My windows 7 machine has been crashing regularly and randomly over the last few days. I’ve only been getting blue screen error messages (error messages which have varied) about 1 in 5 crashes, the rest of the time it has just been closing down and restarting. According to the Dell helpline who had me run diagnostics of some sort the problem isn’t RAM or other hardware related so it is likely to be driver related. Updating these have proven to been difficult because the computer wont stay on long enough to download the updates!

Anyway i managed to download a BIOS update ok and got the message about closing all programmes currently running and a warning that i shouldnt turn the power off when updating the BIOS so i ok that and as soon as i click the update button the computer crashes and i get a blue screen. This has happened about 10 times now! Does this mean the BIOS is likely to be the problem of the crashes? And even if it is not the problem how am i going to update it? Will i need to re-install windows 7 and start from scratch?

STOP!

You seem to have very little knowledge of PCs and are doing something that will kill it.

Eeek that doesnt sound good!

I’m just following the advice of what the guy on the dell hotline told me to do after ‘passing’ the hardware tests!

I’m still using XP, but I assume that Windows 7 has a System Restore function. It might be worth trying that if the crashes are a recent occurance (I’ve had a dodgy driver render an XP installation unbootable – even in Safe Mode). If you can boot into Safe Mode (I think you have to press F8 during the boot sequence to access this) and the system stays stable it is likely to be a software/driver issue. If you do get your system running stabley again you might want to think about turning automatic updates off (if it’s on) as this can cause issues by installing updates silently in the background.

Updating the BIOS my solve the problem but if the PC crashes mid-flash you could render it unusable as Drac says (although some motherboards have dual bios chips to avoid this, I wouldn’t risk it otherwise you could end up sending your BIOS chip off to the reflashed).

If you have no joy, you could try a Windows repair install (assume Windows 7 will do this) which should leave you with a fresh install and all your program installations intact. It could, of course, be a hardware issue!

Will give that a go thanks

In the old days the BIOS was updated after booting from a floppy, thus missing out a possibly unstable operating system. Not sure if this is still possible (from a USB stick) but would be a way if the BIOS really does need updating (and not just something to try because the tech support guy can’t think of anything else).

I’ve never needed to update the BIOS on my PC, which is approx 5yo. It ran XP happily and is now Win7. Im not saying its impossible, but its unlikely to be the BIOS.

Blown caps on the motherboard?

Unless it’s a known problem [with a known fix] – I can’t see updating the BIOS doing anything

Have you also tried a system restore to a date when it was not doing the problems you have listed above?

Stick the original recovery CD in and reinstall windows (only select the format option if you’ve backed up all your files and outlook emails). If it still doesn’t work you’ll need to back up your files and then select the reinstall and format option. If it crashes so often you can’t back them up, a geeky friend should be able to mount your hard drive in another computer and copy the files across.

best thing is to just buy a mac, problem sorted

rumbledethumps – Member

Blown caps on the motherboard?

+1 for this. Common issue is the caps starting to break down.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

The cap issue mostly effects older PCs, it’s unlikely in a machine that came preinstalled with Windows 7.

I’d suggest that Dell’s ‘hardware test’ was inadequate. Get a Live CD with Memtest on it (google it), boot off that and run the tests.

Do a scandisk (right-click the drive in My Computer, Properties, Tools, ‘check drive for errors’, tick both boxes, then reboot when it complains).

Does it crash in safe mode?

I’d still it’s possibly hardware

1) Dodgy Ram
2) over heating clean it gently when off with hoover attatchment around fans and vents
3) Dodgy Hard Drive, they’re cheap and easy to add another to copy everything over and try again

4) Don’t bother updating the BIOS it’s extremely unlikely to be that.

The capacitor issue on the mobo would give a “thermal warning” black screen. Happened on my (and many other) work PC’s, but that was years ago.

