Possible RAM issue

[alexsmith2709]

Got a weird one in yesterday, customer stated that they wanted me to just clean the fan. i did that but upon booting noticed it froze on the windows loading screen (its windows 7, so at the point where the windows logo appears, after a few seconds its stops moving and the computer freezes). I have left it for a few hours on that screen, but it stays there.
Booting to safe mode allows it to boot, but i cannot run anything as admin. I right click, choose run as admin but nothing is actually run as admin so cant uninstall/reinstall drivers, cant run sfc or chkdsk etc.
I ran memtest86 for a few hours this morning and it showed an error so i put in some different RAM that came out of a working laptop, i get exactly the same issue of freezing at the same point. Also all RAM i have tried causes it to freeze when running a malware scan from WinPE. I used Emsisoft Emergency Kit from WinPE and it freezes at the same point every time with different RAM and using different RAM slots. In safe mode the Emsisoft Scan froze after it detected the first 4 PUP, but they dont look serious. The operating system had not frozen, just Emsisoft.
Malwarebytes from WinPE caused a irql_not_less_or_equal BSOD. I was unable to boot to bitdefender boot disk as it froze on loading 3 times so i gave up.

In total i have tried 3 RAM sticks in 2 different slots, all cause the freezing to happen in the same places.
Im going to leave memtest86 running over night tonight to check one of these other sticks i have, but i guess i could have a faulty board if i know these sticks are working.
I dont want to spend the time N&P if it is hardware, also windows is installed in Russian language to make things more complicated! (The customer is Russian so would like it like this).
I have tested the HDD, both SMART and surface tests come back fine.

Does any one have anything else i could try before i write this thing off?

 

[ComputerRepairTech]

I was unable to boot to bitdefender boot disk as it froze on loading 3 times so i gave up.

Can this software load without hard drive connected at all? is this an SSD or regular HD?

 

[alexsmith2709]

bitdefender boot disk gets further but still doesnt work, it has some sort of login issue. Removing HDD and running memtest appears to be going without error with the original RAM stick at the moment with 1 pass complete.
It is a spinner HDD. I've taken it out and chkdsk progresses further (hasnt finished running yet) so i dont think the HDD is the issue, at least not all of the issue.

 

[Mick]

Can you boot from a Linux PE?
Also - meant to ask: Did it boot OK before you cleaned the fan? I'm assuming so, otherwise the customer would have surely mentioned it.

 

[alexsmith2709]

Hi Mick,
I will try booting to a LinuxPE shortly and let you know. No, it wasnt booting before i cleaned it. After talking more with the customer they assumed it was a fan problem because the fan was making a noise (spinning fast from what i can understand) and the next time they used it it wouldnt start up. Getting any further info is difficult due to the language barrier.
I have scanned HDD and there doesnt appear to be any issues there. I have managed to view a memory dump that was created a couple days before it was brought to me which shows a BSOD caused by an Avast file.
First time i tried a system restore it failed, but i couldnt read the error as it was Russian, i am trying it again now so will see how that goes. There is a restore point from before Avast was installed.

 

[AlexCa]

First I would test each slot individually with a known good RAM stick (it might be one of the slots that is jacked).

If all is good, then I would use a spare HDD and test to install Windows (it might be that the HDD is jacked, but the tests aren't detecting it. That might be the reason why all the bootable scanners you've tested are freezing at some point during the scan).

 

[Mick]

OK. The reason I suggested booting to Linux is because - if it boots - you've gone along way towards ruling out (some) hardware. Similarly, if it won't boot, you've gone a long way in the other direction. You really need to figure out the question before you can start work on the answer @AlexCa makes some good suggestions too.

(And, of course, if you can get into it with Linux, you can start to access a heap of diag tools that might help you progress further.)

 

[alexsmith2709]

First I would test each slot individually with a known good RAM stick (it might be one of the slots that is jacked).

If all is good, then I would use a spare HDD and test to install Windows (it might be that the HDD is jacked, but the tests aren't detecting it. That might be the reason why all the bootable scanners you've tested are freezing at some point during the scan).

I have tested the RAM stick by stick, all seems to be ok when HDD isnt connected.
I think i will try your suggestion of installing widows on a test HDD as i am now leaning towards it being a HDD issue even though scans are not showing any errors.
Hopefully after installing the test HDD the RAM wont show errors and i'll be good to go!

Thanks for your help

 

[pcpete]

as soon as you found a configuration that memtest was running good, then you need to test the hard drive. Assuming memory and the hard drive test good, then it is probably just a hosed install of windows. Next try a test install to verify any other mobo issues if you want to take it a step further.

On a side note, there is no money in just cleaning a fan. I would have told the client let's start off with a free evaluation so we can test it top to bottom, then we can let you know some good options to get the computer running like new again. Then depending on other factors we would upsell an ssd and try and make $200 to $300 on the job.

 

[frase]

I have the exact same issue - fixed page fault error now IRQ error. The damn system is like the Wheel of Misfortune grrr
Am going to replace RAM tommorow as hard drive checked out ok. Have already replaced PSU and checked CPU.

 

[alexsmith2709]

On a side note, there is no money in just cleaning a fan. I would have told the client let's start off with a free evaluation so we can test it top to bottom, then we can let you know some good options to get the computer running like new again. Then depending on other factors we would upsell an ssd and try and make $200 to $300 on the job.

