System Crashes on New System! Grr..

[leapingfrog0]

I recently built a new system and have been having some problems. The system crashes randomly when it is in use. I could be emptying the trash bin or simply drawing something in MS Paint when it happens. Overheating is not an issue, I'm getting very good temps with the SK-7 HSF

Here are the basic specs of the system:

AMD Athlon XP 2400+
512MB Crucial RAM (2x256MB DDR PC2700 - CT3264Z335)
Abit NF7 Motherboard (nForce2 Chipset)
Asus V8170DDR/SE Geforce4 MX440 64MB
Antec SmartPower 300W
Western Digital 80GB 8MB Cache
Plextor 48/24/48 CDRW
Floppy Drive
WinXP

I have formatted and reinstalled Windows and that did not work either. I have the latest nForce2 chipset drivers installed and have also flashed the BIOS to the latest version with no success.

Right now I'm suspecting that there is a problem with the memory. I heard nForce2 based boards are not liking some models of Crucial's PC2700 RAM, but I've heard this issue is mainly with their 512MB module, so I'm not sure.

I have my FSB running at 166Mhz right now, but have also set it to 133Mhz to see if that would help and it did not. I adjusted a few memory related settings in the BIOS and that helped a little, but I'm still getting crashes (just less frequently).

Another problem I'm having is the system will not always detecting the mouse. The mouse is getting power, I can see the laser light up and everything, but it is not listed in the device manager in Windows XP. I need to restart the system and sometimes it will figure out that there is a mouse connected and decide to work, sometimes not.

Anyone have any suggestions? I've been wracking my brain trying to figure this out.

Thanks

Andrew

Edit: The mouse is connected to a PS/2 port.

 

[bolomite]

maybe scan your hard drive for bad sectors/errors?

 

[leapingfrog0]

I tested my 512MB memory with memtest86 and it returned around 4,381 errors during pass 8. As I understand, that is wayyy to many. I also tested each 256MB module individually and they each returned over 30+ errors during the short period they were tested. It seems odd both memory sticks would be faulty, doesn't it? Does this mean it could be a faulty motherboard? Maybe that's why the mouse is not always detected?

The hard drive is fine. I just ran an extended test on it with WD's utilities and no problems were found.

 

[Willoughbyva]

Did you run memtest with the memory at 133? If not then set it to 133 and see if it still has errors.

 

[leapingfrog0]

I originally ran the test at 166Mhz. I ran 1 pass on the RAM at 133Mhz and no errors were returned when hundreds of errors would have been returned before. The system is running pretty stable with 133Mhz. I guess that's where I'll have to keep it.

I'm still having problems with the system detecting my mouse :/ I posted more details here:
http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=32&threadid=998493

 

[Willoughbyva]

Usually the mouse and keyboard ends are color coded on the cord and on the motherboard. I just got my first optical mouse a couple weeks ago and every once and a while it won't get detected during boot up. I just let it boot and wiggle the ps/2 connecter at the motherboard until it starts working after windows is loaded. So far I haven't had it happen in linux, so i am not sure what will happen then.

The ESCD message is common I think. Everytime my computer boots successfully past POST (power on self test) I get that message. I used to know what it meant, but have forgotten.