Is it the Processor, the Mobo, or the RAM that is screwing things up

[AhhBucket]

I just got a bunch of new components from all different places online because it SEEMED like a good idea. Now I'm regretting it. i got everything assembled and together, installed Windows 2000 without a hitch and then my problems began. Windows 2000 behaves extremely erratically. It will last for like 2 minutes and then a simple mouse click will cause it to turn completely black and freeze up. It can only be recovered at that point by a full hardware reset. It also locks up so that the screen is visible but the mouse cursor is frozen. There were a few lockups involving a moveable cursor as well. Then the computer started chirping when I moved it. I tried to install Windows 98 but it froze 3 times at the same point in the install where it was filling the start menu with the first programs. I'm pretty sure it's a hardware issue and I have all new stuff. I don't see it being video because the drivers for that wern't even installed when 98 froze. So that narrows it to MB, CPU, or RAM. Later the floppy controller was reported as failed on bootup and I couldn't get it to come back try as i might. The floppy worked fine on another system. This makes me think motherboard. Any advice?:disgust:

 

[devoed]

What are the machine specs?
Processor, Mobo, Ram, Case + PwrSpply, Video Card, Drives, any other adapter cards......?
Need above info to determine what kind of software drivers are to be installed.....

Does it happen on specific software in 2000 or exactly by time.......?

Also in Windows 2000 have you taken a look at the Event Viewer.....Are there any stops or caution signs indicating why this may be happening...........


devoed

 

[Techwhore]

You need to give system specs for the best advice.

I doubt it's your processor and/or RAM. If it were either of those two chances are you'd face problems before you even had a chance to begin an install. While it could be your motherboard, I'm not so sure it's that either. I have a similar problem on my machine with one of my hard disks, everytime i access that disk it locks up. I'm doing a low level format on the disk in the next few days to hopefully fix any damage. For reference that drive is a Maxtor. If you have your drives on any sort of RAID controller, place them on the onboard IDE controller instead, w2k doesn't always like RAID controllers. Also, if you can make it as far as microsoft.com without crashing, get SP2. That could possibly fix your problems.

Definitely check Event Viewer though, that will let you know what's going on.

 

[Marzod]

That happened to me once cause I finally figured out that I had chipped my processor. I hope that is not the case for you. You might take a look though.

 

[AhhBucket]

Okay to be more precise....

Enermax 300+ watt PS, 1.33 ghz processor, ati all in wonder radeon, sb live, ibm 60gxp, mitsumi cd writer, pioneer dvd rom, mitsumi floppy, kingston network card, cordless mouse and keyboard, 512 mb 2100 cas 2 ram. I think that's about it. I don't think I chipped my processor.

 

[marcoco]

I was locking up inconsistantly when installing WIN98 or trying to format a floppy or running games.

A new stick of RAM fixed the problem.

 

[CodeJockey]

A few suggestions...

- Physically remove any items that are not critical for the install (e.g. network card, SB Live, CDRW drive)
- Recheck the motherboard manual and get any jumpers and BIOS settings correct (this will be the most difficult part...search these forums for posts concerning your board)
- Since you have a 1.33GHz CPU, I am assuming it is an AMD Athlon...get the VIA 4in1 drivers, they are critical for AGP to work properly with the ATI card
- Get the latest ATI drivers and install them

Good luck...

 

[AhhBucket]

I did all of that with the 4in1 drivers and everything. I also reinstalled windows 2000 again and made sure all the latest drivers were on there, then put in the various components (new video card vs the old one i knew worked, the sound card, the network, etc) one at a time, testing for stability each time. Programs hung up a couple times, but windows didn't completely crash ever. As more updated drivers were put in it seemed to be going smoothly. I did all this with only 1 stick of ram, then added in the second one and continued. It wasn't long before the machine locked up, and upon rebooting the BIOS started complaining about the jeyboard being locked. I unplugged the keyboard and put it back in and it didn't help. I shut the power off completely and tried again still no help. I cleared the BIOS battery and all that did was made it complain about the BIOS being incorrect before complaining about the keyboard. I switched the jumper dealing with the keyboard "on" feature and that did nothing. I even took out the extra stick of ram, and then stripped everything I had just installed except the video and one ram chip, still to no avail. So now I'm stuck. The computer boots, beeps, and stays right there. Given the wierd floppy controller failure I mentioned earlier that emerged and then dissapeared out of nowhere, I'd say the motherboard is flaky. Any comments?

 

[optimistic]

What kind of heatsink do you have? Who knows! It might be the heat.

 

[CodeJockey]

Optimistic, It's not the heat, it's the humidity!

( Sorry, I just couldn't resist. )

AhhBucket,

You cleared the BIOS settings, and now it "boots, beeps, and stays right there"...where is "there"? Is it giving you an error message or a blank screen? Do you get the opportunity to enter Setup, or is it failing prior to that point? What exact mobo is it? You mentioned a "...cordless mouse and keyboard...", does that mean that the keyboard is cordless as well, or just the mouse?

Do you need the floppy for your install? If not, try removing it and, if possible, disable the floppy controller in BIOS.

Another thought...when you installed the mobo into the case, did you first check that all of the metal standoffs were positioned under screw holes in the board? I ask because your problems seem to change symptoms, and they seem to be motion or vibration sensitive ( "Then the computer started chirping when I moved it.&quot. If a standoff is intermittently contacting the board, it might cause such problems.

 

[AhhBucket]

Well I went ahead and checked the standoffs and there is one standoff for every hole and no extra standoffs. So I think everything is kosher in that regard. All of the screws have the insulating washers under them, but the standoffs are brass (rather than the plastic I have seen in the past). Could this be an issue? Anyhow, the keyboard is reported as "locked". So it boots, beeps about the keyboard and stays there with a message saying "Unlock Keyboard" then it says press F1 to continue. I cant hit F1 because it isn't recieving keyboard input.

 

[CodeJockey]

That's a catch-22, you can't unlock the keyboard because the keyboard is locked... :frown:

Clear the BIOS Settings again, and your keyboard should be unlocked also.