Author Topic: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*  (Read 6801 times)

Offline Draco18s

  • Resident Velociraptor
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,251
*Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« on: August 22, 2016, 11:57:19 am »
My new computer doesn't work.  At least, not for very long.  Longest up-time before bluescreen is about 12 hours.

Here's the list of errors I get when it crashes:
0xD1
0x0A
0x1F
0x1E
0xC4
0x01
0x4E
0x3B
0x50
0xFC
0x7E
0x24

0x24 finally points at something specific causing a problem.
"This indicates a problem occurred in ntfs.sys, the driver file that allows the system to read and write to NTFS drives."

FML

Offline Dominus Arbitrationis

  • Arcen Games Contractor
  • Arcen Staff
  • Sr. Member Mark III
  • *****
  • Posts: 479
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #1 on: August 22, 2016, 12:27:06 pm »
Have you tried turning it off and back on again? :P

More seriously, do you have any other hard drives that you can plug in and see if they work, or are you able to fix those drivers? If you have nothing important on the drive, it might be best to try reformatting it entirely as a last resort and see what that does.

Note: I disclaim any and all responsibility for this. I'm a software guy, not really a hardware guy, I tend to just monkey around with stuff until it works.

If that doesn't work, here's my parting words: Computers are hard, yo.
Come help out at the Wiki!

Have ideas or bug reports for one of Arcen's games or any part of the site? Use  Mantis for Suggestions and Bug Reports. Thanks for helping to make our games and site better!

Offline Draco18s

  • Resident Velociraptor
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,251
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2016, 12:31:50 pm »
More seriously, do you have any other hard drives that you can plug in and see if they work, or are you able to fix those drivers? If you have nothing important on the drive, it might be best to try reformatting it entirely as a last resort and see what that does.

I've reformatted and reinstalled windows fresh on the SSD already. I don't have enough room on another dri--
Hold on a mo, I think I do have an unused drive floating around...

If that doesn't work, here's my parting words: Computers are hard, yo.

Yus.

Offline Pumpkin

  • Hero Member Mark III
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,201
  • Neinzul Gardener Enclave
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2016, 12:47:25 pm »
I tend to just monkey around with stuff until it works.
Isn't that the definition of the job of a computer scientist?
I might have been mistaken, then.
Please excuse my english: I'm not a native speaker. Don't hesitate to correct me.

Offline eRe4s3r

  • Core Member Mark II
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,825
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #4 on: August 22, 2016, 03:06:36 pm »
My new computer doesn't work.  At least, not for very long.  Longest up-time before bluescreen is about 12 hours.

Here's the list of errors I get when it crashes:
0xD1
0x0A
0x1F
0x1E
0xC4
0x01
0x4E
0x3B
0x50
0xFC
0x7E
0x24

0x24 finally points at something specific causing a problem.
"This indicates a problem occurred in ntfs.sys, the driver file that allows the system to read and write to NTFS drives."

FML

Whenever I see posts like that, where there a dozen different bsod's.. it instantly reminds me that in 90% of all cases this is a ram issue. When ram is fux0rd the system will encounter memory corruption at random times, which causes corruption in random system kernel drivers. Ram fux0rd can happen from simple things (some mainboards REQUIRE ram in Slot 0 or they flat out won't work properly) and other times ram can arrive broken from the get go.

What the other 10% are you ask?
well....
Those are the times where you really wanna light the world on fire. CPU, Mainboard, Drivers, GPU... and everything else you can think off, it could be all broken at once...

TL;DR, this is why I don't buy PC parts piecemeal over the internet anymore ;P Especially with RAM it's always been a nightmare.

Btw, one thing that makes me curious is that with such an issue you managed to install windows to begin with ;p Usually setup will root out any broken RAM long before it even gets to boot, and if it had been the ntfs driver or your SSD you'd not have seen the setup even OPEN. So imo, clear indicator it's a ram issue. If it ain't the ram, it could be anything else though.
« Last Edit: August 22, 2016, 03:13:56 pm by eRe4s3r »
Proud member of the Initiative for Bigger Weapons EV. - Bringer of Additive Blended Doom - Vote for Lore, get free cookie

Offline Toranth

  • Hero Member Mark III
  • *****
  • Posts: 1,244
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #5 on: August 22, 2016, 03:41:29 pm »
Whenever I see posts like that, where there a dozen different bsod's.. it instantly reminds me that in 90% of all cases this is a ram issue. When ram is fux0rd the system will encounter memory corruption at random times, which causes corruption in random system kernel drivers. Ram fux0rd can happen from simple things (some mainboards REQUIRE ram in Slot 0 or they flat out won't work properly) and other times ram can arrive broken from the get go.
Highlighting this: Especially in a new computer RAM is most likely, with CPU, cooling, and power issues filling out the most likely list.

If you can, run a tool like Prime95 to do a RAM checkout.  You can also try swapping out sticks one at a time and seeing if that helps things.
You can set an alarm for the CPU and GPU temperature monitors, and log the data if you have software that supports it.  This can help you find out if your thermal paste is uneven, too thin, etc.
If you have a bad power supply, I don't know of an easy way to detect it, unfortunately.  There are some tools, and your motherboard may have some built in, but you'll need to find the right tool for your hardware specifically.  All I can recommend as a quick help for power is to put your computer on a good clean power source - a high end, battery backup UPS/power strip, or something similar.
You can also do a visual inspection of your hardware, especially motherboard, looking for bad soldering, scratches, bad caps, loose connections, and the like.

Finally, if nothing appears to be bad, you can just start swapping out parts from other computers until you find something that makes it work.  This is easier to do if you can force the computer to crash quickly... being forced to wait 12 hours every time can make this a real PITA.

