Computer hangs for no reason, monitor goes blank have to reboot

[NiceSocks]

I'll start with my system specs:

ATI Radeon 9600xt 128meg
Asus A7VX8-X mobo
512mb ddr 400mhz ram <--- says in the bios it must be run at 333mhz or something?
barton 2500+
just put in a new Enermax 350w P/S

The problem: I thought this was due to my old crappy p/s

Once in a while my monitor clicks, goes blank, standby light turns on, keyboard doesn't respond, mp3s contine to play sometimes, have to reboot

Sometimes if i leave it, the screen will flick back on but at 65hz.

It's never done it playing CS for hours or HL2 so it doesn't seem to be overheating or something like that.

The fact that my refresh rate changes makes me worry its the vid card, but then why wouldn't it messup playing games too?

It usually happens at times like right now, typing a message or browsing the internet.

Also there are no ruptured caps on the motherboard or leaks etc.

PLEASE HELP!

Dave.

 

[LiLithTecH]

You didn't mention an OS but you may want to check what HAL
is installed on your system (should be 'ACPI Uniprocessor PC).

 

[NiceSocks]

Windows XP Sp2

I'll research what HAL means thanks.

k, it was set to uniprocessor.. any other ideas?

 

[LiLithTecH]

Another thing to check is if the SP2 install changed the DEFAULT
card setting back to PCI.

Check it in the Catalyst Control Panel (under Smart Gart).

 

[NiceSocks]

i'm not sure what you mean by default card setting.. i dont see one.

However,
AGP Write is Off
AGP Read is On

PCI Write is On
PCI Read is On

When i retest it changes AGP Write to On and then says do i want to reboot. I hit okay but it doesn't auto reboot, but after manually rebooting it gets switched back to AGP Write Off

Not sure what that means really.. maybe the bios is changing it?

 

[iTWoRxbRo]

i have the same problem.. except mine is much worse. earlier today i couldnt even get my computer to fully boot. it kept going into sleep mode whenever windows would load and wouldnt recover. it did this about 5 times in a row so i just left it alone for a few hours and tried again; luckily it booted up just fine. but now im afraid to turn off my computer.

specs:
windows xp pro sp1
amd athlon 2500+
oc'd 200x11 - 1.8v
abit nf7-s
ati radeon 9200 128mb
1gb crucial pc3200
antec 350w psu

im not sure what the problem is but im thinking about taking the easy way out and just buying a new motherboard in hopes that that'll fix the problem.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Nicesocks:
Sounds to me like your monitor may be faulty, next time it happens, don't touch your pc just switch the monitor off and wait for a couple of mins, then switch it back on. See what happens

iTWoRxbRo:
Try going into safe mode, and possibly disable power settings both in Windows and in the BIOS (make sure that power switch action in the BIOS is set to Power-Off and not Suspend) - If you're still having problems - start a new thread

 

[NiceSocks]

iTWoRxbRo: Maybe your cpu is unstable at that speed, what does the bios say for temperature on cpu?

Uncle Bob: Its not the monitor since the keyboard stops responding...

Since buying a new enermax PSU it has only done it once, so maybe that one time wasn't related and now the problem is fixed.

lets hope.



thanks for everyones input

 

[NiceSocks]

It just did it again, after the computer being on for a about 6 hours. Just nonchalantly browsing the web and bam.


I tried turning the monitor on and off even tho mp3s stopped playing and the keyboard had stopped responding. When i turned it back on it said 30hz Out of range

I'm wondering if this means my videocard is unstable (ati radeon 9600xt 128meg). I did buy it used and it was a fairly good deal... the guy seemed nice enough tho.

If it is, does anyone have any experience returning ati cards to manufacturer? or know of a way to diagnose the video card?


thanks!

 

[NiceSocks]

Could this be instability in the card due to overclocking? I have no experience with overclocking but maybe the previous owner overclocked it.

How can I check to see if it is running at the correct speeds, or does it always run at the right speeds unless I have an overclocking application running?

I'm really getting frustrated with this damn thing...

 

[iTWoRxbRo]

could be a bad power supply.. same thing happened to me and it went away once i replaced the psu.

 

[NiceSocks]

Sorry, thought I had replied to this forum after i figured it out

I rememberd a friend that bought a computer a couple years ago with a radeon 9700 and a kt400 chipset i think?

well anyway they turned out to be incompatible and he had to get the mobo changed, and they changed it to a cheaper one but didnt give him the difference. This is why the whole thing stuck out in my head.

So suddenly I remembered all this and decided maybe I was suffering from the same incompatiblity issues. I switched out my motherboard to my other MSI one, and wammo, no more problems.

So yeah, if anyones having a problem with a 9600+ radeon, check the chipset on your mobo!

 

[PC Freak]

Hangs will be either heat, drivers, or mem.
Disconnect none essential components in your case and usb. See what happens. With that, then diable anything not critical in Device Manager.
If still nothing. Try to duplicate the problem in Safe Mode.

Hope this at least points you in the right direction

gl