PC Keeps Locking Up - Need help!!

[AMaskedMan]

My computer locks up randomnly, it may take 10 minutes, it may play for 3 hours. All drivers appear to be good. Heat does not appear to be an issue (2 x 12cm fans, 1 80mm side fan, PS has a 12cm fan). My power supply is more than enough to handle everything. I have everything devided up nicely (thanks to modular plugs).

Any help is GREATLY appreciated. I have become rather frustrated. I have been building my own PCs for 15 years now, and only lately have they been giving me problems (quality has gone down in the PC industry).

I do have one question. Does the EZPlug need to be plugged in to work in single card mode?

I have the following:

A8N-SLI Premium
AMD 4400+ toledo 64
eVGA 7800 GTX
Enermax 620W PS
2 Samsung HD in NVRaid
2 IBM HD on a Highpoint Raid controller
2 x 1025 G.Skill 400mhz memory

 

[Continuity28]

This is a very complicated problem, because locking up can be caused by many different things. The best way to find out, if you even can, is to isolate everything as best as you can.

Try running different tests, like memory specific tests, processor specific, and see if they show anything specifically. Maybe your memory timings are too high or voltage too low, same for processor. Maybe your sound chip/card is causing driver errors (very common). Windows doesn't handle audio stack problems well. Try disabling on-board sound completely or removing your sound card and see if your computer still locks up. I think you have a general idea of what I mean by isolate the problem now right?

Of course, it may be that some component is just malfunctioning, like your chipset or maybe a capacitor on the motherboard isn't working properly and power is being screwy... it's very hard to tell without having lots of spare parts around to swap and test with.

So, try and test things individually and see what results that brings first.

 

[AMaskedMan]

What testing programs do you recommend?

 

[chowyows]

Wow! Im a new member here and I was just browsing these forums in hope to find a problem similar to mine. Here it is! I have the exact same issue, sometimes my computer would lock up 2 minutes after boot, and other times it could last hours (had a 6 hour LAN yesterday)! I built my computer around late November, and no problems have occured at all since now. In middle of no where about two weeks ago, I got my first lockup. When I restarted, the screen froze at the DFI picture (still randomly does)! After several reboots it was able to load properly again (to later be frozen).

I bought a soundcard off eBay which arrived the following day, but removed it because I thought that it added to the amount of lockups. Then I ran on the integrated sound and the lockups did not change. So next I figured it was my hard drive, because now when I booted up, the startup screen would randomly say something along the lines of "DISK BOOT ERROR, INSERT SYSTEM DISC." When I unplugged the power/constantly restarted, it would finally load Windows. So I decided to reformat, and the issues still occured. The following day I talked with a rep from Western Digital on the phone about my issue and he agreed to send a replacement hard drive. It arrived today, and during Windows installation the drive froze twice!

I then proceeded to test the ram. I have two sticks of ram, and when I isolated them, one stick didn't start up. I tested the other, and it worked. When I tested the disfunctional one about 10 more times, it ran like a champ. Put them together again and it worked flawlessly. I have no idea what this problem is 🙁 I run on a Neopower 480W PSU which should be fine for my rig, and the voltages according to the BIOS seemed reasonable.

This issue is extremely hard to diagnose, as it runs normal about 35% of the time. My temperatures also seem fine for running 3x120mm fans on silent (~38°C avg). Any help concerning my or the OP's issue would be a great help for both of us.

Thanks!

My Rig:
AMD X2 3800+ Manchester @ 2.0GHz
eVGA 7800 GT
WD Raptor 74GB
(2x1GB) G.Skill Memory @ 2-3-2-5
Antec P180
Antec Neopower 480W
DFI NF4-Ultra-D
MS Pro w/ SP2

ARG 🙁