Other than that, good luck?  I've built my own computers for many years now, and it's been worth it 99% of the time... but that last 1% when something like this happens sucks and is really frustrating.  You have my every sympathy.

Offline Draco18s

  • Resident Velociraptor
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,251
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #6 on: August 22, 2016, 05:36:22 pm »
Already tried known good-ram.
I've also tried a different video card and hard drive.
Also I didn't buy piecemeal. Portatech let's you purchase a machine in a piecemeal manner, but all the parts are guaranteed to work together, they build it, install windows, and have a 3 day burn in period to check for DOA parts.

Offline eRe4s3r

  • Core Member Mark II
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,825
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #7 on: August 22, 2016, 07:15:03 pm »
Already tried known good-ram.
I've also tried a different video card and hard drive.
Also I didn't buy piecemeal. Portatech let's you purchase a machine in a piecemeal manner, but all the parts are guaranteed to work together, they build it, install windows, and have a 3 day burn in period to check for DOA parts.

Well if it doesn't work on arrival I'd say your next action is to call them. Wouldn't be the first PC that "broke" during shipping.

But what I meant is that exactly what you are writing is why I don't buy hardware online anymore. You can't believe any such claims, ain't no "guaranteed to work" in custom pc building. And burn-in? That can mean a lot of things (probably a live-USB OS) which doesn't actually detect many issues nor is it a proof of anything concerning stability.

Would be curious to see some images of how it arrived at your place. You DID take pictures before unpacking it, right? ;)
« Last Edit: August 22, 2016, 07:23:35 pm by eRe4s3r »
Proud member of the Initiative for Bigger Weapons EV. - Bringer of Additive Blended Doom - Vote for Lore, get free cookie

Offline Misery

  • Arcen Volunteer
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,109
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #8 on: August 23, 2016, 01:05:41 am »
Okay, I'm here to offer useful suggestions.

Step one:  Threaten it with something.

Step two:  If that didn't work, just hit it with a stick for 20 minutes.

Fixes everything, yep. 

Offline Draco18s

  • Resident Velociraptor
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,251
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #9 on: August 23, 2016, 12:26:21 pm »
But what I meant is that exactly what you are writing is why I don't buy hardware online anymore. You can't believe any such claims, ain't no "guaranteed to work" in custom pc building. And burn-in? That can mean a lot of things (probably a live-USB OS) which doesn't actually detect many issues nor is it a proof of anything concerning stability.

I'm RMAing it today/tomorrow. Already planned.
As for absolute guarantee, no, there isn't. But running the system for three days usually finds most problems.

And no, the box was not damaged in transit.

Offline eRe4s3r

  • Core Member Mark II
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,825
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #10 on: August 23, 2016, 01:12:27 pm »
But what I meant is that exactly what you are writing is why I don't buy hardware online anymore. You can't believe any such claims, ain't no "guaranteed to work" in custom pc building. And burn-in? That can mean a lot of things (probably a live-USB OS) which doesn't actually detect many issues nor is it a proof of anything concerning stability.

I'm RMAing it today/tomorrow. Already planned.
As for absolute guarantee, no, there isn't. But running the system for three days usually finds most problems.

And no, the box was not damaged in transit.

You misunderstood me, it's not about the box integrity itself, it's about how your rig was positioned in the box, what kind of protections and whether the cooler was properly dismounted before transit, and if not, in what direction the cooler was facing during transit. From what you say so far I have to assume you got it fully assembled via postal services.... 

Backplate mounted coolers HAVE to be detached before shipment through postal services is what the cooler manufacturers say ^^
Proud member of the Initiative for Bigger Weapons EV. - Bringer of Additive Blended Doom - Vote for Lore, get free cookie

Offline Mánagarmr

  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,272
  • if (isInRange(target)) { kill(target); }
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #11 on: August 23, 2016, 01:43:47 pm »
I can join in on your universe torching today. Some fuckwit decided to vandalise my car :/
Click here to get started with Mantis for Suggestions and Bug Reports.

Thank you for contributing to making the game better!

Offline Draco18s

  • Resident Velociraptor
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,251
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #12 on: August 23, 2016, 02:19:56 pm »
Backplate mounted coolers HAVE to be detached before shipment through postal services is what the cooler manufacturers say ^^

I don't know if this one has a backplate or not.  But yes, the fan was already installed and shipped that way, although there were several ties holding it to the case to keep it from being jolted free.

Offline Draco18s

  • Resident Velociraptor
  • Core Member Mark V
  • *****
  • Posts: 4,251
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2016, 11:42:49 am »
An update on matters.

I returned the machine under warranty and the CPU and motherboard were replaced.
I got it back on Thursday, but wasn't going to set things up until today, because it's a lot of work and I'm lazy.



Just look at that case damage, which clearly occurred before transit, not during, as the styrofoam sustained no damage.

Offline eRe4s3r

  • Core Member Mark II
  • *****
  • Posts: 2,825
Re: *Pours gasoline over the Universe and sets it on fire.*
« Reply #14 on: September 11, 2016, 03:38:57 pm »
Yeah I think now is the time to get your money back.. nothing is gonna explain that damage, happened before shipment, and if you took photos of the case before shipment they've got no leg to stand on here.

You have a bag of pity from me for suffering such absurd nonsense though. I know how it feels....

Btw, with that damage, I would put up a betting pool that more than just mainboard/cpu is damaged this time. No way the GPU PciE pins survived that... although if you are feeling lucky, you should at least test it ;P
Proud member of the Initiative for Bigger Weapons EV. - Bringer of Additive Blended Doom - Vote for Lore, get free cookie