My long, sad tale of instability woes...

[bcassell]

Ok, so this story is kind of long -- bear with me. I put together the first iteration of my current setup about 4-5 months ago. These were the specs:

A64 3000+
Asus K8V Deluxe
2x 512 Corsair Value PC3200
Radeon 9600 pro
Audigy sound card (the original one).
Antec 3700BQE case w/ stock power supply (350W Smartpower).
2x Seagate 7200.7 SATA 80gig drives
Lite-On CDRW/DVD combo drive.

The computer ran fine for a while (a few weeks to a month). Then I started to notice stability problems. I ran all the normal tests and found that prime95 wouldn't run for more than a few minutes without an error (memtest, however, could run for 36 hours straight with the fsb @ 220mhz with no errors). Adding voltage didn't help prime95, so I started underclocking. I had to get down to 800mhz before prime95 would run overnight. This really bothered me, but I was very busy, and the computer was mostly stable at stock speeds, so I just ran it like that for a month or two. Over those months, though, it seemed to get worse. Folding@Home would occasionally abort work units, Mozilla would sometimes crash, etc. I was about ready to just break down and buy a new cpu when I came across something that led me to my first replacement...

I had an Asus K8v with the faulty capcitors. If you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, Asus made a batch of K8V's that had bad capcitors on them -- capacitors that were used for voltage regulation. I figured this HAD to be my problem. So I got ready to send the board back to Asus and ordered an AOpen AK86-L for a replacement. When I got the AOpen board I put everything together and... still had stability problems. It was the same thing. Same symptoms. Oh crap. So this led to my second replacement...

After some consideration, I decided that I had run my poor cpu on a motherboard with bad voltage regulation for just shy of 4 months. This probably was not healthy. So, I ordered a replacement cpu. Another A64 3000+. I was so happy this monday when that box from newegg arrived. But after replacing the cpu, I am STILL having the SAME instability problems.

So, at this point, I have no clue. The only thing I could possibly suspect would be my power supply. I really find it hard to imagine that my power supply could be causing small cpu errors, while everything else seems to run fine! Please, if anyone has any suggestions I would REALLY appreciate some help. I've already spent way too much money on this machine (having bought 2 motherboards and 2 cpus) and I really just want a stable computer!!! Thanks,

Bryan

 

[mikecel79]

You didn't mention this but have you formatted your machine yet? Could just be a corrupt install of the OS. If so then I would also look at the PSU as the problem. It's really the only thing left that can cause the problems your having.

 

[Bozo Galora]

Your symptoms are too vague.
You have to go into event viewer and delineate info after a "crash"
http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxpevent.htm

The least painful thing to try is a "repair'
boot from the xp cd and say "NO" to repair using the console and then to repair instead of install on the next screen

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/repair_xp.htm

could also be a virus slowing things down

could try slowest ram timings in bios

Might also try (mini)dumpcheck and PStat on XP CD .... under tools directory

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314084
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=315263
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/archive/thread/168834-1.html

PSTAT:
PStat is a character-based tool that lists all running threads and displays their status. This tool is similar to Qslice.exe, but uses a command-line rather than a GUI interface.

The current version of PStat takes a system snapshot and shows old PStat-style and Pmon.exe (a Support Tool on the Windows 2000/XP CD) data, along with Drivers.exe output, in a single output stream. This output can be useful for troubleshooting.

Pstat has no command-line switches. To use it, simply run pstat from the command prompt.

File Required

* Pstat.exe

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/tools/existing/pstat-o.asp

Sometimes, page file probs, allow system to manage rather than set it.
check outlook.pst for size, all temp files and recycled bin setting for size


Indexing Service

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/service411.htm#Indexing_Service

This service always has been a major resource hog. I NEVER recommend having this service enabled. Remove the function via the "Add / Remove Programs" icon in the control panel (Windows Setup Programs). It uses about 500 K to 2 MB in an idle state, not to mention the amount of memory and CPU resources it takes to INDEX the drives. I have had people (and witnessed it on other people's computers) report to me that the Indexing Service sometimes starts up EVEN while the system is NOT idle... as in the middle of a game. You may feel, as I do, that this is unacceptable. If your computer suddenly seems "sluggish," Indexing Service is usually the cause of it.

Default XP Home: Manual
Default XP Pro: Manual
Safe Setting: Disabled

Log on as: Local System account

Dependencies:

What service Indexing Service needs to function properly:

* Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

What other service require Indexing Service to function properly:

* None

 

[bcassell]

Ok, I'll give some more specifics. I did a fresh winXP install when I first put the system together, and when I switched motherboards, so I'm reasonably sure it's not winXP.

To define a "crash". It's not that the system completely craps out or anything. These are the specific symptoms that I have noticed:

- Prime95 will not run for more than a few minutes.
- Folding@Home will occasionally abort work units.
- Mozilla will occasionally crash.
- Games will ocassionaly crash to desktop.

That's pretty much it. I appreciate the links and info, but I'm really thinking this is not a software problem... I guess all signs point to the PSU? Thanks again,

Bryan

 

[SgtZulu]

I stopped reading after OK,

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: SgtZulu
I stopped reading after OK,

You little troll you, how adorable.


But Bozo explained it well. It could be a combination of things. 350 watts may or may not be good enough for your overclock and system specs or just the PSU that doesn't want to live up to standards. Use a hardware monitor like Asus Probe to see if your power rails are up to spec. And make sure you check while a game is running to see if there is any discrepancies.


It could also mean you need a fresh install and reformat of the OS. I'm embracing my neglects for not reinstalling my OS when I upgraded to a new mobo/cpu. Even though I stayed with a via motherboard ( KT400 to a K8V) it still might be causing instabilities.