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System locks, please help!

D

dlrsuperman

Senior member
Sometimes, usually when I play a game such as Diablo II or Counter-Strike, my computer freezes. My whole system locks up. There is no blue screen of death. The program and computer simply freezes, and I can't do anything. No keyboard or mouse command works. When I try to repeatedly type something, I hear clicking sounds from my computer. I am forced to completely power off my computer every time, not to mention that I have to HOLD the power button down, something I usually don't have to do. I can not, for the life of me, figure out why this is happening. I have run diagnostic programs like Sandra, they say everything is fine with my computer. I have an MSI-K7T pro2-a, 700 mhz duron (not overclocked either), a voodoo 3 2000 pci, windows 98 se, 256 megs of generic pc133 ram, and a quantum fireball AS ata 100 running at ATA 33 Hard drive. I have all of the latest drivers for my hardware, and all of the hardware works fine to my knowledge. I do think it could possibly be the generic stick of 256 megs PC133 ram I am using. Are there any good programs I could use to figure out what is causing these lockups? Could anyone please help me with this annoying problem? Thank you for your support.
 
btw, that stick of Pc133 ram was the "upgradeplanet.com deal" that everyone was going crazy over not too long ago.
 
does it only lock up with programs that require video acceleration?
are you using the latest available drivers for your videocard?
what size is your AGP aperture & have you tried increasing it to see if it makes any difference?
have you tried reducing AGP TO x1?
is your videocard or soundcard sharing its irq with anything else bar pci steering?
 
yeah it locks up usually in programs with video acceleration, but it has happened before with just internet explorer. I don't have an AGP card, and I don't know of any hardware sharing its IRQ but how exactly could I check that?
 


<< I don't know of any hardware sharing its IRQ but how exactly could I check that? >>


start/programs/accessories/sys tools/sys info. expand hardware &amp; look at irqs! 🙂
 
yeah get all the newest sound/video drivers. and maybe evan your chipset drivers. thats what I would do.

 
I don't think this is good, let me show you how my irq set up looks like.

0 System timer
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2 Programmable interrupt controller
3 Communications Port (COM2)
4 Communications Port (COM1)
5 Creative SB16 Emulation
6 Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7 Printer Port (LPT1)
8 System CMOS/real time clock
9 SCI IRQ used by ACPI bus
10 Linksys LNEPCI II PCI Ethernet Adapter
10 Creative SB Live!
10 3dfx Voodoo3
10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
11 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
11 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
11 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
12 (free)
13 Numeric data processor
14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller
15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller
 
this is my memory details, i dont know if it is ok either.

x00000000 - x0009FFFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x000A0000 - x000AFFFF 3dfx Voodoo3
x000B0000 - x000BFFFF 3dfx Voodoo3
x000C0000 - x000C7FFF 3dfx Voodoo3
x000C8000 - x000C9FFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x000F0000 - x000F7FFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x000F8000 - x000FBFFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x000FC000 - x000FFFFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x00100000 - x0FFEFFFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x0FFF0000 - x0FFFFFFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
x10000000 - x1000FFFF 3dfx Voodoo3
xD0000000 - xD1FFFFFF 3dfx Voodoo3
xD2000000 - xD3FFFFFF 3dfx Voodoo3
xD5000000 - xD53FFFFF PCI standard host CPU bridge
xFFFF0000 - xFFFFFFFF System board extension for ACPI BIOS
 
this was under conflicts/sharing

IRQ 10 Linksys LNEPCI II PCI Ethernet Adapter
IRQ 10 Creative SB Live!
IRQ 10 3dfx Voodoo3
IRQ 10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
IRQ 10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
IRQ 11 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 11 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
IRQ 11 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
IRQ 14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
IRQ 14 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller
IRQ 15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
IRQ 15 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller
 
Make sure you've got the most recent drivers for your video/sound/chipset. Also, I would try and reassign the IRQ for the video card to one that doesn't have conflicts, if you have one open, that is. Try downloading any recent patches for the games, too.
 
I had one do the same thing but it was a matter of time.It would always lock up after a the same amout of time,was usually about 25min.It was the memory.We took it and had it tested and sure enough there was a short in it.Hope this helps...........
 
Start - settings - control panel - device manager

Open up the properties for the video card and go to the resources tab. You should be able to reset it there.
 
