Biostar M7VIG 400 - Athlon XP 1800+ - fsb problems

[playbackreks]

Hi all...

Been coming to this site for years and I finally registered!

Anyways... let me explain my stupid problem

I have been running on a SOYO KT333 Dragon Lite for close to 3 years now.. and all of a sudden started having crazy problems with Windows 2000/XP. Random reboots, and windows recovers from a serious error. Even after fresh installs.

So I tested a Duron 700 in the system and had the same problem.. ran memtest86 and got no errors at all. I tested the memory in another system and no problems either. 512 megs of crucial pc2700.

So I ordered a Biostar M7VIG 400 from newegg.com. Got it installed... my previous version of XP booted fine with the new motherboard... started messing around with windows to see if I would get the same errors... and assumed everything was fine. Then all of a sudden when I went to change my windows theme... it froze, and when I hit the restart button, the pc didnt POST. I had to power off, turn it back on, and when it POSTED, cmos checksum failure. All my bios settings were gone. This was all with 133mhz fsb. Its happened over and over.

So I changed my fsb to 100mhz and I havent had 1 single problem since... works great except for the fact that I am now running at 1150mhz instead of 1577mhz or whatever 1800+ really means...

Im assuming its my cpu, but in the back of my head I also think its the motherboard.... If I put it on 133mhz.. it starts freezing again.. even when I try to do a fresh install of XP. The cpu temp is around 45c on 100mhz and around 48-49c on 133.

Anybody have any idea what the problem is?

Im thinking about just returning the motherboard, getting an Asus board and a new sempron... but I rather do the most cost effective thing first (waste a lot of time troubleshooting)

Thanks

 

[DieHardware]

You've swapped out all the other major components, so it might be time to question the PSU you're using.

 

[playbackreks]

actually I forgot to mention... my power supply is 350w... but just to be safe I checked it with a 400w also... same problem

 

[VirtualLarry]

Probably the mobo, CPUs don't generally fail like that, although it could be the PSU, but if you've swapped/tested with a known-good one, then that shouldn't be the problem. I've seen boards that have been running overclocked fine for some time, and then something happens, and they don't post/boot at even normal speeds, but would boot at underclocked speeds, or if I removed some of the RAM. I figure that something in the voltage-regulation circuitry or filter caps went on the board, so it can't supply enough stable power to run at OC'ed or normal speed, and could only barely limp along underclocked. Probably the same story here. I would clean the dust off (if any), and give the components a through visual inspection, you might find some bad caps or some scorch marks around some components. Remember, heat is one of the major enemies of computer-components, and the voltage-regulation circuitry on a mobo is the hottest part. (Aside from the CPU core, but that's not part of the mobo itself.) Mobos don't last forever, and if this one has given you three years of good service, it's time to give it a good eulogy and move on.

Wait a sec, I re-read that, this happened with two mobos? You've swapped CPUs, RAM, and PSUs? Something's definately not right there. I wonder if some of that could have been because you swapped mobos without re-installing XP. It also seems that the HD is one of the only common variables. Hmm.

 

[playbackreks]

It didnt happen with both motherboards... my old SOYO board wont work with any processor, and was rebooting. My new board is the one that randomly freezes...

I have put all my drives into an intel board to test them and everything ran perfect.

I am starting to believe it actually is the power supply. I was wrong before... I didnt try out the 400w on the new motherboard, only the older one. I put in the 400w power supply and voltages are slightly higher
and I changed the fsb to 133mhz and so far have not had any problems. Also the cpu temperature is a tiny bit lower than with the 350w psu.


Here is a screenshot of my voltages/temps