Possible Hardware Issue? (w/ BSOD)

[mendriel]

Hey folks,

I've got an issue that seems to be compounding itself that maybe a few of you might be able to help me out with.

I have a relatively new build that I have been using for several weeks with no issues. Today while the computer was unattended, it decided to reboot. I was a little concerned, but didn't see anything wrong. Then I started seeing strange errors pop up (Outlook asking for a link browser, etc.) that justified my concern.

Again, while unattended, it rebooted again, but this time it used the standard VGA drivers and decided not to recognize my video card. I manually rebooted and everything was back to normal.

I had a few recently installed programs that I didn't really need, so just in case they were causing my issues I uninstalled them. Nothing untrustworthy that I know of...mostly performance testers (OCCT, Prime 95, etc.).

After I was finished I restarted and before windows could finish loading, I got the following error:
lsass.exe - System Error: The endpoint format is invalid.
With that there was an ok button that cleared the window and rebooted the machine. At this point, there was no way for me to get past this window. Same thing in various forms of Safe Mode.

Did a bit of googling on my error and got a few hits showing I had symptoms of a virus infection. Not really sure what to do at this point, so browsing around led me to attempt using my XP install disk to repair the installation.

That at least got me bootable again, but there were so many issues that I couldn't resolve, I got completely fed up and decided to wipe my OS partition and reinstall. I had been putting off using Vista anyway.

I figured that since I could get to my stuff, I'd back up the minimal stuff on my OS partition that needed it. This is where I started getting the BSOD...about every 5 minutes. Again fed up, I decided to just start the wipe. I didn't have anything critical I needed from that partition.

So I started the fresh install and as soon as the partition was done formatting I got the BSOD again. Ran a chkdsk from the repair console and got another BSOD.

Now I'm not sure I ever had a virus...I'm thinking it's probably my HD. Anybody think it could be something else?

Any suggestions for programs I can use from a bootable CD to test my HD? I'd like something to test my memory also, just not sure if these tools exist in a format that I can use.

Here's what I've got for guts:
ASUS Maximus Formula
Intel E8400
Crucial Ballistix 2GB PC6400
Samsung Spinpoint F1 750GB
EVGA 8800 GTS (G92)

Thanks guys for taking the time to read this. I know it's a bit long winded, but I really appreciate the help!

Andy

 

[Jorsoft]

I would check memory first, just download Memtest 86. It comes as an .ISO so just burn it to a CD and boot from it. Run that through one pass to be sure if it's your memory or not.
Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

As for your hard drive, I would check out Drive Fitness Test. It works pretty much the same way. Burn the .ISO to a CD and pop it in. Some one else might have another program that works better but I remember this one being okay.

Support - Downloads and Utilities


This is where I would start. I'm leaning towards this maybe being a hard drive thing but you should check your RAM as well. Hope these help and report back with results!

 

[mendriel]

Thanks for the links!

Memtest ran without any errors. Running an advanced scan of Drive Fitness Test now...no errors so far.

I read somewhere that the Samsing drives have issues with nVidia mobo's. I'm wondering if that is my problem. Anybody have any experience with this? Of course without the test being complete, I can't be sure the HDD isn't bad yet.

 

[mendriel]

So yesterday I replaced the Samsung HD with a Seagate and upgraded from XP to Vista. Figured the problem was solved as the computer was running fine.

Put the old HD back in before I went to bed with DFT running. When I woke up it had completed with no errors. Hmm.

Rebooted and the computer wouldn't POST.

Pulled the Samsung out and the computer POSTed, but hit the BSOD as windows tried to start up. Just a quick flash, so I couldn't read anything. Same thing in Safe Mode.

I think I'm going to look into flashing my mobo bios.

Any thoughts?

 

[mendriel]

I'm really at a loss here with this issue. After my previous post I shut the computer down and left it alone for a few hours. Came home and it booted right up as if nothing were wrong!?! If I get any more strange symptoms here I'll post them up.

I almost wish I were naive enough to believe that the problem fixed itself!