# PC Crash While Playing Bioshock.



## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

Well, I'm not sure this is an issue that's unique to Bioshock (altho I can't be sure as I only have Bioshock installed atm). Just upgraded my system, currently have the latest graphics/sound drivers installed, although I'm not sure about the motherboard drivers, the driver CD that came with it only contained drivers for the motherboard features, and I couldn't find any motherboard specific drivers on the internet anywhere. Formatted and did a fresh installation - Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Hardware:
Asus P5K-E Motherboard
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 CPU
Corsair 620 Watt PSU
8800 GTX 768MB Graphics Card and
4GB Corsair XMS2-6400 CL5 RAM

BIOS settings are all default.

Thanks in advance for replies, and apologies if this is in the wrong forum.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Hi Effy, welcome to TSF

Is the 620W PSU a new one or from your old system?

Enter your full system specs into this *power calculator*, and add 30% to the total to allow for PSU inefficiency.

Run *SensorsView* at startup and make a note of the temperatures and PSU voltages, then do the same again while playing Bioshock or any other 3D game that will run for more than a few minutes.

Post back with the total +30% from the calculator and the 2 sets of readings from SensorsView.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

doing that now, but no, it's a brand new PSU, everything listed there is new, the only thing that's taken from my old system is the sound card and hard drive.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

that PSU calculator doesn't have my processor, but using the Q6600 (the closest match) it recommended a 625W PSU, +30% = 812.5.

Oh, and that SensorsView thing didn't work, "Failed to set data for 'Temp'"

Processor idle temperature was at about 35-36 degrees C according to the BIOS though.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

That's what I thought. The 8800 needs at least a 750W PSU with plenty of amps on the +12V line.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

Well then, I guess I'll look into exchanging my PSU and see what that turns up. Thanks for the swift response.

Got any recommendations on what PSU to get, btw, and where to get one from?


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

I've just had a look at the 620W Corsair PSU on newegg and one of the customer reviews says he's running 2 8800s on it, which I find hard to believe. I tried fitting an 8800GTS to my 650W Thermaltake PSU which has 72A on +12V and it struggled to start.


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

*Thermaltake Toughpower 750W*, $190

*Silverstone 750W*, $160
*
FSP (Fortron Source) FX Series 760W*, $180


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

koala said:


> That's what I thought. The 8800 needs *at least a 750W PSU* with plenty of amps on the +12V line.


Might go for the 850W Thermaltake ToughPower.

Can get one from novatech.co.uk for £106.93 inc. VAT, which is only £20 more than I paid for the Corsair PSU.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?TT-W0131


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Good choice. That's a strong PSU with an efficiency rating of over 80%.

Hang on for some more replies. We have PSU experts here and 8800GTX users who might have some better recommendations.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

alright ;p though it seems odd that the PSU would be the problem, because it doesn't crash out immediately, was playing for a couple of hours earlier without any problems. But then, I'm not completely clued up on PC hardware.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

ok, well er, I've had another look at the PSU calculator and I didn't notice the bit that says "Multicore CPU counts as a single processor. For example: for Core 2 Duo you should select 'Single Processor' as System Type.", so I re-rated my system and it's come back as requiring 369W.

A rookie mistake, I admit.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

got Asus PC Probe II running now as well, was monitoring voltages/temperatures while playing and the voltages stayed constant, didn't change at all.
CPU temperature didn't go above 35


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

ok, I've disabled the BSOD auto-restart feature and managed to make a note of the errors I've been getting, the 3 I've had so far are:

0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL
0x00000005: INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT
0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

Still having this problem, and it's not only Bioshock that is affected, Quake Wars demo is suffering from the BSODs as well.

Main file listed in the BSOD errors is win32k.sys.


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

by chance did you upgrade your cpu,and not reload windows?

oops that wouldnt apply to vista


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you (and then you get 2 replies within a few minutes of each other)

*0x0000000A: IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL*
Typically due to a bad driver, or faulty or incompatible hardware or software.


*0x00000005: INVALID_PROCESS_ATTACH_ATTEMPT*
This error code is a difficult one to interpret. There are a number of things that can cause it. Below is the standard method for troubleshooting it, from http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.php


> 1. Examine the “System” and “Application” logs in Event Viewer for other recent errors that might give further clues. To do this, launch EventVwr.msc from a Run box; or open “Administrative Tools” in the Control Panel then launch Event Viewer.
> 2. If you’ve recently added new hardware, remove it and retest.
> 3. Run hardware diagnostics supplied by the manufacturer.
> 4. Make sure device drivers and system BIOS are up-to-date.
> ...



*0x00000050: PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA*
Requested data was not in memory. An invalid system memory address was referenced. Defective memory (including main memory, L2 RAM cache, video RAM) or incompatible software (including remote control and antivirus software) might cause this Stop message, as may other hardware problems (e.g., incorrect SCSI termination or a flawed PCI card).


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

try updating your drivers. http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=P5K-E/WIFI-AP


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

drivers did nothing, but I think I've discovered the root of the error - faulty RAM module, took 2 of them out and it stopped crashing, swapped them over and it crashed in less than 10 minutes.

