Subject: Please help! Is my CPU, mobo, and/or HDD bad?

[Penley]

Subject: Please help! Is my CPU, mobo, and/or HDD bad?

I have a bizarre computer problem that has brought me to my wits end! My system specs are as follows:

AMD Barton 2500+ (previously @ 11.5x191MHz @1.7V)
A7V8X-X
512 MB Crucial PC3200
160 GB ATA Samsung HDD
Radeon 9700 Pro
SBLive! Value
2 CD-ROM/DVD drives
Zalman "Flower" HSF
Antec Truepower 480W PSU
Generic biege box case

I got the CPU/Mobo about 14 months ago and it ran fine with the described OC until this past month. MBM 5 reported temps around 42-46C under load. I got the Samsung drive last spring and it ran fine until it started getting SMART warnings in June and finally crashed. I got it replaced under warranty and the new HDD worked fine until the beginning of Sept when it mysteriously died while I transported my comp to college. Again I got it replaced under warranty.

After about a week, the HDD began making loud clicking noises and my computer performance degraded severely, it crashed frequently, and required the use of CHKDSK often. Reformat had no improvement. I read on forums that it could be problems due to my overclock so I tried setting to the default 11x166MHz @ 1.65V. This reduced the clicking but it still was having problems. Also, I could no longer boot to windows at 11x166MHz. Reducing to 11x100MHz yielded some stability. I decided to order a new HDD, a 160 GB Seagate.

I got the new HDD today and I installed windows under the 11x100MHz setting. I cannot get past the Windows loading screen with any higher CPU setting. I have tried the following:

-Swapped out the IDE cables
-Swapped IDE sockets

The new hardrive makes a loud beeping noise and clicks ocasionally on any CPU setting higher than 11x100MHz. What could this be? Is my mobo bad? Are both HDDs bad? Is my CPU bad? Please, any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[nanaki333]

Well, if you keep going through HDDs like highschool kids go through shoes, I'd say check your power supply. It may be sending too much or not enough voltage to your components. Heck, even your motherboard may be the culpret, although, I don't see that causing an HDD go bad. I doubt your CPU is the problem. My XP2800 idles at about 49-50c and about 55c under a full load and I have no problems at all.

 

[Penley]

Yeah this weekend I will try swaping out components with another comp. But the thing that makes no sense to me is why the apparent HDD stability and noise depends on what the clock speed of my CPU is set at.

 

[TekViper]

how long can u run prime95 using the max heat torture test before you get an error while overclocked? if not more then 24 hours your cpu may not be stable and causing data corruption on the HDs.

 

[Penley]

With the overclock I ran prime95 successfully for about 18 hours (I turned it off after that because I needed to use it). This was back in the beginning of the summer.

 

[Cheetah8799]

If your ambient temps are high, you could be cooking your hard drives to death. Or you just have really bad luck with drives. If you think heat may be an issue, you could try to figure out a way to mod in an intake fan to blow over the hard drives to cool them a little. It may help in the future.

I kinda agree with nanaki333 as well. A power supply could cause the hard drives to fail if it's surging power for some reason. It probably would have fried something else as well by now though, so I'm not sure if that could be the problem.

 

[Penley]

Hmm... I haven't had any temps appear abnormally high. I don't have a sensor right on the hard drive, but the case temps never get above 44C. The PSU is also pretty new, I got in the Spring and never seemed to have problems with it.

Could it be a problem with the mobo or the southbridge?

 

[Penley]

*bump*