More PC woes - can anyone help?

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hobbes1218

Member
Hi folks, since I received my PC from PC Specialist a year ago I it has not managed more than a month of error free operation. After the first month it started to turn itself off randomly or not turn on. If left, it would eventually turn on – sometimes after a delay of several hours. After several months of this, the problem became more frequent so I called PC Specialist who told me to take out the battery for 30 seconds. This actually worked – but only for a month or two. After that taking out the battery made little or no difference. I sent the PC back and received a short report back from PC Specialist that the log was showing Kernal 41 errors and they had updated some drivers. The PC was working fine again but only for about another month and then the switch offs started again. I had turned Windows updates off to try and prevent any further problems but that obviously didn't help. This morning after another shutdown the screen has now started to freeze as well.

I will call PC Specialist again but think it likely that I will be told it is a software issue. Before I do this I wonder if anyone has any thoughts about what may be the cause of the problem? What can be the cause of Kernal 41 errors? If there is a driver conflict why does this only cause a problem over time with increasing frequency? If there is a problem with the software stack on my PC wouldn't PC Specialist expect to have seen the same problems with other PC's that they built around this period?

I really don't want to reinstall Windows if I can avoid it + if I did I would just end up with the same software stack so I assume I would be very likely to run into the same problems again. If anyone has any thoughts – anything I can check please let me know.

System spec :-

Processor (CPU) AMD PHENOM II X4 955 (3.20GHz/8MB CACHE/AM3) - BLACK EDITION
Motherboard ASUS® M4A87TD/USB3: DUAL DDR3,SATA 6.0GB/s, USB 3.0
Memory (RAM) 4GB SAMSUNG DDR3 DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (2 X 2GB)
Graphics Card 1GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
Memory - 1st Hard Disk 500GB SERIAL ATA 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
Power Supply & Case Cooling CORSAIR 650W PSU (TX650) 80+ ULTRA QUIET
Processor Cooling SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER
Sound Card ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence

Cheers, Chris
 
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pr1s0ner

Well-known member
I think that error 41 just means the system rebooted without a proper shutdown. Its showing theres a problem, but its not a problem in itself.
Id be more inclined to think it was a hardware issue, best to give PCS a call, sure they can run you through some diagnostic tests to find the problem.
 
NMEBowen

NMEBowen

Master Poster
just out of curiosity what case do you have? what cpu cooler and what intensive programs do you run sound like overheating could have been a problem the pc wont turn on if it feels its running to hot could be caused by poor airflow in the case a close radiator or your cpu cooler could have been dislodged in transit.
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
Just wanted to add, you should leave windows updates on,

I know it sounds daft, as sometimes they always download, but alot of little errors can be solved by installing the latest updates. you can set it to auto so its cracks on and updates itself.

Also dont know if this will help, but are you using any anti-virus software?

tom
 
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hobbes1218

Member
Thanks chaps but I can't see it being a cooling problem as it is most problematic when first attempting to turn it on in the morning.
the CPU cooler is SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE CPU COOLER. I am running AVAST anti-virus software.

I'll give them another ring but not sure any diagnostic tests they may ask me to run will help as they didn't manage to fix it when I returned it to them a few months ago - they just updated a couple of drivers and sent it back.


Cheers, Chris
 
H

hobbes1218

Member
Update - PC didn't show any signs of life this morning even thought it shutdown fine last night. Eventually I took the battery out for 30 seconds and it has been fine since. It might be fine now for a week or so but will eventually shut itself down or refuse to boot up again. I need to find a way of either getting this problem fixed or getting a new PC from PC Specialist. I still have 2 years left on my warrenty. Can anyone suggest a course of action whereby I can prove a hardware fault rather than a problem caused by software I have loaded onto the PC? If I reinstall Windows 7 and update drivers - do I then have to run it for months without adding any other software in order to prove it is not a fault caused by something I have added to the initial setup? How are people supposed to use PC's if they can't add software without the retailer telling them their problems are probably due to a driver conflict or some other software problem?

I think retailers should have to take back PC's for the first few months at least and prove that a problem is due to a software conflict rather than using this as an excuse not to fix a problem with a new PC.

Cheers, Chris
 
tom_gr7

tom_gr7

Life Serving
If your pc failed to turn on, sounds like a hardware problem or maybe win 7 needing a reinstall....

When you say no signs on life, can you elaborate on that?

Tom
 
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