There maybe no money for you, but it works for me. I charge half an hour labour to spray out a computer with an air compressor, removing the case if needed. I always diagnose issues myself, but this particular customer asked if i could spray out the fan, i agreed as it is a service i offer, it was only when turning on to test afterwards that i noticed it did not boot, which they failed to tell me when booking it in. My terms and conditions allow for me to find other issues and diagnose/warn/fix if they are found.
My customers will very rarely agree to a repair that goes over the £150 mark, if it goes over this mark i recommend a new/refurb machine which is more up to date and i transfer their data across.
The language barrier is a small issue in this job, but we are getting there and they are understanding that it is a bigger job than first realised.
I'll report back after i've used a test hdd

 

[Porthos]

My customers will very rarely agree to a repair that goes over the £150 mark, if it goes over this mark i recommend a new/refurb machine which is more up to date and i transfer their data across.

^^This is the reality and curse of break/fix business. Clients know they can get a new computer "Walmart" for not much more. they don't care about anything but price. We are left with the reality of thin margins on parts and relying on labor to survive and the end users are not really willing to pay much when a "cheap" computer is available and if it was not for data transfer (many will blow off the data) if we really charged what we are worth. Volume is what keeps us going and the decline of the use of actual computers because of the use of "pocket" computers "phones and tablets" kills are the ability for us to survive and the MSP model that works for business is not truly viable in a home user environment of declining computer use.

 

[pcpete]

I strongly disagree when I hear people say that people in their area won't pay a certain amount, but they have $600 to buy a new computer and another $100 to $200 or more to set it up

In the last two years, our profits are up 80%. It is insane. My two employees are also getting paid well. Our business is 80% residential break-fix, a supposedly dying industry. It is easy to make $300 per job. We offer almost every single person who comes in an SSD upgrade. We can upgrade a first or second generation(an of course newer) iseries laptops with and SSD, and they will run wonderfully and save our clients money while making a large margin for us. We even offer SSD upgrades on newer systems one to two years old, and people are so happy we did.

Let's say a client comes in with a second generation i5 hp with a hard to get at HD. We will phrase the quote as $289 to upgrade your system to a $240 GB SSD(we offer a two-year warranty on the drive), then $99 to transfer all of there programs and files(their whole life). For $389 total the clients are fully upgraded with a super fast system, with all of their programs installed. Since we do a clone when we can, this goes super fast for us while we make just under $350 and the clients save money because they don't have to pay us or spend lots of time reinstalling everything. This is a win-win for everyone.

For this to work, you need to believe you are giving value at what you are offering. I think this is an immense value to a lot of people who don't have an extra $400 to spend or would prefer they saved the money and spent it on something other than a buying a new computer and paying me to set it up from scratch.

 

[alexsmith2709]

Looks like it is a hard drive issue. Another hard drive seems to work fine.

Believe me, i would love for customers to choose to repair, its better for profit and better for the environment but you cannot force people to repair if they want to buy new. I get people complaining that i charge half an hour labour (£24) to do things like cleaning a fan and charging an hour and half plus parts to reinstall windows. When there is so little money in hardware i'd love to get repairs where i can make money on the labour, but people seem to think instead of spending £200 on a repair to a 2 year old laptop they would rather spend £350 on a new one.

Im lucky that computer repair is only part of my business, otherwise i wouldnt survive. There are 2 main types of people that live around here, the poor that have no money and the rich that dont want to spend their money.

 

[Mick]

but people seem to think instead of spending £200 on a repair to a 2 year old laptop they would rather spend £350 on a new one.

Snap! Not sure where you're based but that is my experience too. I live in a pretty prosperous area* and coming up with the money for a new toy is no problem, but coming up with a smaller amount to pay me apparently isn't worth it...

*Some people are so rich, they even buy Macs

 

[alexsmith2709]

Snap! Not sure where you're based but that is my experience too. I live in a pretty prosperous area* and coming up with the money for a new toy is no problem, but coming up with a smaller amount to pay me apparently isn't worth it...

*Some people are so rich, they even buy Macs

I'm down in Surrey in what sounds like a very similar type of area. We have a multi-millionaire/celebrity estate a couple miles away as well a numerous other private estates and people right at the other end of the scale, both can find money for the latest iphone and mac but not to repair something. Both ends of the scale are also the people that complain about me charging 10p for a photocopy!

 

[Porthos]

There are 2 main types of people that live around here, the poor that have no money and the rich that dont want to spend their money.

I live in a pretty prosperous area* and coming up with the money for a new toy is no problem, but coming up with a smaller amount to pay me apparently isn't worth it...

Same here.

 

[pcpete]

everyone has to run your business how you see fit, but when I hear techs say people in their area won't pay, I find it hard to believe. People are the same everywhere. Half of our clients are poor and are watching every penny and the other half have money. They all do business with us because we believe in what we offer has value and is worth it. If you don't believe upgrading a system with an ssd and preserving all of their data, programs(their life) for under $400 is a good value, then neither will they.

 

[Romaniac]

... If you don't believe upgrading a system with an ssd and preserving all of their data, programs(their life) for under $400 is a good value, then neither will they.

Like you said a new PC is $600; so yah, that's way steep.

 

[allanc]

Like you said a new PC is $600; so yah, that's way steep.

Plus data transfer.
Plus s/w licenses.