Well, this is still nearer to 'curious' rather than 'solved'...
The idea of running your Windows system disconnected from the network is so that you can (securely) run it without the antivirus and firewall running, to then eliminate whether they might be interfering. Or even find if there is some other network activity such as Windows automatic update that might be throwing a spanner in the works.
Still a suspicion is video problems/overheat... Does Boinc run ok if you disable all GPU crunching?
If you already have Linux on there, a good test is to see if you get any further with that. At least you might get some clues to any problems from the logs.
(Good you haven't a cat to bung up the works with cat hair or even itself... :-) )
Good luck,
Martin
(You'd be amazed at some of the IT support calls... Such as "Can my computer work ok after drinking coffee?..." That is all the coffee was dropped onto the poor thing... Yes it was running. And no, it wasn't immediately switched off. Then it did 'strange things' whilst being dried somehow whilst still powered up...)
Well, this is still nearer to 'curious' rather than 'solved'...
The idea of running your Windows system disconnected from the network is so that you can (securely) run it without the antivirus and firewall running, to then eliminate whether they might be interfering. Or even find if there is some other network activity such as Windows automatic update that might be throwing a spanner in the works.
Ok, well this will have to wait until after the current "repair" install is complete, again. By the way, when Windows install rebooted, after loading all the files it required, the "cylon" splash screen did NOT have the artifact as reported a few days ago. Let me check the progress...
Quote:
Still a suspicion is video problems/overheat... Does Boinc run ok if you disable all GPU crunching?
Just had to enter the product key code...
Before this problem, BOINC ran fine with and without GPU. I opted not to run GPU with the other video card since it didn't quite have the muscle. Checking progress...
Quote:
If you already have Linux on there, a good test is to see if you get any further with that. At least you might get some clues to any problems from the logs.
Registering components now...
I don't have Linux installed on the i7 right now. Good idea, though, and I plan on doing it. I did dual boot with it several months ago though. Checking progress...
Quote:
(Good you haven't a cat to bung up the works with cat hair or even itself... :-) )
Good luck,
Martin
(You'd be amazed at some of the IT support calls... Such as "Can my computer work ok after drinking coffee?..." That is all the coffee was dropped onto the poor thing... Yes it was running. And no, it wasn't immediately switched off. Then it did 'strange things' whilst being dried somehow whilst still powered up...)
Finalizing installation...
Yeah, I have seen some really stupid things that people do to their PCs and need help with "fixing" it.
Installation complete. Now sitting on the logo screen that says "Please wait...". Windoze is sitting there with no HDD activity and no CD activity. It's sitting dumbfounded, not knowing what to do next... I do have the hourglass cursor and can move it around the screen. Lotta dang good THAT does me! I'll give it a few more minutes and if it doesn't wake up to reality, I'll hit the reset button, just like the other day when this happened.
Ok, hitting the reset button and when booted, will use sfc to check my system files.
"Repair" installation is complete. I hit the reset button at the "Please wait..." screen. Got tired of "Please wait..."-ing again. i7 booted up fine. There was no reported artifact on the "cylon" splash screen. SFC (System File Checker) is running and verifying my system files.
Running on the generic Windoze video driver. Will install the nVIDIA driver once SFC is complete. Hopefully there will be no BSOD this time. If there is, I believe it is going to be "Clean" installation time.
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
[edit]
By the way, there are over 4,000 system files that SFC needs to verify! :O
[\edit]
Well, installing the nVIDIA driver from the CD is a bust! But, no BSOD this time. Woohoo! :) Had to run SFC again to reverse what the install screwed up. The artifact was still a no-show. Woohoo! :)
I updated the driver through Device Manager and no problem there. Well, yeah, the artifact is back again! :(
I went to the manufacturer's website and downloaded the latest driver. Installed it. No problem, except that fraking artifact. Plus, I now have the nVIDIA settings manager.
