Could someone review my voltages & general system as it keeps freezing :(

[DannyBoy]

Ok im going to give a lot of info here because im really puzzled as to whats going on.

Everynow and again, especially when my system gets quite warm, it freezes completely. If im playing a game or mp3 etc and there is a sound being played the sound will freeze itself too, and its really really noisey.

Anyways im puzzled as to what it is, and i have a feeling that my K7S5A is having a stroppy incompatibility with something.

Tried running all sorts of different graphics cards, different mem etc.

Another thing, it seemed to do it much much more easily when i had 512mb memory installed.

Originally i believed it was the memory that was the problem, but ive since exchanged my memory for nice new memory and still, its buggered.

OK firstly my system specs are currently:

Motherboard: ECS K7S5A
Processor: AMD Athlon XP 1800+ T-Bred
Memory: 256mb Kingston PC133 RAM (Ive tried running 2 of these but 1 runs more reliably Also ive tried 2x Hyundai 256mb chips)
PSU: Macron 400watt thingy (This is AMD certified and its on their website so I dont see this being a problem....right?)
Video: GeForce4 MX440 (Ive also tried a Geforce256, a voodoo3 2000, a 2mb cirrus logic thing & an 8mb 3D Rage Pro)
Sound: SoundBlaster Live!
Network Card's: Realtek RTL8139 10/100 Family controller card
Hard Drives: 40gb Seagate Barracuda & 13gb Fujitsu
Optical: 6x Samsung DVD & (8x LG writer 8080B)

Any other system details can be posted.

In speedfan my voltages are reported as the following:

Vcore1: 1.50V
Vcore2: 2.48V
+3.3V: 3.28V
+5V: 5.03V
+12V: 12.29V
-12V: 0.56V
-5V: -5.36V
+5: 4.97V
Vbat: 3.39V


Anyone like to tell me a possible clash with my system hardware or anything?

Possbily a voltage thing?

Any help would be great

Thanks
Dan

 

[mechBgon]

Some people have found that better cooling for their northbridge helped. Can you fit a fan in its vincinity as a temporary measure to cool it a bit more, and give that a trial run? If it works, maybe you should pick up something like the black Zalman heatsink shown here and bond it to the motherboard chip in place of the little one that it comes with. Or perhaps you could scavenge an old Socket7 heatsink for that purpose. Good luck

 

[ed21x]

Yeah, this might sound dumb, but this one time, I accidently dislodged the fan on my old p2-400 (BX chipset), and the system kept periodically freezing and stuttering. It was only after I plugged it back in that the CPU got adequate colling and the probelm disappeared. So just make sure your CPU fan is plugged into the right connector on your motherboard and is in working order. It might also be a good idea to clean out the heatsinks also.

 

[DannyBoy]

Yeah, this might sound dumb, but this one time, I accidently dislodged the fan on my old p2-400 (BX chipset), and the system kept periodically freezing and stuttering. It was only after I plugged it back in that the CPU got adequate colling and the probelm disappeared. So just make sure your CPU fan is plugged into the right connector on your motherboard and is in working order. It might also be a good idea to clean out the heatsinks also.

Your right that does sound dumb, im not an idot ya know, I build computers for a living

On the subject of CPU cooling, there is nothing abnormal about the temp of my CPU.
My average temps are between 37-47C. 55C the highest its ever been.

Some people have found that better cooling for their northbridge helped. Can you fit a fan in its vincinity as a temporary measure to cool it a bit more, and give that a trial run? If it works, maybe you should pick up something like the black Zalman heatsink shown here and bond it to the motherboard chip in place of the little one that it comes with. Or perhaps you could scavenge an old Socket7 heatsink for that purpose.

Cheers for that advice. I will try it out. Got a socket 7 HSF sitting in my old P166 so i will take that out and try the fan on the north bridge.

Mech, is there any reason that having 2 sticks of the same memory would be more unreliable than 1?

Does having more memory increase temps more?

