Computer techies! I need you!

[Bothersome]

Alright. Now, this post probably belongs on a computer techical support forum... but I've read through soooo many threads about this problem and haven't really gotten any good answers.

Anyone who's used a computer for an extended period of time will know what a BSOD or Blue Screen of Death(Doom) is. I've been having this problem, as well as frequent freezing and random, no-warning restarts.
The error code I get is NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL.

I've gotten several 'suggestions' from the various threads that I've been snooping through, but none that have pulled up anything substantial.

Some of these suggestions are:

Virus: I've run MULTIPLE virus programs, include Malware Bytes, Avast, and I'm currently running a full scan with Microsoft Security Essentials.
Bad Drivers: I've run a couple of scans for faulty drivers as well, which turned up nothing.
Over-heating/Bad computer environment: I've cleaned out my computer several times, and there's no way it could be overheating in this weather.
Misc: I've used CCleaner to basically sort through my temp files, caches, cookies and other various crap-piles to look for anything that I can throw away. I tossed out over a gig of crap with no luck.

If you guys have ANY suggestions short of wiping the entire disk and starting over, it would be much appreciated. If you do need any particular information to understand the situation better, feel free to ask.

I've already had a hard drive melt on me due to similar crap. I really need some help here. I can't afford another. q.q

 

[socktickler86]

It is a hardware error. Have you installed any new hardware recently? Is there any way you can duplicate the error consistently (that is, always getting the error when you start a game, have a large number of programs open, insert a cd, etc)?

It IS possible you have an overheating issue. A fan (on your CPU or video card or one of the chipsets) could be running to slow or a heatsink became detached.

 

[Bothersome]

I have installed no new hardware recently... however, my audio jacks have been messed up for quite some time, and have only gotten worse recently.
Well actually, I got a new mouse and headphones in May... but this is a very recent thing. I find it unlikely that the mouse or headset have anything to do with it.

As for a heating issue... well, that's possible. I don't think I'd be able to determine that on my own, though. Isn't there a procedure you can do on startup to analyze your pc's physical health?

Also, no. I cannot duplicate it. It seems to happen randomly. It can happen when I'm actively using the computer, or when I'm not even there. Sometimes it happens after 10 minutes, and sometimes after two days. The complete and utter randomness and unpredictability is what makes it frustrating.

 

[socktickler86]

Any computer these days will have a 'PC Health' area in the BIOS. When you boot your computer you should have a "Press Del to enter Setup" or "Press F9 to enter setup" or something. Within there you can see the temperatures. What you're describing doesn't sound like an overheating issue. The fact that it seems random says to me that it needs to be looked at physically. It could be a video card that is on its way out, motherboard component going haywire, hard drive doing something, who knows.

 

[TonyInMyThroat]

Unless I missed it, you didn’t specify if this is a laptop/desktop, OS, or memory configuration.

If you’re confident it’s not a driver issue and you’ve already verified the integrity of the hard drive, and it is truly random, it could be memory related.

If that’s the case, this is an old time “chicken soup” type remedy, but it has worked wonders in the past:

Do your best to vacuum out as much dust as possible, then pop out the DIMM’s and reseat them. If you have multiple DIMM’s you may also want to swap their positions.

It’s been a long time since I had to resort to such measures, but at least it helps eliminate one more possible issue.

 

[Bothersome]

This is a desktop running windows 7 with 4 gigs of RAM.

I could try this. I've never done a truly marvelous job of cleaning out my computer... but I'm beginning to think it's just hardware failures; in which case, I'll just buy a new PC and pop the old harddrive in it.

 

[kurchatovium]

You can check the fans easy enough hold a tissue near the back of the case and see if there is air blowing out. If the tissue isnt moving that means there is no airflow and perhaps the heating issue is a problem. There is usually at least one fan for the power supply and one for the case.

 

[metalgod]

Check to make sure your power supply isn't going bad.

A bad power supply (or one that has too low of a wattage limit for your hardware) is prone to power surges and restarts.

And, you already said you have physically cleaned your computer...I was going to mention that.

If you're pretty sure neither of these are the issue, check the hard drive by booting windows from the windows CD and by unplugging the SATA cable that connects your harddrive to your motherboard. If you still get the BSOD while booting from the CD and the harddrive is unplugged, then you know it's not the harddrive. If it is your harddrive, and you're sure its not a virus, you will likely need to get a new one. However, even if your harddrive is going you may be able to retrieve important data from it by getting a USB-SATA cable and connecting the SATA portion to your old harddrive, and the USB to a laptop, if you have one.

Also could be the motherboard going bad.

Unfortunately, hardware can fail randomly like that. Something similar recently happened to me. My computer suddenly decided it wanted to restart before it could ever load windows. I first cleaned my computer, then returned my BIOS to factory settings, then unplugged my video card, then tried booting from the Windows CD with the Harddrive unplugged. I have narrowed the problem down to the hard-drive or motherboard, and it is likely the harddrive (I was able to format the harddrive completely after retrieving important data, but it wont let me re-install Windows onto the harddrive.) It was basically a process of elimination done by first doing the obvious stuff (i.e. cleaning and returning my BIOS to factory defaults) and then trying different combinations of having things plugged in or unplugged.

 

[Bothersome]

Thanks for all the replies, guys.

Honestly, this computer has given me a lot of problems, and is rapidly becoming outdated and obsolete. I think I'm going to cut my losses and just save up for a new one.

I don't know what the problem is, but this way, I can be absolutely sure that it doesn't crop up again for a related reason. I'm going to go ahead and just start with a new hard drive as well; none of the information on this one is irreplaceable.

It's been a great computer, but buying a new one is just a better option in the long run. This one has outdated, faulty hardware that's been driving me up the wall for years. It could cost waaaay too much to replace it all individually.

 

[Bothersome]

I hate dragging up threads like this, but I actually have a tad bit of news. Maybe you guys will understand this better than I.

So, yesterday I went ahead and thoroughly cleaned out the inside of my computer. I also, in a spur of the moment decision decided to take Tony's advice and pop out the RAM sticks and swap them.
Since then, I have yet to have a single issue. Not one bluescreen today, not a single restart, and no signs of any freezing.

Now, it's a bit early to start jumping up and down of course... but it's looking pretty good over here now. I'm not going to start saying anything conclusive until I've had at least a week of no funky business... but hey, if nothing else, then I found a temporary fix.

 

[PurpleStyle]

Temporary fixes are all that exist, unfortunately. Eventually, your PC will take a dive due to hardware failure from any number of parts. The best thing you can do is physically upkeep the computer diligently, and back up your data!

 

[metalgod]

Did you run a memory diagnostic at any point when you had the old memory in? If so, you could run one with the swapped memory and see if the results are different.

Glad to hear it's workin!

 

[love feet]

Did you run a memory diagnostic at any point when you had the old memory in? If so, you could run one with the swapped memory and see if the results are different.

Glad to hear it's workin!

This!