I believe that because of that artifact on the "cylon" splash screen, the i7 is still going to be screwed. I'll let it run for a while and see. I'll start BOINC to see what happens too. BOINC test first...
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
[edit]
Well, one thing I have noticed that has changed:
I don't use Task Manager any more. I use a much better utility called System Explorer v2.3.8.3214. It shows much more information than TM does.
Anyway, I had noticed that on Physical Memory the System cache was reported greater than available memory. I thought this to be quite odd. Now, it is reported correctly, much lower than available:
Available: roughly 2.2 GB
System cache: roughly 660 MB.
[/edit]
Ok, ran a 10 minute torture test on the video card:
Downloaded: FurMark - OpenGL Benchmark - GPU Burner v1.8.2
Torture tested: for 10 minutes, temp maxing out at 69C, averaging 66C
Benchmark: 1747 @ 60,000 ms (unknown whether good, bad or indifferent)
Observation: motherboard temp higher than CPU temp
Results: no smoke, fire, strange sounds or smells of any sort
Conclusion:
I would conclude that my video card can stand the stress. At least for 10 minutes. I saw a picture of what FurMark did to a video card. I believe it to be a low end card, no on board cooling. It was burnt, fried, toasted beyond usable!!! Good thing I didn't see that pic before I ran my stress test. I probably would not have. ;)
I believe my i7 hardware is functioning within established parameters. Now for some software, dual booting Linux...
on the topic of SFC, it actually does write a log, usually in c:\windows\logs\cbs\cbs.log
youl need to start notepad or your preferred txt editor as admin to be able to read it.
OT
i wish you luck in making heads or tails of it, as i am currently trying to do, as it reaches 100% but reports corrupted files that it could not fix, but i cant figure out WHAT files from the log! fun fun.
/OT
seeing without seeing is something the blind learn to do, and seeing beyond vision can be a gift.
I don't use Task Manager any more. I use a much better utility called System Explorer v2.3.8.3214. It shows much more information than TM does.
Anyway, I had noticed that on Physical Memory the System cache was reported greater than available memory. I thought this to be quite odd. Now, it is reported correctly, much lower than available:
Available: roughly 2.2 GB
System cache: roughly 660 MB.
Windows Vista and Win7 both handle memory MUCH differently than XP does, Vista and Win7 both believe that unused memory is wasted memory and will use unused memory as a 'cache' to make the system faster.
The next time you reboot go into your Bios and see if you have it set to shut off the machine, or even to slow it down if it hits a certain temp? That could be the problem too, when just running as a pc without Boinc nothing is getting heat stressed so it would not come close to that temp, but when running Boinc it easily could, thereby shutting down the machine, or at least causing your bsod. Do you leave the side off or on? If you always put it back on, try leaving it off for a bit and see if that makes any difference.
... unused memory is wasted memory and will use unused memory as a 'cache' to make the system faster. ...
That's very much the case. System RAM is an "expensive" resource that should be used as effectively as possible, just as with the CPU. Windows using system RAM as an OS level cache is one of the tricks copied over from various other OSes that have been doing that (and other optimisations) for many years.
The Linux kernel has got various tweaks that you can control whilst live (no reboots needed!) for how system resources including caches are utilised. Then again, unless you're doing something very unusual, the defaults work very well.
So that's 8GByte physical RAM, and 6.8GByte is utilised. There's a further 0.4GBytes stored on the disk swap space. But note that there's just 2.6GBytes of that used for the multitude of applications I've got open/running. There's 1GByte utilised by buffers and 3GBytes of OS cached data. 1.4GBytes is left unused as immediately available for allocation.
OK, so that's a no-sweat on that system. More cache/buffers aren't used because there just isn't more data that can be usefully cached. When more busy, the caches can run the main memory down to as little as 50MBytes free. Areas from the caches and buffers are progressively sacrificed if an application then needs more main memory.