I really do need help, I installed the 4in1 drivers for the VIA chipset...The 10th IRQ is still shared. You guys have been really nice about helping me in the past, but please don't let me down now.
 
you have 2 pieces of hardware sharing with your video card which is not the best arrangement. firstly what OS are you using?
do you know which pci slots share irqs on your board? it will be in the m/board manual.
a simple first step would be to disable sb emulation in device manager/creative multimedia as well as disable COM 2 port in bios. this will immediately free 2 irqs which if your lucks in will then be used by the devices sharing the same irq with your video card when windows uses its Plug &amp; Play feature.
post back with the extra info if more needs doing! 🙂
 
Well I took you advise bacillus and switched the irqs by disabling both com ports. Heres what windows came up with.

0 System timer
1 Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
2 Programmable interrupt controller
3 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
3 VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
3 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
4 SCI IRQ used by ACPI bus
5 3dfx Voodoo3
5 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
6 Standard Floppy Disk Controller
7 Printer Port (LPT1)
8 System CMOS/real time clock
9 (free)
10 Linksys LNEPCI II PCI Ethernet Adapter
10 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
11 Creative SB Live!
11 ACPI IRQ Holder for PCI IRQ Steering
12 (free)
13 Numeric data processor
14 Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
14 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller
15 Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
15 VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller

I think it's a little better, but even AFTER I fixed the IRQ problems, the system still locks up every once in awhile. This really sucks. I bought this computer hoping that it would be stable and fast, and it ends up failing every so often. What could possibly be causing this to happen? I have windows 98 SE btw. Is it the memory? I have no idea honestly. Please try to give me and advise you can about this. PM me or reply to this post with any information Thanks.
 
I tried something with my ram. Along with the system locking up, it also reboots randomly every once in awhile. I have my &quot;Supposed&quot; pc133 ram running at pc100. I load up Diablo 2, a memory hungry game. I play for about an hour before crashing. I rebooted after crashing, only for my computer to &quot;ghost reboot&quot; when Windows 98 prompts me to type in my network password. I then went into my BIOS and changed PC100 cas 3 to PC133 cas 2. It gets into windows fine. I then promptly go into DIABLO 2 again. Diablo 2 then crashes when I click multiplayer. I try to load diablo 2 again, and it crashes again. Then the computer mysteriously reboots again. Is this a sign of a memory problem?

This is so incredibly frustrating. I have literally tried everything to my knowledge. I have downloaded memory testers, all say that the memory works fine. I have installed ALL of the latest drivers for my hardware and direct x 8.0A. I have used Norton System Works, it finds nothing wrong. There IS something wrong. I truly need your guy's help on this one. I am lost. Please offer any expertise you have about computers to me.
 
Have you tried a basic setup?just install the video card with no Sound card or ethernet card,just to see if it runs stable,if not then I would look towards memory,btw what PSU are you using?Btw try &amp; get your CPU checked,the reason I say this is my PC had random reboots &amp; sudden freezes,&amp; it turned out to be a faulty CPU in my case.
 
dlrsuperman,sorry to hear you're still troubled with your system! your irqs are better although I would have liked to see the videocard on a higher irq!
what sort of cpu &amp; case temperature are you seeing? like Mem says this could be a fault of the cpu.
try running with your case open to see if that helps in any way!
 
I tried running with the case open, it did not help at all. I doubt its the heat, I have a full tower on the floor w/3 case fans blowing air in and out...I don't know exactly what the system temp is... I'll try to find a place in my small town where I can get my cpu checked, and I'll try to remove hardware 1by1 to see whether or not its the memory or not...I'm still lost, if anyone has any ideas please give me some!
 
This may sound strange, but where are your cads physically located on the motherboard? You might try swapping the physical PCI slots for your NIC and Video card. In fact, you might try removing the NIC altogether for awhile and see what happens. Try the Video card in the very top PCI slot. You might also want to try a cheap AGP video card and see if that helps. Fry's electronics around here sometimes has whitebox cheapies for around $30-$40 bucks. Better yet, borrow one from a friend for a day or so and see if your problem goes away.

Also, you may have a memory problem (this seems most likely to me) -- those software testers only go so far. A real hardware memory tester is mucho expensive, but your local shop might have one and test your memory for you for a nominal fee... Depending on availability/cost you might rather buy an inexpensive stick of quality RAM from someplace like Crucial and see if your problem goes away. 64MB would probably do just for basic testing purposes and RAM is *dirt* cheap right now.

It seems like you have some serious IRQ issues that might be your problem, as well. Try removing some devices for awhile (like your NIC &amp; sound card) and see what happens. Sometimes changing IRQs requires you to uncheck the &quot;use automatic settings&quot; box in the resources tab of a device in Device Mgr. before you can set manual configurations.

Good luck!
 
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