Hardware Failure Blue Screen

[cntrstrk14]

Hi, I just built myself a new computer, but after it has been on for awhile I get a blue screen message that says...

*** Hardware Malfunction
Call your hardware vendor for support
*** The system has halted ***

and the only way to continue is to manually turn off the power. I have tried reformatting and reinstalling everything as one of my friends suggested it might be conflicting driver issues because I had swapped out video cards a day after finishing the build, but it still happens. I also thought it might not be getting enough power where I had it upstairs and moved it to the downstairs where it is basically on its own circuit and it still happened. It is brand new and not even 4 days old now. Here are the specs...

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8200
- ASUS P5N-T Deluxe LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
- XFX PVT98GYDLU GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
- Western Digital VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150GB 10000 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive... Read More
- Patriot Viper 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
- Pioneer 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model DVR-216DBK - OEM

and the only software I have on it is...

- Running Windows XP Professional with SP2
- Avast! Anti-virus
- Ad-Aware
- Google Chrome
- Drivers that came with Video card and Mother Board


If it is a problem with a piece of hardware I can send it back, but as of now I have no way of telling which piece it is or what the problem is with that error message.

[awaj]

Welcome to http://pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

what is the error code that comes with the blue screen of death? (there is a whole bunch of text, then a random string of numbers. I understand that that all you need is the first set, it's most likely 0X_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . There would be both letters and numbers in this set of numbers.)

[Sylvander]

1. "the only way to continue is to manually turn off the power"
And then what?
You Restart and the cycle repeats?
At restart does chkdsk automatically run and fix errors in the file system? [as would be necessary]

2. Try using this Knoppix 5.1.1 ISO file (ftp.kernel.org/pub/dist/knoppix/KNOPPIX_V5.1.1CD-2007-01-04-EN.iso) to make a bootable Knoppix disk and boot that and play around in that environment and see whether the problem still occurs with this.
If it does:
Then it's almost certainly a problem with hardware [HDD excluded] or BIOS configuration settings, not the Windows environment [with its drivers].
If it doesn't:
Then it is probably the Windows environment at fault, not the hardware.

[cntrstrk14]

It is not a normal blue screen, it is one that has ONLY the above message in it.

Also, I noticed it happened at odd frequencies, and not when anything specific was being done. I took out a stick of ram and it happened less frequently, but after awhile of playing around I was able to make it happen again. I was playing with Oblivion, and I notice if I leave it on the main menu it will eventually hardware error after 5 minutes or so.

It does not just happen on startup or even when doing specific tasks, before it was random and it actually seemed to happen more if I just let my system sit for awhile. It maybe happened once while I was actually using the system, especially after taking out the one stick of ram.

I have been suggested that it may be a power supply problem, but I can't seem to find any good specifications on my above hardware to tell what kind of power they will be taking each. Maybe my 600w power supply is not enough? Any thoughts on this, or can anyone direct me to a place where I can find the power needs of my hardware above?

[cntrstrk14]

bump? Still having this problem.

[cntrstrk14]

Ok, well I took this entire day trying to figure out the problem. I ran a full system diagnostic testing all of the hardware, everything passed. I checked the power supply for broken connectors or bad wattage, all fine. I reformatted the drives and reinstalled XP TWICE, no go. I even updated every single driver to the newest versions and I still get this error.

I swapped out the ram for other ram, and the video card for another card. All that is left that it could be is the HD, CPU or Mobo, anyone have any ideas how to solve this error or at least find out which piece is faulty for sure?

[Sylvander]

Did you try Knoppix off a live CD to see if the problem shows in that software environment?

I have a similar situation too.
My PC seems generally to be OK; functions well almost all of the time.
But now and then at random moments...
Perhaps during Startup, or when Windows has been running for some time...
There will be this or that BSOD.
e.g.
NMI: Parity Check/Memory Parity Error
Or...
Stop: 0x0000001E KMODE_Exception_Not_Handled

When this happens I'm forced to switch off the PC...
So I use MS Scandisk scan the file systems on [FAT32 partitions] C: & D: [partitions that had Windows/Programs files in use at the time].
This fixes the inevitable resulting problems in the file system [space used by certain files being mis-reported]...
Restart the PC and all seems well once more. :)

Until the next [random?] event.

[majinbuxl]

Ok, well I took this entire day trying to figure out the problem. I ran a full system diagnostic testing all of the hardware, everything passed. I checked the power supply for broken connectors or bad wattage, all fine. I reformatted the drives and reinstalled XP TWICE, no go. I even updated every single driver to the newest versions and I still get this error.

I swapped out the ram for other ram, and the video card for another card. All that is left that it could be is the HD, CPU or Mobo, anyone have any ideas how to solve this error or at least find out which piece is faulty for sure?

I have the exact same board and the exact same problem. A really really random BSOD that doesn't give any code or indication to what it would be caused by. Originally I thought it was due to the raid controller on the motherboard since I was running two hard drives in raid 0. But now that I'm not and the raid controller is disabled in bios, I still get the error.
Like you, I've replaced the RAM to something else that is actually listed on this mobo's QVL. The BSODs are still there.

I tried updating all the drivers and I even formatted more than a few times now. Still have the problem.

Someone suggested checking the sata cables since bad ones can cause BSODs. I think if it was a bad cable, we would at least get an error saying so. I went ahead and ordered some nice new ones anyway. Now that I noticed you have the same problem, I'm guessing its this stupid motherboard we have......

Did you ever figure anything else out?

[boucbaz]

I would try a 7200RPM drive as the speed of the HD can generate this (HD error). Just a though. Might need a special driver. Good luck.

[hackerballs]

ASUS P5N-T Deluxe LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard


good day for a new MotherBoard