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Question

Where & how to find diagnostic information?

Aug 4, 2016 5:41AM PDT

PC (spec below) is dying. I've had the blue screen of death and the black one and the technicolour one. It freezes or it tries to restart of its own accord. I'm game for trying to fix it but where on Earth do I start in order to identify the cause?
Just before problems began I hadn't made any changes like new software or drivers etc. I MIGHT have done a Windows Update but (mea culpa) I don't keep track of those. Interestingly for we conspiracy theorists, the very first death event occured the same day as I declined the Windows10 update!
My limited investigations thus far have produced two possibilities. The Windows Repair Utility says there "might have been an unidentified change to the configuration" (yeah, thanks Windows) and some timid inspection of the Event Viewer threw up a load of error codes and event IDs of which this was the most recent:
Event ID 41
Version 2
Level 1
Task 63
Op code 0
Execution process ID 4
Execution process ID 8
Channel - System
Keywords 0x8000000000000002
Event record ID 2410331
(Why all that? Wouldn't an English explanation be more useful?

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Re: BSOD
Aug 4, 2016 6:09AM PDT

It's much more useful to provice the information from the blue screen, to begin with the error code (like 0x0000007C) and the module in which it occurs.

Usually, it's either hardware related (power supply, heat, bad hard disk, bad RAM) or some very bad program you downloaded.

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Damn. It only did BSOD once and I don't remember the message
Aug 4, 2016 7:01AM PDT

Could it be the same error code I quoted from the Event Viewer, or maybe I could find where it first occured in the Viewer?
I certainly didn't download any dodgy software, or any software at all. Likely to be hardware then you think?

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If it BSOD's once, why fix it?
Aug 4, 2016 7:07AM PDT

And yes, do look over the Event Viewer.

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BSOD really means the end then?
Aug 4, 2016 8:11AM PDT

Can't I look to swap the bad hardware?

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Have to write no.
Aug 4, 2016 8:20AM PDT

If a PC BSOD's once, it is not bad. Remember I'm taking your word above here.

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Only blue once
Aug 4, 2016 9:28AM PDT

but it freezes & unsuccessfully reboots whenever I turn it on now. I tried system restore but it wouldn't do it. No helpful explanation, just "your computer couldn't be restored, try another restore point".
I have been browsing new PC options!

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Here's the deal.
Aug 4, 2016 9:36AM PDT

A BSOD rarely tells us what's wrong. All it tells us is a piece of information.

Let's start from the top with details about this PC. Make, model, age, STORY!!! If a PC did this from day one, then my tactics are different than when I work an older PC.

Here we are with very little information. Yes you want to find the BSOD information but I've rarely found it useful.

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That's weird, my OP isn't all there!
Aug 4, 2016 11:56AM PDT

I put the spec in my post but (on my Pad anyway) it isn't all showing. Don't know what happened there, here it is again:
Self built 2009/2010
ASUS M4A79XTD EVO ATX AMD790X socket AM3 UDMA133 Motherboard
AMD Phenom II X4 955 quad core 3.2GHz Black Edition processor
Kingston KVR 1600Mz DDR3 DIMM K2 4GB (2 X 2GB)
Sapphire HD5770 1GB Vapor-X graphics card
C: is a Western Digital 5001AALS-00L
3 other various SATA HDDs

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That's a system
Aug 4, 2016 12:13PM PDT

That we see in repair all the time. The age and it's parts work against us.

You left out the story. Anyhow I work this as if it's in need of the usual work. We'll take it apart to clean all heatsinks, remove all heatsinks to replace compound, replace the old CMOS battery, replace fans that don't spin well and make sure the PSU is either new and properly sized or if we keep the PSU it will be derated to 50%, be a single rail unit or replaced.

It's an old PC so you get to work it as if it's that old. There is no magic fix usually. The work done we make sure the BIOS Is current, try it with BIOS defaults and a fresh OS install.


We also may downsize the PC to simpler configuration. 4 HDDs? That can be an issue.

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Thanks for the guidance
Aug 5, 2016 6:04AM PDT

I'll gather my wits and my kit and give it the treatment you advise. Sorry I forgot the PSU spec, it's 100w but I don't have the brand details right now.
Not entirely sure (in truth, not at all sure!) what you mean by a story. I built it, I've used it, it's now broken! Really, I didn't download any new software or make any changes (Windows Update notwithstanding) prior to this fault. Only that I declined the Win10 free upgrade the same morning.
Given that I have some spare cash for a new machine, am I better off getting one? I love mine when it works but is it just too old to bother with?

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Bingo. 100 Watts is not enough.
Aug 5, 2016 8:06AM PDT

We use 20 Watts for each drive when designing a PC so that leaves almost nothing for the rest of the PC. I'm amazed it ever worked right.

Post was last edited on August 5, 2016 8:13 AM PDT

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(NT) I meant 1000W - sorry about that
Aug 14, 2016 3:57AM PDT
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I'd take the W10.
Aug 5, 2016 8:09AM PDT

I've written why in prior replies. Let me share my oldest laptop on W10.

It's a Dell Inspiron e1505 from 2006 with CoreDuo (32 bit), 2GB RAM and an 120GB SSD. The W10 is a fresh install (32 bit) and it powers up and gets a google search and answer from power up in 32 seconds.

That's a very old laptop that shows W10 and a good setup even with 2GB RAM can deliver.

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Errors
Aug 5, 2016 3:49PM PDT

Grab a copy of memtest86 and let it fly for 3 or 4 hrs.....just to see if anything shows.

Run a pass of sfc on your C drive.
Run a pass of chkdsk thorough on all your hdd's.

If everything passes it's time for some cleaning.

Get a can of compressed air and a small brush and give the innards a good cleaning.
Pay attention to the heat sinks and fans....don't forget the psu a few shots of air from both directions.

If no help it's time for a thermal paste refresh.

I hope that 100w psu was a typo.

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Answer
Done the clean-up
Aug 14, 2016 4:06AM PDT

the innards were FILTHY, I'm amazed it hadn't spontaneously combusted.

I also removed two of the drives (which, if the opinion is that I had too many, begs the question why does my motherboard have 7 SATA connectors and room for 4 IDE devices AND why my Antec case can hold 12 drives? I'm not questioning your wisdom but the hardware design).

Now, the machine has been stable for a few days, no deaths of any colour or freezes. I'm going to continue with it whilst also researching and sourcing new components for a total upgrade. And, thanks for the advice, I'll bite the bullet and go Win10.

Many thanks to all who contributed and sorry about the 100w typo!