My computer has recently taken to occasionally flashing a Blue Screen of Death then crashing and restarting. Another thing it's been doing is attempting to load Windows then saying it can't and going into repair mode. The only thing that will make it start Windows is running the Memory Diagnostic Tool, which never finds anything.Some things I have changed in my computer recently:-Reapplied thermal compound-Installed 2x2GB of Corsair DDR2 RAM-I'll admit I messed around with SetFSB and I believe that was around when problems started (I used the wrong PLL ID a few times)-Installed 9800GTI don't think this is a PSU problem because even though I'm using a Dell stock PSU the computer doesn't shut off even when playing Oblivion at the highest graphics settings or when playing FSX. It's always just after loading WindowsThanks for the help guys

Make sure thermal paste is in a thin layer and evenly distributed over the processor. If you remove cooler and see the paste not evenly distributed you must reapply and make sure the cooler is screwed in place accurately. And try to reset BIOS and start tuning all over.

I just saw this and you proably messed up with the PLL adn the FSB you show re set your CMOS

Hi sorry I forgot about this thread I've been a bit busy lately. Is resetting the CMOS really as easy as flicking a switch? I'm worried to end up with a dead computer...But on the bright side a new system may be on the way!

Hi sorry I forgot about this thread I've been a bit busy lately. Is resetting the CMOS really as easy as flicking a switch? I'm worried to end up with a dead computer...But on the bright side a new system may be on the way!

Trust me re-setting the CMOS is nothing big, I have to do it all the time, it simply re-sets your BIOS to the default settings. Just google how to do it for you particular Motherboard. No chance of a dead PC.What are your new specs gonna be I just upgraded for similar specs as yours (Core 2) to the specs in my sig and it's incredible what FSX can acheive! And other games too.

Just enter CMOS by pressing delete or one of the Function keys and LOAD OPTIMIZED DEFAULTS and everything will go back to way it was. Clearing the CMOS is the better way to do it but but can be tricky if you dont have your motherboard manual. BSOD with FSX is almost always related to your RAM. My motherboard has a CMOS clear button but most have a set of pins that you have to jump.

Just enter CMOS by pressing delete or one of the Function keys and LOAD OPTIMIZED DEFAULTS and everything will go back to way it was. Clearing the CMOS is the better way to do it but but can be tricky if you dont have your motherboard manual. BSOD with FSX is almost always related to your RAM. My motherboard has a CMOS clear button but most have a set of pins that you have to jump.

But he didn't say it crashes in FSX he said that it crashes once he loads windows. It not unusual to get a BOSD when you have incorrect voltages, and an overclock that's too high...

Thanks guys I don't know where my motherboard manual is or if I even have one but I read around a bit and I think I have an idea of where it'll be... Hopefully. And like luckyman said it's not an FSX crash I don't think it's ever crashed during a game it's always within 5 minutes of startup or during startup. The sad thing is even though I screwed up my PLL ID with SetFSB it still never recognised my PLL and I never actually overclocked anything. Oh and the new rig is still budget but built to have room for upgrade.Processer: Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.0ghz (planned to overclock to ~3.4-3.6) Memory: 2x2 GB Corsair DDR2 RAMMotherboard: Asus P5Q Pro Turbo (this will have to go if I ever upgrade to a newer processer)HD: Western Digital Caviar Black 750GB 7200RPM 3GB/SGPU: BFG 9800GT w/ 1GBOdds and Bits: Antec 900 case (combo deal with 650w PSU and CD/DVD drive), Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 CPU coolerAll in all trying to keep this under $600 so I'm reusing the RAM and trusty 9800GT from my current rig.

So did you have a chance to clear the CMOS?? Either go into the BIOS Select "load setup defaults" Save and exit or you can you can Unplug the power find out where the motherboard battery is remove it and let it sit for at least 20 mins and then put it back in.Your setup isn't bad but why get a Core 2 duo when for the same price you can get a Quad?? http://www.newegg.ca...N82E16819115057 and there's the Q8300 which is even cheaper than your future CPU.. http://www.newegg.ca...N82E16819115207Forget the Hard Drive unless yours is completly accient and upgrade your graphics card which is quite old.

I went into my BIOS and reset it to default settings but as soon as it rebooted I got the "Windows failed to start" screen and had to do a memory diagnostics test with no results again. Should I remove the CMOS battery and try that?I also saw the Q8400 and I almost immediately jumped on it then did a little more research and learned that the Q8x00 series is actually two of the E5x00 or E6x00 (can't remember which) series together while the Q9x50 series is the equivalent of two E8x00's so I figured I should just stick with an E8400 (possibly an E8500/E8600). The Q8x00 also has a low L2 cache which is even lower than my E7500. What graphics card would produce a noticeable difference from the 9800GT? I want to gain more than just a few frames from an upgrade to justify it.Thanks again!

Definetly try taking out the battery. And let me know how it goes.About the Quad: but your spending more money for less performance, the E8XX has 2 Cores and The Q8300 has 4. And the thing is you don't have 2 E8000's.As for the GPU most people (including me) suggest the GTX 460 1GB it's a super price for the performance and wer're talking a 10-20FP/S improvement. And it's just a bit more expensive than the GTX 260.

You can load the recovery console and try repairing the BOOT.INI or BOOT.mgr files. Something might of got corrupted. Going to need your windows 7 disk to run it.

Sorry for the long delay I've been playing around with the new system. The source of my BSOD was actually the RAM, on my new system I kept getting BSODs like the old one and still using the same RAM. I did MemTest86+ and that pulled up nothing then today when I went in to start overclocking I saw one of the BIOS settings mentioned that RAM running below 700mhz could cause the system to become unstable. So after I changed the FSB and overclocked the RAM with a 1:1 ratio the BSOD stopped.Also regarding the quad core I chose a higher powered dual core because I don't believe FSX makes much use of more than two cores ever and so I'd rather have a very strong dual core that will be heavily utilised than a weaker quad core that will only be half used.

May I ask if you are using DX9 or DX 10 Preview? I had tons of problems with DX10. BSODs, restarts, et al. No problems with DX9, much more stable and most importantly no BSODs. I am stable throuh a 12 hr flight ending in Paris and a 9 hour flight to TNCM

Sorry for the long delay I've been playing around with the new system. The source of my BSOD was actually the RAM, on my new system I kept getting BSODs like the old one and still using the same RAM. I did MemTest86+ and that pulled up nothing then today when I went in to start overclocking I saw one of the BIOS settings mentioned that RAM running below 700mhz could cause the system to become unstable. So after I changed the FSB and overclocked the RAM with a 1:1 ratio the BSOD stopped.Also regarding the quad core I chose a higher powered dual core because I don't believe FSX makes much use of more than two cores ever and so I'd rather have a very strong dual core that will be heavily utilised than a weaker quad core that will only be half used.

Glad you solved your problem! And definetly always run your DDR2 memory 1:1 with the FSB! So how's the performance with the new CPU? What's your GPU still the 9800GT??

May I ask if you are using DX9 or DX 10 Preview? I had tons of problems with DX10. BSODs, restarts, et al. No problems with DX9, much more stable and most importantly no BSODs. I am stable throuh a 12 hr flight ending in Paris and a 9 hour flight to TNCM

Did you not just read the post before, he solved his problem!