All very clever and effective and it all helps to maintain a constant 100% CPU utilisation :-)
I tell ya guys, I'm about fed up with trying to figure this out. Nothing seems to help in any way. Not "repair" installs, not updating my video driver nothing. And now, I am stuck with trying to dual-boot Linux on this thing.
I started a thread on the Kubuntu forum with a problem with the install. I've tried to install both v10.04 and v10.10, I get the same problem with both at the exact same location in the install.
The install gets to the partitioning section where it sees that I have WinXP installed and gives me the option to install on a new partition along side of Windoze. Before I can do anything, my mouse and keyboard lock up tight. I have to pull the CD and do a hard reset. I even changed out my wireless keyboard and mouse for the 20th century version and still, they lock up.
I swear, I'm close to getting rid of Windoze, if it weren't for the fact that I do some things on it that I cannot do on Linux, yet. Hmmmm... Just had a thought... I think my next try at the Linux install will be to by-pass my KVM switch and hook the mouse and keyboard direct. Actually, I really don't see where that would make any difference except that I can eliminate the KVM switch.
Well, maybe tomorrow, I have to go to work in a couple hours.
I tell ya guys, I'm about fed up with trying to figure this out. Nothing seems to help in any way. Not "repair" installs, not updating my video driver nothing. And now, I am stuck with trying to dual-boot Linux on this thing.
I started a thread on the Kubuntu forum with a problem with the install. I've tried to install both v10.04 and v10.10, I get the same problem with both at the exact same location in the install.
The install gets to the partitioning section where it sees that I have WinXP installed and gives me the option to install on a new partition along side of Windoze. Before I can do anything, my mouse and keyboard lock up tight. I have to pull the CD and do a hard reset. I even changed out my wireless keyboard and mouse for the 20th century version and still, they lock up.
I swear, I'm close to getting rid of Windoze, if it weren't for the fact that I do some things on it that I cannot do on Linux, yet. Hmmmm... Just had a thought... I think my next try at the Linux install will be to by-pass my KVM switch and hook the mouse and keyboard direct. Actually, I really don't see where that would make any difference except that I can eliminate the KVM switch.
Well, maybe tomorrow, I have to go to work in a couple hours.
Thanks for the help! :)
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
During OS installs I ALWAYS remove all 'funky' things so the pc only sees the standard old stuff, ie kvm switches, wireless anything are all removed and direct wired things are used instead. Then after the install is the way I like it I start installing those 'funky' things again.
Well, this is still nearer to
)
Well, this is still nearer to 'curious' rather than 'solved'...
The idea of running your Windows system disconnected from the network is so that you can (securely) run it without the antivirus and firewall running, to then eliminate whether they might be interfering. Or even find if there is some other network activity such as Windows automatic update that might be throwing a spanner in the works.
Still a suspicion is video problems/overheat... Does Boinc run ok if you disable all GPU crunching?
If you already have Linux on there, a good test is to see if you get any further with that. At least you might get some clues to any problems from the logs.
(Good you haven't a cat to bung up the works with cat hair or even itself... :-) )
Good luck,
Martin
(You'd be amazed at some of the IT support calls... Such as "Can my computer work ok after drinking coffee?..." That is all the coffee was dropped onto the poor thing... Yes it was running. And no, it wasn't immediately switched off. Then it did 'strange things' whilst being dried somehow whilst still powered up...)
See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)
RE: Well, this is still
)
Ok, well this will have to wait until after the current "repair" install is complete, again. By the way, when Windows install rebooted, after loading all the files it required, the "cylon" splash screen did NOT have the artifact as reported a few days ago. Let me check the progress...
Just had to enter the product key code...
Before this problem, BOINC ran fine with and without GPU. I opted not to run GPU with the other video card since it didn't quite have the muscle. Checking progress...
Registering components now...
I don't have Linux installed on the i7 right now. Good idea, though, and I plan on doing it. I did dual boot with it several months ago though. Checking progress...