Just need to get some definitive information on whether or not one of them is actually faulty, or if it's just random luck.

I know most people use memtest86, but will it work on a 64-bit machine? or will I need to use something else? if it does work, how do I use it? ;p


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## koala (Mar 27, 2005)

Control Panel > Admin Tools > Memory Diagnostics Tool. This will test your RAM during the next reboot process, before Windows loads.

Or you can burn a *memtest ISO* to CD, change the boot order to 'CD first' and reboot with the memtest CD inserted. Run for at least 10 passes, 1 stick at a time. Your 64bit version of Vista will have no efect on the running of memtest as the tests are run from the CD, before Windows has loaded.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

ran the Memory Diagnostics Tool from windows and all 4 RAM modules tested fine, so I ran memtest86 on the 2 that I suspected of being possibly faulty, ran one of them overnight and the other for a few hours this morning, and both still tested fine.

Any other suggestions? :4-dontkno


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

4GB Corsair XMS2-6400 CL5 RAM <<< this is what you listed as your memory.are you sure they are matching sticks?sometimes non-matching sticks dont play well together.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

I bought 2 matched memory pairs.

Anyway, I re-checked the specifications for my RAM and it says the supply voltage should be 1.9V, and I believe default is 1.8V?

Any idea how I change the voltage? looked in the BIOS but can't find anything that looks like it would change the RAM supply voltage.


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

normally i think that would be listed as "dram voltage" some boards it doesnt say the exact voltage.it will say like "+0.1" "+0.2" etc.only give it the +0.1 to start.if your board says 1.8 when ya find it just increase to 1.9.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

There's no BIOS setting listed as DRAM Voltage :/
Nor anything that I saw that looked like it might have anything to do with it, there's DRAM Frequency and DRAM Timings etc, all the other ones you'd expect, but no voltage.

[edit] nm, I've done a bit of googling and I've found a page that explains step-by-step how to change the DRAM Voltage for my motherboard, so I'll go and have another look for myself ;p


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## Homer99 (Jun 26, 2006)

My system also crashes after playing Bioshock for about 1-2 hours with the stop message 0x00000050. Page fault in non paged area. nv4_disp.dll

I have ran memory tests, no errors at all. My RAM is rated for 2.1V I believe, but it is running under 1.83 (or similar) Volts according to the bios. Could this be the issue? Or is it an Nvidia driver problem?


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

Effy said:


> There's no BIOS setting listed as DRAM Voltage :/
> Nor anything that I saw that looked like it might have anything to do with it, there's DRAM Frequency and DRAM Timings etc, all the other ones you'd expect, but no voltage.
> 
> [edit] nm, I've done a bit of googling and I've found a page that explains step-by-step how to change the DRAM Voltage for my motherboard, so I'll go and have another look for myself ;p




cool that can be different from board to board.so i wasnt 100% sure about yours,but do post back to let us know how it fares.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

Homer99 said:


> My system also crashes after playing Bioshock for about 1-2 hours with the stop message 0x00000050. Page fault in non paged area. nv4_disp.dll
> 
> I have ran memory tests, no errors at all. My RAM is rated for 2.1V I believe, but it is running under 1.83 (or similar) Volts according to the bios. Could this be the issue? Or is it an Nvidia driver problem?


It's definately possible, and even likely, that that is what's causing the 0x00000050 errors. Bumping the voltage on my RAM seems to have gotten rid of those errors, but I'm getting a new one now, 0x0000003B: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION.


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## Homer99 (Jun 26, 2006)

I am trying the newest drivers from Nvidia (the beta ones optimized for Bioshock, I will report back later)


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

well tbh you'll want to increase the voltages on the RAM anyway if it's not at the recommended levels.


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

Effy said:


> It's definately possible, and even likely, that that is what's causing the 0x00000050 errors. Bumping the voltage on my RAM seems to have gotten rid of those errors, but I'm getting a new one now, 0x0000003B: SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION.


what sound are you using is it an onboard realtek?if so reinstall those drivers.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

I'm using a Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

Oh, and if it matters, I'm using the Vista 64-bit Web Release drivers for my soundcard.

Version 2.12.0002


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

removed my sound card and tried it with just the onboard sound, ran ok for a while but then still got the same SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION bsod.


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## pharoah (Aug 28, 2006)

i will look into this a bit more could be a 64bit related problem.many folks using 64bit operating systems have alot of problems.


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## Dom (Oct 19, 2007)

Your original problems sounded incredibly similar to mine Effy. The thing that finally stabilised it for me was manually setting all the timings AND voltage for your memory (same as mine I think) in the BIOS (mine was 2.1v, and possibly the mobo was taking a stock 1.8v). My motherboard may have been autodetecting the wrong settings.

Another thing which seemed to help for me (suggested in the hardware forums here) was clearing the CMOS, which seemed to clear another problem up.


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## Effy (Sep 4, 2007)

Been a while since I was last here, but this problem is still plaguing my computer -_-

Still can't figure out *** is causing it.


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