[NeonShivan]

Friends from Hard-Light Productions, I could use some help.

After exhausting various options, and in order to save the need to unnecessarily spend money on someone looking at my computer, I thought I'd give a chance to ask you guys.

Lately my computer has been encountering performance issues, and up until recently, blue screens. I've noticed a few various symptoms which have lead me to believe a potential processor issue, but I'd like to voice my problems here for advice on what course of action I should take.

The Bluescreen Error is IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL with a stop error of 0x0a. Googling the problem has only lead me to chase my own tail to square one, and in some cases cause some frustration.

I've been able to rule out problems with my RAM for a memtest(?) turned back negative for errors, there are also no malware or spyware on the computer that could be the culprit, and I've been able to rule out a dusty computer (for I recently opened it to find little to no dust in it).

From what I've come to notice, the bluescreens only happen when the computer is idle for a random period of time. What I was also able to deduce was a few problems which I feel can be associated with the causation of the bluescreens:

*Task Manager shows that when I'm watching Youtube, installing Steam (only once), or even at random, the CPU Usage will spike. For example, at one moment it'll be at per say, 27%, then it'll skyrocket to 75%, and then back down.

*While running a test to see if RAM failure is the culprit, I discovered that my CPU reaches 56 degrees Celsius (which for the yankees like me here, that's 132.8 degrees fahrenheit), which is ridiculously hot. My fan works, and there's little dust inside the computer itself. So either the test was severely inaccurate in the temp recording, or my CPU overheats out of no where.

My last remaining guess on the cause would be a problem with my CPU.

I can post any more information if needed, just I'd prefer not to shovel money onto some guy at my local Staples to fix the computer if possible.

Thanks!

 

[BirdofPrey]

It's the system monitor you are getting that temperature from right?

How hot is the heat sink itself? (Try briefly stopping the fan and seeing how hot the sunk gets).  If it doesn't get that warm then it's not doing much which could cause heat problems for the CPU.

Either way,  it sounds like the CPU may be overheating.   (Or it could be something else). 

[AdmiralRalwood]

How big is your PSU?

[Fury]

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error should also have file name that caused the error, this is missing from your post.

[LHN91]

56c is actually a totally normal CPU temperature - Intel CPUs are usually good until something like 90c and AMD up to 75c.

Have you run any hard drive diagnostics? That's what I ran into the last time I was fighting with an IRQL blue screen

[NeonShivan]

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL error should also have file name that caused the error, this is missing from your post.

according to the NirSoft Bluescreen Viewer, ntoskrnl.exe was the cause of the bluescreen

How big is your PSU?

You're asking how many watts it puts out right?

[AdmiralRalwood]

How big is your PSU?

You're asking how many watts it puts out right?

Yes.

[NeonShivan]

750W if I recall correctly then

[LHN91]

I still recommend grabbing Speedfan or HDtune or CrystalDiskMark and checking the SMART attributes on the hard drive. Bad sectors can cause these kinds of random ntoskrnl BSODs.

[NeonShivan]

If this information may help as well:

Code: [Select]

011315-19858-01.dmp 1/12/2015 10:33:37 PM IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL 0x0000000a fffffa80`184f8178 00000000`00000002 00000000`00000001 fffff800`0389ace5 ntoskrnl.exe ntoskrnl.exe+75bc0 NT Kernel & System Microsoft® Windows® Operating System Microsoft Corporation 6.1.7601.18700 (win7sp1_gdr.141211-1742) x64 ntoskrnl.exe+75bc0 C:\Windows\Minidump\011315-19858-01.dmp 4 15 7601 276,848 1/13/2015 2:51:26 PM
^ From Bluescreen Viewer

I also have the .dmp files if needed.

[deathspeed]

I had similar issues on my son's PC about a year ago, usually while trying to install something.  First I thought it had a particularly nasty virus.  Then I thought it was a bad RAM stick, but it passed MEMTEST and I tried running just a single stick at a time but got the same BSOD.  I also suspected the motherboard, since I had had issues with it while building the PC.  I don't remember now what all I tried or what finally led me to suspect the hard drive, but once I replaced that there have been no further issues.