Finalizing installation...
Yeah, I have seen some really stupid things that people do to their PCs and need help with "fixing" it.
Installation complete. Now sitting on the logo screen that says "Please wait...". Windoze is sitting there with no HDD activity and no CD activity. It's sitting dumbfounded, not knowing what to do next... I do have the hourglass cursor and can move it around the screen. Lotta dang good THAT does me! I'll give it a few more minutes and if it doesn't wake up to reality, I'll hit the reset button, just like the other day when this happened.
Ok, hitting the reset button and when booted, will use sfc to check my system files.
Thanks Martin! :)
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr XO
USS Vre'kasht NCC-33187
Siran's website: [ ONLINE! ]
Greetings, *** UPDATE
)
Greetings,
*** UPDATE ***
"Repair" installation is complete. I hit the reset button at the "Please wait..." screen. Got tired of "Please wait..."-ing again. i7 booted up fine. There was no reported artifact on the "cylon" splash screen. SFC (System File Checker) is running and verifying my system files.
Running on the generic Windoze video driver. Will install the nVIDIA driver once SFC is complete. Hopefully there will be no BSOD this time. If there is, I believe it is going to be "Clean" installation time.
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
[edit]
By the way, there are over 4,000 system files that SFC needs to verify! :O
[\edit]
CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr XO
USS Vre'kasht NCC-33187
Siran's website: [ ONLINE! ]
Greetings, *** UPDATE
)
Greetings,
*** UPDATE ***
Well, installing the nVIDIA driver from the CD is a bust! But, no BSOD this time. Woohoo! :) Had to run SFC again to reverse what the install screwed up. The artifact was still a no-show. Woohoo! :)
I updated the driver through Device Manager and no problem there. Well, yeah, the artifact is back again! :(
I went to the manufacturer's website and downloaded the latest driver. Installed it. No problem, except that fraking artifact. Plus, I now have the nVIDIA settings manager.
I believe that because of that artifact on the "cylon" splash screen, the i7 is still going to be screwed. I'll let it run for a while and see. I'll start BOINC to see what happens too. BOINC test first...
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
[edit]
Well, one thing I have noticed that has changed:
I don't use Task Manager any more. I use a much better utility called System Explorer v2.3.8.3214. It shows much more information than TM does.
Anyway, I had noticed that on Physical Memory the System cache was reported greater than available memory. I thought this to be quite odd. Now, it is reported correctly, much lower than available:
Available: roughly 2.2 GB
System cache: roughly 660 MB.
[/edit]
CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr XO
USS Vre'kasht NCC-33187
Siran's website: [ ONLINE! ]
Greetings, *** UPDATE
)
Greetings,
*** UPDATE ***
Ok, ran a 10 minute torture test on the video card:
Downloaded: FurMark - OpenGL Benchmark - GPU Burner v1.8.2
Torture tested: for 10 minutes, temp maxing out at 69C, averaging 66C
Benchmark: 1747 @ 60,000 ms (unknown whether good, bad or indifferent)
Observation: motherboard temp higher than CPU temp
Results: no smoke, fire, strange sounds or smells of any sort
Conclusion:
I would conclude that my video card can stand the stress. At least for 10 minutes. I saw a picture of what FurMark did to a video card. I believe it to be a low end card, no on board cooling. It was burnt, fried, toasted beyond usable!!! Good thing I didn't see that pic before I ran my stress test. I probably would not have. ;)
I believe my i7 hardware is functioning within established parameters. Now for some software, dual booting Linux...
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr XO
USS Vre'kasht NCC-33187
Siran's website: [ ONLINE! ]
on the topic of SFC, it
)
on the topic of SFC, it actually does write a log, usually in c:\windows\logs\cbs\cbs.log
youl need to start notepad or your preferred txt editor as admin to be able to read it.
OT
i wish you luck in making heads or tails of it, as i am currently trying to do, as it reaches 100% but reports corrupted files that it could not fix, but i cant figure out WHAT files from the log! fun fun.
