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New PC crashing, hardly anything on it

R

rof3

Member
I just built a PC for the first time, and after doing a couple Windows updates (not SP2, yet) and getting updated nVidia and ATI drivers Windows was a bit more stable, but I am still getting semi-frequent generic blue screens and lockups. Also, Ghost Recon came with my video card, which I wanted to test out - but any time I run the game it freezes as soon as it gets to the main menu. Here are my specs:

Athlon 64 3000
AOpen AK89 Max nForce 3 150 (using the onboard sound)
2x512 MB Corsair value DDR
MSI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB (shows up as a 9800 XT because it has r360 core)
NEC (I think) dual layer DVD-R/RW
Samsung 160 GB 7200 RPM HDD
Antec server case w/ 400W Antec PSU
XP Home

Anyone have any ideas or similar problems? Think SP2 would help? Also, I just realized I haven't installed any drivers for my DVD drive, could that be the problem? I have the latest drivers for everything installed (except, as I said, my DVD drive). Thanks for any help.
 
Thanks mate...

I think this is the RAM I have, I don't know how to tell if it is double-side.

My BIOS is Phoenix AwardBIOS, but I don't know how to tell the version. I went to the "Credits" and it didn't say it there.
 
AFAIK temps are fine, back of the case feels cold to me and I have a CPU fan, PSU fan, video card fan, and two case fans. However, if there is a better way to tell than feeling the back of the case I am all for it.

Earlier, my computer wouldn't boot at all, not even to BIOS - it just made a cyclic whirring noise, so I opened it up and put it on its side and taped some wires away from fans, which I didn't think was the problem but was making sure. I then plugged in the power and it booted Windows - a couple minutes later, as my roommate and I looked around inside the case to see what the problem might be, it froze again.

My CS professor suggested I reseat everything, which I haven't done yet, and also leave the middle DIMM slot empty instead of the side one, which I have. It has seemed a bit more stable since then, and I was able to get about two or three minutes into the Price of Persia demo, but then it froze again, much to my dismay. I don't know if the perceived increase in stability was genuine or coincidental. I am going to install SP2 tomorrow if I don't somehow end up with a better idea by then.

Thanks for the help guys...
 
CPU core temp is the first thing to check. All modern PC's will show the CPU core temp in the BIOS. Also, make sure your BIOS settings are in order. Since you seem to be new, you better have an "expert" verify your settings. Given that temperature is not the issue, the next thing to check is your power supply. Frequently the PS is not feeding the system properly and will cause it to crash, especially when it's under full load.
 
I have reseated my RAM so that the middle DIMM slot is empty, and, after reading through all the user reviews of my RAM, found a reccomendation to increase the voltage to the RAM to 2.7. Since then it has been pretty stable. Thanks for all the help guys.
 
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