Hello All,
I'm having some bizarre computer problems that I'm hoping someone can help me with.
First of all, my configuration (the system is about 2 1/2 years old):
Epox 8KHA+ motherboard
2 256 MB DDR PC2100 sticks (Samsung I believe)
Athlon 1.4 GHz
IBM 40 GB Hard drive
GeForce MX2-200 video card
basic CD-ROM drive
TTGI 320 W power supply
Now for the problems:
For about the past month, the computer has required 2 or 3 times to reboot
every time it starts after being idle for awhile (it gets partway through the
loading of windows and then hangs, getting progressively further each time).
If I restart it when it's warm, then it almost always boots up the first time.
Another problem that I've been having for the past couple weeks is that
the computer seems to randomly freeze even when it has booted up. This
can occur anywhere between a few minutes after bootup to several hours
after.
I assumed that the hard drive was at the root of this (since I've had
other problems with the hard drive), so I just bought a new hard drive
(a 160 GB Maxtor), and imaged the original hard drive onto the new drive.
The system boots fine with the new hard drive, but the system freeze
(after startup) has seemed to get even worse. Also, the system still
requires multiple tries to reboot after sitting idle for a little while.
Another strange thing that I've noticed is that the Num Lock keyboard
light stays on after a system freeze and hard shutdown. If I unplug the keyboard
and plug it back in, the light does not come back on. Also, there was a
power outage a few weeks ago when the computer was running and the
freeze problems seemed to start around then. I did get a checksum error once
after the power outage but it never came back (and I didn't ever get
into the BIOS and do anything about it).
Finally, the processor (using the retail heatsink and fan), has always run
really hot (like 50+ degrees C or more), but I haven't been able to get that
number down. And, the last couple times I've worked on the system I've had
static electricity buildup on me (the light switch shocked me after working on
the system even though I had grounded myself before working on it).
I've used my two memory sticks independently to see if one might be
causing the problem to no avail. At this point, I really don't know what else
to try, other than going component-by-component through the system. If
that's the recommended course of action, then in which order should I
proceed?
Thanks in Advance!
I'm having some bizarre computer problems that I'm hoping someone can help me with.
First of all, my configuration (the system is about 2 1/2 years old):
Epox 8KHA+ motherboard
2 256 MB DDR PC2100 sticks (Samsung I believe)
Athlon 1.4 GHz
IBM 40 GB Hard drive
GeForce MX2-200 video card
basic CD-ROM drive
TTGI 320 W power supply
Now for the problems:
For about the past month, the computer has required 2 or 3 times to reboot
every time it starts after being idle for awhile (it gets partway through the
loading of windows and then hangs, getting progressively further each time).
If I restart it when it's warm, then it almost always boots up the first time.
Another problem that I've been having for the past couple weeks is that
the computer seems to randomly freeze even when it has booted up. This
can occur anywhere between a few minutes after bootup to several hours
after.
I assumed that the hard drive was at the root of this (since I've had
other problems with the hard drive), so I just bought a new hard drive
(a 160 GB Maxtor), and imaged the original hard drive onto the new drive.
The system boots fine with the new hard drive, but the system freeze
(after startup) has seemed to get even worse. Also, the system still
requires multiple tries to reboot after sitting idle for a little while.
Another strange thing that I've noticed is that the Num Lock keyboard
light stays on after a system freeze and hard shutdown. If I unplug the keyboard
and plug it back in, the light does not come back on. Also, there was a
power outage a few weeks ago when the computer was running and the
freeze problems seemed to start around then. I did get a checksum error once
after the power outage but it never came back (and I didn't ever get
into the BIOS and do anything about it).
Finally, the processor (using the retail heatsink and fan), has always run
really hot (like 50+ degrees C or more), but I haven't been able to get that
number down. And, the last couple times I've worked on the system I've had
static electricity buildup on me (the light switch shocked me after working on
the system even though I had grounded myself before working on it).
I've used my two memory sticks independently to see if one might be
causing the problem to no avail. At this point, I really don't know what else
to try, other than going component-by-component through the system. If
that's the recommended course of action, then in which order should I
proceed?
Thanks in Advance!
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