[Fury]

1) Stop overclocking your CPU, RAM, GPU and restore defaults in BIOS/UEFI.
2) Windows 7+ has memory diagnostic tool which in my experience has found problems memtest86 did not. Run the diagnostic and once the diagnostic is running, immediately press F1 to change test mix to extended and let the test run.
3) Open command prompt as an administrator. Run chkdsk c: /r and repeat for each local disk drive letter.
4) Open command prompt as an administrator. Run sfc /scannow.
5) Uninstall software you don't need. Also uninstall or downgrade software and drivers that were installed or upgraded just before problems started.

Still having problems?
6) Format and reinstall. Trying to avoid format and reinstall almost always ends up costing you in time and effort and you still end up having to format and reinstall anyway. Better get it out of the way if basic troubleshooting does not help.
7) After reinstall, only install drivers and software you absolutely need. Observe system stability until you are certain whether the problem is still present. If it does, then its likely to be hardware problem.

[TechnoD11]

1) Stop overclocking your CPU, RAM, GPU and restore defaults in BIOS/UEFI.
2) Windows 7+ has memory diagnostic tool which in my experience has found problems memtest86 did not. Run the diagnostic and once the diagnostic is running, immediately press F1 to change test mix to extended and let the test run.
3) Open command prompt as an administrator. Run chkdsk c: /r and repeat for each local disk drive letter.
4) Open command prompt as an administrator. Run sfc /scannow.
5) Uninstall software you don't need. Also uninstall or downgrade software and drivers that were installed or upgraded just before problems started.

Still having problems?
6) Format and reinstall. Trying to avoid format and reinstall almost always ends up costing you in time and effort and you still end up having to format and reinstall anyway. Better get it out of the way if basic troubleshooting does not help.
7) After reinstall, only install drivers and software you absolutely need. Observe system stability until you are certain whether the problem is still present. If it does, then its likely to be hardware problem.

^ This. Definitely seems like a hard drive issue to me. By chance has your drive been noticeably louder or making clicking noises?

[NeonShivan]

So I was able to find a solution after backtracking recently installed programs prior to the bluescreens and it appears (surprisingly) that Origins was the culprit. However I still seem to be having CPU issues which googling helped me identify it being a separate issue. Thank you to everyone who has offered their assistance your help is greatly appreciated.

[MP-Ryan]

I've had that particular IRQL BSOD error before, on multiple different machines (though not always that particular EXE tied to it).  The things I've traced it back to (on various machines):

1.  Memory (resolved by eliminating the bad stick).
2.  Impending hard disk failure (resolved when the HDD actually died)
3.  Overheating (ultimately added a case fan, replaced dying heatsink fan.).
4.  Audio driver update incompatibility with one application, Team Fortress 2 (eventual driver finagling resolved it, and a later update fixed it).

Fury's advice is easily the best way to troubleshoot this.  Define "still having CPU issues."

And yeah - 56 is a normal-range temperature for an Intel or AMD CPU under any sort of load. Idle should be lower, ideally.

[NeonShivan]

Fury's advice is easily the best way to troubleshoot this.  Define "still having CPU issues."

Well according to the power of Google (various sites including this one: www.msfn.org/board/topic/140263-how-to-get-the-cause-of-high-cpu-usage-by-dpc-interrupt/ ), the underlining cause is bad drivers since during various periods of downloading updates/games from Steam or watching youtube, the Interrupt CPU usage skyrockets and becomes the second highest CPU user in the processes, however what I find it be confusing is that even then, it's still like 20-30% usage, so it doesn't quite entirely explain the framelag but I decided to try to the solution anyways to see if I can fix the problem. So far I think the solution hasn't quite fix the problem so it's a bit confusing, but restarting the computer helps it, but it doesn't stop the problem.

[jr2]

If your CPU overheats, it throttles back to cool, so if your heatsink fan perhaps is failing slowly or the thermal paste has aged too much and needs to be replaced, maybe that could cause issues.

Try monitoring the CPU frequency to see if it's throttling back when the problem occurs?

Just an idea, not sure if that could be the problem. - shrug -