/OT
seeing without seeing is something the blind learn to do, and seeing beyond vision can be a gift.
RE: Well, one thing I have
)
Windows Vista and Win7 both handle memory MUCH differently than XP does, Vista and Win7 both believe that unused memory is wasted memory and will use unused memory as a 'cache' to make the system faster.
The next time you reboot go into your Bios and see if you have it set to shut off the machine, or even to slow it down if it hits a certain temp? That could be the problem too, when just running as a pc without Boinc nothing is getting heat stressed so it would not come close to that temp, but when running Boinc it easily could, thereby shutting down the machine, or at least causing your bsod. Do you leave the side off or on? If you always put it back on, try leaving it off for a bit and see if that makes any difference.
RE: ... unused memory is
)
That's very much the case. System RAM is an "expensive" resource that should be used as effectively as possible, just as with the CPU. Windows using system RAM as an OS level cache is one of the tricks copied over from various other OSes that have been doing that (and other optimisations) for many years.
The Linux kernel has got various tweaks that you can control whilst live (no reboots needed!) for how system resources including caches are utilised. Then again, unless you're doing something very unusual, the defaults work very well.
I'm presently running with:
[pre]$ free
total used free shared buffers cached
Mem: 8195456 6825308 1370148 0 1120184 3098888
-/+ buffers/cache: 2606236 5589220
Swap: 16774512 416328 16358184[/pre]
So that's 8GByte physical RAM, and 6.8GByte is utilised. There's a further 0.4GBytes stored on the disk swap space. But note that there's just 2.6GBytes of that used for the multitude of applications I've got open/running. There's 1GByte utilised by buffers and 3GBytes of OS cached data. 1.4GBytes is left unused as immediately available for allocation.
OK, so that's a no-sweat on that system. More cache/buffers aren't used because there just isn't more data that can be usefully cached. When more busy, the caches can run the main memory down to as little as 50MBytes free. Areas from the caches and buffers are progressively sacrificed if an application then needs more main memory.
All very clever and effective and it all helps to maintain a constant 100% CPU utilisation :-)
Happy crunchin',
Martin
See new freedom: Mageia Linux
Take a look for yourself: Linux Format
The Future is what We all make IT (GPLv3)
Greetings, @ Mikey &
)
Greetings,
@ Mikey & Martin
I tell ya guys, I'm about fed up with trying to figure this out. Nothing seems to help in any way. Not "repair" installs, not updating my video driver nothing. And now, I am stuck with trying to dual-boot Linux on this thing.
I started a thread on the Kubuntu forum with a problem with the install. I've tried to install both v10.04 and v10.10, I get the same problem with both at the exact same location in the install.
The install gets to the partitioning section where it sees that I have WinXP installed and gives me the option to install on a new partition along side of Windoze. Before I can do anything, my mouse and keyboard lock up tight. I have to pull the CD and do a hard reset. I even changed out my wireless keyboard and mouse for the 20th century version and still, they lock up.
I swear, I'm close to getting rid of Windoze, if it weren't for the fact that I do some things on it that I cannot do on Linux, yet. Hmmmm... Just had a thought... I think my next try at the Linux install will be to by-pass my KVM switch and hook the mouse and keyboard direct. Actually, I really don't see where that would make any difference except that I can eliminate the KVM switch.
Well, maybe tomorrow, I have to go to work in a couple hours.
Thanks for the help! :)
Keep on BOINCing...! :)
CAPT Siran d'Vel'nahr XO
USS Vre'kasht NCC-33187
Siran's website: [ ONLINE! ]
RE: Greetings, @ Mikey &
)
During OS installs I ALWAYS remove all 'funky' things so the pc only sees the standard old stuff, ie kvm switches, wireless anything are all removed and direct wired things are used instead. Then after the install is the way I like it I start installing those 'funky' things again.