp on and it's still making the same noise but not as loud. I edited my above post to reflect the most current info
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Greybear1andonly
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Well, with all the info, I feel we are still down to a CAP or a PSU.
Your previous related story about the Whine is inconclusive, as we do not know if he got a larger wattage PSU with more watts on the 12v rail than his previous, or if he just RMA'ed the original and recieved a new one of the same status.
The CAP being bad makes sense because of the odd behavior.
Lighten the load on the comp, remove any item not required to reproduce the issues. This includes removing memory, Optical drives, USB items other than mouse / keyboard, spare HDs and so on.
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chouranyu
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Just curious, what brand and capacity is your power supply?
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Lannai
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PSU
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Lannai
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ArmandoFF
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I lightened the load, just going bare minimum to run the comp and it's doing the same thing. The power supply is a SilverStone 650watt. I used to play wow all the time with the same psu with no problems. Might possibly be going bad. I haven't switched out the power supplies yet but I'm going to do that right now. Will keep you all posted. Thank you all for the help so far 
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ArmandoFF
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Ooook so. I swapped out another power supply and launched AC. It's doing the same thing. The noise seems to be coming from the area around the video card. So, if it's not the video card, power supply, or RAM, then it must be a bad cap on the motherboard?
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Greybear1andonly
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Did you press on the caps around there? Use a Qtip or pencil eraser.
Or look for a bad cap, they should have flat tops but will buldge when bad.
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ArmandoFF
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Greybear1andonly posted:
Did you press on the caps around there? Use a Qtip or pencil eraser.
Or look for a bad cap, they should have flat tops but will buldge when bad.
I looked for bad caps but could not locate any. The ones that I can see look normal. I pressed on all the caps that I could get to but nothing happened. There are some that I can't get to due to space limitations. I'm probably just going to RMA the motherboard and hope that fixes the problem.
So...I've tried 2 power supplies both with the same result. I've tried 2 video cards both with the same result. I unplugged anything that wasn't critical to run the comp and had the same result. All the caps that I could get to appear held in place nor did they make any noise when I pressed on them. What's your opinion?
I don't know the exact details on motherboards but how can an issue with the mobo cause me to crash while playing games that use 3D? I'm just trying to figure out how it can do that.
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Greybear1andonly
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The way I see it, go with the RMA.
Speculating from what I can remember:
Capacitors are like mini energy storage units. There is a reason they are placed where they are. I believe they are a quick source of energy for when demand rises before it gets there from the PSU (which has larger capacitors in it)
So, a bad cap doesnt hold the charge required and causes the increased energy demand to be pulled from other electronic in the areas prior to the PSU stepping in.
---------------------------
One other thing. If this is a computer you built. When you placed the STANDEES that the board sits on and gets screwed to, you might have one that does not match to a screw hole and essentially shorts out.
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Lannai
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Greybear1andonly posted:
One other thing. If this is a computer you built. When you placed the STANDEES that the board sits on and gets screwed to, you might have one that does not match to a screw hole and essentially shorts out.
I remember doing this once many years ago. It definitely causes random bsod's...had be baffled for weeks. Sorry to hear it wasn't the psu...sounds like you are down to the last possibility.
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ArmandoFF
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I read some of the reviews on newegg and some people have reported the same issues I am having. One person specifically mentioned that his comp crashes when playing games. It was also mentioned that the blue screens were very few at first but then started getting worse. Looks like its a known problem with the board.
I haven't thought about the screw issue. I can look into that further. Is it if the screw isn't in there tight it causes a short or misplacement of the golden little peg things that screw the mobo to the case?
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Lannai
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It is normally cause by putting a metal standee where there isn't a hole for one in the motherboard. This causes the motherboard to short out on the case.
The screws should be hand tight at the normal places. But specifically check to make sure you don't have one of the standees under the motherboard where there ISN'T a hole for a mounting screw. This would cause a short. Hope that makes sense. Otherwise, it sounds like you have a problematic motherboard.
edit: emphasis on "isn't"
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ArmandoFF
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Ah ok I got ya. I submitted my rma request so hopefully that will take care of it. I truly thank you for everyone's help. Thank you =)
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Greybear1andonly
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When you finally tear it down for RMA, even if a standee is misplaced, send it in.
Take a black marker, and on the outer edge of the motherboards top right corner, mark it. When you get your replacement, check for that mark.
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Lannai
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He'll probably get another person's rma with a mark in a different corner
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Speak-pkhq
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Lannai posted:
He'll probably get another person's rma with a mark in a different corner
lol. fun with troubleshooting >.<
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Greybear1andonly
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True, but then he will also know it was previously RMA'ed if the other person did the same  - if your already expecting a problem, your less likely to spend 20hours to debug it, and more likely to spend 2 hours and say "F U, this is a broken one too."
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Quazimortal
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Will companies really do that? Send an already RMA'd piece of hardware to someone else who is RMA'ing something? That's just dirty and horrible business practice.
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Greybear1andonly
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In a perfect world, the company gets your RMA and sends you a NEW BOXED ITEM. Very few companies do this, but I have seen this several times.
In the real world experience:
They get your RMA, verify it for visual issues, send you another that has already been recieved, tested, fixed from prior RMA's.
The bad thing is that they cannot test Every hardware setup, so they are just testing to make sure its within specs, so if it was a hardware conflict issue, youll still have the problem on the returned board.
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Quazimortal
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Well I'm glad to have learned this bit of information, I can now be better prepared in the future. 
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