Win7 desktop problem

Sazabi · **on:** July 21, 2011, 03:02:20 PM

I'm thinking it may be the PSU being overstressed or maybe the mobo, but I have a HP desktop that had a complete install of Win7 put on it, instead of simply upgrading from Vista. The computer now randomly restarts or goes into a quasi-shutdown mode. During one restart, there was a brief "___ IRQL is not less than or equal" error, and because it has so many options for why I could receive that error, I don't quite know where to start.

Help please?

Reinier · **Reply #1 on:** July 21, 2011, 03:24:58 PM

That's usually a driver problem... what happens if you start in Safe Mode?
Can you check the event log, see if it tells you anything useful?

And check your RAM with Memtest86

Also, make sure there are no exploded capacitors on the motherboard

Sazabi · **Reply #2 on:** July 21, 2011, 03:32:45 PM

I've not yet tried; starting back in normal mode works for a while, about a day or so, until it crashes again. I'll go and update my drivers.

Medic82 · **Reply #3 on:** July 21, 2011, 04:57:53 PM

I have no idea. My legit copy of win 7 works like a charm!

Sazabi · **Reply #4 on:** July 21, 2011, 05:32:30 PM

I think the RAM is fine; I ran Memtest86, and aside from saying I had low memory (hell, I'm maxed out on this; 3 GB RAM, and 1 GB video card for a 32-bit OS), it didn't detect any issues. I'm going to see if there are any new drivers for the video card now.

And Kenneth, this is a legit copy, too.

Medic82 · **Reply #5 on:** July 21, 2011, 05:42:48 PM

Quote from: Sazabi on July 21, 2011, 05:32:30 PM

And Kenneth, this is a legit copy, too.

That's a good boy

Sazabi · **Reply #6 on:** July 21, 2011, 05:48:09 PM

Quote from: Medic82 on July 21, 2011, 05:42:48 PM

Quote from: Sazabi on July 21, 2011, 05:32:30 PM
And Kenneth, this is a legit copy, too.

That's a good boy

Heck, it's the one piece of software that isn't freeware; might as well pay for it. XD

I'm running Prime95 now to test the CPU and RAM again.

AHB · **Reply #7 on:** July 21, 2011, 06:09:50 PM

Did you check the flux capacitor..?

Sorry no idea..

Reinier · **Reply #8 on:** July 21, 2011, 06:15:22 PM

Sazabi · **Reply #9 on:** July 21, 2011, 06:19:55 PM

Yes, and it's still on the fritz; I still can't travel back to the 1800s and buy gold coins for face value... or buy part ownership in what'd become Victorinox just as it started up.

jzmtl · **Reply #10 on:** July 21, 2011, 07:10:25 PM

Driver problem for sure. My old XP machine does the same thing with the same error massage, then it turned out Dell screwed up the audio driver, released an update but never bothered to tell anyone. After I installed the update it never did it again.

Reinier · **Reply #11 on:** July 21, 2011, 07:50:12 PM

Quote from: jzmtl on July 21, 2011, 07:10:25 PM

... the same error massage

Is that the massage without a happy ending

AHB · **Reply #12 on:** July 21, 2011, 07:53:09 PM

Quote from: Reinier on July 21, 2011, 07:50:12 PM

Quote from: jzmtl on July 21, 2011, 07:10:25 PM
... the same error massage

Is that the massage without a happy ending

No matter how hard we try to derail this thread, they seem to get it back on track..

Sazabi · **Reply #13 on:** July 21, 2011, 08:20:35 PM

Should I go through and reinstall all of the drivers, or should I focus on certain ones and go from there?

Reinier · **Reply #14 on:** July 21, 2011, 08:40:26 PM

The video card drivers are the ones I would start with.

Medic82 · **Reply #15 on:** July 21, 2011, 09:03:14 PM

Quote from: Reinier on July 21, 2011, 08:40:26 PM

The video card drivers are the ones I would start with.

Don't listen to him, I would check that the warp coils are aligned and that the dilithium crystals aren't burned out or cracked.

Reinier · **Reply #16 on:** July 21, 2011, 09:19:58 PM

yeah that's also very possible. Or, he should get a new beryllium sphere and/or activate the Omega 13

jekostas · **Reply #17 on:** July 21, 2011, 09:27:50 PM

Motherboard
Audio
Video

Try drivers in that order. If you're not getting graphic anomalies, it's not the VC drivers - Windows would default to the built-in driver in that case anyways.

Sazabi · **Reply #18 on:** July 22, 2011, 01:29:40 AM

Ok, stupid question, but under Device Manager, under what label may I find the motherboard? :/

Whoey · **Reply #19 on:** July 22, 2011, 02:42:00 PM

If it's an HP, go lookup the model on the website... they should have driver packages for all the default hardware.

then depending on the chipset you may wish to get newer drivers from the chipset manufacturer's site (AMD/Intel/VIA/etc)

Sazabi · **Reply #20 on:** July 22, 2011, 04:01:26 PM

Ok, I'm updated mostly; finding Win7 drivers were a bit annoying, thanks to the motherboard barely being supported, but let's see if that helps.

Thanks everyone.

Sazabi · **Reply #21 on:** July 23, 2011, 01:17:04 AM

Everything seems to be working now. I went to put a second DVD burner into the machine and lo and behold, it doesn't have any SATA power cables to spare. I went to Best (ha) Buy, and couldn't find any, plus they had SATA data cables for $20! That's more than what I paid for the DVD burner itself.

Needless to say, eBay will be getting another purchase from me very soon. >.>

Furthermore, I forgot how old the back towers are... they're IDE motherboards only, so I need an IDE to SATA adapter, too.

[Edit: I also have sound back now... port colors look the same in darkness. :/]

Medic82 · **Reply #22 on:** July 23, 2011, 01:29:50 AM

Quote from: Sazabi on July 23, 2011, 01:17:04 AM

I need an IDE to SATA adapter, too.

I think that I have a SATA card lying around that I don't use that fit's in a PCI slot if you want it.

Sazabi · **Reply #23 on:** July 23, 2011, 01:36:29 AM

Thank you, Kenneth, but it'd cost more for you to ship it than it would be to toss it into an Amazon order. I do definitely appreciate it, though.

Honestly, though, I'm thinking about putting together a non-dinosaur PC to use in the back office; my father currently has two XP machines with 1 GB of RAM each... and he uses Photoshop on both. >.>

I don't know how much longer the PC I'm going to put the second DVD burner into will last, too, honestly. He uses his machines hard, but beyond trying to force him to back up his data, well, he's not too big on updating. I had to force Win7 on him for this tower, honestly, not to mention Thunderbird.

jzmtl · **Reply #24 on:** July 23, 2011, 04:23:17 AM

Quote from: Sazabi on July 23, 2011, 01:17:04 AM

Everything seems to be working now. I went to put a second DVD burner into the machine and lo and behold, it doesn't have any SATA power cables to spare. I went to Best (ha) Buy, and couldn't find any, plus they had SATA data cables for $20! That's more than what I paid for the DVD burner itself.

Needless to say, eBay will be getting another purchase from me very soon. >.>

Furthermore, I forgot how old the back towers are... they're IDE motherboards only, so I need an IDE to SATA adapter, too.

[Edit: I also have sound back now... port colors look the same in darkness. :/]

I bought my SATA cable from dealextreme, not the quickest shipping but cheap as dirt, and works fine.

Whoey · **Reply #25 on:** July 23, 2011, 09:24:47 AM

newegg ?

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