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Why does my computer suck????

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I'm sorry to hear that you're having so much trouble with your new computer. Can you download cpu-z and see what readings it gives for your ram? If it is not your RAM, I would try to reformat the hard drive and see if it is a windows error before I go and RMA the HDD or GPU. You can try running some HDD stress tests to help isolate which component is going haywire on you.
 
Has anyone mentioned updating your motherboard's BIOS? Have you updated your BIOS? those symptoms sound like you probably got a problem with the BIOS. I had an old Compaq and when I inserted a new video card...my computer froze up in windows and playing games. I found out I needed to updated the BIOS.

Go to the MSI website and download the newest BIOS...a BIOS flash looks like it could solve your problems. And MSI K8N boards seem to be picky about mixing USB mice / keyboards with PS/2.

I hope updating the BIOS could solve ur problem...if not...report back here.
 
Thanks guys I'll try updating the BIOS. MSI gave me some software that allows for automatic updates of the bios but I have yet to check on their website for any. I didn't install the auto update. Its weird that if I have anything plugged into the USB ports that the computer refuses to boot up. It did it again today with a 4 port adapter that I had plugged in.
 
UPDATE:

I reflashed the BIOS with a newer version yesterday. This took care of the USB conflicts I was experiencing.

The computer is still locking up randomly though. My fiance was transfering photos yesterday and she went to delete a few and the computer froze.
It actually froze last night when no one was even using it. I walked away and it was working, came back a few minutes later and it had locked up.

I turned down all the settings on Far Cry and turned off the shadowing and AA etc., kicked the resolution down to the lowest setting 700x??? and it still locked up at around the same point.

A friend looked at the computer and thinks that the Video Card is not functioning correctly. It still gives a display but it doesn't seem like it will play this game at all.
I've read several reviews on this card and people claim to be playing BF2 and Doom3 at 60fps.

I used Prime95 and ran a torture test for 8 hours and got on to GIMP and gave it work to do in a 1 hour test. Everything Passed.

So what gives??

Could a bad video card be causing the random lock ups while browsing on the web or transfering files? Something is very wrong here.
 
Your power supply should be plenty good enough, but it's possible you got a bad one.

Your RAM is quality stuff, but that doesn't mean there is a problem.

I seriously doubt heat is an issue since your system temps are low and it is locking up even not at load.

Here's how you get a memtest bootable CD:
1) Download memtest86 and unzip it to C:\temp or wherever
2) Download Windows 2003 Resource Kit (works for XP) and install it.
3) Start->run->"cmd" to open up a dos prompt
4) cd \temp
5) "c:\Program Files\Windows Resource Kits\Tools\CDBurn.exe" E: "memtest86+-1.65.iso"
Replace "E:" with whichever CD drive you are burning to.

I highly recommend running memtest before trying anything else.

Otherwise, it could be a software issue, a motherboard issue, or a power issue.
 
I would have to say its either your Motherboard, video card, or power supply then.

My personal opinion would be to borrow a friends video card, and power supply. Otherwise it could be your motherboard. I dont want you to shell out extra money if the problem is still gonna happen.

Before you do that? is that board a nForce 4 Ultra? or a nForce 3 250 GB? or regular nForce 4?

With a computer, its magic to get it actually working. A lot of things could go wrong.

It could be either software or problem:

I think if its software problem:

Then Most likely its a driver problem: I dont know about your board, but I have a Msi board, check my rig, and the instruction manuals explicitly states to NOT install CERTAIN nForce, or Forceware or nvidia drivers. Check the instruction booklet if it says that.

I would personally uninstall any sort of nvidia or other drivers you would not need, such as the nforce firewall or nforce IDE drivers.

Another thing is there might be an IRQ conflict with the Video Card. The Video card is sharing the same IRQ with another device, check the BIOS settings and perhaps assign the video card a different non used IRQ number.

If its hardware:

It could either be video card, whats a Leadtek PX6600TD GeForce 256mb? is that agp?, i thought 6600 models come in GT , regular and 6600 LE.

Faulty motherboard

or Faulty PSU.

It could be ram like people stated, but I doubt it, I think theres a conflict with your video card and your motherboard. Ask Leadtek or go to their website to see if thers a bios flash for your video card.

Good luck! and report back if problems 🙂


 
The video card is PCI Express 16x. If it were AGP I would have no problem throwing my old one in and testing but alas, its not possible.

The chipset on the mobo is a regular nForce 4 and not the Ultra.
I don't recall seeing anything in the instructions about nVidia drivers but I will check again.

I'm not sure about the IRQ setting for the video card. I haven't tried to adjust anything like that and I don't recall seeing IRQ setting adjustments, of course, I wasn't looking before.

I am borrowing a PCI VC from a guy tomorrow to try out and see what happens. He said he didn't think it was PCI Express though which worries me because I wanted to make sure that PCI E slot is functioning correctly. However, if I find that things work with his card I will know its either the slot or the card itself. That would be a huge help.

I'll let you guys know how it goes. Thank you for the help.
 
UPDATE:

Well I checked the RAM once before but I figured at this point I am desperate so I'll check it again. Plus last time I did, I was having the difficulty with the USB compatibility. So I took out the second stick of RAM and the system seems to be working perfectly now. I have been playing Far Cry (still lower graphics settings) for the past hour or so with out even a stutter. I didn't try the stick that I pulled out on its own running the system but common sense would dictate that it was bad.

I cranked up the graphical settings and it still ran just fine. A little slow but looked great and played no problem.

This morning I tried to see what would happen with just the second stick of RAM in the computer. Everything works just fine. So I pop both back in and play Far Cry. FREEZE.

Bad motherboard maybe? Wrong RAM settings?

 
hey mulletlover, i've got the same graphic card and i used to have the same problems as well.
the solution is better cooling. trust me.
i had bout 2 fans and then i installed 2 more and it hasnt crashed again while gaming.
i purchased 2 fans at AUD $20.
just try it's a cheap solution that would put away your frustration.

cheers!
Text
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by: Farren
hey mulletlover, i've got the same graphic card and i used to have the same problems as well.
the solution is better cooling. trust me.
i had bout 2 fans and then i installed 2 more and it hasnt crashed again while gaming.
i purchased 2 fans at AUD $20.
just try it's a cheap solution that would put away your frustration.

cheers!
Text
Click to expand...
Click to expand...


How do you figure it is cooling? the guy's cpu is running at 35 C or something and it crashes when he has the 2 sticks of ram in. He plays the game for an hour with 1 stick in -- this is not a GPU heat issue either.

There is something screwy with either the ram or the mainboard.
 
I started another thread that was a little more direct to the point. But basically I am running my RAM in different banks now. It works great but pretty much makes the other slots useless as I can't run them dual channel without a matched pair.

I am going to call Mwave.com and try to get to the bottom of this.
Thanks everyone for the help.

BTW...I'm sure some extra cooling measures wouldn't hurt either.
 
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