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For reference here are my system specs:
- Cooler Master Sniper Scout tower
- Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600
- Intel G33 Motherboard
- 6GB DDR2 RAM
- Radeon HD 4870 GPU
- 1TB SATA Drive 7200 RPM
- OCZ ZT Series 650W PSU
- Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium
I'm having an issue where at certain times my display starts to become corrupt, with artifacts appearing. This might happen while playing a game, but it can also happen without using any CPU or GPU intensive applications running. I then see the error message from Windows which says Too many 16-bit programs are running
. Then the display becomes completely corrupt and I have to shut my PC down. I wasn't even aware that I was running any 16-bit programs, I'm honestly stuck if anyone can help me out here.
Update 1, I've run a:
Virus Scan
Spybot scan
Furmark Test
Windows memory test
Video card memory test
...and all of them have come back with no problems.
Update 2:
When my PC is idle there are about 55 processes running and 6 icons on the right-hand side of the Windows taskbar, and the CPU is at 1-4%
Also when idle the system's GPU and CPU are approximately 45oC and all other measurements hover around 25-35oC. When under load, all temperatures stay basically the same except the GPU which goes up to about 60oC.
And yes all of the power connections are installed correctly.
My knee jerk reaction... Virus scan AND Root kit scan. – Everett – 2012-08-13T19:52:30.983
Virus scan, root kit scan and Memtest (the corrupted display points towards a memory problem). – Renan – 2012-08-13T19:53:28.877
16-bit applications cannot run on this particular 64-bit OS. Check your hardware. – None – 2012-08-13T19:58:34.437
Hmm, I did just install 4Gb of RAM about a week ago could this be causing the problem? – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-13T19:58:54.873
Entirely possible, yes. Take it out and see whether you can reproduce the problem. – None – 2012-08-13T20:09:59.447
If I take out the RAM and I don't get the problem is there a way to fix the RAM? Would that mean it's that particular RAM, or the same type of RAM that is the problem? – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-13T20:14:21.737
You can't "fix" RAM. You may be able to reconfigure its installation location or your BIOS settings if they are in error. Also blow any dust off the port before inserting any RAM. – Chris Nava – 2012-08-13T20:18:02.180
Should I try updating my bios? It's from 2007. – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-13T20:20:05.643
1@Renan: Root kits on 64 bit? I don't think so. – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:08:02.677
@TomWijsman - Seriously? There aren't 64 bit root kits? That, I didn't know. I love this place, it's a free education, except now I have to go research that (not implying anything, I just have to have my own research). Thank you so much! +1 – Everett – 2012-08-13T21:11:08.733
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@TomWijsman - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/16/tdl_rootkit_does_64_bit_windows/
Just an FYI
4@Everett: Well, while there might be a possibility there are barely any. Most people know of 64 bit for the increased memory range, but you should also know of 64 bit because of the extra security it offers. Drivers has to be signed, exploits for 32 bit no longer work, and so on... – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:12:46.767
@Everett: Exactly, and I think that's the only way to rootkit, namely
bypassing the OS's kernel mode code signing policy
. I don't see much other rootkits that target 64 bit nor ones that would cause graphical corruption. In any way, Windows 8 will do away with any existing exploit so I'm not afraid of TDL anyway... – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:15:35.537@Everett: Thanks for bringing me up to date on TDL also targetting 64 bit, heard about it in the past but didn't read into it that much assuming 64 bit's safety. :) – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:19:42.180
@TomWijsman No problem, thanks for schooling me on the updated security. – Everett – 2012-08-13T21:23:14.787
Ran a few virus scans and they didn't find anything – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-14T18:32:56.647
An x86-64 processor in long mode can run 16-bit protected-mode applications, but cannot run real-mode applications.
– bwDraco – 2012-10-05T20:24:26.543