Try googleing some of the exact bluescreen error messages. If it’s software/driver/etc. issue then it might just come back when you restore OS, updates, software etc. 😉 Might at least give some clues. That happened on my old machine – forget the exact cause, but it was something like an AV and another package insisting that their version of some DLL was the correct one.

Oh, and, would the Mac and Linux fanboys kindly sod off? Come back when the question is “can someone recommend an alternative to a PC running Windows.” Otherwise you’re not helping, you’re just trolling.

If it’s a hardware fault, Linux isn’t going to fix it. Buying a new computer for a potentially minor fault is lunacy.

The capacitor issue on the mobo would could give a “thermal warning” black screen.

FTFY. Symptoms are wide and varied.

Try googleing some of the exact bluescreen error messages.

Yup, ‘s a good starting point.

Also,

Is it a PC or a laptop?

Does it get worse over time? Eg, it’s fine for half an hour and then crashes repeatedly?

Take the PC case off and have a look. If the capacitors have oozed crap or even slightly domed then its a possibility. You will get a blue screen if your PC is configured (by default) to trap a BSOD error screen. The other Blue screen errors are usually RAM or Hard disk error related. I would also consider a system restore (if its turned on) to an earlier working stable state. Windows 7 restores are a big improvement over the ealrier XP incarnation.

Cougar relax brother, its a forum where we are all entitled to an opinion. Macs are great too and it’s healthy competition from this platform that has finally given Microsoft an OS that really is taking shape.

Cougar relax brother, its a forum where we are all entitled to an opinion. Macs are great too and it’s healthy competition from this platform that has finally given Microsoft an OS that really is taking shape.

I don’t disagree. It just happens -every- time someone asks anything vaguely PC-related, irrespective of whether it’s good or appropriate advice, and it’s starting to really chaff my arse.

I like Linux. I don’t have much dealings with Mac but have nothing against them. I firmly believe that Windows, OSX and Linux all have their places and applications. However, none of them are one-size-fits-all answers, and coming crashing into completely unrelated threads evangelising is, well, irritating to say the least.

It’s like the phone threads, every time you get an Android thread you get an iPhone owner going “get an iPhone lolz” and vice versa. It’s tedious, it’s unnecessary and it brings nothing to the conversation other than to cheese off everyone else. Which, of course, is largely why they do it.

(to hijack a joke – how can you spot a Linux user? They tell you.)

A fair point Cougar.

Why, thank you. (-:

It is a desktop, fairly newish too so it came with windows 7.

The crashes seem to be entirely random – can happen as soon as the computer turns on or after a couple of hours of use so i dont think it is temperature related. It has been kept pretty dust free too.

I’ve had it on safe mode since i posted this thread and it hasnt crashed yet. Probably a stupid question but do i do a system restore from within safe mode or do it from ‘full’ mode?

You can do it from either, IIRC. Do a scandisk first (as per above).

How new is new? Still in warranty?

Doing the Dell ‘factory restore’ might not be a bad idea if you’ve not had it long; back up your data first (which you do anyway of course, right?)

If you do a Dell reset and it’s still playing up, it needs kicking back to them.

If it’s new enough to have come with Win 7 then the dust and failing motherboard issues *shouldn’t* be applicable.

I’d rescue my data from the machine, and re-install the default image – this’ll take you back to a point where you can rule out software as being the problem, and then start working out what hardware might be failing.

( you have checked the system log in order to check for a failing hard drive, haven’t you ? )

I’ve been a techie for years. Waaaaaaay back when I was a baby techie, I was told that it’s always a bit of a risk updating a BIOS and not to bother, unless it really needed done.
I only really learned that lesson once I’d bricked a customer’s laptop by trying to flash the BIOS.

Check the fans are still working, including in the power supply and on the graphics card. Sometimes this can seem totally random as they might spin up 90% of the time. I had this the other day, only found out when I smelled burning, opened up the case and the card was roasting hot. 😯

After that download MemTest86. It’s an ISO image you can burn to a CD (using Nero or similar) and ideally leave running over night. It will tell you if the memory has gone bad.