Gettting a lot of Blue Screens

[Xynie]

Hey everyone.  My cab is finally up and running, YAY!  I have a problem though.  I seem to be getting a lot of Blue Screens with Windows XP (w/SP1) and Mame 81b.  It is at random times the game crashes, and either reboots the machine or just falls to desktop.

Anyone having any problems or have suggestions for Windows XP w/ Mame?  Should I just wipe and reinstall Mame and go from there?  Can I just reinstall mame over top of itself?

Anthony

[Howard_Casto]

What type of machine are you running.... some really old machines just have hardware that doesn't work well with xp.  

Other than that, xp is pretty much error free, so if you are having troubles then your install is hosed or some of your hardware is failing.

[Xynie]

What type of machine are you running.... some really old machines just have hardware that doesn't work well with xp.  

Other than that, xp is pretty much error free, so if you are having troubles then your install is hosed or some of your hardware is failing.

Brand new system.  Top of the line mobo, XP 2600, 1gig of ram, basically overkill.  I think I will wipe and reinstall...

Thanks
Anthony

[cdbrown]

Do some stressing of the pc using pcmark, 3dmark, sisoft sandra and see if it crashes with them.  If it does, wipe and reinstall everything.  Also check that you don't have any conflicting hardware.  Also try to note down the error codes on the BSOD and search for them.  They may give you a solution.

[Acids]

Is windows unstable?
If it is then you have hardware problems.    

Windows xp is the best OS M$ have released so far. my server has average uptimes of 100 or so days before I shutdown for a cold boot  ( p166 128mb ram )

my main machine, stays up for weeks ( i have a hdd caddy for work stuff so thats why )
and it plays mame fine.

i have 4 machine all intel all on xp and all VERY stable.

[PacManFan]

It may be your memory.  Check your bios settings and make sure you're not overclocking your ram or your processor. Try bumping the speed back a little and see if it helps.

-PMF

[J_K_M_A_N]

Also check your power supply. It may not be enough to power everything when it starts to get bogged down.

J_K_M_A_N

[kahlid74]

Lots of different things you need to check, but it all comes down to what you feel comfertable doing.

Re-installing should always be considered a last resort, It might fix the problem for sure, but then you will never know what the problem was to begin with and when it happens again, which it will, you will again be unprepared.

People have brought up some good hardware issues that you need to affirm work.  

1).What type of ram did you buy?  Kingston Value ram?  Or Accubyte 45 dollar mail in rebate on a 50 dollar purchase ram from best buy?
If you bought the accubyte ram, you can bet 80% of your problem exists there.

First thing you should do, is during the next blue screen WRITE down the exact error.  

Things to check in the OS:
1).Verify Hard drives are NTFS file system and that the drives are healthy.  Check this in computer management.
2).Verify there are no device conflicts in device manager.
3).Verify the newest Bios on Motherboard and graphics card.
4).Verify the newest video and motherboard drivers in Windows - NOT XP DRIVERS.  If you are using Motherboard installed X drivers, intall Motherboad manufacturer SPECIFIC drivers.
5).Verify memory is fit snugly and video card fit snugly into thier designated slots.
6).In computer management, open Event viewer and take note of any warnings or errors.

Basically there is a HUGE amount of work you can do before you should ever have to re-format, but if you just want a cheap qucik fix, go ahead and try re-format, but don't get anrgy when you meet this same problem 2 months down the road.

[Howard_Casto]

Agreed.... in all honesty xp is extremely stable so unlike 98, when you get a blue screen something is acutlally wrong wih your system.

Be it hardware or software, somethin ain't right.  

[Xynie]

Seems to be a memory leak... thanks to the event viewer.  I replaced the ram with some spare Crucial I had from another box that isn't being used.  Has been up 24 hours with good usage, and no blue screens.

We shall see

Thanks for the advice.

Anthony