PIECE OF CRAP computer keeps freezing up!!

[FlyBono24]

This damn thing keeps randomly freezing up.... it's getting so annoying that I busted my knuckle by punching the front of it the other night. I have tried almost EVERYTHING and this piece of s**t is still doing it!!


*Memory is OK (Memtest went through 10+ passes... no errors)
*Not heat related (Sometimes it freezes within a few minutes of booting, and all the heatsinks feel cool to the touch)
*Not software related (Reformatted and reinstalled Windows XP Home, still doing it)
*Not the hard drive (Ran numerous tests, all passed with no errors)


Like I said, it happens at RANDOM times, for the past month or so..... even while only trying to LISTEN TO A DAMN CD!! (Which was the "straw that broke the camel's back", so to speak.... which led to the knuckle being busted, along with the front panel!)

 

[FlyBono24]

I forgot to mention that it's a hard lockup.... none of the keys, nor the mouse, are responsive... and I have to hard boot it.

When I reboot it, I check the Event Viewer and it shows no errors, like nothing ever happened.

 

[HN]

power supply?
and less punching, lest you damage something that wasn't the original cause and create more problems.

 

[FlyBono24]

Ehh.... this thing is old and slow anyways, but I just need it to last long enough so I can afford to build my new system. Then I'll take it out in the backyard and go "Office Space" on it!!

It just pisses me the hell off when I get home from a long day of work, turn it on to check my mail, and the damn thing freezes during the friggin' STARTUP SCREEN!!! ARGHGGHHH!!!!

 

[FlyBono24]

The original PSU completely died about 2 years ago.... I replaced it with an Antec TruePower 350... I thought Antec's were supposed to last longer than that...

 

[HN]

*edit* test with a new/different power supply just so you can rule that out

didn't play with voltages a long time ago and have since forgotten that you did?

 

[FlyBono24]

Voltages are all stock... I didn't OC this machine or tweak it in any way.

Crap... I really didn't want to put any more money into this piece of junk... the only other PSU I have is in an old PIII, it's probably around 250 watts, maybe less...

 

[superfly27]

Oh man, thanks for the hardest laugh I've had in a while. Phew!
Gee, I'm not the expert but I thought it was a bad sign if the heatsink was not warm. After all, if it's not dissipating heat, the CPU stays hot then the mobo kicks in and shuts down your machine.

I might try disconnecting and reconnecting stuff. Did that with my HD and it was finally recognized by my system.

EDIT: I should also add that hardwareforumz is pretty active. And making a whole list of hardware for us to look at makes it kind of easier to digest.

 

[FlyBono24]

It's an old machine....

*P4 1.4 GHz
*384MB RDRAM
*Gateway Monterrey motherboard (stock)
*GeForce4 ti4200 (aftermarket)
*Soundblaster Live! audio (stock)
*350 watt Antec power supply (aftermarket)
*all stock cooling

 

[mountcarlmore]

i have a feeling this is a windows issue, so if reseating the heatsink doesnt hep, try running in safemode. if it doesnt restart, then you can rule out hardware, which the tests you ran pretty much already did. the easiest thing to do would be to back up all your stuff and just reformat.

 

[FlyingPenguin]

I can almost guarantee it's an issue with the SBLive. Known issue with those cards. Even though this is dated, go here for an explanation of PCI IRQ channel sharing and a fix: http://soldcentralfl.com/quakecoop/glfaq5.htm#5_9

If you have onboard sound I'd pull the SBLive and see if it behaves. Thet'll pretty much confirm it's the SBLive.

Hope this helps...

 

[FlyBono24]

Originally posted by: FlyingPenguin
I can almost guarantee it's an issue with the SBLive. Known issue with those cards. Even though this is dated, go here for an explanation of PCI IRQ channel sharing and a fix: http://soldcentralfl.com/quakecoop/glfaq5.htm#5_9

If you have onboard sound I'd pull the SBLive and see if it behaves. Thet'll pretty much confirm it's the SBLive.

Hope this helps...

Weird though, I've had this machine for almost 5 years and it just started doing this last month.

 

[FlyBono24]

I'm going to buy a power supply... I need to buy one anyways for my new system, so I'll just put this one in the old system for now... until I get the new one finished.

 

[imported_Phil]

If you're going to try the PSU, your system will work fine on a 250W PSU. Hell, the company I work for produced 3.0Ghz Intel P4 machines with two optical drives and one hard disk on 250W PSUs. A 3Ghz P4 will draw a lot more power than a P-III 1.4Ghz.

Give it a try

 

[FlyingPenguin]

quote:
Originally posted by: FlyingPenguin
I can almost guarantee it's an issue with the SBLive. Known issue with those cards. Even though this is dated, go here for an explanation of PCI IRQ channel sharing and a fix: http://soldcentralfl.com/quakecoop/glfaq5.htm#5_9

If you have onboard sound I'd pull the SBLive and see if it behaves. Thet'll pretty much confirm it's the SBLive.

Hope this helps...



Weird though, I've had this machine for almost 5 years and it just started doing this last month.

Have you moved any cards or added new hardware since it started to happen? The PCI IRQ sharing issue emerges when the SBLive finds itself sharing a PCI IRQ channel (not an IRQ - that's different) with another card.

It's worth spending 5 minutes to pull the SBLive and see if you get lucky. I can't tell you the horror stories about SBLive cards. I use them for door stops.

 

[FlyBono24]

Originally posted by: Phil
If you're going to try the PSU, your system will work fine on a 250W PSU. Hell, the company I work for produced 3.0Ghz Intel P4 machines with two optical drives and one hard disk on 250W PSUs. A 3Ghz P4 will draw a lot more power than a P-III 1.4Ghz.

Give it a try

Cool... in that case I'll just get some cheap $20 PSU from work. Not like I'll be using this computer for too much longer.

 

[FlyBono24]

Originally posted by: FlyingPenguin
Have you moved any cards or added new hardware since it started to happen? The PCI IRQ sharing issue emerges when the SBLive finds itself sharing a PCI IRQ channel (not an IRQ - that's different) with another card.

It's worth spending 5 minutes to pull the SBLive and see if you get lucky. I can't tell you the horror stories about SBLive cards. I use them for door stops.

Nope... I just reseated the memory and video card in my diagnosis, but I didn't touch the PCI slots.

 

[daniel49]

if its as old as you say it is and you haven't changed hardware and windows install is new. my bet would be motherboard is on the way out.....seen it before on my old compaq

 

[FlyBono24]

Damn... and I just bought a power supply, too!! Oh well, it was only $15 for a 300W.... CompUSA brand.

 

[FlyBono24]

Well that $15 was wasted.... I'll probably just take it back.

I installed the PSU, it worked fine without freezing for ONE DAY!! Then the next day it started freezing up again, giving me the "Serious system error" message when it rebooted. Saying something about "Possible problems your Power supply, CPU, motherboard, or memory."

It's not the PSU... not the memory.... so that's great!! And I still have a few paychecks to go until I can afford my new system... dammit!!

 

[superfly27]

LOL, I can't stop laughing. Sorry about that.

Well, did you look at CPU temperatures etc?

 

[helpmeout]

Well, I sure think it's worth downloading Everest or Motherboard Monitor to check out the CPU temp. Most likely not the problem since it ran OK for a day, but it's an easy problem to eliminate. And why don't you remove the sound card? Another simple thing to eliminate.

 

[FlyBono24]

It runs fine when I open the case and use my room fan.
So I went and bought a 120mm fan and put it on backwards... so it would blow air right into the CPU.

 

[helpmeout]

Oh. Well----

 

[jmagg]

Check for buldging caps.