My reoccuring problem

[AdamShepard]

Hello forum!

I'm having a critical fault in my system, but I can't pinpoint >what< causes it exactly.

The symptoms all point towards the Gpu: When stressing the graphics card it tends to crash out and attempts to reset the display driver. I've noticed that after a fresh Windows install it usually succeed, but eventually it fails and crashes into a BSOD. My first idea of course was overheating, but the temps seems to be in order and not just with the card but with everything else.

Over the course of time I had this exact problem with another video card as well. I've tried replacing monitor, memory, hdd, psu so basicly everything. The only part left is the mobo, if memory servers that's still part of my original setup, so I'm suspecting that.

Naturally I've tried to reinstall drivers, old drivers, newest drivers, memtest, fresh windows, updated bios, older bios. I'm frequently using ccleaner, have active virus protection and not overclocking anything.

Here are my specs atm:
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 32bit SP1
Proc: Intel Pentium 4 CPU 3.00 GHz
Mem: 2.0 Gb RAM
GPU: ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT
HDD: Maxtor 6B200P0 ATA Device

I'm uploading some pictures of scanner/monitor programs, event viewer, and a gpu log right before the crash (while playing).

Any advice is highly appreciated!

-Adam

 

[RubeSmench]

First off, welcome to the forums Mr. Shepard! Hope you enjoy your stay as much as we enjoy your company.

Regarding your situation, did you happen to write down the message that was displayed on the BSOD? Normally in situations like this, there should be something more than a kernal-power source reference. One last idea, when the windows install fails, have you noticed if the point of failure is the same each time? Like a certain % of completion. Also, when was the last time you cracked open the case to inspect your gfx card? I would inspect the fan to ensure the blades are spinning properly and nothing is blocking air flow (such as dust or cables).

Wish I could help more, but unfortunately nothing jumps out that would explain what is happening. However if you can provide any more details on the BSODs and error messages, hopefully we can narrow down the problem.- Rube

 

[AdamShepard]

I've just recently turned off the automatic restart at BSOD, so I should be able to provide the message soon. Regarding the Windows-Install, I was a bit unclear. The windows install itself does not fails. When I have my system reinstalled, the problem I described 'vanishes' into thin air for about a week. After that, it comes back, but the system can recover my display driver, so I don't have to restart the computer. One more week, and it's back to it's BSOD state.

Since I was suspecting overheating, I've naturally cleaned my PC several times, checked the cables, the fans are clear, the side panel of my computer is constantly off so it could breathe even.

I'll be back as soon as I have the BSOD details!

Here it is:

A problem has been detected and Windows shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

Attempt to reset the display driver and recover from timeout failed.

If this is the first time you see this screen... etc.

Technical:
*** STOP: 0x00000116 (0x8574B510, 0x93E6686E, 0x000000000, 0x00000002)
*** atikmpag.sys - adress 93E6686E base at 93E5F000, DateStamp 4ff3d047

-------
I got this beauty after an hour of gameplay. I'm suspecting transparent effects might cause this somehow (shadows, transparent menus, Windows Aero (which is disabled), etc) because for instance, older games like Counter Strike 1.6 does not have this problem, even CS:S holds out fine, but games with fancier effects crumble.

***Important: What I forgot to mention that my PSU was a Codegen 400W "HardwareMurderer" before, lately replaced by a 350W noname PSU. It seemed to work fine after the change, but it started acting up again. Are my specs supported by 350W?

Also, I'm lacking a GPU fan, my model has a Silent Pipe II heatsink which is... not the best, probably.

***Update: I've read upon this specific atikmpag.sys error, and now trying these solutions:
-disabled Windows desktop hardware accelareting
-uninstalled Catalyst Control Center
---Still BSOD
-removed the main fan, throughly cleaned the processor and the fan (there was some additional dust, might have caused it?)
---Still BSOD

One of my processor temps went up to 65 Celsius... that might be it?

 

[sPlAtOiD]

You say this GPU has no fan but all the Vid cards I see on the search with ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT has fans. You say this only crashes on higer res games. I would suspect video card.

 

[AdamShepard]

Google Images:

ati radeon hd 2600 xt silent

Mine is the first one, those are basically the same anyway.
There's a quite intresting pattern with the crashes. For instance, I can play CS:S on high detail (or any source engine game for that matter, Dota 2 is fine, HL2 is fine..). On the other hand, Total War games tend to crash even on low.
Another interesting example is WoW, which I can play on medium-ish settings and I can play in every battleground for hours without crash, but if I try to go into BC content (currently the oldest in wow, anywhere on outland) it will crash in 15-20 minutes every time.

Before this card I had another older Ati card that also bugged out, it used to mess up the textures of some games. As I said, I've replaced everything since then, except the mobo, so my bet is on that. Unfortunately I can't conjure up money from thin air, so I can't just fix it by replacing parts at the moment, that's why I wrote here, maybe someone has a more budget-friendly fix for this.