Thanks
Dan

 

[DannyBoy]

*Bump*

*Bumpy Dump Bump blah balh help *

 

[moonshinemadness]

I have the same problem. My system temp gets to 60c and crashes. I narrowed it down to the vid card (Im running ECS K7S5A 1600XP+ TNT2) Next time it crashes try doing the following: Windows Key, R , 'Notepad' Enter, [Type something], Alt+F, 'A', [Type a file name], Alt+S. Then reboot. Try this process first before it crashes so you know it works and where the file is saved. When you reboot try to find the file. If it is your video card then it will have saved the file. It is an idea to do this 3 or 4 times just in case you make a mistake. Hope this helps.

 

[thorin]

Have you Tested your RAM?

Thorin

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: thorin
Have you Tested your RAM?

Thorin

Yes i have, I originally tried my hyundai PC133 and now have brand new Kingston PC133.

Dan

 

[DannyBoy]

And another bump

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: MrFiTTy

Originally posted by: thorin
Have you Tested your RAM?

Thorin

Yes i have, I originally tried my hyundai PC133 and now have brand new Kingston PC133.

So you just switched it, you didn't actually test it? Running and RAM test and getting bad results can suggest more then just bad RAM.

1) Bad mobo.
2) Heat issues.
3) Bad CPU.
etc...

Thorin

 

[DannyBoy]

No i ran memtest on both sets of RAM.

Memtest reported no errors.

I spent about 3 days testing memory and hardware, but yet to find anything.

Can anyone tell me if my voltages look OK?

Thanks
Dan

 

[Confused]

-12V: 0.56V

Looks a bit off. This the actual value, or did you make a typo?


Also, there's no need for you to go into a hissy fit every time someone mentions an idea that might be a little "dumb" or "obvious", remember that they don't have to offer you any advice, no matter how "stupid" it may seem to you. You'll be surprised how many people overlook the obvious things, when they think that they know everything and can't possibly make silly mistakes. It happens to the best of us, and you have to learn to admit if you do sometimes overlook something.


Confused

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Confused
-12V: 0.56V

Looks a bit off. This the actual value, or did you make a typo?


Also, there's no need for you to go into a hissy fit every time someone mentions an idea that might be a little "dumb" or "obvious", remember that they don't have to offer you any advice, no matter how "stupid" it may seem to you. You'll be surprised how many people overlook the obvious things, when they think that they know everything and can't possibly make silly mistakes. It happens to the best of us, and you have to learn to admit if you do sometimes overlook something.


Confused

Hmmmm ok Garry

But i do know everything .........ok i dont

Well lets go and check the voltage....

-12V: 0.56V - No typo this is correct. Is this good or bad or really bad or what?

Dan

 

[thorin]

Originally posted by: MrFiTTy
No i ran memtest on both sets of RAM.
Memtest reported no errors.
I spent about 3 days testing memory and hardware, but yet to find anything.

Ok well that narrows things down a bit. I'll check my voltages when I get home tonight (I have the same board etc...)

Thorin

 

[DannyBoy]

Cheers

Garry, or someone else, is my -12 bad then?

Dan

 

[Confused]

My K7S5A's -12V is at -12.26, which is about right.

Seems like yours is way off.

Do you have another PSU to try in there, see if that gives you something more correct on the -12V line?


Confused

 

[moonshinemadness]

You sure yours is right Confused? Because my -12v (Same board 130w psu) is running at 0.31v <<Shrugs>> now im worried bout mine!

 

[DannyBoy]

Well garrys K7S5A had a burnt ATX plug & socket

Is mine right or is yours right?

Anyone else know?

Dan

 

[Confused]

Yeah, my Enermax 365VE did burn out the ATX connector, and blow out the AGP port, but it's been fine for the past 3 weeks, only restarted when I restarted it, but with another PSU (some crappy 250W one i guess) it's fine, and that's the voltage i've got from it



Confused

 

[DannyBoy]

Ok im real worried now

Could anyone please review there voltages and give me some more opinions

I know there are plenty people with a K7S5A....

Dan

 

[Confused]

You got another PSU handy in order to just try it out. You could have the most expensive PSU, and it could be dodgy. The most expensive cars can still have defects as they go out the door if they are putting out enough numbers to not physically check every one


Confused