Computer crashes about 15 times a day...

[Renegade23216]

Windows XP, Athlon XP, 256 RAM, GeForce 4 MX.

About 15 times per day it crashes randomly for no reason. CNTL-ALT-DLT does not work and I have to push the reset button.

How can I find out what's causing this? It had a lot of spyware but I got rid of all of it by running 2 spyware programs.

 

[XBoxLPU]

Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Event Viewer > Application or System

 

[Renegade23216]

I went into those. It froze multiple times today and yesterday, and there are no errors or warnings for either day. So I don't think that helps.

Next?

 

[mechBgon]

Skimpy wattage or low quality in the power supply vincinity? Could you give the brand & models of the different parts in the system, including the memory modules and power supply?

edit: also, do you have up-to-date antivirus software and firewall hardware &/or software?

 

[Renegade23216]

Memory are crucial I believe.

The power supply is a ghetto (not sure brand) one that came with the case. However, it's at least 350 watts.

Asus MB, Athlon XP, GeForce 4 MX. I don't know too many model numbers off hand. Would have to take it apart.

 

[Chaotic42]

Do you have a multimeter?

If so, check the voltages. This sounds like a bad power supply. The PSU is the most overlooked computer component, IMO.

 

[Swanny]

Check the CPU temperature maybe?

 

[Renegade23216]

How can I test the power supply with a multimeter. How do I connect it and what do I look for?

 

[thirdlegstump]

damn....I thought you were gonna say you have a Mac.

 

[Chaotic42]

Originally posted by: Azo313
How can I test the power supply with a multimeter. How do I connect it and what do I look for?

Grab a 4-pin Molex connector (the CD/DVD/Hard Drive power connector) and a multimeter. Set it for ~20V DC. Put the black arm in a pin with a black wire. Then test the two colored wires. You should get 5 and 12V +/- 5%

 

[Lonyo]

When my PSU was on the blink my computer just rebooted, it didn't freeze up.

 

[sailor420]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
When my PSU was on the blink my computer just rebooted, it didn't freeze up.

Yeah, same here. Have you checked for spyware and such on the machine?

If that fails, do you have the reintstall CD?

 

[jhites]

Sounds like a power supply problem to me, also. Another possibility, however, could be heat related issues. Have you monitored your temps at the time of the lockups. Could be something as simple as a good cleaning needed and reseating the cpu with some new thermal compound.

 

[Gurck]

I've seen bad ram cause problems like this as well.. but yeah my guess is power supply. PSU wattage doesn't matter nearly as much as quality (generally assessed by brand name)

 

[Jeff7]

Originally posted by: Gurck
I've seen bad ram cause problems like this as well.. but yeah my guess is power supply. PSU wattage doesn't matter nearly as much as quality (generally assessed by brand name)

To test for bad RAM, there's Memtest86+.

 

[Sarobi]

Yep, bad PSU or memory problem would be the first suspects I'd look at after determining it's not a spyware/virus problem.

Question though:

Was the computer working properly before or have you had this problem from the beginning?

 

[airfoil]

Have you tried a clean install yet? I'd do that before I blame hardware components

 

[yhelothar]

run memtest86
It could easily be anything... not just power supply as people are suggesting...

 

[Renegade23216]

The CPU temperature is about 65 celcius and 155 fahrenheit. This is after being on for a few hours. Is this normal?

I put memtest86 on a bootable CD. It shows some system info. in the upper left corner, and it says "76k e820-Std off" in the center of the screen, with a blinking cursor at the bottom. However, I cannot type anything and nothing happens. How do I use this program? What should I do?

 

[bolido2000]

Originally posted by: Azo313
The CPU temperature is about 65 celcius and 155 fahrenheit. This is after being on for a few hours. Is this normal?

I put memtest86 on a bootable CD. It shows some system info. in the upper left corner, and it says "76k e820-Std off" in the center of the screen, with a blinking cursor at the bottom. However, I cannot type anything and nothing happens. How do I use this program? What should I do?

lol that is HIGH temp. I had the exact same problem. Solution; reinstall the CPU. Buy thermal paste (VERY IMPORTANT) because you cannot reuse your thermal pad. I did that and the computer never crashed again

 

[ShawnD1]

65C isn't too hot. My overclocked 2500+ runs at 65C at all times and it never causes instability.

Thermal paste probably isn't the problem. He most likely has a crappy heatsink/fan. The ones that come with computers are just garbage. Go out and buy one that is big (and loud) and made of 100% copper.

 

[farscape]

Do you have your thermal shutdown in BIOS set too low?

 

[buleyb]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1
65C isn't too hot. My overclocked 2500+ runs at 65C at all times and it never causes instability.

Thermal paste probably isn't the problem. He most likely has a crappy heatsink/fan. The ones that come with computers are just garbage. Go out and buy one that is big (and loud) and made of 100% copper.

Better solution before you buy components you don't need....first, while the system is running, just touch the heatsink you have and make sure its warm/hot. If not, you're not cooling, and it's an interface problem. If it is warm/hot, get a fan (box, pedestal, whatever) and point it into your open case, turn it on high, see if your temps adjust. If they do, its an airflow or cooling capacity problem.


Oh, and I agree, run another OS, Knoppix or WinXP on a clean disk to make sure its not some stupid software thing. Thats the typical problem, regardless what your temps are reading.

 

[Regs]

65c... Can you press ctrl alt del in safe mode? 65c tells me your CPU has been running under full load for awhile. So that could suggest a virus or an OS crash. Or by chance you installed the heat sink and fan improperly.

Either way, I would try to reinstall windows before you reinstall any hardware.

 

[chocoruacal]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1
65C isn't too hot. My overclocked 2500+ runs at 65C at all times and it never causes instability.

Thermal paste probably isn't the problem. He most likely has a crappy heatsink/fan. The ones that come with computers are just garbage. Go out and buy one that is big (and loud) and made of 100% copper.

You just contradicted yourself because 65* IS too hot if a) he's using the stock HSF and b) it is causing the instabilities. 65* on the stock HSF is not like 65* on a quality sink like a Thermalright...it can make all the difference.

Azo...I would remove the HSF (heat sink/fan) you have, clean off the CPU, and try again with thermal paste. While you're performing surgery, check to make sure that all of the cables and cards are seated correctly.

Failing that...start thinking about trying a new power supply and then new RAM. If Memtest won't even run, then that pretty much rules out a software (spyware) issue.