Once normally-functioning computer locks up randomly

[BujinZero]

Hey everyone,

A while back, I built the following computer (I'll remember as many specifics as I can):

Leadtek nForce 2-MCP motherboard
AMD Athlon XP 2600
ATI Radeon 9800
Promise RAID controller card (HPT372-based I think)
Two WD 120GB HDs
Lite on 52x CD-RW and 16x DVD drives
Antec 400W PS

Here's the problem: it freezes up, often within about 30 to 60 seconds after powering up. I have no idea why, either. It worked fine for a long, long time.

Here's what I've done to pinpoint the issue:

Default BIOS settings
Tried a different power supply (PC P&C)
Tried different RAM at the default settings
Disconnected optical drives and attempted boot to Windows
Removed RAID card, disconnected hard drives and attempted boot to PCLinuxOS
Traded video cards for an NVIDIA 6600
Removed Firewire daughter card

CPU temp and system voltage levels look fine in the BIOS, but I obviously can't get into an OS to get a better look.

What would you guys do next?

 

[Malak]

Do you have another motherboard you could test your hardware on?

 

[LiLithTecH]

That particular board was one of the 'Bad Caps' effected boards
so you may want to examine them carefully.

 

[BujinZero]

Ooooh I think we're on the right track. The bad caps idea did pass through my head, and I scraped some greenish-gray stuff off a few capacitors. I'll do more digging on this subject.