starbase1
06-03-2007, 06:12 AM
I think I have successfully resolved issues that had my PC crashing all the time. (By all the time I mean I was lucky to keep LW up for 10 minutes straight). As you can imagine, this is a major hassle.
I was deeply suspicious of the graphics for a long time. This was because I tended to get more crashes when using graphics related stuff. Though as that's most of what I do its not conclusive. There were a couple of periods when screensavers would crash it though. Oh, and by crash, I mean straight to reboot.
As it was a new PC, there was the distinct possibility of a hardware problem. I did not send it back because I had already put a bunch of new stuff in it, and did not want to do without it for an extended period.
I tried replacing the graphics card with a different brand, (to ensure completely different drivers).
I measured the core temperature. It was unrelated to the crashes, but I upgraded the cooling anyway.
I upgraded the power supply to something more beefy.
Memory was commonly suggested as a problem, I ran a couple of different memory testers that found nothing wrong.
I reinstalled DirectX.
I replaced the screen drivers, with some from other sources.
I now think I have pieced together the full picture, which I will tell here in the hope it saves others from grief.
1. The root cause was a memory bank that was not fully pushed down. It could still pass software tests. I should have checked physical stuff more carefully.
2. The unofficial drivers were not stable, I should have stuck with the official drivers, and taken care to download only from the manufacturer.
3. System Mechanic 7 is worse than a virus.
The last point needs some explaining... Fairly early on, I started looking for good utilities that would help spot possible problems with windows. I was not seeing crashes when I booted into Ubuntu Linux, though because there was so little I was doing in Linux, I was not stressing the machine. It was not conclusive, but it did suggest a windows problem.
I tried Sm 7 as a demo - it spotted a bunch of stuff, and I was hopeful it was making things better. When it expired, I did not get a full copy but uninstalled it.
Anyway I was recently looking for other tools that might help diagnose, and found the user reviews of SM7 on amazon.com. Argh! A bit more digging found this:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=161038
and this:
http://www.wrensoft.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1451
In short, it interferes with other programs, adding code from its DLL's. It does not uninstall. It hides processes from the operating system. It's about as stable as a one legged drunk on a unicycle.
Several sites are now classifying it as malware, though it would seem to be incompetence rather than actual malice... According to the sites I have seen, there was no problem with V6, which seems to have had a good reputation.
It's also worth noting that I did not have problems with the other machine, though I have removed the remnants of it there too. Note that you cannot just delete the files it leaves, you need to find the service from the control panel, and stop that.
If anyone else has been having problems and is running this, I strongly suggest you do a bit of digging...
Nick
I was deeply suspicious of the graphics for a long time. This was because I tended to get more crashes when using graphics related stuff. Though as that's most of what I do its not conclusive. There were a couple of periods when screensavers would crash it though. Oh, and by crash, I mean straight to reboot.
As it was a new PC, there was the distinct possibility of a hardware problem. I did not send it back because I had already put a bunch of new stuff in it, and did not want to do without it for an extended period.
I tried replacing the graphics card with a different brand, (to ensure completely different drivers).
I measured the core temperature. It was unrelated to the crashes, but I upgraded the cooling anyway.
I upgraded the power supply to something more beefy.
Memory was commonly suggested as a problem, I ran a couple of different memory testers that found nothing wrong.
I reinstalled DirectX.
I replaced the screen drivers, with some from other sources.
I now think I have pieced together the full picture, which I will tell here in the hope it saves others from grief.
1. The root cause was a memory bank that was not fully pushed down. It could still pass software tests. I should have checked physical stuff more carefully.
2. The unofficial drivers were not stable, I should have stuck with the official drivers, and taken care to download only from the manufacturer.
3. System Mechanic 7 is worse than a virus.
The last point needs some explaining... Fairly early on, I started looking for good utilities that would help spot possible problems with windows. I was not seeing crashes when I booted into Ubuntu Linux, though because there was so little I was doing in Linux, I was not stressing the machine. It was not conclusive, but it did suggest a windows problem.
I tried Sm 7 as a demo - it spotted a bunch of stuff, and I was hopeful it was making things better. When it expired, I did not get a full copy but uninstalled it.
Anyway I was recently looking for other tools that might help diagnose, and found the user reviews of SM7 on amazon.com. Argh! A bit more digging found this:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=161038
and this:
http://www.wrensoft.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1451
In short, it interferes with other programs, adding code from its DLL's. It does not uninstall. It hides processes from the operating system. It's about as stable as a one legged drunk on a unicycle.
Several sites are now classifying it as malware, though it would seem to be incompetence rather than actual malice... According to the sites I have seen, there was no problem with V6, which seems to have had a good reputation.
It's also worth noting that I did not have problems with the other machine, though I have removed the remnants of it there too. Note that you cannot just delete the files it leaves, you need to find the service from the control panel, and stop that.
If anyone else has been having problems and is running this, I strongly suggest you do a bit of digging...
Nick