Computer freezes up within minute of start

[ClareS]

A friend recommended this site to me, but unfortunately, I could not find anyone with a similar problem so I'm posting new. Here goes:

Yesterday, I installed a new sound card (Creative Sound Blaster Audigy) into my system. I had a little trouble getting the system to work, but eventually it did, though for some odd reason the keyboard died so I needed to use a different keyboard AND the port wouldnt work so I used a USB keyboard. I was able to use my computer the entire night for hours afterwards.

Today, it's a different story. After work, I turn the computer on, walk away and come back and it's restarted and locked up with a warning about checking the hardware monitor. The keyboard is completely unresponsive, so I reboot and this time go into my set up and check. Nothing is alarming about the tempertures (That doesn't look right, I can't spell! 😉 ) or maybe there is something wrong with a 90-95 degree Fahrenheit reading. Then, it locks again, total freeze, though the counter keeps fluctuating in temp. I rebooted multiple times looking at this; sometimes it jumps into the 160 degree Fahrenheit range, and one time, I saw the 12 Volt reading turn to 0 for a sec.

So my question is, what's going on? Am I overheating? Did I fry something already? I've yanked and re-seated everything but to no avail. I've pulled every card but the video card (and I'll probably pull that in a minute), and pulled the power on everything but the motherboard. I'm running on an ASUS CUV266 with a Pentium III 1 ghz inside. Any help would certainly be appreciated before I bug some local repairman to overcharge me. 😉

Clare

 

[BenRosey]

Welcome. Temperature.

You didn't by any chance install this card while the computer was on?

It seems like the motherboard may now have some serious issues. Otherwise, I'm not sure what else could be the problem.

 

[ClareS]

Heh. No, I never install any components with the power on. I even pull the plug on the power supply just in case.

 

[Wolfie]

Don't spend the money on those rip off Artists.

It sounds like you could be having some temp problems. Does it run at that temp all the time? Or is it just a surge in temp and then it goes back down? Even my computer runs at 50C 122F and mine is running a DC program. (Wich means I run my CPU at 100%) Make sure your fan on your CPU is working. If this doesn't help, make sure your Heat Sink and fan are connected on your CPU correctly. They must be touching the CPU to distribute the heat. If this doesn't work, you might want to think about getting a new HS/FAN.

Hope this helps.

Wolfie

 

[ClareS]

Well, in the interests of getting it fixed, I did bring it to someone who was actually quite helpful (though locating a reputable computer repair guy in Manhattan is next to impossible). We determined it's the processor that burned out, so now I've got two options:

1. Replace the processor (Intel P3-1Ghz) for roughly $150 (he told me $200, though he's looking for lower prices -- I found 'em for about $120, so I'm guesstimating somewhere inbetween).

2. Upgrade to Pentium 4. And after reading through the guide on the homepage, it seems I know which Pentium 4 and motherboard to get.

Unfortunately, I'm probably going to pay him to install it, because as evident by my last "upgrade" I might not be the best person to do it. The problem now is price, as I'd love to track down good equipment for fair prices, and not be gouged if the reseller he's working with is floating him high totals. Oh well, I almost had my PC back in my arms tonight, looks like it'll be a while. ;(

Thanks for all your insight and anything else I should know would be appreciated!
Clare