Computer "acts up" once a month or so

[brikis98]

Symptoms

Roughly once a month, my computer will start to "act up". Random programs that have worked fine for weeks will start to crash, such as Firefox and various games. Sometimes the computer will reboot without explanation. Sometimes when turning on, it'll get stuck in a reboot cycle before it can load windows. During one stretch, scandisk would run when Windows started and complain of corrupt hard drive sectors.

I have not been able to find any particular activity that leads to these issues and once they appear, they can last anywhere from 1 hour to several days. Oddly enough, they usually go away on their own. I'll then have another several weeks of problem free usage before the problems recur again.

Hardware/Software

Antec P182 Case
Corsair HX520
Abit IP35-E
Intel C2D e8400 with Tuniq Tower
2x1GB Corsair DDR2 800
MSI Radeon x1900xtx with Accelero S1
Samsung Spinpoint T series 500GB
Soundblaster Audigy
Windows XP Pro, SP3
Avast! Antivirus

What I've already tried

Each time this problem showed up, I tried the following fixes which seemed to make the problem go away. However, since it always came back, it's not clear what exactly these fixes accomplished.

1. I used to have my CPU OCed, so initially I figured that must've been the issue. I removed the OC on the CPU and RAM and ran everything at stock settings.
2. When the issues cropped up again, I thought heat might be the issue and installed all sorts of heat monitoring apps. The temps for the CPU, mobo, video card and hard drive were all well within reason. Just in case, I started running all fans on high.
3. A month later, I again saw issues, so I went through and upgraded all my drivers: BIOS, chipset, video card, and sound card.
4. Another month after that, I formatted the hard drive and re-installed windows and all the latest drivers.
5. A few months later, scandisk and corrupt hard drive sector errors showed up, so I replaced my old Seagate hard drive with a brand new Samsung hard drive. Once again, I re-installed Windows and all the latest drivers.

Where I'm at now

The issues just cropped up again today and I'm at a loss for what to do. What can possibly cause issues like these to just show up intermittently?

 

[Billb2]

Look for errors showing up in Event Viewer.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: Billb2
Look for errors showing up in Event Viewer.

No errors in the Event Viewer for over a month.

 

[lxskllr]

Check your ram, and your HD. Ram could be bad, and it's not impossible to have 2 bad HDs in a row.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Check your ram, and your HD. Ram could be bad, and it's not impossible to have 2 bad HDs in a row.

I forgot to mention in the original post that I did check my RAM. During one of the times the issue appeared and the computer would refuse to boot into windows (it would just freeze shortly before the Windows logo), I tried turning it on with just one stick of RAM at a time. I tried each stick alone in different RAM slots, but the computer refused to boot each time. I came back the next day and the computer turned on w/o issues. I suppose both sticks of RAM could be busted, but it seems unlikely both would exhibit this intermittent behavior at the exact same time, suggesting it must be something external.

As for the HD, it also doesn't seem likely to have 2 different HD's, from 2 different manufacturers, exhibit the same intermittent problem.

 

[lxskllr]

Check your ram with Memtest86+. You want to burn that to a cd, then boot to the cd, and let it run overnight. If you get errors sooner than overnight, you can stop the test, as you have a problem. You may be able to fix it with ram settings, or the ram could be bad. If you get errors check the sticks individually also.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: lxskllr
Check your ram with Memtest86+. You want to burn that to a cd, then boot to the cd, and let it run overnight. If you get errors sooner than overnight, you can stop the test, as you have a problem. You may be able to fix it with ram settings, or the ram could be bad. If you get errors check the sticks individually also.

Alright, I'll give it a shot this weekend. Thanks.

 

[greenbean]

Lots of wasted time; that sucks, but I know how it is. Assuming you don't have bizarre malware, here is my take:

1. Least likely: If you damaged your CPU OCing, then most likely it wouldn't work at all, however, there is a remote chance, but this is going to be THE hardest/most expensive thing to diagnose because you need to have another identical CPU, so aside from running at stock speed with proper cooling, mess with this last or not at all.

2. More likely: If you move a lot of big files around on different disks and your PC runs 24/7 or you have turned off your PC any memorable number of times *without* a proper shutdown; then you're at high risk for file corruption, which will cause crazy lockups/bluescreens. If you're a high risk individual; you should run a scandisk (on reboot) on ALL disks at least once every couple months.

3. Most likely: Your internal case temp is too high for your RAM. Don't buy cheap RAM unless you like strange things happening. Buy overspec'd RAM and run it at or under the spec. Don't save a measly $40 unless you really like wasting hours playing with Memtest and days of your life troubleshooting mysterious PC behavior. This is the only part of a system I have always told people not to compromise on. Get the good stuff, get it the first time.

 

[KGB]

Originally posted by: brikis98
Symptoms

Roughly once a month, my computer will start to "act up". Random programs that have worked fine for weeks will start to crash, such as Firefox and various games. Sometimes the computer will reboot without explanation. Sometimes when turning on, it'll get stuck in a reboot cycle before it can load windows. During one stretch, scandisk would run when Windows started and complain of corrupt hard drive sectors.

First: It sounds like your system is female! 😛

Second: As others have suggested, run Memtest overnight to check your RAM

Third: Try clearing the CMOS on your MB (per your Abit manual).