SN54G Shuttle XPC - WORST system I have ever owned

[Gillbot]

OK, I'm about tired of reinstalling XP onto this XPC about every three reboots. I can't seem to find the source of the troubles either. About every 3 to 6 reboots, BAM! Corrupt or Missing "Windows\System32\Config\System" like clockwork. Sometimes i'll get more time, sometimes less but it never fails. I have reinstalled windows on this thing so many times that now there is no point in putting data on the system. I've scanned my HDD for problems and it seems fine.

Could it be heat getting to the drive causing corruption? It seems as though if I leave the system run forever, there isn't a problem but after a few consecutive reboots it happens again.

EDIT> After some messing in the recovery console and rebooting it seems to have found a multitude of drive problems that were not present on the first few disk scans. Why now? GRRRRRR!!!!!!

 

[WackyDan]

Bad drive?

Over clocking?

Memory?

Controller issues?

COuld be any of the above.... If you are overclocking, throttle back to spec and see how it runs.

 

[Gillbot]

No overclock at all. System always runs 100% stable for the first week or two without a single problem. As time goes on, that's when all goes to crap. It might just be XP, the drive, ram or any other component individually or a combination. Personally I don't believe it's a component though since the system is fine after initial install and runs great. Maybe it's a bad driver or update somewhere along the line? I have no idea. I don't think I've EVER had to reinstall an OS this much, even when I was OCing or swapping components like crazy. I know my CPU temps are fairly high though, about 50°C normally. I suspect this adds to internal case heat and affects everything over time but I guess I'll never know for sure. Maybe a cooler running CPU other than this 1.4G? I believe these were one of the hottest made.

EDIT> http://www.anandtech.com/mysystemrig.html?rigid=27093

 

[Gillbot]

More Details HERE

 

[InlineFive]

It seems to me that data is being corrupted and causing the errors. There for I would try the following:

1. Run MemTest86
2. Check that your IDE cable has no damage.
3. Download the disk diagnostic tool for your HDD and do a scan.

 

[Gillbot]

Memtest86 ran overnight without a single error
IDE cable has no physical damage that I can see but that doesn't mean much since I've had them go bad before
The HDD utility for my drive doesn't support Nvidia chipsets.

I'm leaning towards the PSU, HDD or IDE cable as my problem after all the testing and advice I have received so far.

 

[Psychosylph]

I don't know if this is possible or not, but it might be that particular processor. The SN41G2 did not like the 1.4GHz Athlon - it would run any of them except for that one for some reason. I had not heard of it happening with the SN45G, but it might be worthwhile to try a different proc in there for a while.

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: Psychosylph
I don't know if this is possible or not, but it might be that particular processor. The SN41G2 did not like the 1.4GHz Athlon - it would run any of them except for that one for some reason. I had not heard of it happening with the SN45G, but it might be worthwhile to try a different proc in there for a while.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna try an XP-m. That will help out my temps a bit too. I got new IDE cables and the ram is ok per memtest86. My HDD will undergo the maxtor test utility as soon as I toss another system together, then hopefully I'll pinpoint the problem.

BTW, when I saw who replied in thread, I knew exactly what the comment was gonna be.

 

[Psychosylph]

Originally posted by: Gillbot

Originally posted by: Psychosylph
I don't know if this is possible or not, but it might be that particular processor. The SN41G2 did not like the 1.4GHz Athlon - it would run any of them except for that one for some reason. I had not heard of it happening with the SN45G, but it might be worthwhile to try a different proc in there for a while.

Yeah, I think I'm gonna try an XP-m. That will help out my temps a bit too. I got new IDE cables and the ram is ok per memtest86. My HDD will undergo the maxtor test utility as soon as I toss another system together, then hopefully I'll pinpoint the problem.

BTW, when I saw who replied in thread, I knew exactly what the comment was gonna be.

Yeah, a little known blip on the radar that it sometimes pays to mention, as sometimes we forget. I'm thinking it would be a good possibility, though, because I would think that very few would use that particular proc in that system because it isn't a great overclocker and the unit was meant to overclock. May be that the lack of anecdotes about that particular combination could be due to a lack of popularity. It'd sure be nice if you had someone to borrow a proc from to find out before you go out and buy one. Good luck!

 

[bluemax]

The SK41G was like that.... it would work fine with any Duron or XP processor, but fails with any Athlon.
Trade someone your Athlon for a Duron 1.4 or 1.6 Applecore and you're in business!

 

[Gillbot]

Originally posted by: bluemax
The SK41G was like that.... it would work fine with any Duron or XP processor, but fails with any Athlon.
Trade someone your Athlon for a Duron 1.4 or 1.6 Applecore and you're in business!

Yeah, I let Prime95 run again and it locked up after about 25 hours. I think I'm going to try for a 1.6 or 1.8 Duron or I may just splurge on an XP-m cpu. Heck, maybe both since I have two AMD systems here!

 

[Psychosylph]

Yep, try out a new proc and you'll fall in love with the little guy all over again. Maybe pick up a used 1700+ JIUHB DLT3C in the forums for a little overclocking; I run one in my SN41G at 166FSB @ default voltage for a nice, cool-running, overclocked mini-powerhouse. No problems, ever.