PSU fail?! No clue!

[wildsolus]

Hi all, long time since I needed help with a PC issue

I've been playing TF2 for awhile now and actually made some pretty nice cash from trading/selling hats/unusuals so I decided to build a 'free' computer. My old e8400+p5q-e+ other parts just weren't cutting it for me anymore so I threw this build together...

1 MEM 2Gx2|G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBXL


1 CASE NZXT| PHAN-001WT RT


1 VGA XFX|HD-695A-CNFC HD6950 2GB R


1 MB MSI|P67A-GD65 P67 LGA1155 R


1 CPU INTEL|CORE I5 2500K 3.3G 6M R


1 WIN HOME PREM 7 64-BIT ENG 1PK DSP - OEM

OLD BUILD

Antec Earthwatts 650w - Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12...

22" Samsung monitor (2232bw)

Peripherals - Razer Tarantula Keyboard, G9 mouse, amBX, logitech 2.1 speakers (not connected still)

Loving the Phantom case, amazingly airflow and huge interior! Plus the cable management is extremely easy to use. Also the 6950 is a beast of a card and I also flashed it to the 6970 as well...

The problem I'm running into comes in 2 different forms. FIRST problem is the system hangs on startup randomly. I'll boot and it will go into windows fine no problems at all. If I install an update and restart or just restart for no reason then to test it, it will hang on the windows logo. The logo will pulsate a couple times and then just freeze. Leaving it alone for a few hours does nothing so I'm forced to reboot every time. Random google searches said the Tarantula 2.1 drivers could be the issue but I have no clue why keyboard drivers would stop windows....

The second problem lies with the flashed 6950. I got the latest drivers 11.1 and did a clean install since the system was built the past weekend. I played Crysis on max settings for like an hour and it's BEAUTIFUL but then I got the amazing 'ati display driver stopped responding and has recovered'. Google search really quick and found that the 11.1a drivers had been released and I tried those with no luck. I had the same problem with my old 4850 but quickly fixed it with drivers. The 5770 I replaced with had no such problems either.

Fail attempts
Tried resetting the GPU just in case
Tried 2GB ram instead of the 4GB
Old drivers (not sure how far back the 6xxx series go for drivers..)
Windows reinstallation (will do this again to fix either issue...)


The reason I bring up the PSU as fail?!!? is because I'm not sure if that could be causing the issue. I know the i5/7 series require a certain amount of power as does the 6950 (2 6pin both connected) but I'm not sure if it could possibly be the link that's messing everything up. Old PC worked fine besides a couple USB ports that had failed a month ago. I've built 5 PC's in the past 2 years so I know most of what I'm talking about but ANY help would be amazing

 

[Castiel]

Wildsolus

First I may suggest to input all your current hardware into your system specs that resides under your name, can be found in the control panel.

I don't believe that your PSU will be doing this. If I am correct all that hardware shouldn't be pulling more than your PSU can push. And all the issues you are posting doesn't look like it would be a power issue.

What about your hard drive? Did you get a new one? Have you tested it to see if it had any errors? What about running a MEM test, have you done that?

 

[streetfighter 2]

Welcome to TPU!

The problem I'm running into comes in 2 different forms. FIRST problem is the system hangs on startup randomly. I'll boot and it will go into windows fine no problems at all. If I install an update and restart or just restart for no reason then to test it, it will hang on the windows logo. The logo will pulsate a couple times and then just freeze. Leaving it alone for a few hours does nothing so I'm forced to reboot every time. Random google searches said the Tarantula 2.1 drivers could be the issue but I have no clue why keyboard drivers would stop windows....

If it's easily repeatable (like it sounds), when restarting enable boot logging by pressing F8 during boot up then selecting it from the list. If it crashes then power cycle the computer (or do whatever it is you need to do) to get into Windows and post the last file mentioned in this text log:
C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt
If it's a driver error, we should be able to figure out which is causing it.

