WTF, something is wrong with my computer and I dont know what, HELP!!

[Czar]

The Specs

550mhz Athlon
Alpha heatsink
MSI6167 mobo (I think, not the pro version but the other one)
128mb 100mhz SDRAM

Matrox G400
SBLive
ISDN card
3com 10/100 NIC

Primary Master - 6.4gb Quantum
Primary Slave - 11.5gb Maxtor
Secondary Master - 60gb Maxtor
Secondary Slave - DVD ROM

300w AMD approved PS

The problem

I used to overclock my CPU to 750mhz or 800mhz and it could do 850mhz but that was at 1.95v so I didnt use that, at 750mhz and 800mhz it was at 1.75v and 1.8v. But because of some minor problems and because I had no reason to overclock it then I´v been running it at 550mhz for few weeks/months.

It used to be that the computer just rebooted when I was browsing the internet in IE and I just thought it was because of a bad win2000 install, so I installed it again, same problems just only worse. Now the computer reboots more often and also when I´m watching RM files or ASF files (you have to love Anime in that format and lots of it ).

Now few minutes ago I turned on my computer and went to windows and on the internet, then I started a IE window and started to load these forums and also I started Eudora and went to check on my mail, then the computer freezes. I reboot and the computer freezes in the Win2000 loading screen I reboot and again it freezes there, I turn the computer off and on again and I notice that all the Primary devices are missing, I turn the computer off and check for loose connectors, no loose connectors. Turn the computer on again and no problems.

soooo... wtf could be wrong, could it be that some hardware is broken or what??

 

[Jeraden]

No solution, but I have the exact same problem pretty much.

Thunderbird 750
Abit KT7-Raid
128 RAM
Matrox G200 AGP
Quantum Fireball LM 30GB
D-Link 10/100 ethernet card
Windows Millenium

At first I was running overclocked at 1Ghz. It was stable for a few days, then it began to have wierd lockups & reboots. I thought it was overclocking related so scaled it back down to 750, but still happened. I noticed it was locking up in places where it needed to use the sound card, and know there are some issues with vortex1/2 cards with the kt7, so I removed the sound card completely and it still happens.

Here's the scenarios:
1. Let the computer sit there long enough doing absolutely nothing = Blue Screen.
2. Watch a video clip through media player = Lockup within a few seconds
3. Use Internet Explorer = eventually will reboot itself, but won't make it into windows on the reboot.
4. Occasionally when booting up it won't detect any devices attached (no HD detected), but a reset-button always clears that up.
5. Try to play any game = eventually will lockup

I haven't played with too many other applications. I've updated the MB bios - no change. I was going to try re-installing windows tonight. I don't think its heat, the temperature probe reports only around 90F and I'm not overclocking. I even bump the voltage just in case and the problems still happen. It seemed a LOT worse last night than ever before. It was actually fairly stable at first, just gets increasingly less stable.

 

[ndee]

But guys, my first question: If you overclock a CPU, and it breaks, and you downclock it again to default speed, do you really think it's fixed again??????

 

[Oyeve]

hehehehe ndee funny but true!

"my car caught fire but I put it out but now the car wont run!"

 

[Czar]

<< &quot;my car caught fire but I put it out but now the car wont run!&quot; >>



LOL


The thing is that I´m sure if its the processor, but it is then I´ll probably just buy a new slotA Athlon and overclock the hell out of it and find the limit of it, then downclock it to more reasonable speed.

 

[Ornery]

I'm not sure what the difference is, but rebooting would be caused by a different problem than locking up. Locking up could be heat or memory or IRQ conflict.

When the thing is running stable go to device manager, highlight Computer at the top of the list and click properties. Note the IRQ used by each device. The next time you do a cold bootup, check the list again. Keep tabs on if the list changes and if it pukes under certain IRQ assignments. You could tell it in the BIOS that you don't have a Plug and Play OS installed and that will keep the IRQs the same.

Also, backup a &quot;good&quot; registry and startup files and keep it handy. If you find one that works all the time you can be sure it isn't hardware.

Video drivers can cause all kinds of trouble and conflicts. And it's hard to completely get rid of old drivers. You may want to work on that too.

Live!ware3.0 might be good to apply.

 

[Jeraden]

Well, last night I was checking out the http://go.to/kt7faq stuff. It mentions to make sure you install the latest VIA 4in1 driver after installing windows. So, I went to download it, of course, the computer locked up before I ever got that far. On the 2nd try I was able to download it and install it. After rebooting everything seems to be working fine. I did get one more lockup over a 3 hour period... much better than the lockups every 5 mins.

So give it a try if you haven't already.