Can crashes be caused by hardware?

GerryPeters · 17 Nov 2023

I have a 14 yr old Q9450 computer. I've been having some crashes lately, but none for several months when I had quite a bit of crashes. This time, it took a long time trying things to get it working again. After crashing, the bios didn't recognize a boot drive, I tried a different HD and same thing.

Finally, I turned it on it's side and pressed down and reseated cables, cards, RAM, etc and got it working. Did the File checker and DISM and it fixed all the problems. I've left it on it's side for 3 days now and it works fine. I just noticed the back fan is not running at this moment. I've been watching the CPU fan and the back fan for days and never saw it stop. currently, it's stopped for about 1.5 hours. I just opened the Core Temp App and it shows temps in the lower range. Could it be that the fan only comes on when needed?

One other strange thing I noticed 3 days ago is the power cord to the computer was not pushed in all the way. With power cords, I've always assumed the power either works or it doesn't, not a minimal amount of power if the cord is not in all the way. I know audio cables work that way where you can jiggle them or move them a certain way and the audio is louder, if there's a bad connection. Any thoughts or suggestions?

bro67 · 17 Nov 2023

Yes system and hard drive issues can be caused by anything. This is like asking a mechanic if car problems can be caused by not keeping tires inflated of fluids at their proper levels.

Megahertz · 17 Nov 2023

Most crashes on old computers are related to:
- MB oxidation (if near by the sea)
- HDD failing that leads to BSOD and file corruptions.
- Dust on the CPU heat sink that leads to over temperatures.

My wife still uses my old (2011) GA- Z68 with i7 2600k. I have added a small (128G) SSD for Windows and programs and use the HDD for data only.

GerryPeters · 17 Nov 2023

Since the back exhaust fan was not spinning for about 2 hours. I rebooted to see if it would start running during the booting, It didn't. Then while rebooting again, this time I pressed on the video card and the fan came on, but the video card was hot to the touch. I wanted to see if pressing on the video card could have caused the fan to come on, so I rebooted and this time I waited a long time and the fan didn't come on. When the desktop was up, I pressed on the video card and the fan immediately came on and has now been on continuously for hours.

I plan on removing the video card and reseating it after spraying it and the slot with compressed air. It looks to me like the fan stopping was due to a bad connection. I'm not sure if a video card in an old computer normally gets hot or if it's overheating . If this is a red flag I probably have another video card I can replace it with from an old computer.

I got my vacuum cleaner and compressed air and cleaned the back exhaust fan and the CPU fan while they were both on and moving. I'm not near an ocean or sea and both HD's I've used are pretty old, so I'm not sure if both are failing, possibly so. Is this good enough to clean the CPU fan, so do I have to remove the fan and put it back on. If I recall a CPU fan can be tedious to remove and put on because of the special glue.

Megahertz · 17 Nov 2023

Spray it with a contact cleaner.

GerryPeters · 17 Nov 2023

Spray what? The video card slot and video card contacts?

Helmut · 17 Nov 2023

My last Desktop PC lasted 13 years before the hardware failed, somewhere in the MOBO chipset.
In it's life...
2 replacement CPU fans, 3 replacement Video Cards because of fans, the last having a passive heatsink with no fan was the only one to survive. 2 replacement HDDs.
Easy to detect as fans usually make noises before stopping completely.

That answers all your questions. Hardware does fail with age, the statistical chances increase with age.

"Since the back exhaust fan was not spinning for about 2 hours. I rebooted to see if it would start running during the booting, It didn't. Then while rebooting again, this time I pressed on the video card and the fan came on, but the video card was hot to the touch. I wanted to see if pressing on the video card could have caused the fan to come on, so I rebooted and this time I waited a long time and the fan didn't come on."
"I plan on removing the video card and reseating it after spraying it and the slot with compressed air. It looks to me like the fan stopping was due to a bad connection. I'm not sure if a video card in an old computer normally gets hot or if it's overheating . If this is a red flag I probably have another video card I can replace it with from an old computer."

Pretty obvious surely, tinkering and hoping has run out. You need a new PC.

FreeBooter · 18 Nov 2023

If new device drivers or system services have been added recently, try removing or updating them. Try to determine what changed in the system that caused the new bug check code to appear.
Look in Device Manager to see if any devices are marked with an exclamation point (!), which indicates a problem. Review the events log displayed in the properties for any faulting device driver. Try to update the related driver.
Check the System Log in Event Viewer for additional error messages that might help pinpoint the device or driver that is causing the error. Look for critical errors in the system log that occurred in the same time window as the blue screen.
If you recently added hardware to the system, try removing or replacing it. Or check with the manufacturer to see if any patches are available.
Install Windows updates.
If you are overclocking (pushing the components beyond their design) you should revert to default at least until the crashing is solved. If you don't know what it is you probably are not overclocking.
Use SpeedFan to monitor temperatures in computers, overheating can cause BSOD.
Use Memtest86+ disc to check system memory's (RAM's) for errors.
Use CrystalDiskInfo to check SMART health report of the hard disk drive (HDD).

Open the Command Prompt with administrative privileges and execute bellow commands one at a time.

Code:

Dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth



Sfc /scannow


Chkdsk C: /f

This guide will walk you through opening, analyzing and making sense of Windows crash dump files.

Megahertz · 18 Nov 2023

GerryPeters said:

I plan on removing the video card and reseating it after spraying it and the slot with compressed air. It looks to me like the fan stopping was due to a bad connection.

Megahertz said:

Spray it with a contact cleaner.

GerryPeters said:

Spray what? The video card slot and video card contacts?

YES

margrave55 · 18 Nov 2023

I think it's time for a new computer.
If you got 14 years from it you can count yourself lucky.
You got more than your money's worth.