Windows 7 Video Hardware Errors, frequent crashes, screen freezes.

Got around today to a little more troubleshooting, here is an image of the Speccy voltages for my Motherboard:

Only voltage that changes at all is the +5V one, and it changes very little.

What exactly do you mean by "Post Beeps"?

Thanks for the continued help.

EDIT: Did a copy and paste of next sentence accidentally

Should have been - " Does my psu supply power to my motherboard?  " 

Not - "I am able to run just fine on integrated graphics, then wouldn't that rule out the possibility that my psu is the problem?"

Yes it does run the motherboard - No, it does not necessarily rule out the psu, but

does point more toward a faulty gpu or motherboard.

All three psu rails go to the motherboard  +2 - +5 & +12V, via the large connector (ATX)

with multiple wires, and another +12V connector for the cpu. 

I was only having you check the motherboard voltage as part of the process to verify stable current.

• If the psu is faulting it would not necessarily have a problem when the gpu is not installed , but

that little bit more power that is drawn by the gpu  could be more than the psu can handle.

More commonly though psu issues manifest when running a game as the gpu draws significantly more

power under load than at idle.

However, while booting into Windows and loading the drivers  I'm not sure if the gpu starts at full clocks and power draw or not. I do know the fans will spin up to max speed for a short time before

the drivers are loaded.

"...GTX 650 because I can't even turn the computer on long enough to log in before crashing."

Ooops - Was overlooking that minor detail when suggesting monitoring the voltage, wasn't I ?  

Are there no 'Post' beeps when the drivers are installed and the machine fails to boot into Windows ?

It's sounding pretty grim when you cannot even boot into Windows with the Nvidia drivers installed.

The drivers enable the gpu, and Safe Mode is not an option for troubleshooting because it disables

the drivers..

It's still guesswork without being able to verify the card and motherboards PCI-e controller by

part swapping.

• One more test option ;

If the motherboard has another PCI-e slot ( X8 is OK for troubleshooting) you could try the card in

that. This still only tests the physical slot though, not the PCI-e controller. I don't know how the

controller is tested.

Even re-seating the card and power connector may help *Cross fingers*

Beyond this, the only way to isolate the issue is take the machine to a technician. Never know, he

may find something simple. It's a lot easier troubleshooting up close and personal.

"I don't think I can make a warranty claim on a warranty claim :/"

EDIT (again ;) : After re-reading I see you had the old card for close to full warranty period so you are not

likely to get an RMA from this one as it would be warranted from the date of the 450.

If it's only been two years eleven months you still have a chance.

.

Yes the clean boot attempts were with the nvidia graphics drivers installed, and trying to run off my GTX 650.

I just uninstalled all the nvidia graphics drivers again, rebooted, and then tried to use Treexy.  When I attempted to delete my nvidia drivers it said "no entries were detected".  Doesnt look like thats the problem.

Something I dont fully understand is how a desktop psu provides power to different components.  Does my psu supply power to my motherboard?  Because if it does, and I am able to run just fine on integrated graphics, then wouldn't that rule out the possibility that my psu is the problem?

The other thing is that it occured to me that I am probably not able to monitor the voltage of my psu while running on my GTX 650 because I can't even turn the computer on long enough to log in before crashing.

As far as catching this problem earlier:  This GTX 650 was a warranty claim replacement for my old GTS 450, meaning that if there is something wrong with the 650 im out of luck.  I don't think I can make a warranty claim on a warranty claim :/

Also, here at university I don't have access to any other desktops for troubleshooting my card.  I also don't have access to any other cards.

Thanks for the continued help.

"I tried clean booting on my desktop, and I couldn't even get to the log in screen, computer just crashed over and over."

I assume this was only when the Nvidia drivers were installed ?

"do you think its worth trying Treexy and reinstalling all over again?"

Only if you did not use Driver Fusion already. While I mentioned I only use it when there is

potential of corrupt driver install, your situation would call for it's use. Getting a good clean

install of the graphics drivers should rule them out as the cause of your problems.

It's still difficult to say where the fault lies. The top three suspects would be the gpu, psu and

motherboards PCI-e slot or controller.

• Without testing equipment the only way to test the gpu is to try it in another machine.
• The motherboard could be tested if you have access to another card.

If caught earlier the card could have been returned to the retailer. This may still be possible if the

retailer accepts it. Otherwise an RMA to the cards mfg, which retailer will sometime facilitate for you.

"And how could I monitor my psu's voltage?"

You can monitor the stability of the voltage to the motherboard, but I don't know if there is a

method to measure the stability of the current delivered by the psu's outputs other than taking the machine to a technician who can use a voltmeter, or maybe Oscilloscope,  to test it.

MSI Afterburner  has a Voltage monitor for the graphics card. The graph will help determine if

the card is switching from 2D voltage to 3D voltage.

• You can save a log to see if there is much  variation of voltage when in either 2D or 3D modes.

When I save a log file with my current card it shows  2D and 3D voltages.

In my case these equate to 0.806>0.850V / 2D  & 1.050V / 3D (game running) .

• Note that the first decimal place should not vary.
• Note that if you select too many monitors the Voltage reading in the log file can be difficult to

read, so best to just log the Voltage for the purpose of this test.

You can read the log file with Notepad.

Speccy has monitors for the motherboard voltage (gpu as well, but I don't think is does a running log file).  There should be only very small  changes on the motherboard voltages.

.

Hi,

Finally got around to doing some troubleshooting today.  I tried clean booting on my desktop, and I couldn't even get to the log in screen, computer just crashed over and over.

I don't think anything is wrong with my driver installation, I have uninstalled, rebooted, and reinstalled with only the components I need multiple times now.  I am not sure however if any of my drivers are corrupted, do you think its worth trying Treexy and reinstalling all over again?

Also, I can confirm that my computer runs fine on integrated graphics.  All my problems disappear when I remove my Nvidia graphics card from my computer.

And how could I monitor my psu's voltage?

Thanks for the help!