A demon has possessed my computer

KoolAidKid

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Apr 29, 2002
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My computer was working just fine for months until I installed XP SP2. I then would get frequent lockups. I also got a lot of VPU recovery errors, which means that the video card stopped responding briefly.

So, I wiped my hard drive and did a clean install of XP (No service packs). I need to install at least SP1 so that I can use USB 2.0 devices, so I found SP1a on Microsoft's download site and installed that. Even without a video card driver installed I'm still getting random lockups.

I wiped the hard drive again and installed XP without any service packs. It still locks every 5 mintues or so.

Here are the things that I've checked:
Heat: CPU has been at 40 - 42C every time I've checked it.
Video: the card (a 9800 pro) has a cooling fan that is turning fine, and I reseated the card in the slot.
Bios: I haven't changed any options in the BIOS since my machine was stable. I tried loading BIOS defaults with no luck.
Drivers: I've tried 3 different versions of ATI's drivers, all with the same results.

I'm going to try loading Win 2K tomorrow to see if the issue is related to XP. Other than that, I'm running out of ideas. And before someone asks, I'm running my 35w XP Mobile 2400+ at stock speed (actually, 9.5 x 200) and voltage (1.35 V), and my PC3200 memory is on relaxed timings and running at 200 MHz.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
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During your re-installations, is your computer at all times protected by a firewall (such as a router)? On a broadband connection, your computer can be infected by worms in seconds without you ever doing a thing to cause it yourself. Hit the Secure is good! link in my signature for a way to prevent insta-worm during Windows installation. Among other things, there's a link to the full-file Service Pack 2 installer that you can download and have ready on a CD or a large thumb drive, so you can install SP2 and enable Windows Firewall while remaining safely offline.
 

KoolAidKid

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Apr 29, 2002
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Thanks for the suggestion. My computer is connected to the Internet through a router at all times. I can try installing SP2 from disk rather than over the internet. Any other ideas?
 

techwanabe

Diamond Member
May 24, 2000
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It's true that when you format and load a new OS, if you don't protect your computer before hooking up to the web, you can get virus's and spyware quickly. We saw this happen when I worked PC support at Syracuse University.

BTW, Router does not equal Firewall. A router with NAT (network address translation) can offer some measure of protection.
 

KoolAidKid

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Apr 29, 2002
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My router does use NAT. Also, the other computers on my network (also using XP) are functioning normally.
 

Whitedog

Diamond Member
Dec 22, 1999
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Hardware dies over time.

Sounds like you have a part that is getting ready to croak. Yea, my moms computer was working fine, then, all of a sudden the mobo starts causing locks and other weird stuff.... replaced the mobo and everything is fine.

In my experience, Mobo's are 97% of the failures that I've had to deal with.

.02
 

KoolAidKid

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Apr 29, 2002
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I'm starting to come to the same conclusion. All of my parts are three months old. I guess I will have to start testing all of my hardware to see what the problem could be.
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
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Is the power supply a decent-quality brand with adequate wattage? Also, is your memory voltage high enough, 2.6-2.7 volts? Since you've got an OC'ed mobile AthlonXP, I doubt you're a newbie to those issues though.
 

techwanabe

Diamond Member
May 24, 2000
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Originally posted by: KoolAidKid
My router does use NAT. Also, the other computers on my network (also using XP) are functioning normally.

NAT doesn't protect you from everything - mostly from hackers who are scanning for vulnerabilities. You can certainly get spyware and virus's despite having a router with NAT - like I said, it offers a measure of protection.

Anyway, as others have mentioned, you could have a piece of hardware that is flakey or going bad. Many times hardware doesn't fail all at once.
 

KoolAidKid

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Apr 29, 2002
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Originally posted by: mechBgon
Is the power supply a decent-quality brand with adequate wattage? Also, is your memory voltage high enough, 2.6-2.7 volts? Since you've got an OC'ed mobile AthlonXP, I doubt you're a newbie to those issues though.

I have an Antec Aria case; it has an Antec 300W Active PFC PSU. I suppose it could be the PSU, I will see if I can find some way to test it. RAM voltage is at 2.6 V. I will try bumping it up to see if that affects anything.

Originally posted by: piroroadkill
What mobo do you have?

I'd check the mobo, also, what are your voltages like?

I have a Biostar M7NCG 400 motherboard (nForce 2-based). CPU voltage is 1.35 volts (this is stock voltage for my processor). I was able to run it at 10.5x200 (2100 MHz) stable at this voltage. I will try increasing the voltage, though, to see if it helps.
 

KoolAidKid

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Apr 29, 2002
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Update for others who might have a similar problem now or in the future: The following procedure fixed my stability problem:

First, I zeroed out my hard drive. I then did a clean install of XP. I had previously downloaded a full copy of SP2 and burned it to a CD, so I was able to install it without enabling my internet connection. I then installed ZoneAlarm and Symantec AntiVirus from disk. After doing this I loaded my drivers for my network device and opened myself up to the Internet.

It's been encoding DivX movies for 16 hours with no problems. I guess that it must have been a worm that was causing the problem, although I am not at all sure about this.