New system...all sorts of Windows probs coming from hardware probs :(

[AJPatel]

I just built a new system with the following hardware inside:
1. Gainward Geforce4 PowerPack ! Ultra/750 XP Golden Sample(nVidia GeForce4 Ti 4600)
2. 2 x AMD Athlon MP 1900+ (1.6 Ghz)
3. Asus A7M266-D Motherboard
4. LA SKY ALUMINUM 400W P4/AMD CERTIFIED Power supply
5. 2 x 512MB PC2100 Generic RAM
6. 2 x Dragon ORB 3 Fan/Heatsink
7. Cendyne 40x12x48 CD-RW
8. Cendyne 12x40x DVD-ROM
9. 1.44 MB Floppy drive
10. Maxtor 40 GB 7200 RPM Primary HD
11. Western Digital 80 GB 7200 RPM Secondary HD
12. Custom Chenming White 601 Case
13. 10/100 Netgear Network card
14. USB 2.0 PCI Card (incl. with Motherboard)
But there was a slight problem in getting all the hardware to work together 🙁 I installed Windows XP because it's a more multimedia intensive OS but it started giving me all sorts of errors with the Windows system files (i.e. ntfs.sys, ndis.sys, win32k.sys, etc.) and all sorts of random error codes that didn't apply to my machine when I looked up what they meant. It makes the computer auto-restart, but when I turned the automatically restart option off in the advanced windows configuration, it gives me blue screens with the error codes. Then I have no choice but to restart it, but at least I can note the errors. At first I thought it was a software issue, but I installed Windows XP 5 pr 6 times, doing a clean install each time. I even tried pulling out the cards and simplifying the machine while I installed and then putting the stuff back in. That didn't work.
It seemed as if the drivers for the video card were causing the problem, so I bought an MX200 to no avail. I even thought that it may not like the nVidia chipset at all, so I bought the ATI Radeon 8500 128 MB, also to no avail. So I know it's not the video card. I called up Asus and they said it may be either the RAM or the power supply (both of which he pointed out were generic). So I found MemTest (their recommended memory testing program) and ran it all night. It too returned no errors. I looked up the specs for both and have included them here:
RAM

PRODUCT PROFILE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

512MB DDR PC2100 266MHZ SAM/MIC

ITEMCODE: DDR512MBPC2100
CATEGORY: DDR MEMORY
PRICE :$138.00
UNIT :EACH
MANUFACTURER :MAJOR
WEIGHT :8
Return Methods
Return Warranty Period : 1 Year
Return Warranty Types : Return for Credit
: Return for Refund
: Return for Repair / Replacement

DESCRIPTION:
512 MB DDR
PC2100 266 MHz
184 PIN DIMM

Power Supply

PRODUCT PROFILE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LA SKY ALUMINUM 400W P4/AMD CERTIFIED

ITEMCODE: LASKY400ALP4AMD
CATEGORY: POWER SUPPLIES
PRICE :$65.00
UNIT :EACH
MANUFACTURER :LA SKY HAWKCOMPUTERS INC
WEIGHT :15

DESCRIPTION:
LA SKY Aluminum power supply Goes great with an aluminum case!
DC output Voltage:+5VDC/+12VDC/ -12VDC/-5VDC/+3.3V/VSB
Max. Load: 45A/15A/1A/1A/30A/2.5A
Max. Power: 400 Watts-continuous/430 Watts-peak surge (1 minute maximum at 40?).
AC input voltage: 115V/230V, 50-60Hz
Protection: Shutdown
Meets safety standards: UL, c-UL, CE, EMC
Dimensions: 150 x 145 x 86 mm Casing Materials: Aluminum

Any help/suggestions would be TRULY appreciated from all you smart folk out there hehe...thanks a bunch 🙂

 

[geekender]

a) are you overclocking at all?

b) did you do a fresh install of xp?

 

[AJPatel]

Originally posted by: geekender
a) are you overclocking at all?

b) did you do a fresh install of xp?

Hey geekender...nope, I haven't overclocked it and I did a fresh install of WinXP each of the 5 or 6 times I installed it. I even installed Win2k Pro freshly once with the same results. I just read that my RAM sticks should be in slots 1 and 2 so I switched them into those slots. I haven't had the random reboot since then, but then again, it is random so I'm expecting it soon LoL Any other ideas of what it could be?

 

[Mem]

Hmmm PSU I would say,do a minimal install of hardware(bare bones system) and see if it`s stable then add one hardware at a time,it`s normal(crash wise) to get the BSOD and message if you turn auto-reboot off,since auto reboot is a crash without BSOD message onscreen.

Another option is to try the board out of the case as well to make sure it`s not shorting anyway on the case,you have to rule out faulty hardware and doing minimal install will make it easier to track the problem down.

One last note what are your cpu and case temps?

 

[AJPatel]

Hey mem
hmm...I'll try that one card at a time idea...I tried it once and it screwed up after installation of my video card. The system seems to be running fine right now, so it may be a bad power supply coupled with low charges in my area when I was first having the problem. I checked the temperatures and they all seem normal - CPU1: 45ºC; CPU2: 45ºC; Motherboard: 31º C. The Asus Utility says those are well below threshold temperatures. What does that mean though? Does it rule out the possibility of it being shorted out on the motherboard?

And one last question - how can I test the power supply? Like really test it - maybe with an electrical tester that a local computer store might have?

 

[Mem]

Your temps are fine,the only way to rule out shorting is take it out of the case,however the PSU might be the first thing to try first,if you download MBM from here it will give your temp and +5 and +12 volt rail readings.

 

[RustyNale]

Welcome to AnandTech, AJPatel🙂

Yes, test your psu with a meter, if it's below acceptable % then get a recommended one from this link, though a 400W should work. As for your problems, I seem to recall reading about loading os with 2 cpus--I believe that the solution was to install just one cpu, load the os then install the 2nd one. Give that a try and let us know how you make out.

 

[AJPatel]

Hey mem and RustyNale...glad to be at Anandtech by the way! But I tried MBM, as mem recommended and the results seemed ok - but then again, I wouldn't know...I've never used the program. Tell me what you think of them. I don't think it recognized the second CPU.

And RustyNale, I went through AMD's website and the Skyhawk 400W PSU is certified by AMD, so that doesn't seem to be the problem. And my computer is surviving through a major lightning storm, as we speak, which means there's great variance in the electricity coming through the power supply and it's handling it relatively well - no glitches as of yet. Now installing the 2 CPUs one at a time is an interesting concept. I'll try that if this ever happens again and won't let me load windows or anything.

As of now, though, I think the problem is slowing down. I updated the VIA 4 in 1 drivers as well as flashed the BIOS and moved the RAM to slots 1 and 2, which seems to have taken care of most of the problems miraculously. However, now I'm concerned as to whether or not slot 4 is a bad slot. I may never find out LoL...but it just did it again...this time it gave the error DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL - what the heck?