The second problem lies with the flashed 6950. I got the latest drivers 11.1 and did a clean install since the system was built the past weekend. I played Crysis on max settings for like an hour and it's BEAUTIFUL but then I got the amazing 'ati display driver stopped responding and has recovered'. Google search really quick and found that the 11.1a drivers had been released and I tried those with no luck. I had the same problem with my old 4850 but quickly fixed it with drivers. The 5770 I replaced with had no such problems either.

What you're describing is known most commonly as a driver crash. It can be caused by a poorly programmed game, but most often it occurs from the graphics card overheating and/or running out of spec. My suggestion would be to either flash the old BIOS, or lower the clocks using CCC/Afterburner/Trixx/etc..

The reason I bring up the PSU as fail?!!? is because I'm not sure if that could be causing the issue. I know the i5/7 series require a certain amount of power as does the 6950 (2 6pin both connected) but I'm not sure if it could possibly be the link that's messing everything up. Old PC worked fine besides a couple USB ports that had failed a month ago. I've built 5 PC's in the past 2 years so I know most of what I'm talking about but ANY help would be amazing

It's difficult to eliminate the PSU as a possible cause; my guess is that it isn't, which is why I'd recommend you test other things first.

 

[wildsolus]

Wildsolus

First I may suggest to input all your current hardware into your system specs that resides under your name, can be found in the control panel.

I don't believe that your PSU will be doing this. If I am correct all that hardware shouldn't be pulling more than your PSU can push. And all the issues you are posting doesn't look like it would be a power issue.

What about your hard drive? Did you get a new one? Have you tested it to see if it had any errors? What about running a MEM test, have you done that?

2 HDD's both from the previous build, 1 backup 1 with the OS installed. Ran same set up before this build and had no problems. What program would I run to test it?

Ran memtest/prime95 a few times and have had no errors in either.

Welcome to TPU!


If it's easily repeatable (like it sounds), when restarting enable boot logging by pressing F8 during boot up then selecting it from the list. If it crashes then power cycle the computer (or do whatever it is you need to do) to get into Windows and post the last file mentioned in this text log:
C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt
If it's a driver error, we should be able to figure out which is causing it.

What you're describing is known most commonly as a driver crash. It can be caused by a poorly programmed game, but most often it occurs from the graphics card overheating and/or running out of spec. My suggestion would be to either flash the old BIOS, or lower the clocks using CCC/Afterburner/Trixx/etc..

It's difficult to eliminate the PSU as a possible cause; my guess is that it isn't, which is why I'd recommend you test other things first.

Will flash back to 6950 and report back! Thanks for the help so far guys

Updated post with other hardware as well

 

[Activity]

I'd say a 650watt PSU from antec would be enough for that rig with a hd 6970, did flashing it back to a hd 6950 work?

 

[xbonez]

I once had a similar problem where booting in would hang at the windows logo. I spent hours trying to troubleshoot this, re-installed Win 7 a couple of times, installed Win Vista, Win XP etc. Spent about 8 hours trying to fix this until I realized having my external HDD plugged in was causing it.

In short, disconnect all External HDDs, USB Hubs and any other unnecesarry USB device you have.

 

[Zenith]

Regarding PSU wattage. I am running similar configuration on 500W Enermax, so my guess is your 650W should be sufficient.

 

[wildsolus]

I once had a similar problem where booting in would hang at the windows logo. I spent hours trying to troubleshoot this, re-installed Win 7 a couple of times, installed Win Vista, Win XP etc. Spent about 8 hours trying to fix this until I realized having my external HDD plugged in was causing it.

In short, disconnect all External HDDs, USB Hubs and any other unnecesarry USB device you have.

Interesting. The reason I mentioned the Razer Tarantula keyboard is it 'HAS' a USB hub built inside of it (keyboard has 2 usb ports and 2 3.5" connectors). I use an internal hard drive as storage as well I could disconnect that as well while installing Windows 7. So basically the only have the mouse and a basic keyboard connected while installing windows? Or are you saying in general disconnect that stuff during reboot?

Flashing the 6950 back right after this post as well!

Thanks again everyone

 

[wildsolus]

Flashing back to the old bios seems to have done the trick

I feel stupid that it was that glaringly obvious to you folks but I guess it was too obvious for me to actually see! Thanks again